Sunshine and dry days — not something we’re often treated to in such steady supply this early in the season. So far, 2025 has delivered an exceptional run of dry, bright days, and the contrast to a year ago is lovely.
Firm surfaces, clear horizons, and almost completely uninterrupted play have given golfers a flying start to the year, and while challenges always come with prolonged dry spells, we’d certainly take this!
In this update, we’ll take a look at how the weather has shaped conditions, how preparations are going and also address some recent feedback.
Challenges
Preparing our golf course under these conditions always presents challenges, but the fact that we are trying to grow new grass on the driving range has made the situation particularly tricky.
The main issue is that we don’t have enough available water. This means we are having to spread it across all areas, rather than being able to apply a more adequate amount to each.
We had hoped for some decent rainfall this month—or at least some ‘April showers’—especially after receiving 125 mm of rain last April. Unfortunately, we’ve only had 9 mm this April!
Above shows strong winds blowing sand across the range, as conditions became almost desert like.
Course Update
Members may have recently noticed that the course has not appeared quite as pristine as usual. This has largely been due to the temporary reallocation of Greenkeeping resources toward the construction and landscaping of our new driving range facility.
With a significant portion of the team focused on this major project, some of the finer maintenance details—such as ornamental landscaping, edging, and routine grooming—have received less attention in recent weeks. However, it’s important to note that essential playing surfaces, including greens, tees, and fairways, have continued to receive regular care to ensure a level of quality has remained available.
We’re pleased to report that work has already begun to catch up on course presentation. The rough is being cut back where needed, fairway surrounds are now being mown neatly once again, and tee edges are being tidied up. These efforts are gradually restoring the course’s visual standards as we near completion of the range.
The upgrades to the driving range—and the concurrent improvements to our irrigation systems—represent the most significant projects our facility has and ever will undertake. Once completed, the positive impact on our ability to maintain and elevate course conditions will be substantial. These short-term compromises will prove more than worthwhile as we gain the capacity to deliver consistently higher standards across the entire course.
We appreciate your patience and support during this transformative period, and we look forward to unveiling a facility that benefits all members for years to come.
Greens
Recent conditions—a combination of limited growth and heavy play—have left the greens looking a little tired. This has resulted in some surface imperfections, but we’ve already taken steps to minimise their impact.
At this time of year, uneven growth is expected, with bent grass typically coming through first, which can further affect surface consistency. To improve playability, we’ve reduced the height of cut to 4.5mm. This has helped smooth the surfaces, but what we really need now is a stretch of favourable growing weather to support recovery.
While irrigation is ongoing, our available water supply is limited. We’re prioritising areas strategically, but it’s currently not feasible to fully replenish deeper soil moisture while also maintaining the driving range.
Managing such a dynamic set of conditions requires constant adaptation. Occasionally, this may lead to a brief dip in performance—often only for a day—but we’re confident in our methods and their long-term benefits.
A wetting agent has recently been applied to help ensure water is absorbed and distributed more evenly—an essential part of our turf management programme. This has had an immediate positive effect.
Next on the plan is an application of fertiliser and top dressing to refine the surface further. However, with current conditions not yet conducive to full nutrient uptake and sand integration, we’re holding off until growth improves. Once it does, these works will be carried out promptly.
Tees
We have significantly less control over the condition of the tees. Even when divot repairs are carried out, the seed cannot germinate without adequate moisture. While we now have irrigation on six teeing areas, limited water availability continues to make it challenging to sustain good recovery—particularly given the high volume of play.
That said, with improved growing conditions, the tees will have a better chance to recover, and we’ll also be able to carry out necessary maintenance work on them.
Hole Positioning
We’ve received some feedback recently about hole positions, and we’d like to address a few points. Hole positioning isn’t always an exact science. With smaller, undulating greens, it’s not always possible to find a perfectly balanced spot every time. As a result, some holes may occasionally feel a little trickier.
It’s also important to note that hole locations need to be moved around the green regularly to help spread wear and prevent damage to the turf. This means we can’t always use the same spots, even if they might seem ideal.
Additionally, we don’t follow the common rule of a third easy, a third medium, and a third hard pin placements. At Hunley, we ensure that there are never more than 2 or 3 hard pin positions across our full 27 holes. While we embrace the challenge, our priority is always fairness and enjoyment for all golfers and we do our absolute best to ensure this as much as possible.
Driving Range Update
Establishing new turf from seed on the recently landscaped driving range has been more difficult than we had hoped this spring.
With such dry conditions even seeding the field was a challenge. Opting to use the method of Hydroseeding certainly paid off as any other technique would have resulted in complete failure, with the soil so dry, seed would have just blown away.
Even still, germination has been inconsistent, with some areas struggling more than others due to limited soil moisture and a lack of sustained warmth.
Despite the slow start, work continues to encourage establishment and plenty of seedlings have emerged.
We will continue to do what we can, but it’s fair to say that progress has been affected.
However, with more favourable weather in May, there’s cautious optimism that growth will pick up and coverage will begin to improve.
Thanks for reading and we hope that you all continue to enjoy your time with us here at Hunley.
Thanks for the update Greg.
Thanks Greg.