Hello fellow members,

As members would be aware, the Board has appointed Carl Dumbrell to fill the vacated position of Director. I would like to welcome Carl to the Board and look forward to working with Carl and utilizing his vast experience of being on several Corporate and Club Boards.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Con Trivas for his service on both the Board and the Greens Committee. Con has dedicated both his time and energy to his position and his efforts on the Greens Committee have helped to keep the course in its stunning condition. I personally thank Con for his time and wish him all the best in the future.

THE COURSE

There is a common theme that I am continually hearing from the membership that “The course is the best that I have ever seen it” and it is hard to argue. The warmer temperatures have seen the course consistently presented in some of the best conditions that I have seen for this time of the year.

The excellent condition of our golf course would not be possible without our experienced Superintendent, Lee Sutherland, and his green staff. The green staff work tirelessly to continually present the course in excellent condition, and they are enjoying the positive feedback from the membership and the Greens Committee.

However, there are two things that I find very disappointing: the raking of bunkers and, the repair of pitch marks. We have such a fantastic golf course but at times our own members are not doing their part in maintaining the course to our high standards. I ask all members to show respect for the course and their fellow members by making the following efforts.

BUNKERS

  • Always enter a bunker from the lowest point of entry. DO NOT walk down the face of a bunker at any time.
  • Once you have played your shot, rake and smooth out the surrounding area as well as your footprints from your entry point and your exit point of the bunker. Please take the extra time to make sure you actually rake and not just push the sand around in the bunker. Please leave the bunker in a playable condition for the next player and do not be afraid to rake footprints or other imperfections left by other people.
  • Once out of the bunker place the rake in the centre of the bunker. DO NOT leave the rake on a bunkers edge.

PITCH MARKS

  • ALWAYS repair your pitch mark on the green. The golden rule for pitch marks is you repair yours and one other. Do not be afraid of repairing as many as you can see if time permits. If we all actively repair pitch marks, our greens will continue to be some of the smoothest and fastest in Sydney.
  • The correct way to repair your pitch mark is by inserting your repair tool on the outside of the pitch mark and push the grass towards the middle. Continue this process around the entire pitch mark and then firmly compact the pitch mark with the bottom of your putter. DO NOT use your repair tool to lift the dirt beneath the surface to fill the pitch mark. This will leave a brown dirt mark and takes markedly longer for the green to repair itself.

I would ask all members to make a concerted effort at raking our bunkers correctly and repairing your pitch marks. If we all make the effort together we can keep the course in its pristine condition.

The newly renovated Clubhouse putting green is open, and from the positive feedback from the members, a great addition to our course. The “Pure Distinction” grass surface is the same as the renovated greens on the course and gives a much truer feel for the player when warming up. The larger footprint of the putting green has proved a great decision with more members being able to utilize the putting green at the same time.

As detailed in earlier messages, the 5th green, 7th green and 8th teeing area are next on the renovation program with works scheduled to begin in July. There are some preliminary plans that have been shared with the membership (see below) with more detailed plans and drawings due soon from the architect.

The Greens Committee are starting discussions with the course architect regarding holes 6 and 13. The 6th and 13th hole renovations will contain a scope of works to potentially enlarge the dam. Currently the dam has a capacity of 14 megaliters with an average water usage of 5 megaliters a week in summer. Although we are blessed with an aquafer that continually feeds the dam water, security is crucial to maintain our course through times of drought.

There has been a lot of discussion within the membership about the dead tree on the 16th hole. Unfortunately, the tree is beyond saving and will need to be removed for safety concerns. The tree will be removed in the coming weeks and the affected area will be turfed. The Superintendent, Greens Committee and Course Architect will monitor the change in the playability of the hole with the tree removed and, if needed, may tweak the area where the tree was.

GOLFING RESULTS

The Pennant season is underway, and St. Michael’s has a representative team in both the Men’s and Women’s Major Pennant competition. The Men’s team has had some very close matches but remain undefeated through the first three rounds to lead their division. The Women’s team have been fighting very hard every week but unfortunately are yet to record a win. The Women’s team is a new look team with some up and coming young players. Congratulations to Alicia Pullen for her first win in Pennants last week and hopefully many more to come. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams are playing this Sunday at home so I encourage members to come out and support your team.

GO ST MICK’S!

Congratulations to St. Michael’s member John Lyras for his performance at the Victorian Open. The club was a buzz with watching John’s outstanding golf over the four days and John made all members proud with his recognition of St. Michael’s in his post golf interview. John has proven he can match it with the best golfers in Australia and I’m sure this is just the start of a great golfing career. Good luck with your golfing future John.

Congratulations to Alex Radevski for his win at the Jack Newton Wagga Wagga Junior Masters. Alex played some solid golf over the closing holes to clinch the outright win. Alex birdied the Par 5 17th and made a clutch putt on the last to win by 1 shot. Alex is a great player and a great product of the St. Michael’s Junior program.

COURSE OPERATIONS

At the moment, our golf course is seeing unprecedented demand from members, corporate golf and social golf. The course has been very busy and will continue to be so in the coming months. I would ask for all members patience in the month of March as the golfing calendar is heavily booked with corporate days. This is in due to Covid restrictions being lifted and all the postponed golf days have rebooked plus the club will be able to recover the large sums of lost revenue due to the Covid restrictions. Although all regular member competitions will not be affected, I would ask all members to check the golf calendar on the website before heading to the course to play social golf.

Happy Golfing to all and stay safe.

Scott Morrison
Club Captain
M: 0410 130 330
E: captain@stmichaelsgolf.com.au

 

CONCEPT PLAN – 5th & 7th 

RENDER – VIEW FROM 7th FAIRWAY