A big thank you to all those who have helped on this week’s working bees. We have broken the back of the toad rush on the greens, trimmed around and painted all the distance markers, trimmed around the back 9 tee markers and around the irrigation heads that water the back 9 greens (and will do the front 9 on Monday), trimmed back the weeds in the creek on the 16th fairway, and started some of the clipping along the pathways. There is still a lot of work to do getting the course back to its best, but now that the course is drying out the green keepers wont have to be on their mowers so often.

We are not alone in having to grapple with the rampant growth of the past few weeks. I watched with interest the item on Wednesday’s 6pm TV1 News about the fire risks posed to houses on Banks Peninsula from all the long dry grass surrounding them, plus couldn’t help noticing how long the verges were alongside the Hutt River cycle ways that I cycled with one of my daughters last weekend, in prep for the Roxburgh Gorge trail later this month.

Toad Rush and Other Weeds

Although we may have broken the back of the toad rush infestation on some of our greens, it is still prevalent in some of our fairways, and always will be, and via a combination of golf shoe sprigs, paradise ducks, goats, etc will keep finding a way back onto our greens. Members are encouraged to use their pitch mark repairer to pop out any they may spot whilst waiting to putt. After popping it out, if the hole is small, repair it as you would for a pitch mark, but if larger, fill it with some sand from your sand bucket and then repair it. Throw the evil toad rush into the rubbish bin on the next tee to avoid it spreading further. If you weren’t involved in the working bees and are not sure how to pop out a tuft of toad rush, ask a committee member to show you. And if you haven’t got a pitch repairer, ask for a free one from the shop.

We will explore possible solutions for controlling the toad rush in the fairways. Unfortunately it is resilient to most sprays, as Matt found out when he tried to kill it in the spring. It is possible we may have to turf cut some patches.

Members may have also noticed more other types of weeds than usual for this time of the year on our fairways and in our rough. Matt sprayed all our fairways and most of our rough in the spring, but for some reason it wasn’t fully effective, despite using the same dosage as last year, possibly because this last spring was so much wetter and the growing season has extended right up to Christmas. Matt is planning to spray again closer to autumn, when we will also likely core our greens.

Rather Them than Me

By all accounts good progress is being made on the painting of the transmission pylon by the 17th green and 18th tee blocks. We expect to have the back 9 reopened for the weekend but will advise separately if this is not the case.

Here is another photo of the workmen up the tower:

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Men’s Interclub 2019 Update

Only 15 days to go now until the first Men’s Interclub matches on the 26 January. Team Captains Tim Richards (Div 2), Mark Peck (Div 5) and Carl Beentjes (Div 9) are assessing the form and fitness of the Interclub squad players as the 26th approaches. A third Interclub Trial on the 13 January should give them a few more pointers on team composition and playing order. The draw for the 26th has Div 2 Away to BFHGC, Div 5 Home to Ohariu and Div 9 Home to Te Marua. Best wishes to the Teams as they build for the 2019 season.

Women’s Tuesday Club

It was great to see the women's Tuesday club enjoy brilliant weather for their first outing of the year, unlike the repeated cancellations they suffering in the lead up to Christmas, and to enjoy some clubhouse conviviality after play.

Men’s Wednesday Club

The opening day competition format was Ambrose, something the Wednesday club had not tried before, playing the front 9 twice. Even though we had a small group of 26 players competing, all seemed to enjoy themselves, so the Committee will introduce this format more frequently in 2019. We had 26 members in 7 teams of 3 and 4 balls and all had fantastic scores. The best team comprising of the Wednesday Club Committee members won by a slight margin with the net score of 55.25, followed closely by Luke Underwood's team (Chris Prowse, Graham Presland and Derek Fitzgibbon) which came second with 55.88 points and the team of Don McCrone, Don Smith, Ian Colligan and Mark Dinsdale came third.

Since the day was extremely hot, it was suggested that the competition should begin earlier for summer at least. All members please think about this issue. You will be requested to advise the committee in a forthcoming survey.

FYI, the social night out on Tuesday 15, a large number of members will participate and the last count is 24 people attending. So, it will be a fun night.

Team Yip Twilight Golf

18 players kicked off the first Twilight session of 2019 last night. Richard Reith was once again in the winning seat with 24 Stableford points. Graeme Couper, Karen Simcox and Tim Brosnahan came in in 2nd with 22. Adrian Porter held 3rd alone with 21 while Gail Kirkland, Terry Bastion, Tim Rivers and first-timer Shane Kinley all scored 20. We also welcomed Irene Murphy for the first time last night. Terry Bastion cleaned up the NTP (on the 4th this time) while Tim Brosnahan collected a golf ball for only the 2nd two of the season. Geoff Lee was also awarded a ball for playing the most golf. I’d also like to shout out to Doug Calhoun who has become Twilight’s Masterchef – his unfailing Canadian sangfroid and delicious cooking means that he is unlikely to be challenged for the tongs – thanks Doug – your efforts are greatly appreciated by your hungry golfing friends and competitors!

Land Sale

The section of land that we propose to subdivide is currently open for tender that closes on 30th January. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please send them the attached.

New Rules

Hopefully everyone is now aware of the new rules that took effect from 1 Jan 2019. An A3 poster that summarises them is on the notice board in the downstairs foyer as well as one in the women’s changing rooms. An electronic version is available via this link, although you will need a magnifying glass if you print it out on A4. Also, don’t forget that we have free copies of the full 2019 rules book available from the clubhouse shop.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9265qgjgk2dmb4g/RuleChangesPoster.pdf?dl=0

18th Fairway Bell

Most players find themselves playing their second shot on the 18th hole from the gully in range of, but out of site from, anyone who may be playing behind them and on the 18th tee. Our recommended safety precaution therefore is for each playing group to station one of their members at the top of the gully and viewable from the tee, so that those on the tee are aware not to drive off until being signalled it is all clear to do so. Unfortunately not everyone adheres to this practice, and indeed, green fee players may be oblivious to the risks, and as a result, occasionally a player in the gully gets hit by a driven ball. As an added or alternative precaution, a bell has been installed in the gully which may provide a more fool proof means of keeping players safe. To help us test its effectiveness, can players still position someone at the top of the gully if they know a group is close behind them, and then after signally the all clear, walk down into the gully and also ring the bell. We need to be confident that the bell can be heard on the 18th tee in all weather conditions so would appreciate players who are close behind a group on the 18th reporting back whether they did hear the bell. We also need to be confident that the bell doesn’t send false positives by ringing in the wind so please report this also if you hear or observe it.

Sponsor Speak

Our 18th hole is sponsored by Haus Property Management, Wellington’s leading rental property management specialists. If you are seeking a place to rent, or have a rental property that you want managed, click on this link to their website:

Haus

Happy golfing, play safely,

Your KGC Committee