REGIONAL PROFILE heavily in a Reclaimed Water Management Scheme (REMS). We receive an allocated amount of water free of charge to irrigate all of our sports facilities, thus taking away the burden to pay for local town water. This water, combined with any rainfall that we receive on our facility, is enough to keep us self-sufficient.
The club’s two bowling greens are Tifdwarf. The bowling greens and cricket wicket were opened in 2001 ahead of the golf course, with membership experiencing considerable growth in the years since
our CEO and HR department, it was decided that all six greens staff would work three days per week so the sports turf facilities could be sufficiently maintained and the offered leave would supplement the other hours lost. Thankfully Job Keeper was implemented by the Federal Government and we were back to normal within two weeks of COVID hitting. The golf course, bowling greens and cricket wicket remained closed for a further 32 days and it was certainly nice to maintain our facilities without any interruptions.
Any special environmental considerations that you have to incorporate into the management of the precinct? We do have a large wetland surrounding one third of the golf course. There is a 20 metre buffer zone which protects the area from encroachment by golfers. We have a large amount of wildlife, migrating birds, snakes and frogs inhabiting the area. We also have three retention basins situated throughout the golf course which pump rain water and car park run off back to our main dam for irrigation purposes.
What changes have you implemented since taking over? I have approached the change in management with a fair amount of enthusiasm. ‘Lead by example and they will follow’ has been my main train of thought. I can’t praise my staff enough. All have jumped on board and shown a great deal of interest, enthusiasm and pride in the way we present all three sports facilities.
What are some of the major challenges facing Worrigee Links from a turf management and general club management perspective? Like the majority of sports turf facilities in our country, water is and can be a major challenge at times. At Worrigee Links we are very fortunate to have our local council (Shoalhaven City Council) on board supporting us. Eighteen years ago the council invested
Outline any major course/facility improvement works recently completed. In the past six months our attention has been diverted to the new Growers precinct, which is a new restaurant the club has built. We lost two thirds of our putting green and have had to rebuild a new one, reconstructed the 6th tee complex, relocated our practice nets, installed new cart paths and finally work around the new 48-cart storage sheds that were constructed for our members’ carts that back onto the bowling greens. The weather and climate are always a great leveller for a sports turf manager. How has Mother Nature treated the course/facility in recent times? We have received 632mm more rain than this time last year, so there are times when the course has been closed for days at a time. There have been occasions over the years where corellas have decimated the golf greens, bowling greens and cricket wicket with their anti-social behaviour. We installed a solardriven mirrored prism to deter the corellas from landing, which seems to have worked as the damage has stopped. The one product I couldn’t manage my course/facility without is... Like all turfgrass managers, wetting agents and/or growth regulators. I can sleep at night knowing we will be fine in the morning. What are some pros and cons of being a regional superintendent/sports turf manager? We are still close enough to major areas to receive our products the following day after ordering from the sales reps. At times it’s difficult to get away to seminars or information sessions when the pressure is on. But sometimes you just have to make the effort to go. Are expectations of course presentation and conditioning any less than that placed on your metropolitan counterparts? There is an expectation to produce a high-quality product by the members; they see it on TV and want the same. Then reality hits when you explain The Worrigee Links course has 1019/1020 bentgrass greens, kikuyu tees and fairways, while the rough is a mix of kikuyu and ryegrass
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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 22.6