New holes on the flat
A 100th birthday present of two new holes has been completed in time for the centennial celebrations.
The club officially opened the new holes last month replacing the old 16th and 17th which were on steep land at the back of the course.
Club committee member Brett Kennelly said the objective had been to create a flatter course.
The holes, a par 3 and a par 4, located on the land next to KartSport Dunedin, in Milners Rd, each have lakes around them, in keeping with the “lakes” theme of the course.
Former New Zealand Open winner Mahal Pearce was involved in the design.
Mr Kennelly said it was an exciting time, especially given the work that went into making them.
‘‘It was always the club’s intention to create two more holes on the flat when land became available. It just took a long time to obtain all of that land because it was owned by two or three parties.”
The challenge was also to raise enough funds to develop the land, Mr Kennelly said.
The land was a former gravel pit and was used, in more recent times, by Fulton Hogan.
When Fulton Hogan finished extracting gravel in 2017, the golf club obtained ownership of the final parcel of land. Fulton Hogan helped shape the land for development, then KB Contractors and George Ellis Contracting worked with Taieri’s greenkeepers Tim Mitchell and Waine Dackers to shape and sow the tees and greens.
‘‘There have been numerous working bees and fundraising tournaments which, along with funding from the Bendigo Valley Foundation, have contributed to the completion of the holes.
‘‘This development is a testament to our members’ drive and determination to ensure this longawaited development has finally happened.”