Sandringham Croquet Club

Grounds Maintenance Update

Mid Sept 2026

 Date for Courts Renovation-major court renovation (scarifying, coring and sanding) is undertaken every 2 years.This year is one of those years.It has been decided that the work will occur over the week of 30 Nov – 4 Dec.This is after all our major events for 2026.The courts will be out of action for that week, and possibly for (say) a week afterwards, while the sand blends into the grass.

Mowing frequency-now that we are into spring, the mowing frequency will gradually increase.It was 4 weekly over winter, is currently 3 weekly, and will soon move to 2 and 1 weekly.The upcoming dates will soon be on the website, and the next date is on the whiteboard.Sometimes Kev does other things as well as mowing (spiked roller, herbicide, mowing the surrounding grass), and I will try to alert you to that via the whiteboard.

Hoop relocations-in order to avoid rabbit runs, we are embarking on a system of occasional relocation of the hoops.The rules of croquet provide a generous tolerance on the location of the hoops, and we will use that tolerance to move the hoops from side to side and backward and forward.The old holes will be filled with soil.

New green bin-we have another green bin, making 4 in total.It is being parked with the red and blue bins rather than with the other 3 green bins, and can be used for normal green waste.It will be especially useful when we have a busy bee, and a lot of green waste needs to be disposed.

Grass Maintenance-Kev sprayed against poa (winter grass) a few weeks ago, and it has mostly disappeared.The areas at the eastern ends of courts 1 and 2 that were seeded with winter/shade tolerant grass in March, have performed well over winter, and we need to consider if that should be extended.The “fairy ring” on court 3 seems to be gradually disappearing, and there is less evidence of the fungus in that area. Kev also treated the moss recently, but it should die off naturally as the weather warms up and gets drier.

Worn areas-please be aware of the worn areas of the courts.These are typically at the start locations (corners).Please do not start play, and avoid walking on these areas.

Sprinklers-the sprinklers have been off over winter, but will need to come on soon as we move into warmer and drier weather.I will monitor and adjust on / off as required.We have budgeted $5,500 for water this FY, so it is important that we conserve as much as possible.

Ian Lacey

15 Sept 26