Just Add Water
By Kevin Murnane
Club President 2008 ~ 2014
It all started during a drought prior to 2002 when the SVGC spent its funds and dug a dam beside the 6th fairway.
The following year the drought was still with us, so we built a second dam beside the 1st dam and then a year later we took out the dividing wall between the dams to create the existing 8 mega litre dam.
We didn’t have a pump to use the water, but we had water, and we had a golf course development plan to change the golf course from 9 holes with artificial grass to real greens and tees knowing that modern golfer wanted to toss the ball onto a real green to enjoy their golf.
THE SVGC Committee had a vision for the future of golf at SVGC and this is a summary of the delivery of that vision from golf course development plan to what we have now:
We heard about the plan to sewer the Snake Valley township and we just about pulled a hamstring getting to the Pyrenees Shire and the water Board offering our crown land for the treatment plant so that we could have access to the recycled water.
SVGC signed an Agreement for the use of Reclaimed water with Central Highlands Water in June 2011
SVCG signed the 21-year Crown land lease with Central Highlands Water in January 2015 allowing CHW to operate and maintain a wastewater plant on what was originally an additional 3 holes of the SVGC. There used to be a long par 3 where the treatment ponds are currently located, followed by a dog leg par 4 and that green was located where the 15th tee currently is and a long par 5 to the left of the par 3 14th hole which is where the holding pond and the right-hand side of the 30 mega litre recycled water dam is presently.
During the construction of the sewerage ponds, SVGC allowed the contractor to use the 8 megalitres of water during construction on the basis that, after it was built, the contractor would use his heavy equipment to deliver excavated soil to where the current greens are located.
We had the assistance of Kel Oswin from Forest Resort golf club in Creswick, to volunteer his time and expertise to oversee the development of the greens.
The volume of soil transported was 110 truckloads to create these raised greens.
A contractor was brought in to shape the greens and then we let them settle.
The plan was to prepare 3 greens per year, so we prepared the 1st 3 greens then decided to bite the bullet and complete the remaining 6 the following year.
So, the greens had the soil, followed by road base incorporating a drainage system and the rolled-out turf. All of this work was performed by the SVGC members on a volunteer basis.
We used the expertise of irrigation installers to install the irrigation.
At this stage we had 9 irrigated greens and, approximately 150 meters in front of the greens, the fairways were irrigated.
CHW in conjunction with SVGC installed a solar panel operated pump to transport water from the holding pond to the holding tanks on the golf course and that innovation has been duplicated in other CHW projects.
The greens were opened by mayor in December 2014 Tanya Kehoe and that was 12 years after we started.
Then the golf club reseeded and redesigned the 9 tees and placed irrigation on those tees for both the men and the women.
So now we have 9 irrigated greens and 19 irrigated tees (given that we play the 9 holes twice in competition but use different tees) and approximately 150 meters of irrigated fairway.
We needed to use the water in the 30 mega litre holding pond and this is where this latest Dept of Jobs, skills, industry and regions Victorian Government grant came into play.
$25,545 in grant funds allowed the professionals at Ultimate Pumps and Irrigation to extend the irrigation system on the fairways with a double win.
Greener fairways almost from tee to green
Use more of the recycled water in the holding pond of CHW
This is what a small country club in Victoria has achieved for the golfing and broader community, noting that green fees at $15 have grown materially after the redevelopment of the course.
We could not have done this without the help and co-operation of the partners that I am about to name. In every case the spirit of co-operation has been inspirational and driven by the broader community need:
The Victoria Government- represented today by Martha Haylett MP Ripon
Central Highlands Water Carsten Berberick Head of environmental services
The Pyrenees Shire Cr Ron and Jenny Eason Mayor
Ultimate Pumps and Irrigation Nick and Linda Barry
The members of the SVGC who volunteered and still volunteer to this day to maintain the Golf Course and the equipment used to manicure the course. I deliberately have not named people for fear of leaving some out but fellow life member and now president Neil Clifford has been a very significant driving force in finishing this golf course development project.
Thank you to the Committee members of the SVGC over the years who were visionary, raised funds and spent it all on the golf course and equipment needed to maintain it so that the members and the broader golfing community have affordable golf.
Current Memberships men $250, ladies $200 and juniors $50, social inclusion and diversity with the men and the ladies sharing competition days on a Sunday for $10 and green fees $15. Affordable and inclusive golf on an excellent country golf course
Congratulations everyone on what we as a team have created at Snake Valley Golf Club and a big thank you to everyone involved.
