President’s Update – January

Happy New Year to everyone. Summer is now heating up in more ways than one, with major events being undertaken at this time of year including the Junior Open, Police Legacy Day, the Australia Day Classic as well as regular golf.

 

The Junior Open was held on 5 January with over 60 young players from around WA enjoying our course, good food and the extremely well organised event it is. I was most impressed with our Club’s many volunteers with Peta Van Wyk, Junior Coordinator and Travis Lord, Club Professional leading the way. Special mention to Kevin and Annette Coote, the owners of Treendale Estate, who have been sponsors of the Junior Open for the past 4 years. It was a great day with kids of all ages and their parents enjoying the hospitality on offer. Well done to everyone who assisted in making this a special day for our local juniors, and possibly some young champions of the future.

 

The Australia Day Classic will be held this coming weekend with 195 players booked. Staff have been busy with planning of menu’s, novelties, course preparation, scheduling of tee times, coordinating volunteers and stocking up on drinks and other supplies to make the weekend a successful occasion. These events just don’t happen and require a coordinated approach by all our staff. As well as our staff, we have volunteers who assist with the Tank Stand, Starters and Marshalls, and the Club Captain, to mention a few, will all be on deck and I thank them all for their time and generosity. The revised/restored green and tee boxes at the No 8 hole will be ready for the Classic, and I am sure we are all pleased to have 18 holes in play again. Well done to Dave Brennan, Course Superintendent and his team for not only getting Hole 8 ready, but for the extra effort to present the Course in the best possible condition for the Australia Day Classic.

 

I understand that the new battery powered green mowers are making a big difference in the way the greens can be prepared, allowing for earlier commencement of mowing due to the quiet operating characteristics of the new equipment. This has lead to improved efficiencies for preparing the fairways and bunkers for our busy regular golf program. The Course is certainly recovering and the fairways are now looking great, with most of the greens nearly back to their best. The recent past efforts to get on top of the kikuyu grass in the fairways and reduce the poa in the greens, has adversely impacted the Course for a period of time.  However, the end result will, I believe, see an overall improvement to the future maintenance and condition, of both the fairways and the greens.

 

The Board will be meeting shortly and topics to be discussed, apart from our normal reports, will include the vexed issue of placement of bunker rakes, and policies surrounding motorised carts. It should be an interesting meeting.

 

Good luck with your golf, but if that is not happening, why don’t you try the Club’s fantastic dining experiences, or maybe relax on the balcony with a cool drink, or perhaps even smarten yourself up with some purchases in the Pro Shop. The Bunbury Golf Club has much to offer; not just golf. I encourage you to make the most of your membership.

 

Greg Trevaskis