New Fairway Profiles

You will notice as you play the Pines that some of the fairways are changing shape. This has been done to increase the strategic options and playability of the Pines golf course. This is a work in progress and will take a couple of weeks before the scalped areas recover fully. Once the new fairway profiles become established we will be introducing a strip of intermediate rough or "step cut" around all the fairways and bunkers to improve presentation and aid playability. Due to recent issues with slow play the height of the golf course rough has also been reduced to make finding golf balls that little bit easier.

Greens comparisons

The plugs in the attached photo shows a comparison in the root density and depth between the Pines and Palms greens. The Palms greens have been built to USGA specifications and although relatively immature are showing excellent root health and density. The Pines greens on the other hand were very poorly constructed over 20 years ago and in spite of our best efforts there are very few healthy roots that can be found even on the best greens.

Returfing of 3rd tees

The returfing of the 3rd tees will be completed today. These tees will be ready for play within 2 to 3 weeks.

Bunker Sand Replacement - The Pines

Work has started on the replacement of the bunker sand on the Pines. This will be a continuous process over the coming weeks and months as we aim to remove all the sand that has been contaminated with silt and rocks. This is an interim measure to provide the members with more playable bunkers with plans to rebuild all the bunkers on the Pines within the next few years.

Pines greens

As most members will be noticing the greens on the Pines appear to be struggling. Recent wet weather and more importantly prolonged periods of cloud cover make growing conditions particularly unfavourable. Since the start of November we have averaged less than 4 hours of sunlight per day, not great for growing turfgrass. It has long been recognised that the greens on the Pines are long past their use by date and this was outlined by John Neylan, head agronomist with the Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association, in the reports that he supplied to the club in both 2007 and 2010. John's most recent report can be viewed in the Course Maintenance section of the club website. Plans are now being put in place to rectify the issues with the greens on the Pines so that they meet the expectations of the members in the long term. In the short term we will be applying an application of granular fertiliser combined with light, regular top dressings to keep the surface smooth. At the end of March we will once again be overseeding the greens with Poa trivialis which has proved very successful in providing satisfactory surfaces over the winter months.

GCM staff muck in to help Qld Flood Relief

A number of golf course maintenance staff joined members of Sanctuary Cove Security to travel to Brisbane on Sunday to help with the clean up of areas affected by the recent floods. Along with thousands of other volunteers they assisted in cleaning up the badly damaged west end ferry terminal as well as a number of houses and gardens in the area.

Pictured: Glenn Gibson-Smith and Joe Crean from Golf Course Maintenance help to clear mud from the West End Ferry Terminal

Greens Aeration

All greens and surrounds on the Pines golf course are today being aerated using 13mm solid tines. This will assist in the surface drainage of the greens and encourage healthy root growth which has been limited in the recent wet conditions. Soil amendments will also be applied as per our most recent soil tests.

Putting green renovations

The putting greens are closed for renovations today. Both greens will be scarified, solid tined and top dressed. This will address the build up of thatch which has caused the greens to be relatively slow in recent weeks. The green on Practice hole 3 will be made available for practice putting until the putting greens are back in play. We appreciate your understanding whilst this important maintenance work is carried out.