Message from our Golf Course Superintendent

Cameron Smith, Golf Course Superintendent

With another short week behind us, the team has remained focused on the finer details while continuing general mowing practices across the course. We are still awaiting the structural engineer’s report for the bridge on hole 11. Once this is received, together with the recommended next steps, we will communicate the upcoming stages of work. This week, we also farewell and thank our Canadian team members. Each has made a significant contribution to our summer operations, and we sincerely appreciate their efforts. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours. As many will have noticed over the past four months, we have experienced ongoing issues with the lakes on holes 3 and 10. While pumps have been installed to maintain water levels, both lakes are fundamentally leaking, and at a relatively significant rate. At this stage, Goldings have been unable to determine the exact source of the leakage. Although acceptable water levels were maintained during the WPGA event, this approach is not sustainable long-term. Goldings have since commissioned an independent report and have advised that the next step will be to allow the lake levels to drop. This will enable key infrastructure areas to be exposed, properly assessed, and repaired as required. There is currently no confirmed timeline for these works; however, we will continue to keep members informed as updates become available.

This week, the maintenance team completed the following:

• Over the Easter weekend, prepared both golf courses for daily play, including mowing tees and aprons on The Palms golf course on Saturday afternoon and a full golf course mow of The Pines golf course on Sunday morning, comprising tees, green aprons, and fairways
• Applied foliar fertiliser to the tees, green aprons, and fairways on The Pines golf course
• Mowed the rough on The Pines golf course
• Continued mulching pine cones and needles along the tree lines on The Pines golf course
• Continued trimming irrigation sprinkler heads on The Pines golf course
• Applied insecticide to the greens on both golf courses
• Sprayed weeds with a non-selective herbicide in the Clubhouse gardens
• Mowed the TifEagle nursery on The Palms golf course
• Applied organic fertiliser and insecticide to the TifEagle nursery on The Palms golf course
• Applied selective herbicide along the fenceline on the left side of the 10th hole on The Palms golf course

Next week, the following will be addressed:

• Application of a wetting agent and pre-emergent herbicide to the green aprons and fairways on The Pines golf course

• Application of a wetting agent and foliar fertiliser to the tees on The Pines golf course

• Application of foliar fertiliser to the tees, green aprons, and fairways on The Palms golf course

• Trimming and detailing of bunkers on The Palms golf course

• Mowing of the rough on The Palms golf course

• Continued Ventrac mulching works along the tree lines on The Pines golf course

The Pines and The Palms golf courses

First light during spraying on the 11th fairway on The Pines golf course	Rainbow over the 10th hole on The Pines golf course	Sunrise on The Pines golf course
	First mow of the new nursery green on The Palms golf course at 12mm