Course Update – November

A month has now passed since our annual renovations were carried out and we are starting to see the results of the work that was put in during that period. Greens have responded as we had expected and with the weather warming up we will see our couch surfaces (tees& fairways) come on quickly.

 

 

 

Apart from welcoming Sam Roberts back to the team after his 2 year Canadian Adventure we have also taken delivery of 2 vital pieces of equipment, the first to arrive was a new Kubota Tractor to replace our aging massey ferguson tractor which was originally a 2^nd hand purchase back in 2007, the other piece of equipment is arguably the most important piece of equipment we have and that being a designated sprayer. We took delivery of a John Deere GPS mounted precision sprayer this week and have already been out mapping the golf course for use. By setting up boundaries within the mapping the sprayer will only spray what we want, meaning no overspray, overlaps etc resulting in reduced chemical usage and better efficiency.

Directly after the Castieau Classic we will commence our annual green replacement program, this year being the 10^th green. As per last year when the 8^th was done the hole will be closed for the duration and players will go directly to the 11^th.

This year, works will include replacement of turf and 250mm of rootzone material. The green itself will remain similar however we do intend to take the green back out to its original size – bringing the green closer to the left-hand bunker, increasing the size of the green and allowing for more pin locations.  The collar on the right hand side will be flattened and slightly increased in width between the edge of the green and bunker.

By slightly pushing out the collar and reshaping the right side bunker will allow us to reduce the slope of the entry point into the bunker while also opening up the walkway onto the green.  The left side bunker will remain the same with only flattening of the entry points and removing the ridge of grass from years of built-up sand.

The plan is to open up the view of the 10^th green to the driveway – make it visible to improve our entry statement to the club. Select trees will be removed from the left hand side of the green to open this area up and introduce wider areas of tightly mowed turf.

The path leading from the 10^th tee will be continued all the way through to the 11^th tees. Continuing this path will allow for better traffic management during the wetter months. During the construction access points to the 11^th hole will be marked and we ask for players to adhere to signage and roped off areas.   

As always, plenty happening out on the course to keep us busy…