Update on the Golf Courses – Friday 7 November - Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club

Message from our Golf Course Superintendent

Cameron Smith, Golf Course Superintendent

It has been an immensely busy week with The Palms golf course now in full renovation mode and preparations underway for the 2025 Sanctuary Cove Professional Shootout event on The Pines golf course this Sunday. Despite losing two days of work following 97mm of rainfall last Tuesday, the team has achieved an outstanding amount of progress on The Palms golf course.

Key achievements include significant vegetation removal on hole 17, re-concreting of all damaged cart path sections, completion of the sandstone rock wall surrounding the new 16/17 tees, and continued grow-in of the 10th hole, which now has all turf laid and established.

Looking ahead, palm tree transplanting and new landscape plantings on hole 3 are scheduled to commence next week, with additional palm transplanting on hole 10 planned for two weeks later.

Meanwhile, The Pines golf course has responded extremely well to the recent rainfall, supported by increased lightning activity, which boosts atmospheric nitrogen, and rising overnight temperatures, all contributing to a noticeable lift in turf health and colour.

This week, the maintenance team completed the following:

Prepared the Pines golf course for daily members’ play and the 2025 Sanctuary Cove Professional Shootout on Sunday 9 November
Applied fungicide to the greens on The Pines golf course
Applied foliar fertiliser to the practice range fairway and target greens
Applied granular fertiliser to selected weak, high-traffic areas along paths and green surrounds

The Palms golf course renovations:

Greens

Top-dressed and broomed-in
Applied a second amendment

Green aprons

Mowed at 6mm

Tees

Mowed at 6mm
Top dressed

Fairways

Continued deep slicer aeration
Continued dethatching
Removed grass chaff from dethatching
Spiral cut at 6mm

Contractors

Continued rock wall construction for the 16th and 17th tee area
Repaired damaged path sections and completed a new cart turnaround at the 3rd green
Laid turf for the new tees on the 10th hole
Installed a Hydro-Wick drainage system on the 7th fairway

Next week, the following will be addressed:

Foliar fertiliser and miticide will be applied to tees, green aprons, and fairways on The Pines golf course
Rough on The Pines golf course will be mowed
Insecticide will be applied to greens on The Pines golf course