Operating under the Homeowners’ Association, the golf committee at the Sardinia Bay Golf & Wildlife Estate has embarked on a rolling programme of improvements to the course.
Under the stewardship of resident Stephen Daly, with assistance from estate maintenance supervisor Hugh Wiblin, it has created several changes and innovations to ensure the best experience for golfers and homeowners.
For instance, out of bounds areas have been set up along the course where there are houses near the fairways. These are demarcated by white stakes, linked by white ropes with signs attached.
“If you go into the out of bounds areas, you drop a shot and place your ball back on the course to continue your round,” said Daly.
The third hole, which has homes along the right side of the fairway, has seen the most significant work done.
Daly said they had set up the tee boxes, both back and front, to provide a different target alignment for the drive.
“Besides the out of bounds signs down the right, we have placed an aiming pole with a wind sock in the fairway.
“There is a tree in the fairway, which many golfers used as their target, but the aiming pole [to the left of that tree] now makes it a much smarter direction for the golfer to take.
“In addition, we have moved the back tee box back by five metres, which means bushes on the right result in golfers taking a slightly different line with their drives, aiming more to the left half of the fairway.”
Another key change to the course is the construction of a garden, which replaces a small dam which separated the fifth and sixth fairways.
“We wanted to create a better definition between the two fairways, and this garden containing small trees and various plants achieves that,” he said.
“It was funded by the Homeowners’ Association and will be a nice feature as it matures. If you do end up in the garden, you will receive a free drop.”
Besides these alterations, Daly said they were constantly targeting areas which would improve the layout.
“Hugh has cleared a lot of weeds from the ponds and relined the one next to the second green, which was leaking. These ponds are all filled with reclaimed water.
“On the opening hole we have made the green slightly smaller as part of it was not growing properly due to the adjacent bushes. It is a relatively short par-four so this helps to make it a bit more challenging.
“On the fourth hole, the tee box slopes to the front so we brought in a massive amount of soil to level it out and have created a retaining wall at the front.
“And then there are things like filling in holes on the fairways. It’s not something that can be done overnight, but a long-term process as we try to get the course into the best possible shape.”
Wiblin also plays a key role in assisting with fairways maintenance, while a change to the water system has resulted in an improvement of the greens.
After previously watering the greens from a borehole, Wiblin said they had the water tested and found it had too much salt.
“The greens weren’t doing very well so we blocked that off and developed a system of using reclaimed water from the houses to water them,” he explained.
“We have put in pumps so we can basically move the water to where it is needed on the course.”
As the water coming from the houses was ever-increasing, Wiblin said the plan was to install an irrigation system for the fairways in the future.
“We won’t be able to use all the water unless we use it to irrigate the fairways. Once that happens, I believe this golf course will take off.”