Course Update

Recent rain has put greened up the course significantly over the past number of weeks. It has also topped up our supply of water as the main dam was getting very low towards the end of January. Our current supply of water will now get us through to next spring without significant rainfall. The heavy rain has however caused damage to our bunkers with further soil being washed off the faces of the bunkers and further contaminating the sand. Significant work will need to be done in the next couple of weeks to get the bunkers back into a reasonable shape.

The greens staff will continue our maintenance program this winter renovating and re-shaping the worst of the bunkers. Last winter 3 bunkers were completely renovated and this winter we plan to increase this number. This program will continue until all poor draining and shaped bunkers are renovated. The back left bunker on the 18th will be filled in as it requires considerable ongoing maintenance and adds little strategic value to the hole. This area will be turned into a grassy swale which will create a challenge when chipping up to a green that is sloping away from the player.

The greens will be renovated starting on Monday 18th March. The greens will be Verti-drained with solid tines smaller than the hollow tines that were used in the spring renovation. This renovation will be less disruptive to play as the holes will be smaller and less top dressing will be applied. Starting Monday the greens will be scarified, Verti-drained, fertilized and top dressed. The top dressing is then brushed into the holes each day for the remainder of the week.

You may have noticed that the garden beds on the second hole have now been removed and grass banks re-installed. This will reduce maintenance and enhance the attractiveness of this area. Other poorly maintained and difficult to maintain garden beds will also be removed for the same reason. The small garden bed behind the 7th white tee has now also been removed and this area will be grassed to reduce maintenance. A number of our volunteers have been instrumental in doing this work and continue to do a great job for the club.