March 2026 Men’s Golf Newsletter
Good day to all our golfers.
The days are getting shorter and the end of daylight saving is approaching. On the 5th April, Daylight Saving Time Ends. This of course means that the extended tee off time for Thursday competitions also comes to an end so make the most of it while you can.
Captain’s Report. March 2026
As we move into the cooler months of the year, there’s a real sense of positive energy around the club. The course is presenting beautifully with the fairways in near perfect condition. Feedback on course condition and overall experience from both members and visitors has been very positive. Many of our longer term members have commented that they can’t recall seeing the course look better. Note that this is not a comment about senior members and failing memories, but a genuine comment on how good the course looks J. A big thank you to our course maintenance team for their continued hard work in presenting the course to such a high standard. The recent heavy rains have filled the dams and the now plentiful availability of water will certainly help maintain this high standard.
Member participation in all our events are strong. Saturdays are always in high demand with a full to overflowing field and Tuesday and Thursday fields are also at near full capacity for each event. It is suggested that members make the most of the extended tee times on Thursdays as that will cease when daylight saving times end next month.
Sadly, all of our Pennant teams bowed out of contention for the finals this year. Some much needed opportunities to score points and move up the ladders were taken away with rounds at some venues being cancelled due to inclement weather.
We are at the stage of preparing the match calendar for July ‘26 to March ’27. There have been a few comments from members that they would like to see a greater variety of games programmed. Some suggestions put forward include, 4BBB, Canadian Foursome, American Foursome, 2 or 4 person Ambrose, 2 ball multiplier and more. Members’ suggestions are very welcome, either write a short note or email the committee at basinmensgolf@gmail.com
The Course Improvement Committee has been recommenced after a break of nearly two years. The committee consists of one representative from each of the golf sub-clubs and is chaired by the club president. There are many obvious things that members would like to see improved on the course and also things that members see that aren’t so obvious. If you have any thoughts on issues or matters for course improvement please put them in writing to the men’s Golf Committee at basinmensgolf@gmail.com
As previously advised, a three month trial is in place for the removal of the compulsory call up on the 2nd hole. This trial is in place for reasons of player safety and speed of play. Member feedback on their experiences, both positive and negative of this trial will be appreciated.
Happy Golfing
Ken Brunker
Captain.
Course Superintendant February Course Report
Fungicide has been applied to all greens for Dollar Spot and Pythium. Plant stimulants have been applied to aid in root development of the turfgrass which will result in improved high temperature tolerance and better green aesthetics Fertiliser of greens has also taken place to ensure plant health. Greens watering is continuing to be reduced to improve green firmness and ball roll. De - thatched greens twice to remove excess thatch on greens and improve water intake.
Continued to improve new turf areas on 17 / 12 / 11 / 16 via topdressing and coring. Fairway drainage lines on the 9th 16th and 18th have been top dressed and fertilised to level to surface to improve aesthetics and playability. Tees on the back 9 have been sprayed with a herbicide to remove existing weeds in the surface. This will create better aesthetics and improve tee repairability in the future. Bare / thin areas on tees 7/14/5 have had gypsum and fertiliser applied. Collars on holes 1 - 18 have been sprayed for Mullumbimby Couch and Nutgrass.
Towards the end of March is when we will be targeting Couch and Kikuyu in the collars to eradicate these grasses and extend the greens to their original size and establish new collars. Bunkers on the rear right of the 14th green and 11th green have been excavated and re levelled to ensure better lies when being hit out of and improve water drainage.
Several trees that suffered from storm damage on the course including 14th tee area , 14th pathway have been removed. Sticks / debris have also been removed from the course due to storm damage. Several repairs of current irrigation on the course have been carried out including 7th / 2nd / 4th fairway sprinkler and the replacement of the 14th tee sprinkler. Filters and solenoids have also been replaced.
Shaun Probert Superintendent
Other News.
Nominations are invited from club members interested in representing SGBGC in the Master Pennant. A nomination sheet is attached to the notice board outside the Pro Shop.
Participants in this event have to be aged 50 or over.
Matches are played off scratch. There are five rounds commencing 17th May and concluding 21st June. Finals are completed by July 5th.
There were some very interesting comments made on the facebook page regarding members’ lack of knowledge of golf rules and in particular our club’s local rules. Current rule books are available to all our members. If you need one, just ask a committee member for a copy.
The Local Rules Board is on the wall outside the Pro Shop. The Men’s Golf Committee is currently examining and assessing all the local rules for relevance and clarity. This process is well under way and it is anticipated that a new local rules board will be installed in the not too distant future.
Member comments regarding issues around the 2nd green have been noted and we clarify this issue as follows. The committee would like to remind members, old and new alike, that the Drop Zone IS ONLY TO BE USED IF THE METAL FENCE AT THE BACK OF THE GREEN OR THE TIMBER RETAINING WALL WOULD INTERFERE WITH YOUR SWING ON THE NEXT SHOT. The Drop Zone IS NOT to be used if your ball enters the red hazard behind the bridge. Please also note that the area behind the retaining wall including the path behind the green and area beyond the path are “Out Of Bounds” and hence the drop zone also does not apply to that area.
We hope that the above clarifies the situation in respect to the Drop Zone.
lf Magic Phone Scoring
Last week, some of the Mens’ Golf Committee attended an online meeting with Golf Magic in which they demonstrated and taught usage of their Golf Magic phone scoring system. A Beta copy of the program was made available to the committee members to conduct trials in our club competitions. Results to date indicate that it performs flawlessly. There are a number of other clubs also trialling the Beta program and when all results are in and the any bugs ironed out, it should be made available to all golfing members. Hopefully this will not be too far away. Note that when the system becomes live in our club, members will have the choice of using a card or using the phone scoring program.
Thank you and good golfing
Mens’ Golf Committee