Message from our Golf Course Superintendent
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Cameron Smith, Golf Course Superintendent
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As we progress through the first stage of The Pines golf course renovation, the team is pleased to report an excellent start to the programme. Despite forecasts predicting significant rainfall, conditions have remained largely dry, enabling us to maintain strong momentum throughout the week.
Phase one of the greens renovation is now complete, with scarifying carried out in four directions at varying depths, followed by sand topdressing and solid-tine aeration. After reviewing soil test results and analysing surface area impact data, it was determined that core removal would not be required this year. By scarifying aggressively at two different depths, we successfully achieved the desired outcome without the need for coring.
Following topdressing, solid tining was undertaken to work the sand into the profile, while also creating fresh channels to improve gas exchange, water infiltration, and nutrient movement. On the front nine, fairways have been scarified and received their primary mows ahead of the final scalping process prior to topdressing.
Overall, it has been a highly productive week, and we remain optimistic that favourable weather conditions will continue for at least another two weeks, allowing us to progress efficiently through the next stages of the renovation programme.
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This week, the maintenance team completed the following:
The Pines golf course
- Commenced golf course renovations, which involved:
- Scarifying greens, tees, and aprons
- Maredo scarifying on greens
- Shockwave deep slicing aeration on the fairways
- Hollow tine aeration (coring) on the small putter
- Top dressing greens, followed by solid tine aeration
- Mowed fairways at 8mm after scarifying
- Mowed the rough
The Palms golf course
- Stolonised the new nursery green on the left-hand side of the 13th hole with stolons collected from The Pines golf course greens
- The stolonising method involved spreading broken stolons (scarified material) over a prepared sand and soil-covered area, covering them with a grow mat, then watering regularly to allow the stolons to shoot new roots and spread, creating a dense, new turf surface
- Installed new irrigation to the turf nursery on the left-hand side of the 13th hole
- Completed mulching and garden detail works on The Palms golf course 16th and 17th tee areas
- Top dressed The Palms golf course 10th fairway and the 16th and 17th tee complexes
Next week, the following will be addressed:
- Continue The Pines golf course renovations
- Apply granular fertiliser to The Palms golf course fairways, tees, and aprons
- Commence cutting the rough on The Palms golf course
- Continue mulching and garden detail works on The Palms golf course
- Trim irrigation and valve boxes on The Palms golf course
- Commence turfing bare areas on The Palms golf course fairways
- Reopen holes 10 and 16 on The Palms golf course
The Pines and The Palms golf courses
