Warm greetings everyone!
I hope this newsletter finds you well and looking forward to some cooler temperatures over the coming weeks. Firstly, I would like to offer my condolences to all British citizens around the world on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. You will have noticed that flags at the club have been flying at half-mast out of respect to the royal family.
As you all know we were closed at the end of August for a week for course maintenance. All went very well, and I am very pleased with the outcome and the work ethic of our green staff. A big thank you to John Wallace, Pepe, and their team for accomplishing all the projects I wanted to fulfil. The greens were solid tined (10mm tines) during the closure with topdressing and fertilizing of all green surfaces.
Greens on the first and 15th holes are moving slowly, this is mainly due to the hot temperatures. Nevertheless, we are confident that both greens will be playable (except for the bottom half of green 15), by October, although the new surfaces may be slower than other greens. The first green has been reworked offering us a few more pin positions, the severe slope on the left-hand side has been softened and is less extreme than before. The top half of green 15 (which is now in play) is flatter and larger offering more pin positions.
We have also been executing an aggressive maintenance program for the tee boxes. Many tee surfaces have suffered during the prolonged hot and dry summer. However, similar to the fairways, as we have had cooler evenings recently, some tees are improving. Hand watering and spot applications of wetting agents have taken place on a weekly basis, and all tees are being cut at 7mm three times per week.
Regarding the new tee on hole 11, I am pleased to report that the 419 turf has been laid down recently and will be top-dressed and fertilized regularly over the upcoming weeks. This new tee will offer members and clients a challenging tee shot from an elevated tee box. From a maintenance viewpoint the addition of the larger tee will offer us the opportunity to rest the other smaller tees, which are constantly being punished due to the high number of golfers.
All palm trees around the clubhouse and the entrance to the golf club have been trimmed which is a process we do every year. Hopefully, this makes the arrival at the club much more pleasing to the eye. We have also put parking posts all around the clubhouse entrance, therefore no parking is permitted in that area. Please use the two parking zones on both sides of the clubhouse.
At the driving range we now have 3.000 new practice balls in the ball machine and have added new distance markers, which are measured from the middle of the grass tee box on the top tier. Come and have a look for yourself.
On a culinary note, El Olivo has now finalized its Christmas Lunch Menu, and our famous Sunday lunch will start again from October 2nd, as the cooler temperatures arrive. Please find all details on both menus in the restaurant news article for this month. Remember to book your table in advance.
If you have any questions about the works on the golf course, please do not hesitate to let me know. We are raring to go for the high season and hopefully we will get some rain in the near future which will be extremely welcome.
See you all around at the club!
Monty Bordelon
General Manager
