General Managers Message
Allan Botha

What a great run of weather we’ve been enjoying lately! The course is bouncing back beautifully after the heavy rains a couple of weeks ago. With that rain came plenty of growth, and our greenkeeping team has been flat out, trying to keep on top of the mowing, and presenting the course as best as possible. 

Beautiful view of the 2nd green – Thursday 5 February 2026 

Some of the areas improved in recent months—such as the new cart path extensions by the 1st, 2nd, and 7th—have been affected by ground disturbance, and the grass coverage hasn’t yet returned to normal playing condition. As a reminder, our local rules provide free relief if you find yourself in one of these areas. Please apply Rule 16.1 – Abnormal Ground Conditions and consult with your marker to identify the nearest point of relief. 

Abnormal ground conditions – Cart path area Hole 1 & 2 
 

Abnormal ground conditions – Between cart path and fairway Hole 7 

“ABNORMAL GROUND CONDITIONS 

Includes areas defined by white lines, animal holes, immovable obstructions, as defined above, including newly laid turf, casual water, ground under repair around cart paths and tree removal. Relief to be taken as per Rule 16.1” 

Check-in Process Reminder 

Thank you to everyone who has embraced the check-in process at the temporary office. It’s running smoothly, and it’s great to see so many members using their house accounts to pay for haggles and fees—this really helps speed things up and gets you out onto the course sooner. 

However, we have noticed a number of players heading out without checking in. On our timesheets creates a tick once a player has created a card or checked in. If it’s blank, it means you haven’t checked in. This step is essential for health and safety—we must know who is on the course at all times. 

Please ensure you visit the office before teeing off. Even if you don’t need a scorecard, the office team can still check you in directly on the timesheet. 

Weekly Member Drop-In Session 

In an effort to ensure accurate information is shared and to keep communication open, I will be making myself available on Monday, 9 February 2026 in the Marquee from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. 

Feel free to grab a coffee and join me to discuss any issues, concerns, or ideas you may have. If I don’t have an immediate answer for you, I will make sure to follow up as soon as possible. 

Your feedback and questions are always welcome—let’s keep the conversation going! 

Fuel Up at the Caddie Shack – Because Golf Is Hard Enough 

Jen Carter

Wednesday, 11 February, 5:30pm shotgun start. 

To keep things running smoothly, please follow these steps: 

1. Book your game on DotGolf as usual. 
2. Register on the day from 4:30pm onwards in the office—print your scorecard and pay your haggle. 
3. Report to the starters, Kerry and Swampy, at the marquee no later than 5:10pm. 
4. Head to your starting hole in time for the 5:30pm shotgun start. 

Make a Night of It 

Remember to take the night off cooking and support the Caddie Shack by grabbing your dinner there after golf. Great food, great atmosphere—it’s part of what makes Twilight such a fun weekly event. 

Please click here to view the season leaderboard: 

See you next week! 

A Word Around The Greens
Nathan Kerr, Head Greenkeeper

Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope 2026 is going well so far.

The summer we are experiencing here in the Bay of Plenty has been an interesting one. We have seen a significant amount of rainfall, with 418mm recorded in January alone. Of that total, 250mm fell within a 24-hour period, making it the wettest day since records began. Combined with high humidity, these conditions have resulted in very fast and heavy grass growth across the course.

These weather conditions have been particularly favourable for couch grass establishment on the 10th fairway. The couch is growing rapidly and, so far, establishment has been very encouraging. Kikuyu grass growing amongst the couch will be sprayed out using a selective herbicide in a couple of weeks’ time. As this product is relatively strong, we are allowing the couch grass more time to establish before applying it.

With the rapid grass growth has come a significant increase in mowing requirements, and our equipment has been working extremely hard to keep up. Unfortunately, both of our fairway mowers have experienced hydraulic issues and are currently out of action while we wait for replacement parts, which are due to arrive early next week.

As a result, we have only been able to mow approximately half of the fairways before the machines were taken out of service. If you notice that some fairways look a little scruffier or have longer grass than usual, this is due to them missing a week of mowing. Enjoy your golf.

9 Hole Ladies
Yvonne Hoskins

This week we played Pink Ball.  Played in a team of four, the best stableford is taken from the team member who's turn it is to play the pink ball.  On a great weather day the winners were - front nine - Chris Kelly, Marg Griffiths, Maria Wragg (only three in that team, so they played two holes each with the pink ball).  

Back nine - Debbie Hardaker, Jacqui Kerr, Janet Burmeister, Shirley Johnston.  Well done to all the winners.  

There was some good golfing out there today, with some individuals scoring 20+ stableford on their card.

9 Hole Men
Fred Hartley

Men’s Nine Hole Golf - Thursday 5th February

Another year kicks off, opening with Stableford/ Drawn Pairs, when the pairs are selected randomly after the scores come in and the two scores then get added together. You have to be lucky in this game.

The luckiest were-

Thomas Hansen/ Alan Poore             46

Russell Turner/Tom Hansen               44

Rusty Hyland/Brian Stewart               41

Ken Hartley/Allan Winter                    40

Next week      Round No 1 Stableford Cup

Friday Haggle
Terry Golder

No haggle today, golf will return back to normal next week. 

FOR SALE
Electric trundler (motocaddy) for sale complete with battery, charger and seat. $650 ono.

Hardly used since owned. Also bag and  assorted clubs plus new balls. Suit a beginner golf player.

Phone Ann 0275123495.