Course improvements – Stage 1 Update.
The Committee would like to advise members that the stage one improvements have finally been signed off by Georges River Council and a contractor has been appointed. We are waiting for a confirmation of when this work will commence, with expectation now being January.
Members of the committee will be meeting with the project manager before Xmas to be briefed on the timelines for work. This will then give us guidance on planning a composite course that will work around the construction areas.
The capital works will involve the creation of 5 new greens, the 1st ,10th ,9th, and 18th along with a completely new practice putting green. In addition, substantial earthwork surrounds and contouring for each of the new greens will be undertaken, including bunkering and runoff areas where appropriate. A new 9th green will be constructed to the right of the existing green to facilitate sufficient space for the construction of the new Proshop/Club room building.
Improved practice and training facilities will be created by retaining the existing 9th green to be used as a pitching and putting area along with the creation of a new putting green that will be situated adjacent to the new 1st and 10th teeing boxes.
Fairway upgrades will be undertaken on the 6th and 10th fairways to improve the midpoint landing areas with the 10th fairway being realigned. The new 10th green will be lowered and relocated to the right of its existing position. Bunkering and runoff areas have been included to make the hole more challenging and a lot less frustrating for those who frequently see their ball drift way off to the right after landing in the middle of the fairway.
Similarly, the fairway levelling on the 6th hole will provide the same relief by creating a much-improved landing area midway down the fairway. The earthworks on the 6th fairway will also impact to some degree on the 5th fairway as significant drainage will be installed to prevent erosion across both the 5th and 6th fairways during heavy rain events. A new gold tee will be constructed on the 5th fairway along with one on the 8th fairway.
The 18th green, like the 10th, will be completely rebuilt to the right of the existing green again involving substantial earthworks to provide, bunkering, surrounds and runoff areas. A great new hole to finish a round of golf.
The new 1st green and surrounds will also provide a much-improved visual effect as the courses opening hole.
In addition to the extensive earthworks that will be undertaken, new cart pathways will be constructed around the 1st and 10th tees ultimately linking into the paving that will surround the new building. In addition, further tree pruning and where necessary removal will be undertaken to improve the openness of the exiting and newly constructed fairways.
The end result, well let’s just wait and see! Remembering this is only stage 1 of an agreed long term 10-year course improvement programme that has been recently designed by our course architect and is now on record at the council.
This project is anticipated to take six months complete. New greens will be grown on site by professional greens experts before being handed over to the existing greenkeeping staff.
Funding for this work is from the 2018 Government grant and accumulated HGC funds. The total cost is a little over $1 million. This is a significant improvement to the golf layout and is part of the Councils 10-year plan to revitalize our golf course.
The Committee will keep members updated as we receive further details as they come to hand.