With favourable weather conditions last week Dylan, Denis and their regular band of volunteers, have put in some long hours to push ahead with the 9th green project after the good work the previous week with the removal of the surface and then the base shaping, as previously reported on.  The week started with final shaping of the green, surrounds and the slope away from the green at the back.  High spots on the surface were shaved and low spots filled as they had become more evident after good rains that had been received at the Club.  The surface needed to be broken up, raked with a bunker machine, smoothed and re-compacted using the two Workmen vehicles.

The next phase was to set the sprinkler heads to the correct height above the new base surface level and taking in a further allowance for the fescue turf collar which had to be laid. Some sprinkler cabling and pipework also had to be set deeper under the new surface level so as they wouldn’t be damaged during coring and normal maintenance on the future green.

The couch turf at the back of the green had been peeled off so that reshaping continued with fill to make a softer slope running off the back of the green. The couch surround was then re-laid and shaped. I think most members will be pleased with this new shape and will not dread playing too long into the 9th in the future, as the shot back onto the green from the back,  will not be as daunting.

The green was marked out with paint to allow a 2.1m distance in from the old couch surrounds in which the fine fescue collar would sit, and once marked, a covering of 20-30 mils of sand, previously removed from the old green, was recycled and spread over the new surface inside the collar.  The sand was applied in part by using the Clubs spreader, as well as the front end loader, then raked and levelled by hand, with the outer edge formed along the collar markings.  74 metres of fine fescue, was then cut from the turf nursery and re-laid on the 9th, as the innermost ring of the collar which in turn defined the green, and to which the greens sand could be levelled against.

The greens sand was then levelled against the fescue collar, raked and compacted using the bunker rake and then workmen vehicles.

A good team of volunteers laid the other 6 rings of fine fescue on the 9th. the following day.  That sounds simple but in reality, it was a lot of grass that had to be cut from the nursery, rolled and sacked on pallets, then tractored to the 9th and the process reversed.  The new surrounds really shaped the green and we could begin to visualise the green: it was good day of hard yakka. The seeding of the green will likely be done early next week, depending on the weather.  Until then, you may start thing about how many kilograms of seed you think will be needed to cover such a large area as the new 9th green.  That’s another story for next week.

The green surrounds were finished off the next day with some extra couch, smoothing out, and sanding gaps in the surround.  The turf nursery was also reformed into a quadrant, the edges sanded and the whole smoothed and levelled ready for seeding in the coming week. Over the course of this project Dylan received some encouragement and advice from not only Denis and every volunteer that helped including those on the Green Committee, but it was nice to see Steve Earle, our past Course Superintendent and Dylan’s mentor in his early years, come out to the club and share some of his knowledge on similar projects.   I am sure Dylan’s vision of the 9th green has come to reality and I will be surprised if the 9th does not become another signature hole.

Many thanks to all the volunteers that have helped get this project to where it is.

I could have described this project in a sentence or two, but with the COVID-19 isolation, I’m sure you had time to read this yarn.

Just a reminder to all members, particularly the odd couple who think differently,  the Course is Closed.  Play on the Course is not permitted.  The President will advise you when play can resume.

Watch Video 1