Golfcourse-lakes ?

 

Just wondered if there has been any progress on topping up the lakes?

 

 Nope,  4th and 5th are empty, 9th/18th low,  10th/11th low 13th half full.    A real shame as it spoils the image of the course

Why is that, and how long has it been?
Is there any hope for improvement?

Cost, to fill all the lakes completely would cost 100's of thousands of Euros and I guess IRM cannot afford it, having said that visiting other resorts such as El Valle the lakes there are much fuller.   The lakes here have been low for well over a year, infact i cannot remember the last time they were all full, must be coming on 2 years?  looking back through the society postings they were low in Jan 2011 and even the heavy rain we had that year didn't help all that much.   What's the chance of getting them filled?  Wouldn't like to guess, although I have seen some golfers doing what could be a rain dance on some of the greens recently :-)

Here's the last time all the lakes were full, and pretty much everything else was flooded - the great rains of Noc 2010

 

This message was last edited by ptan on 22/02/2013.

This is such a shame for the resort. I don't golf but can appreciate that the aesthetics of the course must be seriously compromised because of this. It is all part of the deal we were sold and, frankly, a bit embarrassing when visiting golfers turn up too I suspect. Come on Mileniun, there must be something you can do!!!

 I heard that it'd cost 70,000 euros to fill the lake at La Isla so on balance the golf course lakes will cost quite a few euro to fill.

They should cement them up bar a ten inch tray on top and fill that up. Who's to know?!😜

If IRM made the annual membership more attractive (by dropping the 8 euros per round additional fee for members and increasing the annual sub slightly) they would attract a lot more members (50+? extra) which should see a decent increase in annual revenue which could then be used to keep the course (e.g. lakes) in better condition.

Surely the best option is to firstly ask what plans are in place to sort the problem and to establish a timescale as I agree with previous comments that the course looks very poor with the the lakes as they are. If they dont intend to fill the lakes before the season starts then the only way to express our feelings is to simply boycott the course and play others. Obviously not ideal but imagine the impact if the society and all residents did this even for just one week or two - I'm sure they may then realise how strongly people feel Ann just how important it is to maintain and improve the course. We have a great asset on site but not as it is and they need to know that if not maintained there will be a immediate loss of business.

IF WE BOYCOTT YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL AS THEY MAY JUST CLOSE IT.

 If its a cost thing boycotting would just make the finances worse.

I see an additional problem in that the damage that will have been done over the past couple of years to the sides, or even floor, of the lakes in some cases will add to the cost (often by golfers who treated it as an extension of the rough/fairway).

I've brought this thread back to the top of the list just to get some comment from the golfers in the association who will know answers to the current maintenance situation of the course. I have been out here nearly a week now and have noticed a couple of things.

Yes the lakes are low, but that is not unusual as PT commented but the two lakes at the bottom end of the course are completely empty which does look a mess. There has been no watering of the course at all this week which I think is unusual at this time of year.It is the growing season and the grass is dry, course and brown when we should ideally be seeing new grass coming through.

The number of green keeping staff seems to be much reduced compared to last year! The tees don't look as good as they have previously been,however the greens seem OK.

The course isn't busy and it should be at this time of year when it is not too hot to play

So golfing association members, what is the current situation? Is it just mere coincidence that the former head green keeper has moved on and now standards appear to be slipping. I am no golfer, but the course and the high standard of it is essential to the success of the resort. Can you imagine if the course ceased to exist what would become of the overall resort! Some reassurance please. Jon Faulkner

 Well done for raising this again as I am also very concerned about the condition of the course and prospects for the future. I'm currently planning a golf trip with a party from home but given the current condition and lack of information I am reluctant to go ahead with it. I would love to bring a group over but only if the course is as well maintained or better than before so its sad to hear there is little progrees at the moment. 

I'm hoping its just a lack of communication and that someone maybe from teh golf society will know more.

Any news would be greaty apprecaited

 Unfortunately the spaniards are very intransigent. Any good businessperson  knows that in difficult times you drop the prices and attract people knowong they will bring friends and spend money on the range, for drinks and for meals,.

They should have dropped the daily green fee ages ago to attract upfront cash . If they did that they would get 50 more members toomrrow  from camposol.Thats alot of dosh in these difficult times.

I have been a member for 2 years and what do they offer . Nothing. 

i tried to change their views but to to no avail

Unless they come to to the table with a better offer i for one will not renew

They have less than 200 members and its no wonder why.

Do they tell us about  the lakes, when the course is closed . no. nothing

So why give them our harned earned when they cant be arsed!

Ok, I have put off posting because I do not want to fuel the doomsters, but here goes. These are all my own opinions and not the golf society's
Membership: IRM do not want members. They make more money over the year from pay to play golfers. Joining as a member is a personal choice and based on number of rounds per year, only you can decide if it is worthwhile. I have family 6 course membership and playing 3 timesper week over a 40 (ish) week year saves me money.
Lakes: I asked IRM management if they concentrated more on El Valle, Mar Menor and La Torre than the other 3 courses due to footfall from hotels etc, they said NO. Having caddied for pro in Evolve tour for five weeks on these courses and playing on them with my membership I think they do. The courses I asked about have lakes full (possibly not as full at La Torre than others) but where would I rather play, Condado, every time. Yes our lakes are low/empty but the course is in good condition with fantastic greens. The empty lakes do not bother me, I try to miss them anyway!!!
Fairways: very dry and quite hard. Ball runs forever making the course play shorter but difficulty of greens keeps scores low.
Having played all of the six courses and caddied on them during last six weeks, personally I would rank them in the following order taking everything (incl lakes) into account in the following order:
joint first: Condado / El Valle
second Haciend Requelme
third Saurines
fourth Mar Menor
last La torre.
So there you have my opinion. Now make your own minds up.

As a non golfer why can't they redirect any rain water we do get from any downpipes we have around the site or if not feasible then find a way of storing this water & then move it to the lakes in say a bowser? It's not rocket science albeit the Spanish do not use gutters/downpipes that much!

Yes it would kill the resort if the courses diminished further.

SD

Funnily enough since I raised this issue the amount of ground keeping activity and some watering of the course has increased. The weather has been wonderful this week with good day time temperatures and lots of sunshine. The fairways do look starved of water but maybe IRM have delayed the watering this year to save money.

Just been down to the golf club and it was very busy with a lot of visitors and the pay to play brigade in good numbers but having just paid over 10 euros for a lager and G&T they won't get too much repeat business. I don't know what it is with the Spanish but they just don't have good business sense at all. It was the same with Polaris who attempted to run businesses on these resorts but at prices that were doomed to failure. Look at those new businesses that have filled the void left behind, the Clover and Sports Bar and La Cata all seem to be doing OK with realistic prices during austerity, which is the way forward. IRM need to adopt the same approach and get more golfers through the door. You've got to speculate to accumulate.

Exactly its about 'bums on seats' & volume. As they say people follow people. So it is better to sell 100 @ 1 euro than 1 @ 100 euros as the former means 100 more potential 'word of mouth' referrals.

SD

There is a lot of talk here about the fairways being brown and not being watered. The reason the fairways are brown is that the grass is still dormant and it is dormant because the temperature at night is still cool (even if it's still above the day time temps in the UK). The fairways won't be watered whilst the grass is dormant. So the firm fairways is something to be put up with (but there are preferred lies and the ball runs far).

Just give the course a bit more time and with the warmer night time temps coming up the grass should resurrect itself and turn green and the fairways should then be watered. If not, then there is a problem.

Also the two empty lakes are at least only visible on two (consecutive) holes (4 & 5) at the far end of the course so could be worse and soon forgotten.

The greens are excellent and true & fast.

The course remains the best in Murcia (IMO) and a true test of golf.

 Faulky growing season? It's March mate and the course is like this every year at this time.