FLOODS FLOODS
Assistant Trevor Elliott tries his luck off one of the greens
Murray becomes
‘the Murray’
It was a wet spring for Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort. A bit too wet for superintendent Chris Burgess’ liking. Above: Heavy rainfalls in the Murray Darling Basin this spring resulted in widespread flooding around the region with Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club’s Murray course inundated three times 52
Y
arrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort assistant superintendent Trevor Elliott has been a keen fisherman ever since he was old enough to bait a hook and like any avid angler he has a few secret spots along the Murray River which he knows will deliver. The green surrounds on the Murray course is normally not one of them. For a few days in September and early October, however, he and course superintendent Chris Burgess were swapping work utes for tinnies as the club’s prized Murray course was inundated by the Murray River after heavy rains caused widespread flooding in the region. In scenes reminiscent of the huge floods of 1993, a total of eight greens went under at the peak of the floods, with many fairways becoming rivers of water and a number of irrigation satellites damaged.
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 18.6
“It was a big one,” reflects Burgess “I’ve been here six years and it’s the most significant flooding I have witnessed and came very close to 1993 levels. We were told about six weeks before to expect major flooding due to all the rains. We had two minor flood events in September and it was only a week before the major flood that we had the course reopened. But then we got the call from the authorities on the first Sunday in October telling us they were opening up more gates on the Hume Weir and to expect major inundation. “At its peak about 181,000 megalitres of water was spilling through the weir gates in a 24-hour period (the record is 189,000ML). The 13th green was the first to go under and by the peak on the Wednesday about 80 per cent of the course was under. Some parts were under by 3-4 metres.”