F-Troop was disadvantaged today with not being able to move out on the course with vehicles, trailers or use the tractor. Our work was restricted to either walking the chain saw to the fallen tree at the 7th, painting outdoor furniture at the 1st tee or gardening in the proximity of the clubhouse where we did not need transport.
Some of our workers took advantage of the restrictions & had a day off. But those that did turn up all got a task to do. Martin Gallagher, Geoff Bridge, Garry Trigg, Des Wilson & Warren Gray took on the fallen tree at the 7th which was a mammoth task with a lot of timber to deal with. The timber had to be stored at the 7th as we could not get heavy equipment on the course to move it.
Peter Martin took on the painting duties and painted the bench seat at putting green, the two sand bins and the bucket holders at the 1st tee. Peter also tried out our newly purchased industrial vacuum cleaner on the area outside the pro shop. It works quite well & we will also be able to vacuum the paths & front lawn when everything dries out properly which will save a lot of hand raking.
Georgina Lamb & myself set about tidying all the gardens at the front entrance, the putting green, the magnolia gardens, the frangipani garden, the wedding garden and the 1st tee and all paths in between. It was a big task and there were a lot of weeds thriving after all the wet weather. The front area now looks respectable so we will be able to move to other areas out on the course next week if the weather permits.
Morning tea was some delicious ham & cheese croissants fresh from the oven - Thanks John!
Bruce Binns has been able to get hold of some discount priced garden pots so we can now upgrade the plants & pots on the upstairs veranda and downstairs. Thanks Bruce!
This coming Thursday 10th June, weather permitting, I am looking for a few volunteers to help to plant 200 Lomandra grasses on the 15th fairway behind the left hand bunker where the sand bags are. The greens staff have prepared the area so it should not be too big a task if we get enough helpers & that will free up the greens staff so that they can do more important jobs around the course. If you think you could spare some time about 7.30 am on Thursday morning please give me a call. I have 3 helpers thus far so a couple more would be good. My number is in the Members Programme book.
Today there were no carts allowed on the course and the Tee-up rule throughout the green applied. Given that we have had so much rain the course is in surprisingly good condition, especially the greens. What we need is some more sunshine and wind & the course will dry out nicely.
I picked up a great highlight from Mark Stimpson who played in the Masters Pennants side yesterday. Mark & his opponent were 'even' facing the 18th hole. Mark put his drive out to the right through some pine trees. Fortunately he had a narrow window to the green. Mark's opposition had a good drive & was not in trouble. Mark excelled himself by not only get out through the window of the trees, but sent the ball low, flying up onto the green where it disappeared over an incline out of Mark's sight. There was a roar from the onlooking crowd as Mark's ball found it's way into the hole for an "Eagle". Mark won the round as the best his opponent could do was get his ball to the green after all that pressure. CONGRATULATIONS MARK! WELL DONE!
Mark, incidentally is a member of the Greens Committee that we closely confer with for F-Troop work. Mark joins us every Monday morning to discuss matters concerning us & the work we are doing out on the course. This support from Club level is very encouraging to all of us. The fact that this visit from Mark coincides perfectly with morning tea is purely a coincidental!
YES! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
