Ladies Report

Another wet week of golf.  Frustrating times, although if we were on the Central Coast and up to Port Macquarie we may have suffered more significant damage.  Some great photos showing some of the water flow.

After the course was closed for 5 days, it was reopened on Thursday this week with only 9 holes playable and carts not permitted on the course. Stay tuned for further information on course access and cart use for Saturday.

Superintendent's Report

Greens renovations was a little different this year due to the weather conditions not necessarily working with us. Sunday afternoon was cancelled and a fine Monday allowed us to topdress and core all 20 greens.  All but 2 were rubbed in, being the 8th and 9 as they were sanded late in the day.  We knew rain was moving in on Tuesday and less than ideal conditions, so it was a big effort by the guys.  We also managed to apply our soil amendments and fertiliser.  The process was condensed and approx.  3 days work was crammed into a day and a half.

The recent rain has been more help than hinderance on the greens post renovations.  With the course being closed for 5 days it has been nice to have no foot traffic and play on them.  The rain has washed the sand into the profile and canopy extremely well also and recovery has been exceptional. Our first mow is this afternoon (Wednesday) at 8mm. This is higher than normal as we are about 3-4 days behind where we'd normally be.  This height will be gradually brought down over the next 10-14 days.  We will also be looking to get a fungicide application out in the next day or two as disease pressure is high at this time.

The golf course received 252mm from Thursday and a total of 280mm in the past 10 days. There was a huge amount of water moving across the course in recent days with the 13th dam backing up and overflowing all the way across the 14th and 15th fairways down to the 16th and 4th holes. The back 9 will remain closed Thursday and Friday due to these holes still remaining unsafe and inaccessible.  Bunkers will remain out of play for the time being as it will take some time to pump them out and restore them to a playable condition.  All mowers have had their height of cut lifted to allow us to get out there mowing as soon as we can.  These heights will gradually be brought down also as we can get back on top of all the mowing and the course in a presentable way. Course conditions will be assessed once again Friday afternoon to establish what the weekend will look like.

On behalf of myself and the greens staff we thank you for your patience and understanding as we get the course and greens back into good playing conditions for all members and guests. 

Kind Regards, Justin Bradbury