By Callum Ludwig
Heavy rainfall across Eastern Australia is wreaking havoc with road alerts and flash flooding incidents.
Golf Clubs throughout Victoria have been particularly affected with many updating their members of closures or concerns. Even the resilient course at the Warburton Golf Club has struggled with this year’s wet and wild weather.
Member Ron Hottes said this is the worst he has ever seen the course in his 40 years at the Club.
“Clubs are having to creatively and laterally work around how they can play comp, and it is happening to clubs nearby and all the way into town,” he said.
“They have had to ban [golf] carts at a number of clubs, as it can cause a lot of damage to the grounds, even at pennant competitions in the Mornington Peninsula which have more sand.”
The Warburton Golf Club is still set to persist with its 130-person Ambrose tournament on Saturday 15 October.
Mr Hottes said while Saturday’s tournament is touch and go, all clubs are struggling.
“We are looking to the forecast on Saturday, especially with the deluge predicted for tonight [Thursday 13 October] and tomorrow,” he said.
“It looks like this La Nina is going to hang around until January, February or even March next year. We’re gonna have a wet and warm, humid and rainy summer.”
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast 0 to 1 mm at a 60 per cent chance of rain, with a 95 per cent chance of 6 to 10 mm on Friday. However, Thursday 13 October could end up pouring down anywhere from 29.4mm to a whopping 60.8mm.
Emergency Victoria has issued a near-statewide Watch and Act alert, including that northerly winds at peak gusts of 90 to 100 km/h are likely over elevated terrain across central and eastern Victoria.
