Since 6 December 2024, the course has experienced significantly lower-than-average rainfall, receiving only 12.5mm. The 10-year average rainfall for December and January typically reaches 70mm. This shortfall, coupled with the current limitations on available water from the bore system, has resulted in a need to adjust irrigation practices to conserve water while maintaining essential turf health.
At present, the four bore pumps combined can produce 800,000 litres of water per day. However, the course’s irrigation demand requires 1,200,000 litres per day to adequately maintain all areas, including the fairways, greens, tees, and surrounds.
This shortfall of 400,000 litres per day in irrigation capacity means that fairways will need to be watered less frequently to meet water conservation objectives. As a result, the watering schedule for the fairways will be adjusted to ensure sustainable water usage until rainfall levels improve.
Due to the water shortage, the fairways will now be irrigated twice a week, and in extreme cases, this may be reduced further to once a week instead of the usual three times a week. This adjustment will help balance water usage, ensuring that the most essential areas—greens, tees, and surrounds—continue to receive adequate irrigation while the fairways receive less frequent watering. As a result of this adjustment to our watering schedule, you may observe that the fairways appear drier than usual.
The reduced watering frequency may cause some stress on the fairways. This decision has been made to prioritise the health and functionality of high-use areas while maintaining the overall condition of the turf. Regular monitoring of the fairways will be conducted to ensure that the turf is not under excessive stress, and corrective actions will be taken if necessary.
Despite the reduced watering frequency of the fairways, greens, tees, and surrounds will continue to be watered and maintained as normal. These areas are critical to overall playing conditions and will receive consistent irrigation to ensure they remain in optimal condition. No changes will be made to the watering schedule for these areas at this time.
The current watering schedule adjustments will remain in place until rainfall levels improve or until the water supply situation changes. The team will continue monitoring the bore water levels and adjusting the irrigation system based on water availability.
