Welcome to the June newsletter. There has been significant activity on and around the course with details below:
- Solid Blue lines – Please respect that no wheeled buggy or cart is permitted to cross the blue lines during winter.
- Divots – Divots must be repaired throughout the whole course. This includes all 18 holes, both practice chipping areas, off the edge of fairways even in sanded areas on the course. For example, if your ball finishes in a sandy area and you dig your feet in to obtain a solid stance and take a sand divot, you are still expected to smooth the divot as well as your footprints. In respect to the warmup range, NO member has the approval to hit off the grass area in front of the mats. Only the teaching professionals have the authority to use this area. Please respect the course.
- Course Care video – An updated version of our Course care video has been emailed to all members. Please take the time to view this video to ensure you are repairing various areas on the course correctly. This is especially important during the winter months. (Course care video link)
- Scheme water – We have experienced several large leaks in our scheme water pipes which serve the water fountains on 10 of our holes. We have repaired two major leaks but believe there are further leaks which we are endeavouring to locate.
- Bare areas –The ground staff have continued to repair bare areas on the course such as:
- LHS of the 2nd near the fairway bunker approx 100m from the green
- LHS of the 8th fairway near the green.
- Tree removal – A large River red gum next to the 18th green was struck by lightning which split the tree in numerous spots. This tree was dangerous and together with the dead tree on the other side of the 18th tee were removed on 26 June.
- Volunteers & E/B’s – The volunteers continue to clear the dead & fallen branches as well as removing the wattles in the golden / Bermuda triangle bounded by the 15th, 16th & 17th .The plan is to finish the 16th fairway then commence at the corner of the 17th & 15th fairways. We are hopeful that when we clear this area we may be able to see the dam from the 15th tee. The E/B’s continue to repair divots on the first hole.
- Peppermint trees – In an endeavour to reduce golf balls hitting the houses at the end of the warm-up range from the 10th tee we have planted 3 peppermint trees on top of the hill just before the out of bounds area as well as one on the warmup range. These peppermint trees should grow to around 10 -15m in height with a canopy of approx 10m in width. It will take time for these trees to reach full maturity, but it is a start. Refer photo below of the CoG posing for a photo shoot. Who said I only cut trees down!
- Greens – To assist with firming up the greens we have commenced a monthly program using H2Pro Flow smart. This wetting agent assists in the following ways:
- It is a super penetrant that helps surface water to penetrate more quickly
- Creates firmer and dryer year-round surfaces
- Increases the flushing of carbonates & salt from the rootzone
- Also assists in an integrated disease reduction programme.
- In addition to the above we shall continue with weekly dustings and monthly needle tyning.
The weather plays a large part in the health and playability of the course, especially during winter and in particular the greens. The greens are normally mowed on a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday morning however if we have inclement weather just before or during the mowing, the greens cannot be mowed. This was the case on Saturday the 22nd June. As a result of the inclement weather, only 16 greens were mowed. This then results in uneven and bumpy greens. You cannot roll greens when the greens are wet as this will bring water to the surface and make the greens unplayable.
On a positive side, the Board are investigating the possibility of employing a casual to work 4 hours on a Saturday morning with the view that the casual can release one of the two full-time staff members to roll the greens whilst the other full-time mows the greens. The rolling of greens will be dependent on the weather. Nevertheless, this is a great initiative to improve the course for Saturday participants. If any member is interested in earning a few bucks on a Saturday, please discuss it with our General Manager.
- Green renovations – The Board has decided to discontinue the green renovation programme therefore the 17th green rebuild planned for August this year will not continue as planned. With the Club progressing well on the new Clubhouse build it was decided that we would speak to a golf design consultant to determine if we should review all the greens or the whole course. The Green Audit report identified that the vast majority of our greens are too small for the amount of play therefore increasing the size of our greens to say around 500 to 600m2 is a minimum requirement. There are only 6 greens that are around 500m2 or larger. The Board’s view is if we have a first-class clubhouse then let’s ensure we also have a premium golf course.
- General maintenance – The following was completed by Grounds during June:
- POA on the 12th green has now been sprayed five times. The POA is starting to disappear.
- The large woodpile behind the 10th green & maintenance shed has been burnt. The other woodpile near the 16th tee box will be burnt shortly.
- There were two hydraulic leaks from two different mowers that left oil lines on the 5th yellow tee and 11th tee box.
Until next month happy golfing.
Report by,
Terry Gale
Chairman of Greens
