All tees have now been cored and fertilised with the cutting height of these surfaces dropped down to 8mm to remove the visible effects of recent mite damage and to improve the appearance of these surfaces. The couch surfaces have improved in colour and now we should start to see some increase in growth on these surfaces after the aeration and fertiliser application, and most importantly an increase in soil temperatures as we move towards summer.

The spraying of fairways and roughs with pre-emergent herbicide and residual insecticide was halted while the renovation of the tees was performed. Now that the tees are completed, we will continue the spraying program. The remaining holes to be sprayed are holes that we wanted to see an improvement of the grass coverage before applying the pre-emergent herbicide, so that the herbicide didn’t slow any of the recovery of the thin areas.

The fairways are presenting well but the blue line preferred lie areas will remain in place for the time being. Fairways are being mown twice a week and this is managing the growth without the need to apply growth regulator yet. Selected longer areas of rough have be mown this week with some areas that don’t receive irrigation not growing strongly due to the lack of rainfall before last week.

Our contract arborists were on course all day Tuesday to remove limbs from the lightning strike tree between the 7^th and 8^th fairways, saving this tree as a habitat tree for local wildlife. As the limbs were lowered down by the crane, all cavities were inspected for wildlife so that we could save and re-home them. During the day we saved baby cockatoo’s, a native beehive, and a possum which scurried off towards the toilet block and no doubt will make a new home in one of the trees in this area.

Two trees near the toilet block which had structural damage up through their trunks were also removed after permission was granted by the tree officer from Parramatta Council. We must replace these two trees with at least two new trees, but we will plant more than this in the coming months along the left side of the 6^th hole as we look to ensure the tree canopy on this side of the hole continues to provide protection to our neighbours into the future.

Volunteers were on course Monday morning raking bunkers for the competition, gurney cleaning of paths continued, OOB/Hazard pegs checked, tree guards repaired, fairway sprinkler heads trimmed, and painting of the simulator studio walls was completed. Fairway divotting was also performed on Thursday morning. A big effort by everyone involved this week, your assistance is always very much appreciated!

Greens will be cut on Saturday and Sunday mornings with the dew removed from them on Monday morning. 

Happy Golfing!

The Course Team.

Men’s Club Championships

The 36-hole qualifying for the four grades of Men’s Club Championships were completed on Saturday 28th September.

Two rounds of strokeplay from the Black Tees presented a stern test for golfers in all grades and a big congratulations goes to the 16 qualifiers in each grade who will now contest knockout matchplay to determine the 2024 Men’s Champions.

Click here for a list of qualifiers in each grade and the respective Matchplay draws

Ladies Club Championships

The 2024 Ladies Club Championship commences on Thursday 10th October. This years event will feature a new format designed to encourage greater participation in line with Golf Australia Guidelines and the Women in Golf Charter.

The key changes are outlined below, however should be read in-conjunction with the Conditions of Play for the event which are available on the Club website and in the Ladies Locker Room. 

Format Changes and Key Details:

Tournament Dates

Participants can choose to compete either on a Thursday or a Sunday, based on their nomination. This adjustment aims to provide more flexibility and increase overall participation.

• Round One Qualifying: Thursday 10^th October or Sunday 13^th October
• Round Two Qualifying: Thursday 17^th October or Sunday 20^th October
• Matchplay Quarter-finals: Thursday 24^th October or Sunday 27^th October
• Matchplay Semi-Finals: Thursday 31^st October or Sunday 3^rd November
• Matchplay Finals: Thursday 7^th November or Sunday 10^th November

Nominations

• All eligible players must nominate their preferred day (Sunday or Thursday) by 5pm Wednesday  9^th October 2024 via the registration sheet in the Ladies Locker Room or via the online Nomination Timesheet available now on the Club website (sheet listed on 10th October).
• If no nomination is received by 5pm on 9th October, players will automatically be deemed as “Thursday-nominated.”

Qualification

• Eight players from each Division will qualify based on the best gross scores over 36 holes in the qualifying rounds.
• Tee times for the first two qualifying stroke rounds should be booked individually on the Club website. 

Special Conditions for Match Play Pairings/Draw:

• Two Thursday-Nominated Players: Matches must be played on a Thursday.
• Two Sunday-Nominated Players: Matches must be played on a Sunday.
• One Thursday-Nominated Player and One Sunday-Nominated Player: Matches will default to a Sunday but can be played on an alternate day by mutual agreement. The alternate date must be either a Thursday or a Sunday. If an agreement cannot be reached, the match will revert to the default day of Sunday.

We are looking forward to another exciting Championship with defending Champion Debbie Jepson attempting to win her 6th title, while 2022 Champion Linda Gyzen is attempting to win her 8th title.

We wish all competitors the best of luck for the premier event on the Ladies golfing programme!