July and August at Northbridge Golf Club

Recent prolonged wet weather has had a major effect on maintenance programs and what we have been capable of accomplishing. We have had over 400mm since the 6th of May, which is more than enough to fill the dam from empty, which it well and truly is not.

Luckily, the last month has seen some dry conditions come our way, meaning we can get all the mowers back out on the course and begin with our next projects.



We have been concentrating on drainage project, particularly an area between the 13th green and 14th tee, at the top of the new granite path. We cut quite a deep drain and connected it to existing drainage to solve issues that have left the area soaked in the past. We have seen good results so far.

While doing the drainage trenching, we reshaped around the 13th green to make it mower and play friendly, meaning that we can accomplish a better quality surrounds.



When we completed that drain, we cut a series of fairway and rough drains on 2nd. We constructed an extensive network of drains to fix up a prolific wet area formed by runoff and seepage from the bushland banks above the second green and 3rd back tee

As per standard construction, the drains are constructed by digging a trench with a trenching machine with a fall of 1m per 100m. The trencher then has to be followed along and all the soil taken away. This is possibly the most labour intensive part of the project, since this has to be done by hand. We then place 50mm of fine gravel in the base of the trench, followed by ag-pipe, and then the pipe is surrounded and covered by gravel to another 50mm of depth. The rest of the trench is then filled completely with sand.


This creates a path of least resistance for the water to follow and promotes the water following the pipe, instead of travelling through the thicker and heavier soil around itself.

We have been continuing the path program, repairing and replacing some older damaged paths. We have been trailing different rates of granite, concrete and bonding agents to try and accomplish the best quality possible. Granite alone wears down over time and pure concrete is too expensive to be practical. We have set up some trial sites to test different rates, combinations and thicknesses to find the most resilient and cost effective combination. We will continue to monitor the results over the next 12 months and then when we are satisfied with the long term results, we will resurface existing paths to create a superior finish.

The bushland regeneration project for the left side of 10th fairway has been approved by council, meaning that we shall start work in the next month or two, depending on the availability of crushed sandstone that we can bring into the area, since we will need a lot for the project of the size we wish to accomplish. This project will completely eradicate the weeds in the area and create another pocket of native vegetation in the area, which not only provides a beautiful setting for our course, but allows native wildlife, such as birds and lizards, to begin repopulating the area.