Members would observe that the dam wall replacement is now complete and the repair of the leaking pipe running under the 15 fairway is now in progress.
The upgrade of the 15th hole was intended to be a three-phase project over several years. However, it has been decided by the Course/Finance committees and the Board that it would be prudent to perform all the work currently. As this is a once in a generation project it was considered that while substantial interruption to play would occur in the short term, it will void future closing of the hole to perform work.
As a result of this decision work will begin the 5th of June on reshaping the 15th green and surrounds to match in with the new dam wall. The current green does not allow pin placements on approximately 25% of the green, the changes will permit pin placements in the front right of the green that have not been previously possible.
The work will entail approximately 220 square metres of turf being lifted from the front half of the green and stored in the order it was removed so that the integrity of the grain will be retained when it is replaced.
Approximately 150 ton of sand would be used to raise the front portion of the green, approach area and new mounding. This mounding will be in approximately the location of the previous front right bunker. Also short of the existing green is an area of “Salt Couch”, this will be removed and replaced with the same fairway turf utilised on the rest of the course.
The front edge of the green will be moved back approximately 7 metres. The turf retrieved from this area will be moved to the right edge of the green. This effectively moves the right edge of the green much closer to the dam wall. As a result of this change there will be no bunkering on the right side of the green.
The area behind the green will be shaped to match the existing left rear of the green with Mega-Flow drainage installed in this area.
Both the raising of the green and associated mounding would be performed by course staff under instruction from our course superintendent, with final confirmation of the design by our consulting architects Crafter and Mogford to ensure consistency of works.
It is anticipated that this work would be complete and the hole back in play by early September. We thank members for their patience while this work takes place, and we are sure the result will be worth the wait.
