By Terry Gale, Chairman of Greens
I am delighted to return as Chairman of Greens for the next two years. The monthly newsletter to advise / confirm what has occurred or proposed will recommence.
Firstly though, I would like to express my sincere thanks & gratitude to Andrew Woods and his team for their fine efforts over the past two years in what was a trying time for the club due to Covid 19.
Woodsy & his team completed several major projects as follows:
- Grass the LHS of the 10th
- Grass the LHS of the middle 18th tee box & install sprinklers as required.
- Redesign & complete the warm-up range due to neighbour complaints.
- Rotary hoe, level & utilise cores at the front of the lady’s tee on the 2nd & on the 4th.
Course Levy
Greens will undertake to utilise the new Course levy implemented effective from the 1st of July 2022 with due care & consideration.
The standard procedure will be to formulate a plan on where the funds are to be spent prior to the new financial year. Greens will formally approve the allocation of funds followed by further approval by the Board.
For the 2022/23 FY Greens has $100,000 to utilise for course activities with details as follows:
|
Items Approved |
Amount |
|
John Deere new course machinery deposit |
$ 25,350 |
|
Greens Audit |
$6,000 |
|
Tree Audit |
$8,000 |
|
New Rosher equipment – Slasher, bunker rake, Tru turf roller & spreader deposit |
$14,000 |
|
Bunkers |
$10,000 |
|
Fence and warm up cages allocation |
$19,000 |
|
Total |
$82,350 |
|
Buffer |
$17,650 |
Scrollable
New Course Machinery – Our current rental agreements for the fairway & greens mowers etc have expired. New equipment has been sourced from John Deere & we are hopeful that several pieces of machinery will be delivered by mid November. Timing of arrival of machinery has been exacerbated primarily due to Covid & lack of skilled workers worldwide.
The Greens & Tree audit have been completed. We have received the Tree audit & are currently examining this report. Basically, the report has identified 43 trees for removal & a further 145 trees for trimming by professional tree loppers. The urgent priority list will be attended to first. The trees to be removed are basically dead banksia’s or other dead gums around the course.
The Greens audit report is due by mid-November & will hopefully identify any health concerns with our greens & solutions.
We have allocated funds for Bunker improvement. We shall commence an analysis of all bunkers to determine exactly what needs to be completed. Primarily we shall look at removing the lips on the front of the bunkers & levelling with sand. This will result in those bunkers identified being widen slightly. Several Bunkers may be lengthened & widen to remove flat spots at the top of these bunkers together with those that have steep gradients within the bunker. Several other bunkers may be consolidated into one large bunker for ease of raking. This will be a labor-intensive effort & completed over several years.
We are looking into possibility of installing higher fences to protect stray golf balls from range and course boundaries. We have had several complaints from residents opposite the course advising that golf balls have landed in their property. This is a real live issue and I request members who undertake this risky venture to stop & consider for a moment the consequences if their ball does hit a vehicle & cause a serious accident. The Club had an incident along Warton Road back in the mid 1990’s which resulted in the loss of life. The club had to realign the 1st, 2nd & 3rd fairways to ensure they were facing towards the centre of the course. I reiterate that this practice is dangerous & must cease immediately.
We are looking at installing either some practice cages or warm up nets similar to WAGC on the warm-up range so that members can warm-up with long irons or woods.
In respect to other activities completed during October refer comments below:
1. Tree roots – A root pruner was hired to sever roots protruding onto the fairway on all holes. The root pruner cuts down to a depth of 300mm. The Blue markings seen on the ground near the fairways indicate the path of the root pruner.
2. Tree Lopper – The tree lopper removed the gum tree next to the 12th tee box as the neighbour had complained about leaves & gum nuts dropping into their yard & pool. In addition, one large dead tree along the 13th fairway was removed as per the Tree audit report.
3. Volunteers – The volunteers continue to trim the undergrowth of trees along the 10th & 11th fairway’s. To date all fairways on the front nine have been trimmed. Trimming has a triple effect for the course such as:
• Permits the mowers & slasher to mow up to the tree trunk.
• Permits more air flow.
• Permits more sunlight which also assists in the growth of grass in the bare areas
A number of wattles & dead trees along the RHS of the 16th fairway have been removed.
4. Tee Boxes – All tee boxes have been cored & lightly scarified to assist with regrowth.
5. Green replacement program – No greens will be replaced this financial year however we shall complete a feasibility study to determine the cost to replace greens in the future. We shall need to hire contractors. The cost will be borne from the Course levy.
6.
Fairways – These are mowed three days per week during summer being, Monday, Wednesday & Friday & twice a week during Winter. They are mowed to a height of 6mm.
Greens – They are mowed four days per week during summer, being Tuesday, Thursday [Double cut], Saturday & Sunday. They are also rolled on a Thursday. They will be cut to a height of 3mm for the Club championships.
Tees – They are mowed every Monday & Friday at a height of 5mm.
Bunkers – All bunkers are either raked via the bunker rake or hand raked every Thursday. This take 4 staff 4 hours to complete this task. When bunkers are edged, [Every Wednesday] they are also raked. Staff working on a Saturday or Sunday also rake any members footprints left in the bunker. I urge members to be more vigilant when raking bunkers. If any member witnesses someone not raking the bunker correctly, please explain to them that they need to be more considerate of their fellow members.
Tree stumps – A stump grinder was hired when the course was closed & utilised to grind out many stumps & roots around the course.
7. Motorised carts – Members are reminded that carts are to be driven / parked a minimum of 5m from all greens & tees except where carts paths are provided.
8. Course care Video’s – On the club’s website under the heading “Golf” – “Course care” are three videos’ recording the correct procedure to:
• Rake Bunkers
• Repair divots
• Repair pitch marks.
Please take the time to revisit these videos to ensure you are following the correct procedures.
Until next month, happy golfing.
