Couch resurrects local golf course
KERANG Golf Club captain Peter Jones couldn't be happier to have found his place on the top of the fairway this season - particularly given the quality of the layout that members are now able to play on.
According to Jones, the town's golf club has been undergoing a "resurrection" in recent years, partly because of the laying of the hardy Santa Anna couch grass that covers most of the course.
"I have been here for eight years and when I arrived, the course was a cow paddock, with poor membership and golfer participation," he said.
Things have turned around from a point that Jones would describe as "on the verge of ruin only a few years ago".
"We've gone from having Saturday golf fields of a dozen to 20 to last Saturday, when we had 73 [players]," said Jones.
"We have a golf course that's attractive enough to get people playing golf - people who haven't played before or for a while [and are] getting back into it."
That increase in playing numbers has also given impetus to the positive opposite of a vicious cycle - more a circle of virtue. More golfers on-course has meant more people wanting to keep the quality of the facilities at a high standard.
And it might all be down to the playing surface itself. Two more fairways - the fourth and ninth - were given the couch touch-up last weekend by a volunteer working bee force, leaving only the seventh and 18th to be done. Each fairway requires intense watering for nearly eight weeks before the grass sets in and is ready to survive the district's often harsh summer climate.
Jones has no doubt that the "choice of grass" was the key factor in the club's "dramatic" improvement.
"Once it's done it requires a lot less water," he said of the couch's main strong point.
It also provides a good coverage over cracks in the soil.
A new club committee that has been at the helm since the 2005-06 season has overseen the couch growth as well as revived interest in the sport. Tee points have also been raised around the course. Even the golfing calendar has been tweaked in an effort to see the sport adapt to the busy schedule of potential participants.
"The committee here has actually tried to build a program around attracting people who [would otherwise] work in the footy season," said Jones, making Sunday golf a preferred option for those whose chance of a round or two would otherwise clash with weekday commitments.
Jones acknowledged the club presidents who have served during that period. He said Tony Laughlin, David Gray and incumbent Rob Elliott have all been providing strong leadership in a positive direction over the last six years.
Looking ahead to the next five years, Jones said continued course development would be the goal of the club to take it from a position of resurrection into a secure and vibrant future.
"There probably won't be anything super-duper happening...but we'll keep improving," he added.
Fairways are likely to be refurbished every two to three years as required, along with the rebuilding of the tee shot platforms, which are being raised on pine sleepers, purchased by public donations. One or two greens will also be reassessed and kept up-to-date every 12 months.
A junior development program and greater emphasis on attracting female golfers to the sport are also on the agenda for the club committee in the coming years.
The club has even found a way to lift some of its overall monetary debt - by $150,000 since the new committee came on board.
"That's another reflection of how many people are here," said Jones - and also how many people care about having a golf club they can be truly proud of.
“[We] extend an invitation to anyone interested in taking up or returning to golf to contact the club,” he added.
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