Our contractors finished their involvement with the works on the 9^th pond, 7^th tee, and 11^th ladies tee last Friday afternoon, with the last task being the placement of the large sandstone blocks around the inlet pipes at the 9^th pond. The water in this pond had to be pumped out so that the contractors could ensure that the blocks were laid on a level base, so these blocks remain stable into the future. A heavy downpour of rain would be ideal now to refill this pond, but as usual it doesn’t rain when you want it to! Course staff now need to install the smaller sandstone blocks that were saved from around the old putting. These will be set on top of the existing blocks but up against the concrete path to ensure that any runoff water over the path doesn’t erode the soil in behind the blocks.

The turf on the 7^th tee has taken root quickly and we were able to cut it for the first time at a higher height (25mm compared to 13mm that all other tees are cut at), with this tee top dressed and fertilised straight after this initial cut. We are planning to bring this hole/tee back into play on Monday.

With the contractors finished, we have started the process of fixing the track marks across the 1^st fairway. These tracks were unavoidable as the contractors had to bring stockpiled clay across from the tip area on the 15^th hole. Many members have suggested how we could’ve avoided these marks, but once I explain that the tipper truck made over 30 trips back and forward to the tip area, they realise that laying planks of wood or using plastic matting in front of the wheels just wasn’t possible.  The large indentations on the 1^st fairway were rotary hoed to level and loosen the area before new soil was brought in and spread. Our Ventrac machine with the power rake attachment was then used to level and consolidate this import soil. New kikuyu turf will be laid across the 1^st fairway on Friday, with couch to be laid at the right hand end of this prepared area near the new geohex path adjacent to the 8^th tee. This couch will be covered in the green plastic mesh to protect it against wear. This repair work will continue across the 17^th, 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th fairways, but may vary depending on the degree of the damage. Some areas may only require verti draining and top dressing, while others will require the same as the 1^st or even something in between these examples.

Back down at the 9^th pond and the mound between the 8^th gully, and the pond and the track marks along the concrete path to the 9^th tee, will be rotary hoed and reshaped/ levelled out with new soil before new turf is laid. The area along this path has always been a roughed out surface, so this work will be a great improvement.

During one of the thunderstorms in the last fortnight, one of the large trees between the 7^th and 8^th fairways was hit by lightning, which brought down one of its large branches and in the process brought branches down from a few surrounding trees. The tree that was hit directly has already died and will create quite a mess with fallen leaf debris. We do have our tree contractors on-site Monday to remove a council approved tree near one of our neighbours properties on the 11^th hole. We will ask them to remove the limbs from this dead tree as well (time permitting), otherwise it will be trimmed during the upcoming course closure for greens renovations.

Volunteers were on course again this week preparing bunkers in front of the competition on Monday morning, edging pathways, cutting up fallen limbs, weeding crabgrass weeds from tee complexes, divotting fairways, and clubhouse maintenance. Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time this week, your assistance is very much appreciated!

Have a great weekend and happy golfing!

The Course Team.