Tuesday 26th August 11am

The rain has stopped and the course has benefitted from a few days of warm and sunny weather.

In the interest of getting golfers back on the golf course, the course will re-open from Wednesday 27th August, 2025, but players need to be aware of the following items and follow ALL directional signage.  Players need to take responsibility for their own safety and do not play if you are unstable on your feet.

  • The ground is soft and slippery in a lot of areas.  Watch your footing and do not walk on inclines unless you need to.  Stay out of roped areas and drop out of casual water.  Do not walk unnecessarily through wet areas.
  • Motorised buggies should be kept close to you (within 3m) so that they do not damage the course, by driving through mud.
  • The course has not been mown, as it is too soft for large machinery.  Therefore, the grass is longer than normal, particularly in the rough.  It will not be mown until it dries out some more, so this will presumably be on Thursday and Friday this week.  If you do not like long grass, then do not play!  The greens however, have been mown.  There is a local rule for preferred lie of 30cm, in the general area, so this will help, but players MUST watch where their golf ball goes, so that finding it is easier.  Playing partners should also watch where the whole group goes, off the tee, to help with plugged, and lost balls.
  • Ropes and Signage – do not step over ropes, as they are there to direct you around wet and slippery areas.  Do not take buggies into soft areas that are roped off, as that will damage the golf course – e.g. 16th hole.
  • 12th & 13th Holes – walk off the 12th green on the back left side and follow the path all the way to the 13th tee.  Use the steps to get onto the 13th tee.  Walk the first 150m of the 13th hole on the left side, to stay off the soft ground.
  • 14th Hole – the sunny right-hand side of the fairway is reasonably dry, so exit the path at the bottom of the pathway and head to the right of the fairway to walk the hole.  Follow directional ropes and use care when walking back up the hill to the path near the green.
  • 16th Hole – the second half of this hole is wet, with a lot of casual water!  Use the concrete pathway as much as you can, but be careful if you are walking up the inclines to the path.  If you must walk the hole on the flat, then use the left-hand side.  Use the bridge over the rock-run burn to get to the green as this will be drier than trying to climb up the hill to the path, just short of the burn.  This hole requires common sense.
  • 3rd Hole – with no golfers, the birds have gone berserk with their digging!  There is a lot of patching work already completed on the hole, but birds have added to the damage, so please use the “bird damage” rule (Rule 16.1) and take a drop out of the holes and patches.  It is too much to mark as GUR, so again, common sense is needed, but check with your marker before dropping your ball, as the preferred lie local rule may be enough.
  • Other wet holes of note are the 1st, 5th, 6th and 8th, where sections are softer than normal.
  • Trees – we did not lose any, but with the soft ground, their footings may be compromised – stay alert!
  • Greens – they do not have any pitch marks on them after their recent renovation.  We want to keep it that way, so please repair all pitch marks – yours and others you see.  There are remnants of the renovations, but a simple pitch repair on any stray holes, is the answer you are looking for.
  • Motorised Carts are Off until further notice.  A review will be held on Friday 29th August, for the weekend.
  • Rain – it will only take a small amount of rain to change the course condition, for the worse, so please be aware of updates, by looking at the Club website.

Welcome back, but please be mindful of your safety and the care of the golf course, when playing.