Cameron Smith, Golf Course Superintendent

We hope all our members enjoyed a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As the holiday short weeks come to an end, the maintenance team is now shifting its focus to preparations for the WPGA on The Palms golf course, along with the commencement of the annual renovations on The Pines golf course.

There are still several items to complete that were unable to be finished prior to Christmas. While the 16th and 17th tee complex on The Palms golf course has been completed, the haul road across the 18th fairway will be re-turfed, final detailing will be completed on hole 10, and work on the greens turf nursery will be finished. It has been an exceptionally busy end to the year given the scale of these projects, and despite favourable weather conditions, their size meant the team was unable to reach the desired completion point before Christmas. These works will be fully completed over the coming weeks.

Looking ahead to the renovations on The Pines golf course, several adjustments will be implemented based on lessons learned last year. These include changes to machinery selection, and refinements to scarifying and coring depths, to ensure the required outcomes are achieved in line with our soil test results.