As you may have noticed, the penalty areas (formerly known as hazards) have been freshly marked. I had the opportunity to watch Jon and Shane from the maintenance crew do the marking. They follow the guidelines that were established by the Player’s Cup officials from 2016. I have attached a photo of the tool they use. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to mark the entire course. [postlink]
(more…)#1 In case you didn’t know; the new grass deck has just opened on the range. It looks really good, and guess we can no longer use the excuse that hitting off mats has ruined our game.
The maintenance team will continue to fill the divots each day, but they have asked us all to remember to hit balls using a “linear” pattern rather than a “scattered” or “concentrated” pattern of divots (See the image below). It has been shown that this pattern will preserve the deck area more effectively. [postlink]
The course is really greening up and looking great. One of the regular features you will see in the Captain’s Corner are explanations of some of the rules situations that we encounter. I will try to explain these in a simple and easy to understand way.
We were playing the 18th hole the other day and one of the guys in the group blasted one over the fence into the driving range. He immediately asked…It’s Out of Bounds…What do I do now? Another guy said that according to the scorecard, Rule E-5 is in effect. Our friend asked, “What the heck is Rule E-5?” [postlink]
Golf Canada requires a Member Club, which uses the Golf Canada Handicap System, to have a formal Handicap Committee. The Niakwa Handicap Committee is comprised of the Club Captain (chair), the S&C Committee Chair, the Ladies Sports Captain, the Past Club Captain and the Head Professional. The Committee is required, by Golf Canada, to send a Notice to Members at the start of each season. Issues of importance for 2021 Include: [postlink]
(more…)Welcome back to Niakwa for 2021. The course has wintered well and everyone should have the rust off their games in no time.
I am extremely honoured to be your Club Captain for the next 3 seasons.
What is the role of the Club Captain? [postlink]
(more…)On behalf of the Board of Governors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Bench as our new Club Captain. Bill will take over for our current Club Captain, Rob Sproule, beginning in 2021. [postlink]
(more…)If you’re like me, and occasionally look up in the middle of your swing, you may have noticed a wide variety of wildlife on the course this year. Our Management and Turf Teams are environmentally aware, and they are committed to taking advantages of what the Audubon Society refers to as “Golf’s Environmental Opportunities”. [postlink]
(more…)This year’s victory by our Men’s Club Champion, Jay Doyle was quite the feat. Jay is one of the best golfers who ever played at Niakwa and his win as Club Champion marked a couple of very impressive milestones.
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(more…)As Club Captain, I’m often privileged to be on the receiving end as Members opine about all matters concerning Course conditions, especially our greens. The most common comments made about greens are: 1) they’re in great condition 2) the greens are too fast and 3) the greens are too slow. Some days I get all three comments from three different members.
The fact of the matter is that our Turfcare Team follows firm guidelines to set up green speeds. The Niakwa standard is 10.5 – 11.5 on the Stimp Meter
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(more…)If you’ve played a round at Niakwa lately you’ve noticed that the 17th green is coming along nicely. There have some delays caused by rain, but the construction phase of the green development will be coming to an end soon.
I’ve been involved at the Board level, or as Club Captain, for the reconstruction of 10 greens at Niakwa (including the 2nd green twice). Those building of those greens has involved four construction companies, three Course Superintendents, three architects and five or six Course Committee Chairs.
Each new green is a reflection of the experience, management style and personality of the Course Superintendent who is overseeing the green’s development – from design, through construction and turf development.[postlink]
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