Course Update – Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Another demanding couple of weeks on course as frequent showers keep the course ever-so damp. The cooler mornings have really started to have an impact on the growth rates of the turf, notably the Greens and Roughs. This will see us eliminating the Growth Regulators in our weekly Greens applications as they are no longer needed.

The re-opening of holes 19, 20 and 21 have been successful and are performing well, you may notice the holes deteriorate a little quicker on these Greens as there isn’t any thatch present to help keep the lips of the cup’s sturdy. We will try to combat that as best we can, possibly changing those particular pins an extra day of the week to help with the wear. The Bunkers on 19 have been restored, drainage cleared and some has been added to help water escape more quickly, as well as some new Bunker sand put in place. Eureka!

New Cups, Flagsticks and Flags have been put out on course as we head into the championship season. This will help eliminate that flagstick wobble, that can occur once the Ferrules (Bottom of the Flagsticks) start to wear out and become rounded leading to Pins that just don’t stay straight!

A Busy couple months of Golf ahead, and we will have our fingers crossed for the weather to turn in our favour so we can present the course as well as possible. A few things to note for the next few months:

• Holes 11, 12 and 13 are strictly no play zones until further notice as Atlas Golf prepare the Greens for resurfacing, which we will endeavour to get Turf and Stolons down next week.
• The wear and tear of the golf course can be greatly reduced by small acts of kindness & course etiquette, such as filling divots and repairing pitch marks. Along with avoiding driving and walking through areas of turf that are really wet or worn. We will attempt to sign & rope where we can to deter carts and foot traffic from these high wear areas.
• The Driving Range is only to be used for practice between the ropes, which may be on the mats fairly frequently, as the recovery rate of the main Tee slows tremendously through winter. (We have oversowed the driving range Tee with the same Perennial Rye on Course to help bolster recovery).

On course Greens are still hovering between the 9 ¾ ft on the Stimp, which puts us in good stead to speed them up for select days if needed. The Greens are currently mown at 3.25mm. Our dusting program again was delayed the last couple of weeks due to the excessive moisture, but when we get back into the swing, this should also help with our ball rolls and speed.

Fairways and Tees remain at 10mm, and aside from the dampness in some areas, the coverage is okay. Tees that have been seeded seem to be responding well, and the growth rates are good. You’ll notice that despite getting cut multiple times a week, the Rye Grass does stand quite tall, quite quickly. Fairways are in good shape, and we did make the decision to spray select fairways for worms yesterday as there was a slight drizzle. Hopefully, this will deter them enough so they aren’t so active in the coming weeks.

The rough has slowed down considerably, which gives us a breather considering the rain hasn’t quite stopped and some areas are still very wet. The place is presenting quite well when we do manage to get a cut on all the surfaces.

Works amongst our vegetation and garden bed areas continue, as we try to alleviate some airflow and shade issues on select tees, and we will keep lifting canopies of trees so that we can get our mowers through the course effectively, removing the need to double back to areas twice with whipper snippers etc. The Bunkers are hanging in there, and we will continue to get in them as often as possible to ensure sand is in all the correct spots. The only positive about the last couple of weeks of rain, is that it hasn’t been heavy enough to wash the bunkers out again!

Imploring for it to stop raining, but we will manage the best we can and thank you for all your patience. We understand the frustrations when the carts are off, but can’t thank you enough for your understanding. Here’s hoping next update brings sunny weather!

If you have any queries or concerns, please get in touch and don’t hesitate to chat to us out on the course. Play well and stay safe.

Alex Blakey
Assistant Course Superintendent
The Brisbane Golf Club