It’s hard to believe we are already a quarter of the way through the year so I thought I would provide a course update so you are aware of some of the work that will be undertaken over the next few months.
Bunkers
The first quarter of this year has seen us complete the bunker work that was approved by the Course Advisory, Greens and Management Committees for 2022. I thank the course team for their hard work to complete this work within a couple of days so as to minimise the inconvenience to members. I believe the upgrades have meet the core objects which were to make entry to these bunkers easier and to increase the pan of the bunkers to allow a bigger flat area in the base of the bunkers.
As mentioned before we all have a part to play in ensuring the best possible conditions of the bunkers. Please follow these simple rules:
- Please rake bunkers properly. We can’t control every single golfer but if the majority of players raked bunkers properly upon leaving, the quality of all surfaces would be remarkably improved. If you’re in a bunker and someone else has failed to rake after themselves then rake those areas as well as your own.
- Place rakes just inside the entry point facing the direction of play.
- Enter and leave the bunker at the lowest point possible.
Foreign Grass Encroachment
As previously mentioned, foreign grass encroachment is one of the biggest challenges we face.
You will be aware that we have trailed a new chemical to help tackle couch encroachment on the greens. This was initially trialled on the lower practice green and around the edges of the nursery and results were promising. As a result, we extended the trial to the 10th, 11th and 17th greens and I am sure you have noticed the browning around the edges of those greens. Once again, the results have been promising so we are planning to treat the rest of the greens over the next few weeks. We were planning to replace the collars on 3 or 4 greens this year but will now hold off on that work to allow us to further evaluate the effectiveness of the new chemical. If successful it will negate the need to replace collars which will reduce the impact on members. Several applications of the chemical will be needed to fully kill off the couch.
Kikuyu grass is the other foreign grass which requires continual attention. I would like to thank the volunteers that regularly come and spray for Kikuyu. Over the past month the ground staff have been undertaking a more aggressive spraying program, we have completed three treatments and will probably do one more round of spraying.
Miscellaneous
- Towards the middle of the year re-vegetation of the dam surrounds will be undertaken and the dam will be cleaned, and any repairs made to the liner. Once the vegetation is planted around the dam, we will need to redefine the hazard boundary but more on that later on.
- Also towards the middle of the year we will also be undertaking some upgrades to the irrigation system in some areas where full coverage is not being achieved. Disruption to members from this work should be minimal.
- In the next couple of months, you may notice some dry areas on the course and slight browning in some areas on the fairways. Do not be concerned as this is due to us reducing the amount of watering heading into winter to allow the soil to dry out in preparation for hopefully some much needed winter rain.
- Unfortunately, our 2IC (Matt) resigned this quarter to peruse an opportunity in the mining industry. We are currently looking for a replacement and hopefully will find someone suitable in the near future.
- Lastly, I would like to thank the ground staff for their work of the past month or so. Many of you may not be aware that we have been running quite low numbers in the ground staff for the past few weeks due to staff needing to follow COVID protocols (e.g. isolating due to being close contacts). At times we were down to as few as 3 ground staff, but I think you will agree the course has continued to be presented at a very high level.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me when you see me around the club.
Dean Stewart, Chair Greens Sub-Committee
