Australian Turfgrass Management Journal - Volume 17.2 (March-April 2015)

Celebrating the efforts of Australia’s turf management professionals

ISSN 1442-2697

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volume 17.2 Mar-Apr 2015

2015 Victorian Open

Transforming a public access facility into a tournament-calibre venue

Middle East masterclasses

Aussie ex-pats shine in Doha and Dubai

Are you ready for change?

‘User-friendly’ ideas to keep your golf course relevant

Cape Wickham wonder

King Island’s coastal gem comes to life

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The fine line between ownership and custodianship

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New hallowed turf MCG’s $1.7 million resurfacing project Going ‘Agrostis’

Royal Canberra’s bold new fairway grassing strategy

Brazil 2014

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Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals

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volume 16.5 Sep-oct 2014

Savvy supers

How to manage club politics

Going with the flow Kingston Heath’s water solution

Tournament reviews PGA at Valhalla, Fiji International

Green havens

Ground-breaking three-year study reveals the huge biodiversity benefits Australian golf courses provide in urban environments

Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals

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volume 16.4 Jul-Aug 2014

The Class of 2014

AGCSA/STA award winners John Neylan, Shaun Cross, Ethan Bell and Luke Cooney

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Rottnest revitalised From sand scrapes to seashore paspalum

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Pitcher perfect

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march-april 2015

1

contents contents

Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals

ISSN 1442-2697 www.agcsa.com.au

AGCSA

volume 17.2 mar-apr 2015

2015 Victorian Open

Transforming a public access facility into a tournament-calibre venue

Middle East masterclasses

Aussie ex-pats shine in Doha and Dubai

Are you ready for change?

‘User-friendly’ ideas to keep your golf course relevant

Cape Wickham wonder King Island’s coastal gem comes to life

Cover Huntingdale Golf Club: Looking towards the 18th green at Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne with the club’s new $12 million clubhouse in the background. Huntingdale hosted the 2015 Victorian PGA Championship in early February.

Photo: Brett Robinson Inset: The 18th at Cape Wickham (photo courtesy of Darius Oliver).

lead STORY: Cape Wickham wonder

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King Island, off the northern coast of Tasmania, has become a focus for the golf world in recent times with two remarkable course developments – Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes – in the process of being built. Over the next 12 months Australian Turfgrass Management Journal will look at both developments in depth and to kick things off Darius Oliver provides the first of a two-part series on the Cape Wickham development which is due to open this November. Oliver provides a background to what is hoped will be a world top 100 course and touches on the environmental considerations and construction challenges the project has faced to date.

Features Ready for change?

12

At the Queensland Golf Industry Forum last November there was interesting discussion regarding the need to cater for social/casual golfers and attracting women and children to the game.

As Daryl Sellar writes, such innovations have the potential to impact course management and could be seen as an inconvenience. But are they really a great opportunity for golf clubs to make themselves more relevant in a changing market?

Thirteenth Beach cleans up

Following on from Daryl Sellar’s article, USGA agronomist Elliott Dowling looks at some small projects that can be undertaken to make your golf course more attractive to casual golfers.

Els Club excellence

Green-up in the capital

User-friendly renos

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Having grown up in the cool-season confines of Hobart, Clinton Southorn has now carved a niche working in the sultry climes of the Middle East.

Currently the agronomy superintendent at The Els Club in Dubai, Southorn looks back on his time in the industry and reviews the inaugural Dubai Open.

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In late January, Kiwi apprentice Ben Finn joined former AGCSA Board member Robin Doodson to assist with preparations at Doha Golf Club for the 2015 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Let us provide you with a truly independent soil report

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

44

Golf course redesign is a big step for any club and the pitfalls can be many and varied. Australian Golf Digest architecture editor Darius Oliver looks at some of the simple rules golf clubs must follow to ensure they get the right product.

time for soil testing!

Send samples to

40

Six months into the long-awaited course redevelopment at Royal Canberra Golf Club, ATM checks up on the progress of Stage 1 works and whether the decision to use creeping bentgrass on fairways has paid dividends during establishment.

The rules of redesign Masterful Doha

2

30

For the third year in a row Thirteenth Beach Golf Links hosted the combined men’s and women’s Oates Victorian Open in February. Superintendent Steve Hewitt looks back on the tournament and the challenges to get a 36-hole public access facility up for this unique tournament.

Tech

Analytical, Diagnostic and Consultancy Services

Ph. 03 9548 8600 Fax. 03 9548 8622 Email. andrew@agcsa.com.au

Suite 1, Monash Corporate Centre 752 Blackburn Road Clayton 3168 Vic

AGCSATech Update Beware the BF1

36

Fairway patch disease, or BF1, has traditionally been perceived as a greater Sydney issue.

However, as AGCSATech agronomist Andrew Peart discovered at a recent workshop held at Bonnie Doon Golf Club, the disease is more widespread and is quite often misdiagnosed.

Grass-roots with John Neylan Turf management in a changing climate 48 ATM columnist John Neylan looks at the challenges of turf management in forever changing climatic conditions and revisits the issue of herbicide resistance from last edition which generated a lot of industry feedback.

Also in this edition…

Foreword Thinking Regional Profile The Commercial Club, NSW Around the Trade Turf Producers State Reports

4 54 60 62 64

Contributors to Australian Turfgrass Management Journal Volume 17.2 (March-April 2015) Andrew Boyle (Royal Canberra GC); Barry Bryant (SAGCSA); Lincoln Coombes (RACV Royal Pines Resort); Robin Doodson (Doha GC, Qatar); Elliott L. Dowling (USGA); Ben Finn (Paraparaumu Beach GC); Peter Frewin (AGCSA); Charlie Giffard (GCSAQ); Neil Graham (GCSAWA); Martyn Hedley (STA Qld); Steve Hewitt (Thirteenth Beach Golf Links); Phil Hill (Barnbougle); Danny Hull (STA ACT); Mark Johnson (TGCSA); John Neylan (Turfgrass Consulting and Research); Darius Oliver (Cape Wickham/www.planetgolf.com.au); Andrew Peart (AGCSATech); Daryl Sellar (AGCSA); Trevor Siviour (Turspec); Clinton Southorn (The Els Club, Dubai, UAE); Richard Stephens (Turf Australia); Anthony Toogood (The Commercial Club).

Raising the bat

M

ost superintendents and turf managers around the country will be looking forward to the summer months being but a distant memory. From coast to coast it has been a challenging period for most, whether it has been the very dry conditions experienced across Victoria, the rain and humidity in Sydney or the extreme weather events that have lashed Queensland. This period is when superintendents, turf managers and their crews really earn their crust and show what an invaluable asset they are in the successful operation of any sports turf facility.

It’s these sorts of challenges which Australian Turfgrass Management has helped bring to life during its 17-year history and as a publication the AGCSA is very proud that throughout the journal’s existence it has continually lauded the efforts and achievements of Australia’s turfgrass management professionals.

Later this year we’ll be doing a bit of celebrating ourselves when ATM raises the bat with the publication of its 100th edition. To mark the occasion we will be looking back over the previous 99 editions and picking out some of the highlights (and lowlights) from over the years. Having already started the process of trawling through our archives here in the recently refurbished AGCSA office, there should be some very nervous superintendents and turf managers out there given some of the wonderful photos that I have stumbled across which I fully intend using – a veritable rogues’ gallery!

The September-October 2015 edition (Volume 17.5) will mark this special occasion and in the coming weeks and months I will be compiling a series of articles which will look back over that time. From the iconic first edition which featured the endangered green and golden bell frog perched atop a golf ball on the cover, through to the extensive coverage of natural disasters like Black Saturday and the Brisbane floods, ATM has carried an enormous variety of human interest and technical articles, not to mention being the industry’s principal extension resource for Australia’s community of dedicated turf researchers.

In the lead-up to the 100th edition I am very keen to hear from all those working in the industry (both present and past) some of their highlights over the past 17 volumes of ATM. If you have any anecdotes or simply want to say congratulations (or commiserations) then please contact me via email brett@agcsa.com.au. I’d really value your feedback and input.

Looking more immediately at this March-April edition, we lead with the new Cape Wickham golf course development on King Island. One of two highly anticipated courses currently being built on the remote island in the middle of Bass Strait, the pictures of Cape Wickham that accompany Darius OIiver’s article will have you all salivating. My former AGCSA colleague and superintendent of more than 30 years, John Geary, is currently overseeing the final stages of grow-in ahead of the planned November 2015 opening and this article is the first of two that track the development of what is hoped will be a world top 100 course. In a later edition ATM also intends on featuring the equally impressive Ocean Dunes which is being developed by Graeme Grant. These two courses have the potential to rival some of the best layouts in the world and will further enhance Australia’s (and Tasmania’s) appeal as a unique golfing destination.

Elsewhere in this edition we touch base with Andrew Boyle to see how Stage 1 works are progressing at Royal Canberra Golf Club, Daryl Sellar muses about the changing nature of the golfer market and its potential impact on course maintenance operations, while ex-pat Australian superintendent Clinton Southorn recounts his recent experience preparing for a major Asian Tour event at The Els Club in Dubai. Enjoy the read.

Brett Robinson, Editor

Looking for greenkeeping staff?

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3

foreword thinking foreword thinking

Peter Frewin, General Manager, AGCSA

Networking opportunities abound at 2015 Golf Industry Show

T

he start of 2015 has been very busy for the AGCSA with renovation works on the office following settlement on the property in midDecember. While the majority of the works were minor, it still contributes to a great deal of disruption to normal work life and the entire staff is very happy the game of musical chairs is now over! The office has a fresh look with new carpet and a coat of paint, so if you are in Melbourne and have the opportunity please feel free to drop in and check it out (we may even put the kettle on for you!).

One of the nice parts of my job is that occasionally you get to travel to some great destinations and meet some wonderful people. As I sit writing this edition’s Foreword Thinking I am looking out my hotel window overlooking the magnificent ‘Riverwalk’ in San Antonio, Texas where I am fortunate enough

AGCSA

The new-look reception area at the AGCSA office following the recent renovations

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

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to be attending the 2015 Golf Industry Show (GIS).

A visit to the GIS is a great networking opportunity as you have the chance to meet other associations around the world to discuss what is happening. It is interesting that whoever you speak to the issues that each country faces are very similar to our own.

This year the show provided a great chance to meet Dr Jack Fry and Bruce Williams who will be speaking at the 31st Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade Exhibition in the Hunter Valley. The opportunity to hear them present and speak to them to ensure the proposed content was relevant to our market was invaluable. What is also pleasing is their desire to ensure that the content that they present is tailor made for our conditions.

The visit to the GIS also provides the opportunity to canvass prospective speakers for future events.

agcsa membership agcsa membership

The reputation of Australia in the turf sector is on the rise and there is no shortage of people interested in speaking opportunities in Australia.

The GIS itself is a huge event and it is hard to describe if you have not been fortunate enough to attend. This year the floor space in the trade exhibition was approximately 16,725m2 with around 13,000 people in attendance. While all the major players were well represented – Bayer, Jacobsen, John Deere, Rain Bird, Syngenta and Toro – what was pleasing was to see some new faces on display.

As an Australian it was also pleasing to see a number of Australian companies displaying their wares to the world. Australia is blessed to have some great local companies that have found their way into the world turf market. Australia has some great innovators in the turf industry and it is great to see them on display for all to see.

HIA Funding This time last year I reported that Australian Turfgrass Management (ATM) had secured further funding from Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) until the end of 2017 to assist in the publication of the journal.

As many would be aware HAL has recently gone through an extensive review and as a result of this it has been disbanded and replaced by a new Federal Government entity called Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA).

While many things within the organisation are still to be finalised, it is certain that the previous VC (Voluntary Contribution) type funding model will no longer be permissible under the new HIA structure.

While we are currently reviewing the information provided by HIA it would appear that any chance of funding for ATM will most likely be lost.

ATM is a multi-award-winning industry journal produced by great people and now is the time that all the industry gets behind the publication to ensure it continues to provide great information for the wider turf industry. It is timely to remind all within the turf industry that ATM is produced by the industry for the industry and I trust all will support the journal to ensure it continues to be the premier turf magazine in the region.

Finally, for those that may not be aware, AGCSA Board member Darren Wilson (Wembley Golf Complex, WA) has had a tough time recently with his health. The AGCSA is a close knit group and to see one of the ‘family’ doing it tough is hard. I am sure all wish Darren a quick recovery and I hope all will take this as a reminder that health and family are the most important things in your life. If you think you may have some health issues, whether physical or mental, we implore you to discuss it and seek professional advice.

Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have an issue or suggestion; any feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope the cooler temperatures that come with autumn treat you well and I look forward to catching up when our paths next cross.

AGCSA

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March-april 2015

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king island king island

Cape Wickham King Island off the northern

wonder

coast of Tasmania has become a focus for the golf world with two remarkable course developments – Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes – in the process of being built. Over the next 12 months ATM will look at both projects in-depth and to kick things off Darius

a two part series on Cape Wickham which is due to open this November.

Photos: Darius Oliver

Oliver provides the first of

L

ater this year the Cape Wickham golf course will open on King Island in Tasmania, the culmination of several years toil for a small but dedicated group of passionate individuals. While there is still much work to do in preparation for the November opening, and turf left to mature, for those involved the divots can’t come soon enough.

My own involvement at Cape Wickham started back in 2011 when an assignment for Australian Golf Digest magazine took me to the small, remote island in the middle of Bass Strait. It was during that trip that I first ventured north and saw the land at Wickham, adjacent Australia’s tallest lighthouse (built in 1861) and blessed with the most spectacular dunes, ocean, cliff and beach combination I had seen anywhere in the world. Despite the undeniable

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

was the unique availability of dramatic, sandy land adjacent the ocean – and at a reasonable price.

There was also the matter of planning approvals.

Within a couple of months of buying Cape Wickham, Purchase had approval from the local council for an 18-hole golf course, practice facility, clubhouse and small boutique hotel. All were planned and permitted on his private 215-acre block which is the land immediately south of the lighthouse. The initial planning documents and course routings had been prepared by designers Ross Perrett and Richard Chamberlain.

What concerned me about the original proposal was the scale of the terrain used for golf and the quality of the Crown land adjoining the private freehold. Purchase’s title boundary was set inland

Cape Wickham’s 18th hole wraps around Victoria Cove and provides a dramatic finish to what is hoped will be a world top 100 golf course.

Pictured inset above is the 18th prior to construction and far left during the shaping phase

s

attraction of the site, it still surprised to learn that a golf course was in the planning. How do you get golfers to King Island and how could this thing possibly make financial sense? I still ask myself these same questions.

Interestingly, prior to my visit both Andrew Purchase and Graeme Grant had fallen in love with Cape Wickham and made offers to the previous owner at about the same time. I understand Purchase’s bid was accepted, in part, because his offer was unconditional. As we know, Grant went on to buy a different site closer to the main island township of Currie and is in the process of building his own course at Ocean Dunes.

What drew these two men to King Island at the same time is unclear, but what got their attention

March-April 2015

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king island king island

Right from the opening hole, Cape Wickham’s stunning location is right in your face. The 1st is a short par four that appears more difficult than it really is. Pictured is the hole before (below) and after construction “Second, we needed to acquire 100 acres of adjacent land that was marginal for farming but also contained some potentially superb holes. This land is now the site of holes 6 through 12. It was only with these two conditions fulfilled – the long-term lease and the land acquisition – that I could begin to justify the risks involved in a project like this and be confident of creating something that was a very serious course, by world standards. Just as important, it meant the course had a better chance of being economically sustainable.”

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Environmental considerations from the coastline and had forced the designers to route holes up and down a series of enormous dune valleys. Although the downhill holes were incredibly dramatic, the climbs back up were so steep that walking for most golfers would have been out of the question. Walkability is certainly a key to great golf, but equally playing a course next to some of the best golf land in the world would not have sat well either.

It was at this point that we approached Duncan Andrews, owner and developer of The Dunes and Thirteenth Beach in Victoria. Andrews has a keen eye for golf development and an interest in quality, seaside projects. Stunned by the natural attraction of the site, he agreed that the coastal reserve land was crucial and committed to funding the project subject to a long-term lease being issued by the Tasmanian authorities.

As Andrews explains: “The only way to make a half decent business case for development on such a remote island was if the course was genuinely outstanding, in a world context. To achieve this, two fundamentals I felt were critical. First, it was essential that we were able to use the Crown Reserve or coastal foreshore, which had a number of unbelievable golf holes just waiting to be uncovered.

A long-term lease from the Tasmanian Government on this land was mandatory, but obviously it was going to be very difficult to obtain.

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Those who visit Cape Wickham today will dismiss the decision made to seek a Crown lease as being all-too obvious, but there are numerous environmental issues at play down on the island and an almighty can of worms was opened once the State was involved. Chief among them is the shorttailed shearwater, or mutton-bird as it is commonly known.

Shearwaters are the most abundant Australian seabird and breed in colonies right across mainland Tasmania and its islands. Cape Wickham has as many as 40,000 shearwater burrows and many were set across a rocky headland known as Cape Farewell, where we decided we wanted our first few holes.

In order to destroy burrows for the sake of a golf course we needed to convince authorities, as well as the environmental lobby, of the project’s social and environmental upside and ensure that appropriate mitigation measures would be put in place to protect the shearwater colony. This is where the planning process got interesting.

Even without the challenge of dealing with a protected seabird species, what we were asking the Tasmanian government for was unprecedented in modern Australia. It had been decades since a lease was granted for golf on a coastal reserve and our position was that there could be no compromise at all on the land required. The only way to combat the remoteness of King Island was for the golf course to be singularly outstanding.

and the setting aside of three large no-go zones as special shearwater sanctuaries. Within one sanctuary was a 4-acre section of limestone rock that we rehabilitated into sandy, vegetated ground to enable displaced birds to burrow new homes in a safe location nearby.

Breaking ground

The acquisition of 100 acres of marginal farming land adjacent to the Crown Reserve land was a critical component to the development. This area of land is now the site of holes 6 through 12, with 11 pictured above during construction

After a lengthy and difficult approvals negotiation, a 50-year lease was granted in June 2013 and construction of the golf course began without delay.

Design was overseen by American Mike DeVries and construction handled by Programmed Turnpoint.

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The entire planning argument at Cape Wickham centred on the conservation outcomes for the area and what we saw as positive effects on the shearwater population. The project itself wouldn’t kill a single bird but instead destroy a small percentage of existing burrows in an area with endless acres of sand dunes upon which to relocate. We knew anecdotally from islanders that when burrows are ploughed over the birds simply moved to vegetated areas nearby and dug new homes. That proved to be the case at Wickham as well.

From day one the shearwaters on King Island have been viewed as an asset to the golf attraction.

These are remarkable birds that migrate more than 15,000 kilometres to the Arctic each year and return to their birth burrows to breed. Watching the night sky blacken as they return to their nests is every bit as mesmeric as watching the penguins waddle up a beach on Phillip Island. We always felt there would be some visitors to Wickham coming for the birds alone and others who enjoyed the evening spectacle as much as the golf itself.

From a conservation perspective, before golf came along there were cattle and feral cats roaming the site, trampling burrows and destroying birds.

Additionally, the rookery was open to recreational ‘mutton-birders’ who harvested hundreds of chicks each year for feathers, flesh and oil. The cessation of such activity would no doubt benefit the colony, as would the removal of invasive weed species

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March-April 2015

9

king island

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king island

The Cape Wickham Lighthouse, pictured here from the 4th fairway, is a prominent feature of the landscape

The incredible view across from the tee on the par three 17th which measures 170m

The most immediate challenge faced by Turnpoint during construction was the fact that any holes on bird land needed to be stripped and cleared prior to their return in late September. As part of our approvals, no major earthworks could be undertaken near burrows once they had.

All told the layout at Cape Wickham covers approximately 120 hectares (300 acres) with around 30 hectares of maintained turf. The majority of holes either had some burrows in them or were near enough to a rookery to force them to be stripped of vegetation at the outset.

The winter of 2013 was both wet and abnormally windy and having so much sandy ground exposed during this period proved an expensive and frustrating problem. The resolve of the Turnpoint guys to push on when features and entire fairways were being blown or washed away was inspiring.

A close-knit crew, they were ably led by shaper Lindsay Richter, as laid-back a character as they come. Richter’s skill on machinery is matched only by his unwavering patience, on display across Cape Wickham where at times he was forced to build and rebuild the same green site or bunker complex three or four times.

Thankfully, after the birds returned in the spring of 2013 the wind on King Island died down and excellent progress was made on the golf course through to the following winter. Although all holes had been cleared before the birds’ return, some could not be built until May 2014 because of shearwaters nesting back within golf areas.

Fortunately, delays waiting for their northern migration were minimal and from May through to July 2014 the final few holes – 12, 13, 15 and 16 – were completed. Some grassing was held over until

last November, however, because of the experience of the previous winter. All holes are now growing-in and on track for the November 2015 opening.

As you would imagine, one of the key discussions with a project like this is grass types and very early on it was agreed that we would aim for fescue surfaces tee through greens. The final choice was a blend of Chewings, creeping red, hard and Shoreline slender red varieties. The Shoreline was included after inspection of Leigh Yanner’s trial plots at The National Golf Club and chiefly because of its richer green colour. With adequate water the surfaces have performed well and the more mature holes are essentially playable now.

Wickham wonder What has emerged from the virgin wonderland that is Cape Wickham is a golf course we all hope will stand alongside some of the greatest in the world.

Having studied all the great layouts globally, I know how important the routing is and ours at Wickham is very close to perfect. Nothing is gratuitous or overly forced, yet we managed to sneak eight holes along the ocean and set two further greens back against the coastline.

When you consider the quality of holes like the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th it’s clear that those inland are far from the weaker links. The course flows naturally from green to tee and the only significant climb is from the 18th green back to the clubhouse, which eases up a ridge and enjoys superb views of the lighthouse and Victoria Cove. Those same views are experienced on the longish transition from 13 green to 14 tee.

Ignoring the spectacular scenery, the most pleasing aspect of the project is the variety on display through design and the emphasis on fun rather than difficulty. There are few more serene spots on earth than Cape Wickham on a calm day, but this course is built for the wind.

Greens have bail-out areas if unsure about your game and the fairways are very generous.

For even average amateurs it is certainly possible to play multiple rounds without losing a single ball.

The challenge is reading the wind and the ground contours and keeping yourself in play. This is easier said than done on par fours like the 12th and 18th which are great risk-reward holes.

In a future edition of Australian Turfgrass Management Journal we will go through some of the feature holes in more detail and also describe the difficulty of growing in an all-fescue golf course on King Island. The recent spring/summer dry has thrown all sorts of challenges at course superintendent John Geary, who thankfully has the course on track for its November opening following a couple of parched – and nervous – months.

Acknowledgements Darius Oliver is golf course consultant and co-designer of the Cape Wickham Golf Links.

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

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change change

At the Queensland Golf Industry Forum last November there was interesting discussion regarding the need to cater for social/casual golfers and attracting women to the game in a short, nonthreatening environment.

Such innovations have the potential to impact course management in various ways and could be seen as

Ready for

change?

an inconvenience. Or are they a great opportunity?

AGCSA HR and Best Practice manager Daryl Sellar investigates.

Golf is facing many challenges with time and family commitments often put forward as reasons for a decline in the number of rounds 12

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recently had the chance to visit Port Lincoln, a renowned fishing town at the bottom of South Australia’s magnificent Eyre Peninsula. It gave me the chance to catch up with Andy Blacker, a great colleague who happens to share the same birth date and hairdresser as me!

Andy has been a driving force as a golf course superintendent in South Australia for many years, with stints at the likes of Thaxted Park Golf Club and Adelaide Shores as well as serving as president of the SAGCSA for a number of years. A few years ago he made the big call to secure a lifestyle for his family and duly took on the role of superintendent at Port Lincoln Golf Club.

I only had an hour or so with Andy, but it was quickly apparent how good a job he was doing, with the course in great shape and the members seemingly saluting as we drove past! We talked turf and lifestyle for a while, but the conversation quickly turned to what makes the course so appealing. Port Lincoln is like a lot of rural/regional courses, in that it is pretty simple in terms of architectural features but is genuinely appealing to play.

Then, like a couple of wise old owls, we began theorising it was the fact that in a community such as Port Lincoln it filled a need by offering the chance to have a great golfing experience, an

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

opportunity for social interaction, some good but not too strenuous exercise and was really well suited to its market. In other words, it was ‘relevant’. It was great to see people enjoying the game and each other’s company in great surroundings and it was heartening to hear that the club was prospering as a result.

Why change?

Golf is facing some challenges. Not that I needed to highlight the point, as we have been reading for the best part of a decade the decline in participation and pending sense of doom and gloom around the world. We have heard (and in many cases know from personal experience) that issues such as time, cost, work/life balance, family commitments etc are put forward as reasons for the drop in numbers playing or retaining memberships with golf clubs around the globe. It’s as if the game of golf is losing its place, maybe even relevance, in today’s world.

As we have dug deeper into the issue, there seems to be a new set of issues getting in the way of golf’s growth. We hear increasing feedback that the game is too difficult and that it is intimidating.

This is coming from people who want to take up the game (the idea of strolling on some nice grass in a beautiful setting while hitting a ball occasionally still

trying to mix it with corporate buddies, or worse, while networking with people they have only just met. What is their impression of your course? Too hard, if they even noticed it!

Many new golfers find the prospect of having to play with a ‘good’ golfer on a full-length course among an experienced field intimidating and embarrassing. They would prefer to practice on their own at the range or practice green, or play for a short length of time, away from scrutinising eyes.

Do we cater for them?

The 2013 National Golf Participation Report (Golf Australia, GMA) concludes with some points from The Future of Australian Sport report and Golf’s 2020 Vision report that provide some great insight to the prospective golf market into the future. l Golf facilities need to engage more with women, families, diverse groups and younger generations; l Golf facilities should look to assess purposebuilt six and nine-hole formats and other short formats to complement the 18-hole tradition; l Golf facilities should look to assess multiple tee options and shorter courses to make the game more fun and enjoyable; l Golf facilities need to better engage and communicate with the social golfer market. Golf

One of the key recommendations from the 2013 National Golf Participation Report Golf was that golf facilities should look to assess shorter courses and multiple tee options to make the game more fun and enjoyable. Pictured is the dedicated par three course at Barwon Heads Golf Club

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has some appeal), but unfortunately the experience is not matching the perception. If you have a bad first experience at a restaurant, do you go back?

There are now some great programmes being introduced by coaches, clubs, associations and governing bodies all over the world and they are beginning to tailor programmes to appeal to women and children in particular. But when they get there, what do we have to offer? Do our courses and facilities make them feel comfortable?

I know my two boys enjoyed trying golf as part of the physical education programme early in secondary school, where they tried to hit a pitching wedge into a hoop, bucket or some proportionally more generous target than a 4.25 inch (sorry, 108mm) hole! It was simple and quick – you either hit or miss, then had another go. In a 30-minute lesson they could have scored plenty of ‘goals’ and easily kept a competitive tab with their mates.

But as soon as we got to the course, it all got way more complicated. Different clubs, lots of shots to remember in order to score, RULES and a long way to get to a frustratingly small target. Three holes and we were done!

I am sure we can all relate to watching once or twice a year (life?) golfers battling nerves, embarrassment and ultimately sheer frustration

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Regardless of whether foot golf, big hole golf or some ‘other’ golf are the answer, it is clear that something about the game will need to change to have the wide appeal that some other sports can offer to keep attracting new golfers.

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What can supers do?

What golf clubs should be looking forward to creating are opportunities for people to experience and enjoy their courses. Often it’s all about who you are playing with rather than the challenge of the course which brings about the most enjoyment

facilities need to increase their engagement with and retention of junior members. l Golf facilities need to consider adjustment to traditional business models; l Golf facilities need to constantly monitor and assess the value proposition being made in membership offerings; and l Golf clubs need to focus on their annual attrition rate in order to better optimise the level of new member demand that is apparent.

What do we need to do to cater for these future needs? A quick scroll through numerous surveys or questionnaires on the question of why people play golf reveals that for many it is more about social engagement, physical exercise, relaxing and enjoying the natural surroundings, rather than the challenge of course ‘x’. The more we consider ways that we can get more people satisfying these needs, as well as overcoming the perceived barriers to playing the game, the better we will all be. To do this, some things may need to change.

Change is inevitable There are now some great golf programmes being introduced by coaches, clubs, associations and governing bodies that appeal to women and children in particular

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We now read or watch on social media vision of ‘big hole’ golf or ‘foot golf’, most likely with the reaction that they are just quirky ideas that will come and go. But the reality (and my own market research with my kids) suggests these ideas have great appeal, maybe not for the traditional golfer but for a potentially whole new market, some of whom one day may become the traditional golfer.

Society is now blessed with convenience in almost everything we do. Even with our leisure time, we want something that is convenient, quick, easy to learn and cheap. Kids today are used to instant gratification (ever been around the house when the Internet goes down?!), so when they play something they want a result quickly and then have another go.

Look at what Twenty20 cricket has done as a ‘feeder’ for the game overall. It is entertaining, colourful, loud and provides a relatively quick result – perfect! It offers something for the whole family and it has quickly dominated prime time TV scheduling because people are voting with their feet. Without it where would cricket be even in the traditional form of the game?

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

How does this discussion impact course superintendents and their teams? In the hectic daily management of a golf course we can be very reliant on routines and systems to get things done in a certain order, by a certain time or on a certain day.

It is inevitable for most of us that we will need to find ways to accommodate these new demands, and still satisfy the expectations of existing, traditional golfers. But to me, this is one of the most exciting challenges as it presents opportunities to help the game and our clubs to grow, and to do some things differently. We can be part of the solution.

Embrace the change Twenty years ago who would have thought you could go to a lawn bowls club barefoot in a pair of board shorts and be welcomed to have a roll while listening to music playing across the greens and having a beer? But in 2015 it’s happening and bowls clubs have embraced the change. Why? Because they had to. They were losing relevance and appeal.

Now, as my 18-year-old will attest, they host a great night out that is fun, cheap, relaxed, quick and still satisfies that competitive streak.

Golf clubs have the opportunity to do the same, but it will mean some changes to the way we manage our courses. We need to be prepared to embrace the change as people playing or enjoying our golf courses in any form is (in most cases) ultimately good for business and good for job security. Ponder these if you will… l Do we need to think about how we can effectively prepare three or six holes on the back nine to host a small corporate group running a breakfast workshop, or for office workers wanting a quick fix before the 9-5 grind, while still preparing the front nine for regular play? l

l

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Can we suggest practical, manageable options for forward tee locations that will appeal to people taking up the game and not needing (or wanting) the challenge of the full-length course?

Can these be implemented on just three or six holes to cater for new players to the game wanting to avoid the experienced fields?

What about the best way to accommodate large hole golf in the afternoon, without disrupting play for morning members or guests? Or the best location for foot golf holes that won’t see vegetation or irrigation infrastructure damaged by overzealous kickers?

Could there be an economical way to build an additional putting green to allow coaching clinics to be conducted without restricting access to practice facilities for members and guests?

l

Do we have the space and opportunity to build a simple, cheap pitch and putt area for kids to enjoy some fun with the parents for an hour?

These types of areas can be a great asset for the club and a saviour for parents during school holidays!

Be proactive Superintendents should observe these trends and get on the front foot with their clubs; l Offer suggestions as to how to accommodate new opportunities. We are best placed to understand how they may impact on the courses we manage, so why not be part of the process that sees them implemented successfully, rather than amid frustration and angst. l Planning new work procedures or perhaps necessary investment could ultimately make the process of change far more enjoyable for all parties. Make you and your team a valuable part of the solution. l If you can see difficulties in accommodating for some of these ideas because of a lack of staff numbers or other resources, put that forward in a constructive manner and offer a solution at the same time.

Think about the new player I have a firm belief that one of the most subtly enjoyable aspects of the game of golf is the offer of shot variety. When a golfer has a choice of landing zones from the tee or shots that can be played around the green, there is a sense of fun because the golfer is forced to think and imagine what the ball will do.

Around the green in particular, there can be opportunities for superintendents to alter mowing lines or heights to promote a greater variety of shot selection, or even help to speed up play. Many golfers welcome the chance to putt from off the green in preference to embarrassing themselves by circumnavigating an entire green with a series of shanks (guilty as charged - Ed), so giving them that option can make the game much more enjoyable.

Speed-Brush THE drawn groomer

In some cases, this may mean working closely with a golf course architect to ensure the strategy of the course is not compromised, but increasingly I think we are all on the same page and recognise the need to create golf courses that offer a great golfing experience for as many as possible, rather than an exhausting test of muscle for the enjoyment of just a few.

Change is good I love the traditions of the game of golf. Give me the history of The Open on a windy links any day of the week, with the tension, drama and emotion of the sport at the elite level on the great courses. But I also think of what golf represents for me now. The thought of where I am going to play is not always as tempting as the thought of who I am going to play with.

For me, the ultimate group would be a five ball with my family late into an Adelaide autumn afternoon. The reality is it would be a three ball, with the girls having cut a deal to go shopping and meet us after for coffee or wine instead, and it would only be nine holes because that’s enough for 18-20-yearold novices!

Where? It doesn’t matter. It would be the company that would make the day, as long as it was somewhere fun to play and created an experience to remember. And that’s what we should be looking forward to creating; opportunities for people to experience and enjoy our courses and clubs, even if it looks a bit different to the game we grew up with.

We may need to embrace different forms of the game or uses for our courses to help sustain our clubs. In the short-term, shorter forms of the game can be easily adopted to appeal to people who want to progress from starter lessons to playing the game.

But there is no doubt marketers of the game will have to come up with some innovative, left field ideas and course management will be impacted from time to time. We will be forced to think creatively about how we meet as many needs as possible, but I think we should look forward to the challenge. Change is the only constant in life and it can be good.

Big hole golf, which uses an eight inch cup, is becoming an increasingly popular format

Foot golf has been successfully introduced at a number of golf facilities across the country, including Wembley Golf Complex in Perth

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User-friendly Following on from Daryl Sellar’s previous piece, USGA agronomist Elliott Dowling looks at some small projects that can be undertaken to make your golf course more attractive to casual golfers.

Above: Increasing the size of your practice facility and providing a variety of shot options is a great way to increase player satisfaction 16

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renos

or many in the world of golf, the word ‘renovation’ may as well be a four letter word. Renovation has a negative connotation that registers with many people as inconvenience, expense and even closure of the golf course. While one or more of these thoughts may be included in a project, smaller renovation projects can improve your facility with minimal cost and inconvenience.

The number of golfers has declined across the world compared to the height of golf participation in 2005. The recent decline of golf has been attributed to economic downturn and a change in golfing patterns. In the US, statistics gathered by the National Golf Foundation indicate that 260,000 women took up the game of golf in 2013, but this number was offset by nearly 650,000 men who quit playing golf that same year. These numbers emphasise the importance of introducing women to the game of golf.

There are numerous reasons cited for the decline in golfer participation. Aside from economic decline affecting disposable income, other reasons players leave the game include time, difficulty and lack of playing partners. These three reasons tie into a common theme – golf courses are just too difficult.

Golf is supposed to be enjoyable. For the vast majority of core golfers, the game is fun. For those that we should target to increase participation (i.e.,

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

new players, women, children and seniors) difficult golf courses and better players can be intimidating.

Course officials can help address these concerns by making the golf course user-friendly to improve the golf experience for a wider range of players.

How are renovations related to a better golf experience? There are several projects, varying in size and scope, which can be implemented to potentially make a golf course more enjoyable for novice or less-skilled golfers without decreasing the enjoyment of accomplished golfers. Furthermore, renovation does not have to be a major project.

For a period of time renovation and construction projects were focused on attracting skilled golfers when the focus probably should have been on attracting new players to the game. However, there are several examples of large and small renovations that can attract new golfers and enhance the golf experience for everyone.

Practice Facilities Improving practice facilities is a major renovation trend. Providing adequate space to practice a variety of shots provides new players and those intimidated on the golf course with an area to improve their skills. Golfers that are not enjoying the game often cite their skill level as a major factor affecting their enjoyment. The best way to improve your skill set in any discipline is practice and new golfers often feel more comfortable at the practice facility than on the golf course.

Another notable trend among all groups of golfers is an increasing amount of practice. Golfers may not have enough time to play 18 or nine holes but they have enough time to practice chipping,

putting or various shots at the driving range.

Upgrades to practice facilities can allow more players to be accommodated and provide a better practice experience.

Practice area renovations have often focused on increasing practice-tee size. As mentioned above, the decrease in rounds played is not translating to a decrease in practice. Increasing the size of your practice tee can allow your facility to accommodate more players and disperse traffic across a larger area.

Installing artificial mats can be one effective way to increase teeing surface. Although artificial mats are not perceived to be ideal by many facilities, they provide an all-weather, year-round surface to hit from. Improving the accessibility of practice tees is important to facilities that are experiencing an increase in practice relative to rounds of golf played.

Improving practice areas is well directed, but the golf course is often where the greatest return on investment from renovation can be realised. A golf course that is overly difficult may struggle to attract new players. Remember, the average golfer is not a skilled golfer, but they enjoy posting a good score.

Forward Tees

Incorporating artificial mats into your practice facility provides an all-weather, year-round surface to hit from and are a great way to disperse traffic

Fairway widths and hazards Courses that are too difficult often have narrow fairways and an excessive number of bunkers and/or water hazards that inadvertently affect the high-handicap golfer and slow play. Too often the intended landing zone widens slightly to accept a well struck golf shot, but the fairway leading to the landing area is narrow. The result is an inadvertently difficult landing zone.

Evaluate the width of fairways relative to the intended landing zone for golfers of different skill levels. Increasing fairway width in landing zones for less-skilled golfers is not an expensive proposition, but this simple change can help the average golfer.

The same is often true of bunker placement.

Sand bunkers are often the most difficult hazards to recover from for the average golfer. On older and classic golf courses, fairway bunkers are often in

Practice tees can be enlarged to accommodate more golfers

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The length of golf holes, specifically the distance from tee to fairway, is often a primary concern for beginner golfers. In the late 1990s and early 2000s tee additions were done for the purpose of lengthening golf courses to add difficultly. The beginnings of fairways were often converted to rough to further increase the challenge. The goal of these changes was to attract the low-handicap golfer.

Unfortunately, there just aren’t that many skilled golfers with single-digit handicaps to attract when compared to the number of casual, high-handicap golfers. In recent years, many courses have added forward tees to provide new golfers with a better

opportunity to reach fairways, thereby increasing their enjoyment of the golf course as they learn the game. The addition of forward tees does not have to be expensive and they can make the game more enjoyable for the players that need to use them.

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March-April 2015

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Renovating fairways to increase width is often a simple, inexpensive proposition that pays enormous dividends

Installing chipping areas around greens provides additional design features and variability to recovery shots

positions where better players simply hit over them.

However, these bunkers inordinately penalise the less-skilled player who is least prepared to play from them. Sometimes, the onus is on the golfer to play from the proper set of tees, but relocating or removing bunkers that penalise less-skilled golfers just makes sense. A few steep, over-your-head bunkers are fun, but numerous difficult bunkers on every hole may discourage new players and force them to play elsewhere rather than draw them to your facility.

Bunker design and location should coincide with golfer skill. Deep, difficult fairway bunkers are appropriate if set at distances where they affect only the best players, not if they often penalise the highhandicap golfer. Evaluate bunkers that affect players that hit shorter distances. If they are difficult to play from, consider softening the bunkers or removing them altogether.

Chipping Areas A good way to add design features to your course and give players of various skill levels different shot options is the installation of chipping areas around green complexes. These areas are typically mowed out from the green at fairway height.

Rather than having to delicately use a wedge to lift the ball quickly from the rough and stop abruptly on the putting surface, chipping areas can provide players with different options. Golfers may be able to roll the ball up to the green from chipping areas with a putter, hybrid club or iron. Better golfers can still use the flop shot, but chipping areas give the average golfer more options.

Conclusion Renovations do not necessarily mean great inconvenience to the golfers or great expense.

Rather, there are many small projects that may make your golf course more attractive to casual golfers without affecting the challenge for better players.

Evaluate the golf course objectively for players of different skill levels. The goal is to grow the game, not necessarily make it easier. However, new players need options to improve their skills. More and more golf courses are looking at strategies to make their course attractive and enjoyable to golfers of all skill levels, and some of the projects discussed above can potentially be part of the process.

Acknowledgements This article has been reprinted with permission from the USGA’s Green Section Record – Volume 52 (10) May 16, 2014. Elliott L. Dowling is an agronomist in the USGA Green Section’s Mid-Atlantic Region.

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

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ex-pats ex-pats

Looking down the dogleg 10th fairway at The Els Club on day three of the inaugural Dubai Open

ATM continues its ongoing look at Australian golf course superintendents who have forged rewarding careers plying their trade overseas. Having grown up in the cool-season confines of Hobart, Clinton Southorn has now carved a niche working in the sultry climes of the Middle East.

Currently based at The Els Club in Dubai, Southorn looks back on his time in the industry and reviews the club’s recent hosting of the Asian Tour’s inaugural Dubai Open.

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Elsexcellence Club O

riginally from Hobart, I have been very fortunate over more than a decade now to travel and work in several different countries and learn more about the wonderful profession that is being a golf course superintendent. The satisfaction that comes with being a superintendent is something that has continually fuelled me over the years and the experiences that I have had to date more than make up for being thousands of kilometres away from home.

My career started as an apprentice at Kingston Beach Golf Club just south of Hobart. After completing this I was encouraged by my boss at the time Chris Hay to take up the superintendent position on a small nine-hole golf course in the city.

At the age of 23 I moved to Brisbane where a fellow Tasmanian superintendent Steve Harris helped me get a job assisting with the final grow-in stages of Brookwater Golf Club in Brisbane. This is where I had my first experience working with Troon Golf and was very fortunate to work under David Lunardelli (superintendent) and Marcus Hartup (assistant superintendent).

After three great years at Brookwater, I took the plunge and ventured overseas and joined a golf course construction firm in Ireland. It was a big ‘throw-yourself-in-the-deep-end’ moment living and

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

working abroad. Managing the reconstruction on one of Ireland’s most exclusive clubs (Elm Park Golf Club) then moving on to a full 18-hole construction project in the Irish Midlands (New Forest Estate) was an enormous change in all facets of my life.

One very cold Irish February morning, I received a call from David Nicholls (vice-president, science and agronomy at Troon Golf) asking if I was interested in a move back to a Troon-managed property in Fiji. It didn’t take long to go from having the odd Guinness to the traditional Kava drinking ceremonies of Fiji where Denarau Golf & Racquet Club became my home for three memorable years, two as course superintendent and one as general manager. From Fiji I travelled to Europe and worked in the Azores in Portugal for just under a year. This facility hosted a European Seniors Tour event and yet again added to my list of very interesting places to have resided and worked.

My next move took me to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, were I was employed as construction superintendent at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club. I was privileged to work alongside Marcus Hartup again and Troon Golf’s Robin Evans on this extraordinary Gary Player Signature golf course project which was incredibly rewarding.

After the opening of Saadiyat Beach, I moved to Moscow for a summer and completed the construction of a golf course for a Russian tycoon. Again, this was a great experience and something I hadn’t dreamt of when I was doing my apprenticeship in Tasmania. Following Moscow, it was back to the desert and to a fantastic place which I have now called home for the past four years, The Els Club in Dubai.

Tour debut

brought in at the landing zones on five holes. An intermediate rough was also implemented into the mowing schedule along with the traditional tee walk offs, while bunker edging works also increased in the tournament lead-up.

The Asian Tour made its first and only site visit of The Els Club on 9 October during which representatives from the organiser and promoter of the event, Golf in Dubai, were present along with Troon Golf. It was at this point that you felt exposed to tournament golf, with a part of the morning site visit of the golf course being agronomic based.

2014 Dubai Open winner Arjun Atwal, with The Els Club maintenance team and Clinton Southorn (far left)

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The Els Club is a Troon Golf-managed facility which opened in 2008 and is part of the impressive Dubai Sports City complex, a 50 million square feet mixed-use development that will be the world’s first integrated purpose-built sports city. The development is being built around five major sports venues and a series of sports academies.

On 3 September 2014 it was announced that The Els Club would be playing host to the Asian Tour’s inaugural Dubai Open from 18-21 December 2014.

The Open would be the final event on the 2014 Tour calendar and the first Tour event to be held at the club. Despite American golfer David Lipsky having already won the Tour’s Order of Merit title, there was still a lot to play for and the tournament boasted a large number of European Tour stars including Darren Clarke, David Howell, Jeev Milkha Singh and youngsters Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Everyone involved was very excited at the prospect of being able to showcase this Ernie Elsdesigned desert gem, but with just three months to prepare coupled with a very busy agronomy programme which saw the course closed for the annual overseeding, there were certainly plenty of challenges that needed to be overcome.

As far as the tournament set up was concerned, the golf course was essentially presented as it would have been for day-to-day play. Only subtle changes were made to grass lines with the roughs

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Clinton Southorn (right) talks with Ernie Els and Dubai Sports City president Khalid Al Zarooni about the maturing landscaping on the first hole at The Els Club during a recent course visit

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This proved to be the easiest part of the tour!

We discussed mowing heights, the desired green speeds and the implementation of an intermediate rough as the focal points from an agronomy perspective. Deciding on where there would be a need for marshals, the placement of public toilets, access for emergency vehicles, rope and stake routes and the timings of how long it would take players to walk from greens to tees took up a lot more time.

Agronomy programme

Members of The Els Club maintenance team working together spraying Primo Maxx on the fairways prior to the start of the Dubai Open

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Like most places around the world, Dubai’s seasonal weather and golfing popularity are linked. There are two distinct seasons here in the Middle East. The first are the cooler months (October-April) where temperatures range from the low 20s to mid-30s, with mid- to high teens being the coolest night time temperatures.

A ridiculously hot summer is the second part of the weather cycle in Dubai and this is when all of the intense cultural programmes are carried out while golfer numbers are low. Temperatures during these months reach 50°C-plus during the day and can stay in the high 30s at night – far from pleasant

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

weather for the golfers, but in the cooler months of this cycle it enables good recovery of the Bermuda turf.

The last week in August saw the completion of the second and final green renovations for the year on our TifEagle greens, while the Tifway 419 fairways, roughs and tees had already had their annual dethatching and hollow coring completed through June and July. The agronomy team has always been fortunate enough to be able to complete these critical cultural practices as programmed.

Through ongoing educational communications with ownership and positive results, our cultural programmes have always been scheduled.

With these larger cultural renovations behind us and our aggressive grooming and dusting programmes throughout the year on the greens, the golf course was well positioned when the announcement was made that we were hosting the Dubai Open. It was then all about completing a successful overseeding programme and preparing all the turf surfaces to be tournament ready seven weeks after overseeding that was always going to be the biggest challenge.

While all the focus was on the tournament, there was still an obligation to members and owners for life post-tournament. Presentation and the quality of the turf surfaces at The Els Club have been its strongest attributes and with the golfing season traditionally lasting until the end of May we didn’t want the amended programmes for the tournament preparations to have a negative effect on the turf afterwards and the large investment made in the overseeding programme.

A week prior to overseeding with ryegrass, there were a combination of programmes put in place with light verti-cutting of all tees and fairways along with reduced irrigation and Primo Maxx applied at 18ml/100m2. The golf course is fully open

looking in great shape and it was open for play up to and including the Sunday before the first practice day. Cutting heights were worked down on the closely maintained turf areas, while the roughs were mown just twice since the overseed. The intent there was not for a thick, juicy rough, rather for a rough that showed good contrast to the tightly mown turf areas.

From the black tee markers the course is long, measuring 6893m, but for the tournament it averaged 6602m over the four days. While the landing zones off the tees are generous, it’s the strongly designed 18 greens that measure 8897m2 in total that test the skill and are the key to making a good score at The Els Club.

Looking from the grandstand behind the 18th green looking back down the fairway

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right up to when the overseeding starts (just under 1000 rounds were scheduled for play in the seven days leading up to closure), hence the modified traditional pre-overseeding programmes.

The ryegrass germinated in just less than four days with the golf course being re-opened on 31 October, 44 days prior to the tournament’s first official practice round. Due to the temperatures still being in the high 30s, the watering programme was intense to say the least, with all sprinklers on at 90 minute cycles with a five minute run time during the day time, which was then slightly reduced as re-opening of the golf course drew closer.

Primo was again applied 20 days after germination and again at 40 days at 12ml and 14ml/100m2. With high temperatures and plenty of water being thrown out, it’s perfect growing conditions for the Bermuda, so we suppress that with Primo Maxx applications to allow the ryegrass to establish. The mowing height of the ryegrass 10 days after overseeding on all tees, fairways and surrounds is 28mm.

During the overseeding process, the team created an educational four minute video which demonstrates the procedure and finished product.

The video can be viewed on YouTube www.youtube. com/watch?v=PqN1pbbiQZ0.

Two weeks out from the start of tournament week, the golf course was extremely busy with golfers. After the overseeding the course was

March-April 2015

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ex-pats ex-pats

Fairways (Bermuda/ryegrass mix): 10mm with Toro 5410 mowers; l Tees and surrounds (Bermuda/ryegrass mix): 10mm all with Toro 1600 walk mowers; l Intermediate rough (Bermuda/ryegrass mix): 25mm with Toro sidewinder; and l Roughs (Bermuda/ryegrass mix): 55mm.

As mentioned, the agronomy schedule didn’t change too much on the greens in the lead-up to the tournament. The fortnightly double grooming (up and back on the same line) and dusting on greens continued up to 10 days prior to the first round.

At this time of the season, traditionally grooming and pencil tining is alternated with the last pencil tining completed on the greens 17 days prior to the tournament.

Our wetting agent applications were maintained and applied on their fortnightly programme, with Penterra and Humawet mix also applied five days prior to the start of the tournament. Heritage Maxx and Daconil were applied four days prior and there was a follow up fungicide application of Subdue Maxx and Top Spin (thiophanate) a further 15 days back. With extra stress on the TifEagle in these cooler conditions, we wanted to ensure our preventative fungicide programme was well prepared. l

2011 Open Championship winner Darren Clarke was among the marquee players that lined up for the inaugural Dubai Open

Jbe Kruger plays to the elevated 9th green on the final day of the Dubai Open with the spectacular clubhouse in the background

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The small, flowing greens had the Tour asking for the greens speed to be at 10 feet for the start of the tournament. As the practice days started and the opening round teed off, the speed of the greens was able to be increased with the average reading 11 feet. For the second and third rounds, the greens were slowed down fractionally at the Tour’s request, with an average of 10.1.

The final round saw the speed increased again and the greens were rolling at a slick 11.5. It doesn’t sound lightning quick, but on these greens it was fast enough. With the reduced yardages and controlled green speed being commended by the players, the final winning score of 16-under proved that the golf course more than held its own.

Daily mowing of fairways, surrounds and tees for the lead-up week and during the tournament saw a distinctive improvement on the visual aspect of the golf course, with the team also focusing on edging and general cleanness. Mowing heights for the tournament were agreed on during the Asian Tour’s inspection in early October and were: l

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Greens (TifEagle): 3mm with Toro 1000 walk mowers; Collars (Bermuda/ryegrass mix): 8mm with Toro 1600 walk mowers;

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Team effort It goes without saying that you are only as good as the team you have and this was definitely the case with the staff at The Els Club. The team, which numbers 48 in total, is made up of several nationalities including Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Filipino, English and Australian. The crew were great and we had 100 per cent confidence in them to be able to complete all tasks.

The team put in a lot of extra hours, especially in the week prior to the tournament. Tournament week is more about extra early starts and late finishes with nothing in-between and witnessing the willingness and dedication they showed during this event was extremely rewarding and a reminder of why we enjoy this profession.

All of our staff’s nationalities were represented with touring professionals playing in the Dubai Open. This was a great motivational tool for the staff and after our morning preparations had finished it was great to see the team out there as spectators following their respective countrymen.

The final round of the Dubai Open saw up and coming South Korean star Wang Jeung-hun bogey the 72nd hole to hand popular Florida-based Indian Arjun Atwal a one shot victory. Atwal was steady under pressure and played a great shot out of the desert on the 17th hole which allowed him to walk away with a bogey before following up with a birdie on the shortened 18th.

It was a great end to a great tournament and full highlights can be found on YouTube http://youtu. be/1LxopwaU7oU.

tournaments tournaments

Masterful In late January, New Zealand-based apprentice greenkeeper Ben Finn got the experience of a lifetime when he joined former AGCSA Board member Robin Doodson to assist with preparations at Doha Golf Club for the 2015 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

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Doha

t’s 4am and the alarm has just chirped up. It wasn’t needed; I had been awake for hours. I was pumped with adrenaline as the prospect of cutting greens at my first big international tournament was approaching at a rapid rate. It was the opening round of the 2015 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and I was loving it. This was the big time and there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

My name is Benjamin Finn and I am currently an apprentice greenkeeper at the ‘spiritual home’ of New Zealand golf, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club just north of Wellington. Recently I was lucky enough to volunteer at the European Tour’s Qatar Masters held at Doha Golf Club, a 27-hole golf complex that comprises an 18-hole Championship course and a nine-hole floodlit Academy course.

Doha Golf Club was designed by Peter Harradine and officially opened in 1997. It is built on 150 hectares of rocky desert and includes eight strategically positioned lakes and a number of giant cacti. The ryegrass overseeded tees, fairways and rough leave a great colour contrast between the golf course and the desert that surrounds it.

The opportunity to experience such an event came about mainly due to my older brother Corey, who is currently the assistant superintendent at Doha Golf Club. Together with the permission of course superintendent Robin Doodson, who needs little introduction to readers of Australian Turfgrass Management, I was generously invited over to help out while also gaining valuable experience in tournament golf. Robin started as superintendent last August, taking over from David Cassidy, and up until his new appointment was an AGCSA board member and superintendent at Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club on the Gold Coast.

Experience of a lifetime The Doha Golf Club green staff crew totals 60 and consists of Indian, Sri Lankan, Filipino and Nepalese nationalities. These guys were an absolute pleasure to work beside. They were friendly, incredibly helpful, patient and humorous. They were indeed a collection of like-minded people working together to achieve the common goal of presenting this desert oasis in the best possible condition it could be.

One objective of mine for this trip was to become familiar with a walk-behind mower. Coming from a small team of five greenkeepers at Paraparaumu Beach, I had never had the opportunity to hand mow greens as the triplex is preferred. The first day I arrived at Doha Golf Club I was swiftly put onto a walk-behind mower and my brother must have wondered what he had got himself into! However, something clicked and after a couple of days my confidence grew and I was all over it.

The approach to Doha Golf Club’s 18th green which Grace birdied to seal his sixth European Tour victory in January 26

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Preparations for the Masters (held from 21-25 January) started back in November with the annual overseeding of the entire course (the 328 greens are also oversown with Poa trivialis). I am told that the overseeding period is more stressful than the actual tournament itself, but despite the extra stress levels it results in the course reaching the required presentation standards in order to host the likes of Garcia, Rose, Stenson and Els. (You can read more about the overseeding process in former course superintendent David Cassidy’s excellent article ‘Middle East Master’ that appeared in ATM Volume 16.2 – March-April 2014.)

A typical day for me before the tournament started was to cut greens with my partner Jegam.

I would then drop my mower off to the mechanics, led by Englishman Steve Shaw, who would wash it and check height of cut, oil and fuel levels. After this I would join a bunker maintenance crew who would be trimming edges and compacting and brushing walls, which would leave the bunkers looking mint.

After lunch I would be back on the mower to cut greens that afternoon along with other jobs that included compacting gravel paths, cleaning rocks and tree mound raking and compacting.

Game on

l

l

Greens (328/Poa trivialis): 2.8mm with 12 walkbehind greens mowers; Approaches (328/Poa trivialis): Walk-mowed at 5mm; Tees (419 Bermuda/ryegrass): Walk-mowed at 8mm;

Fairways (419 Bermuda/ryegrass): 10mm; Semi-rough (419 Bermuda/ryegrass): 25mm; l Intermediate rough (419 Bermuda/ryegrass): 51mm; l Rough (419 Bermuda/ryegrass): Topped at 75mm before first round.

The US$2.5 million Commercial Bank Qatar Masters went right down to the wire again with South Africa’s Branden Grace collecting his sixth European Tour title with a dramatic one-shot victory over Scotland’s Marc Warren. Playing in the penultimate pairing, Grace eagled the par four 16th and birdied the par five 18th to sign for a bogey-free 66 and a 19-under-par total of 269 before Warren, playing in the final flight, could only par 18 for a 67. l l

Above: Greens were cut at 2.8mm and rolled if required to get to the desired speeds Far left: The Doha Golf Club maintenance crew with 2015 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters victor Branden Grace. Doodson (pictured to the left of Grace) has been superintendent at the Middle East course for just six months having moved across from the Gold Coast’s Sanctuary Cove. Ben Finn is in the red shirt (right)

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Robin would stimp Doha’s couchgrass greens every morning after being cut to check that they were all running at the same speed. From these results it was decided whether anything else was necessary to achieve the target speed set by the European Tour officials. For example, the 11th green only needed a single cut most mornings whereas the 13th green needed a double cut and roll in order to get up to the required speed.

This was one difference I noticed from my employment in New Zealand. Coming from a small staff, it is quite often just ‘double cut and roll’ and hope that all the greens are consistent. At Doha, there was no guesswork and all greens were precisely within the same speed range. For the record, on the last day of the tournament the greens were stimping between 12-12½ feet.

Once everybody had finished their jobs (mowing greens, tees and approaches, rolling greens, changing holes and raking bunkers) we would then travel back to the maintenance shed as a group.

Robin and Corey would give a quick briefing on how things went and the plan for the afternoon.

In the afternoon we would single roll the green first. This was to flatten any repaired pitch/spike marks so that when mowing scalping would not occur. The greens were then once again checked for speed and depending on the result a single cut, double cut or nothing was carried out. When we weren’t required to mow a green we would be fluffing up rough with rakes in order to hide any tyre marks made by carts throughout the day.

The 2015 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters cutting regimes were as follows:

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The annual overseed in November of the 328 greens and 419 couchgrass fairways, tees and roughs with ryegrass and Poa trivialis greatly assist with definition and presentation come the tournament March-April 2015

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The Qatar Masters has had a knack in recent years of providing dramatic finishes

While the Qatar Masters attracts many of the European Tour’s star players every January, by comparison spectator galleries are very small

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Twenty-six-year-old Grace became the fourth South African to lift the Mother of Pearl Trophy, following Darren Fichardt (2003), Ernie Els (2005) and Retief Goosen (2007), following up his win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship the previous month.

For his efforts he pocketed the winner’s cheque of US$416,660 which was presented by Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi, chief executive of Commercial Bank, which earlier in the week announced a three-year extension of its title sponsorship through 2018.

“This is definitely one of the tournaments that I wanted to win, so I’m proud of myself that I managed to do it,” Grace commented after winning the event, having finished joint sixth in 2013 and tied for 13th in 2014. “The Middle East is one of the places I’ve always wanted to win. I’ve thought my game suits these types of golf courses and I play well when I come here.”

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

‘Same same’, but different “Same same, but different” was a popular quote used by a lot of my Sri Lankan colleagues who I had the pleasure of working with during the tournament.

They used this mainly when trying to describe Sri Lanka as “the same as New Zealand, but different Mr Ben”. This funnily enough is how I summed up my experiences in Qatar.

The Doha Golf Club performs many greenkeeping techniques that we also do on a daily basis, however, the difference between them and us is the sheer scale. For example their budget, staff size and machinery fleet are all vastly superior to what I have experienced back home in New Zealand. These differences, however, I believe are required in order to host an important and massive tournament such as a European Tour event. I do believe we all do as much as we can for our sporting facilities, but just how much that is depends on the scale.

The experience of working at such a major event at Qatar’s only golf course was the highlight of my short greenkeeping career. It was just awesome to experience first-hand the whole team buzzing at the opportunity to get the golf course into perfect condition for a televised tournament. It did take a lot of a hard work along the way but for me there was no greater satisfaction than sitting back on that final afternoon and knowing that you had contributed to such a special occasion.

I would seriously encourage anybody in the industry, if given the same opportunity, to grab it with both hands and never look back. I guarantee it will be one of the highlights of your career and provide invaluable experience to better yourself.

AGCSA

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tournaments tournaments

Thirteenth Beach

cleans up For the third year in a row Thirteenth Beach Golf Links hosted the combined men’s and women’s Oates Victorian Open in February.

Course superintendent Steve Hewitt looks back on the tournament and the challenges to get a 36-hole public access facility up for one of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s burgeoning

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hirteenth Beach Golf Links on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula has held the men’s and women’s Oates Victorian Open now for three years. The tournament is unique to any other tournament around the world in that both the men and women play at the same venue, with the men’s groups alternating with women. Both round one and round two are played on the Creek course and the Beach course, with the final two rounds played on the Beach course.

The tournament has certainly gained momentum over the past couple of years and this was clearly evident when shortly before this year’s tournament naming rights sponsor Oates extended its support through until the 2018 tournament.

Of the three Opens we have prepared for, this year’s would have to rate as the most difficult. Not for the reason of having a dry summer – they have all been dry and we have sufficient water. Not for the reason that the golfing programme for the week is demanding – they all have been. The schedule is punishing and goes as follows:

Sunday: Victorian Junior Open; Monday: Practice day; l Tuesday: 36 hole, 7.45am shotgun Pro-Am; l Wednesday: 36 hole, 7.45am shotgun Pro-Am; l Thursday: Two courses, two tee start 7am; l Friday: Two courses, two tee start 7am; l Saturday: Beach course two tee start with members comp on Creek course 7am; and l

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Sunday: Final round Beach course, Creek course open for members, guests and public.

The biggest reason why this year’s event was more challenging was for the simple fact that the tournament was scheduled three weeks earlier.

This may not sound like a big issue, but when a busy January golf programme runs straight into the Australia Day long weekend, Big Hole Golf for the first time 10 days from tournament week, a ‘100 Hole Hike’ event, music concerts and the usual demands of looking after 36 holes with 15 staff, it certainly compounds the normalities of preparing for an Open tournament. l

Busy times Thirteenth Beach Golf Links is a 36-hole golfing precinct located at the popular summer holiday location Barwon Heads. With the two courses we cater for both a growing membership and also public golfers paying green fees. The two courses rotate each day, one being a members-only course and the other a members and public course. This gives both members and guests an opportunity to play both courses.

As other superintendents in a holiday destination know, the golf courses are busy during the peak holiday period and getting on the golf course to do work other than preparing for play in the mornings is difficult. As usual there is a major focus in November and December to prepare for the

Turning what is a busy 36-hole public access course into a tournament-calibre venue that hosts one of Australia’s most unique tournaments has its own set of challenges. The Victorian Open sees both the men and women play at the same venue, with the men’s groups alternating with the women

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Christmas holiday rush and it seemed like we had only just got our head above water come those final few weeks before Christmas.

It was noticeable that construction work to alter two holes on the Creek Course and to build a new practice chipping facility which started in July had consumed excessive labour resources and put us behind in many areas. By mid-October we had already started to compromise our normal work scheduling to cater for the lack of time before the end of the year.

Creek course green surrounds and Beach course fairways are normally cored every second year. We made the decision to leave the bulk of the fairway areas for after the tournament and core only approaches on the Beach course and green surrounds on the Creek course.

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With such a hectic schedule leading up to and during the tournament, Hewitt is lucky to have a small yet dedicated crew who can quickly shift from normal maintenance practices to the rigours of tournament preparation

Playing as the 15th hole on the Beach course for the Open, Richard Green scored a remarkable hole in one on the short par four during this year’s Pro-Am

In addition, I had planned to have staff work additional overtime in December with an emphasis on bunker preparation in the hope we could maintain the improvements right through to the tournament. The additional hours were spent preparing adequately for the holiday period and not at all for the early February tournament.

Early January saw the majority of holiday golfers head back to work. The crew were geared up for additional overtime in order to once again make a start on preparing for the tournament with an emphasis on bunker playability and presentation.

As it turned out, on Saturday 3 January, probably our biggest green fee and member day for the year, we experienced a 42oC day with a massive cool change that resulted in strong winds which ripped out small trees and tore limbs off mature trees.

The severity of the wind has forced the nearby Torquay Bunning’s store to close for six months to repair the building after what was described as a mini tornado wreaked havoc in that area causing considerable damage to the roof. This turned out to be a costly day as the golf courses were deserted.

This was also the start of a constant southerly/ south-easterly wind which seemed to last for four weeks and did not stop blowing day and night. We did not have a dew for four weeks and irrigation uniformity was obviously poor during this time.

As a result of the wind damage considerable staff resources were required for a week to clean up the tree damage, yet again more resources lost from bunker maintenance.

As the tournament drew closer, so too did the need for altering what would normally have been a successful plan. Decisions were made daily to either cancel some tasks that did not have a direct influence on the primary playing surfaces or to condense tasks to make performing jobs at a higher efficiency rate which resulted in added pressure on staff and a focus on quantity not quality of work.

Many jobs were condensed into one. Some bunkers were not touched for up to three weeks in an effort to concentrate on moving sand in priority bunkers. We sacrificed course presentation for both members and public in the lead up to the tournament. I was mindful of visitors paying to play when the courses were not presented as they normally would, but could not justify the need to rake all bunkers when several could have been improved in that time.

Bunkers are a focus at Thirteenth Beach Golf Links – we have 266 to maintain. Besides the required trimming, weed control and growth retardant needed to provide the right appearance, there is also the shifting of the sand. The wind does this for us with deep pockets of sand relocated in different areas of a bunker besides the base. There were days when sand was shifted to where it should be by staff only to find after the constant south easterly blowing day and night that the sand had begun to migrate back to where it came from after a day or two.

Brooms were used to present the bunker faces for the first time on the Tuesday morning for the first of the two Pro-Ams. The brooms do a great job of disguising our rocky limestone faces and no doubt make myself and the staff feel good about our work when we can hide the imperfections. As late as Monday afternoon staff were still focusing on shifting sand in bunkers to make them playable and presentable.

Tournament time Come tournament week the playing surfaces presented well with the greens stimping at 10’. After the first year where greens stimped at 10’, I had the confidence in the second year to have them running a little quicker, in fact we were unable to slow them down without putting excess water on which would have made them unnaturally soft or not cutting the greens which would have been disappointing.

I had no hesitation with restricting green speed to 10’ this year. I was mindful of the continuous afternoon winds coming off the ocean that we had experienced over the preceding four weeks which had the potential to ruin the tournament if the greens were harder and faster.

In the end Richard Green won the men’s with a score of 16-under while is fiancé Marianne Skarpnord won the women’s with 13-under. Both Golf Victoria and the PGA want to see birdies and scores from

continued on page 34 32

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

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Both the Beach and Creek courses boast Penn G2 bentgrass greens

continued from page 32 12- to 18-under winning the tournament. In order to achieve this the PGA staff set pin positions that are suitable to both men and women. Ball flight, stopping ability and length of iron shots into greens are different for both men and women and this has to be considered.

Interestingly, the courses were set up easier on the first round with forward tees used to cater for the strong winds. Holes and markers are not changed on the Friday as only half the field had played one course and as such with the calmer conditions on the Friday the scoring was easier compared to the Thursday.

I was grateful to all staff in the lead up to and during the tournament. Our machinery maintenance was first class. When we needed to spray a product our sprayers worked well; when we needed to mow, the mowers cut perfectly. When the staff were asked to shift from normal maintenance practices to tournament preparation mode they did. As a team we had no operational glitches that put us under pressure and for this they should all feel proud of what they achieved.

We were certainly underdone in areas, mostly the peripherals of the courses, but everything from tee to green was good. Take a closer look at the bunkers, wastelands, paths and they could have been much better. It will be a decision for the company if they want to inject additional resources into the tournament preparation if we have an early February tournament again.

The Beach course fairways (pictured) are a fine fescue couch mix whereas the Creek course fairways are Santa Ana couchgrass 34

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

As an aside, it was interesting to read in the January-February edition of Australian Turfgrass Management the reviews of the Australian PGA Championship (RACV Royal Pines), the Emirates Australian Open (The Australian) and BetEasy Masters (Metropolitan). I could relate a little, only a little, to what Lincoln Coombes went through with the reconstruction of nine holes during the year with the construction we performed in 2014.

I could only read and be envious of the preparation times and resources available to The Australian and Metropolitan golf clubs to be able to achieve the superb level of presentation they did.

We were never going to match that expectation which is understandable, but we delivered two golf courses in good condition for the Vic Open.

We only received compliments from the PGA, the golfers, our members and the numerous visitors that I have spoken to since about the condition of the courses. Some members thought it was the best the courses had ever been! I was personally pleased with the presentation of both courses but at the same time disappointed that we did not have enough time and resources to finish off the smaller jobs that perhaps the superintendent notices but not the golfers or spectators.

This poses an interesting scenario that perhaps we as golf course superintendents put undue pressure on ourselves on a daily basis to provide the best playing surfaces possible. Most golfers don’t see the bad couch encroachment we have on our greens. Most would not be able to tell the difference between Poa and bentgrass or whether a fairway had been cut today or yesterday.

All these scenarios are inflicted by ourselves to achieve what we know we can do with what’s available to us. I am like most superintendents in that I want to achieve the best result possible and go that bit extra for a better finish, but at what stage does this become cost-prohibitive?

The management of Thirteenth Beach Golf Links were happy with the outcome of the 2015 Oates Vic Open, but I know, as a team, we could have done it much better. Mind you, if you could have seen the courses three weeks prior to the tournament we really did achieve a lot in a short space of time.

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agcsatech update agcsatech update

Fairway patch or Black fungus 1 has now been identified in golf courses in Queensland and Western Australia.

Pictured is scarring of the turf caused by the disease

Beware the

BF1

Fairway patch disease, or BF1 as it has become known throughout the industry, has traditionally been perceived as a greater Sydney issue. However, as AGCSATech agronomist Andrew Peart discovered at a recent workshop held at Bonnie Doon Golf Club, the disease is more widespread and is quite often misdiagnosed.

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n 10 February 2015, Bonnie Doon Golf Club in Sydney hosted a morning workshop attended by more than 40 people to discuss a range of issues associated with Fairway patch disease, otherwise commonly known in New South Wales as Black fungus 1 or BF1.

President of Bonnie Doon Golf Club, Andrew Woods, addressed the gathering of superintendents, turf managers and trade representatives first and spoke about the importance to his club of finding a control or best way to manage the disease.

The concern to the club was that if the disease symptoms worsen to the extent where ball lie is being so badly affected, it could lead to a discontented membership. This may ultimately impact the revenue of the club with either a drop in membership numbers or the possibility that the club may not be able to attract lucrative corporate days due to the poor condition of the golf course.

For this reason Bonnie Doon has been very proactive along with Royal Sydney and New South Wales golf clubs in providing research funding over the last six years. Together these clubs have invested more than $250,000 and it is hoped that more clubs and associations will invest in continuing research so that hopefully a control can be found or, if not, the best control strategy discovered to reduce its severe impact on affected playing surfaces.

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Dr. Percy Wong, a senior research fellow with the Department of Plant and Food Sciences at the University of Sydney has led the research into BF1 with funding money provided by the three clubs.

His work has been instrumental in gathering all the current information about the disease which he presented on during the February workshop.

Growing menace BF1 was first noticed at New South Wales Golf Club in 2000 on one of its couchgrass fairways and looked very much like Rhizoctonia spp. with the customary ring of dead/dying turf. Like Rhizoctonia spp., BF1 is generally observed as a ring, with the infection front having yellow to orange leaves and spreading in either complete rings or arcs which over time can coalesce to form a network of dead and dying grass. There is recovery within the ring, although the turf is often slightly coarser and tends to have increased seedhead production.

While it was first noticed in 2000, it was not really considered a major issue until 2004/05 when the same symptoms appeared at Royal Sydney and Bonnie Doon golf clubs. Initially it was thought that it may just have been a disease associated with that pocket of south east Sydney, but since then it has, alarmingly, been identified in 12 golf courses from western Sydney (Penrith Golf Club) and even

middle two being a darker pigmentation than the outer two. To properly identify BF1 it must be plated out to ensure it is actually the fungus and not just one of the aforementioned ERI types.

Isolating the actual fungus that was causing the symptoms at the three ‘founding clubs’ was a timely exercise. Initially infected root samples needed to be bleached to kill all the fungus on the outside of the root that was not causing the disease. While BF1 fungus is categorised as an ERI fungus, it actually penetrates into the vascular tissue of the root, which is located in the middle and is used to move water and nutrients through the plant, and the subsequent disruption of this kills the plant.

Once the outside of the root has been ‘sterilised’ and then small segments placed on an inert growing medium, the fungus that grows out of the root is collected and classified into either a pathogenic fungus (one that causes disease) or simply a parasitic fungus that is merely there for the free feed but is not actually killing the plant.

Pathogens isolated using this technique as well as BF1 were Rhizoctonia spp. and Fusarium spp.

The BF1 fungus, however, was consistent with all samples supplied by the three clubs.

The grass species which have been observed to suffer from BF1 are seven varieties of couchgrass as well as kikuyu, although the only instance of it affecting kikuyu has been at Bonnie Doon Golf Club

Trial work

While it was first noticed at NSW Golf Club in 2000, BF1 was not really considered a major issue until 2004/05 when the same symptoms appeared at Royal Sydney and Bonnie Doon golf clubs

march-april 2015

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Queensland (The Grand Golf Club). In addition, just this year it was also detected at three locations within Western Australia.

However, many clubs may have the disease without their knowledge as the disease may not become apparent for several years after its introduction into their fairways. The disease is spread by infected turf and soil adhering to golf shoes, golf carts and maintenance equipment.

The grass species which have been observed to suffer from the disease are seven varieties of couchgrass – common, Greenlees Park, Windsorgreen, Wintergreen, Legend and Santa Ana – as well as kikuyu, although the only kikuyu on which it has been observed to date is Bonnie Doon.

The fungus itself falls into the category of an ERI (ectotrophic root infecting) fungus and looks very similar underneath a microscope to Gaeumannomyces spp., Magnaporthe spp. or Ophiosphaerella spp, with its dark pigmented hyphae. While the hyphae are similar, it also exhibits very similar turfgrass symptoms to the majority of those diseases as well.

However, the major difference is that BF1 does not produce spores and therefore identifying the disease the traditional way, through spore characteristics, cannot be achieved. For example Magnaporthe spp. spores are four-celled with the

Once plated and grown out onto agar, it was important to collect pure samples of the BF1 fungus so that trials could be undertaken with commercially available fungicides to see what was effective in killing this pathogen.

One trial using three different concentrations (1ppm, 10ppm and 100pmm) of four current turf registered fungicides (Banner, Bayfidan, Heritage and Monstar) showed some promising results with both Banner and Bayfidan at the 100ppm rate. Unfortunately though when this trial was replicated in the field there was no visible control of the disease. Additional field trials that were also conducted for a period of two years utilising Banner, Bayfidan, Heritage, Rovral, Dedicate and Instrata also provided no result in terms of a consistent control of the disease.

agcsatech update

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agcsatech update

BF1 is generally observed as a ring, with the infection front having yellow to orange leaves and spreading in either complete rings or arcs which over time can coalesce to form a network of dead and dying grass

more research needed

Replicated field trials have also been conducted using a range of other techniques which have involved fungicides, biological control agents, organic amendments, fertilisers and a range of cultural practices. The most encouraging was Trichoderma spp. which is a commercially available fungi known for controlling Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. in turf as well as Fusarium spp. and Guaemannomyces spp. in wheat.

In field trials the Trichoderma spp. was applied as the commercially available Trich-a-soil product and watered into the sward. It did produce some promising results but the thought was that it needed to be applied at regular intervals to ensure the required population of Trichoderma spp. was maintained within the soil.

The control of any new turfgrass disease can be a very long and expensive exercise. In the United States, following the identification of summer patch (Magnaporthe poea), it took four plant pathologists working full-time over 20 years to find a suitable control, and even now it still requires multiple applications of fungicide to keep the turfgrass symptoms under control in those areas susceptible to the disease.

What has been learned so far is that the BF1 disease can be more severe from one year to another. For example, the symptoms observed in 2012 were very few with the clubs assuming that they had the disease under control. However, in 2014 the disease was very prominent with some fairways on the same golf course affected to very differing degrees.

Chemical control that has been very effective in controlling other ERI type fungus is ineffective against BF1. As mentioned the best control treatment to date has been the regular use of Trichoderma spp, while higher rates of turfgrass fertility tend to mask the disease, which at present is generally the approach being taken by those clubs who can undertake this strategy.

At this stage, unfortunately the best longterm strategy would appear to be finding resistant turfgrass cultivars, although with additional research money and more time a suitable control option may well be found. As this disease has not been identified in other parts of the world, it will rely on a control or best control strategy to be identified within Australia before it spreads even further around the continent.

new King Island courses set to impress

D

uring January I was fortunate to spend a day down at Cape Wickham with ex-AGCSATech colleague John Geary. John has been employed on a six month contract as grow-in superintendent at the recently constructed Cape Wickham golf The impressive 18th at Ocean course.

Dunes on King Island Cape Wickham is one of the northern most points on King Island, which is halfway between Cape Otway, Victoria and the north western tip of Tasmania; in other words right in the middle of Bass Strait. Cape Wickham boasts the largest lighthouse in Australia standing an impressive 48 metres above the ground, and as such can be seen from most locations on the golf course. The other notable feature of the Cape Wickham course is the majestic Victoria Cove which the 18th hole hugs and a focal point of the proposed clubhouse development. (You can read more about the Cape Wickham development earlier in this edition – ‘Cape Wickham wonder’, pages 6-10 – Ed)

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

While visiting Cape Wickham I was also fortunate to be able to visit the other course that is being constructed on the island, Ocean Dunes, which is on the island’s western coast and closer to the main township of Currie. As with Cape Wickham, Ocean Dunes also has many spectacular holes on the water’s edge although at the time of my visit only 10 holes had been constructed whereas all 18 had been grassed at Cape Wickham.

Both courses will have fine fescue tees and fairways, with Cape Wickham having fine fescue greens, while Ocean Dunes will have bentgrass greens. The exposed location has caused headaches at both sites with some greens and fairways needing to be replanted either due to salt burn, washouts or wind erosion. While both sites are extremely challenging for grass establishment they will provide an excellent test for any golfer who is willing to play either, but hopefully both, these two great golf courses on the edge of Bass Strait.

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construction construction

New paths and irrigation have been installed at the 3rd tee complex

Green-up in the capital Six months into the long-awaited course redevelopment at Royal Canberra Golf Club, ATM checks up on the progress of Stage 1 works and whether the decision to use creeping bentgrass on fairways has paid off during the establishment phase.

Main photo: The view looking up Royal Canberra’s new-look 7th fairway five weeks after seeding with Crystal Bluelinks creeping bentgrass 40

I

n Volume 16.6 (November-December 2014), Australian Turfgrass Management took its first look at the redevelopment of Royal Canberra Golf Club. On the cards for a number of years, it was in July 2014 when works on the Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead (OCCM) masterplan finally got underway with course superintendent and AGCSA member Andrew Boyle managing one of the country’s biggest and most talked-about golf course redevelopments of recent times.

Since the last time ATM caught up with Boyle, Stage 1 works on holes 1-9 have progressed well with all earthworks nearing completion and grassing of six holes. Stage 1 was always going to be closely watched by both Royal Canberra members and the golf industry with such a large project taking place on a course that has been at its current site for 52 years.

Some of the key works undertaken already include the installation of a major trunk drainage network linking all greens, tees, bunkers and fairways to remove excess water from around the course that had previously been diverted to areas of rough. Other major works have included rebuilding all greens to USGA specifications, building new sand-based tees and the shaping of new bunkers that will have Kustom Bind bunker liner installed once the course is grown-in.

As with any golf course construction or redevelopment project, Boyle has had some setbacks during the first stage with the weather causing damage and delays. In what was a very

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

different summer to last year’s, Royal Canberra copped 254mm of rain in December 2014 and January 2015 alone, 241mm more than for the same period the previous summer.

“Most of this rainfall has come through in storms with high intensity rain washing away prepared areas and several areas that had been seeded,” explains Boyle. “On a sand-based course this rain wouldn’t have been a major concern, but on the clay it doesn’t take a huge amount of rain before the sands and topsoils on the clay wash down, taking everything in its path. Once we have turf establishment at around three weeks the ground has stabilised, but where there is no establishment we have been at the mercy of Mother Nature.

“There have been several areas that have been prepared, seeded and washed out multiple times.

It’s hard on the crew to see hours of work washed away in a matter of minutes and then to have to scrape up the seed to prevent contamination and begin preparing the surfaces again. On 21 January a storm cell built up over the Yarralumla course dropping 51mm in just under two hours with 20mm of that falling in the first 10 minutes. The storm was very intense and localised with Federal Golf Club just 3.5km away receiving just 26mm.

“The storms this year have really hampered the works and our progress in getting the course to the position we would like it in before winter sets in. At one stage we had the 8th fairway, surrounds and rough all seeded and a storm went through that not only took the seed with it, but most of the topsoil

“Overall I think we have had more than a 90 per cent kill rate on the couch, with our main concerns being the areas of South African couch out there and the first three holes to be stripped and shaped (6, 7 and 8),” says Boyle. “These greens complexes went through construction in early September 2014, too early for couch control to be effective and as a result there has been some couch regrowth with the addition of the stripped topsoil around the greens complexes. This will be controlled with spot applications of fluazifop and either re-seeded or turfed as the project progresses.”

Establishment

too. At this stage I think we have been delayed up to five weeks due to damage caused by the weather.”

While construction works on the new-look holes was delayed, Boyle and his crew also had the task of repairing bunker damage to the remaining 18 in-play holes with more than 320 man hours required to get them back up. On top of that there were also two lightning strikes to the irrigation system that required several days to repair.

Weed, Couch Control

A large network of drainage has gone into the fairways like this on the 9th hole (below). The installation process has seen a Shelton Supertrencher (bottom) cutting the trench, laying the pipe and filling with rock while disposing waste material onto a tractor trailer. The Dakota is supplying the gravel for the trenching

s

As stated in ATM Vol 16.6, the most unique feature of the Royal Canberra redevelopment is the decision to go with wholly cool-season grasses, in particular the use of the untried creeping bentgrass variety Crystal Bluelinks on the fairways, a first in Australia. For such a grassing programme to be going completely away from warm-season grasses, controlling couchgrass has and will always be an ongoing concern.

In late winter 2014 an application of glyphosate was applied across all fairways, greens, tees and rough up to the tree lines. This took out all coolseason grasses with the aim to allow the couch to grow without competition in the spring period before applying an application of glyphosate and fluazifop (Fusillade forte) which Boyle had successfully applied to use through the APVMA. This process had mixed results with up to three applications required to get control of the South African couch that had been introduced in areas on the 6th fairway, while most fairways had good control with two applications.

Greens and tee preparation has been a standard process with contractors SJM carrying out the shaping under the supervision of OCCM. Tees have been laser-levelled and the greens smoothed off with a drag mat prior to Royal Canberra staff hydroseeding the surfaces using shredded paper as a base layer. Greens are being hard edge seeded as the bentgrass variety being used (Pure Distinction) is different to the rest of the short cut areas (Crystal Bluelinks).

While greens and tees have been hydro-seeded, drop-seeding the fairways and rough with a tractor mounted speed-seeder has been the method used for the broad-acre areas. The speed-seeder is calibrated with gear settings and has allowed for the Crystal Bluelinks to be spread evenly at 80kg/ha and the perennial ryegrass (Striker Regenerator) in the roughs at 400kg/ha. Results on the first fairway seeded were very promising with germination at five days and the first mowing of the fairway occurring at three-and-a-half weeks.

“In regards to the grass selection, the definition between the playing surfaces was something that was very important, with the colour of the grasses taken into consideration,” states Boyle. “The lighter bentgrasses against the darker coloured ryegrass really make the fairways pop out. It does look a little American in its style, but gives a really good manicured look which is what our members enjoy.

March-April 2015

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construction construction

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Germination of the 8th fairway two weeks after seeding with Crystal Bluelinks creeping bentgrass A Berti stoneburier is being used to turn over the fairways, preparing for the topsoil to be removed and the fairway then re-graded

Below: Spreading salvaged topsoil from the old green sites around the outside of the new green on the 2nd Below right: The Pure Distinction creeping bentgrass greens nursery is looking very promising

42

“Once the seed has germinated, getting coverage is the key in what are very raw sands that we are working with, both the imported sand from Eulonga that is used on greens and tees and the recycled sand from the old greens and tees that is used to tie in green surrounds in the final shaping stage. A range of specific amendments have been blended into the sand at the quarry to ensure an even blend and to save time once the sand is on site by not having to spread and incorporate into the profile.”

Fertiliser applications on greens and tees started three weeks after seeding and included the use of Terralift TX10 followed by a liquid feed each week with low rates of Mycrofeast, Poly-Phos, magnesium sulphate and ammonium sulphate.

These applications were made using a 2000-litre tank with fish-mouth nozzle on the greens and tees (32L/100m²), while the fairways are being fed using the Toro Multipro 1250 at water rates of 600L/ha.

Having large areas of creeping bentgrass to establish, the need for fungicide applications was always going to be a concern. However, as Boyle comments, one consideration that has been overlooked by many is that creeping bentgrass mown at 8-10mm is under a lot less stress and therefore less susceptible to disease.

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

“There have been some small areas of pythium and brown patch which have flared up but nothing that we haven’t been able to control to date,” says Boyle. “An application of Banol was made to affected areas with good results on the pythium at about the four-week-old stage and after unusually humid conditions for Canberra. The brown patch that appeared on the fairway nursery was relatively minor, but an application of Transact Pro controlled that successfully.

“There is no doubt that further down the track that I will probably need to use more fungicide than most couch courses to keep the creeping bentgrass in ideal condition, especially on the fairways and tees. I see an opportunity to utilise some new products that are coming onto the market. Lock out from Hybrid-Ag has had some great results on greens with controlling fungal outbreaks, so to be able to add that into a preventative programme when we have known disease pressures may assist in the need for the more expensive products. In saying that though I do have a healthy supply of fungicide on the shelf should anything pop up unexpectedly.”

Schedule, Budget So is the redevelopment running to schedule and on budget at this early stage? “For the most part we are,” admits Boyle. “All Stage 1 earthworks should be completed on or within a week of the scheduled completion date set out at the beginning of the project. SJM are working on the final three holes at the moment (early February) and the plan is for them to be off site late February.

“The drainage and seeding that is being carried out by Royal Canberra staff is about a month behind schedule. Most of this is due to repairs having to be carried out after storm damage. Ideally we would have been seeding behind SJM as they complete each hole, but with drainage not able to go into some areas until after contour changes and then poor weather following, the bare ground has washed away in many cases and needed to be levelled again prior to seeding.

“We are on track to open the first nine holes in early spring 2015, a little behind the original schedule (July 2015), but probably at a better time to start Stage 2 works (holes 10-18) with the couch starting to green up.

“The budget is tracking well. There have been some areas that have gone over or been extras such

as paths, the addition of stone work around the 1st and 3rd tees and additional irrigation heads which has added a little to the budget. However, there have been some areas that extra was allowed for in the budget such as greens materials. For the first stage we are tracking close to budget, and should come under the initial figures by a small margin.”

Staffing Since Boyle began at Royal Canberra in August 2013, there has been a significant turnover in course staff with only 12 of the original 23 still there when he started. Finding qualified staff in Canberra has been difficult with few applicants applying for positions in the first 12 months of his tenure, but since the redevelopment has started there has been a lot of interest.

“We have recently appointed Ethan Bell, 2014 AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award winner and former course superintendent at Wangaratta Golf Club. Ethan brings a lot of experience from his time at Wangaratta as well as great enthusiasm to continue to learn and be a part of the project,” says Boyle.

“Starting a project this size with only a few staff with construction experience has been challenging.

There was a lot of time spent training guys to carry out specific tasks and as they got comfortable with them we would introduce other tasks. We have got a good young crew now, they are getting into the

project more as it progresses and beginning to take ownership of the tasks they are carrying out which is very pleasing. When we head to Stage 2 we will be fully prepared with experienced staff getting stuck into the project from the beginning which will make a big difference.”

New stone retaining walls have been built across the front of each tee level at the 1st to increase teeing area

Acknowledgements ATM wishes to sincerely thank Andrew Boyle for his assistance in compiling this article and supplying photos. The first article on the Royal Canberra redevelopment ‘Going Agrostis’ appeared in the November-December 2014 edition of ATM (Volume 16.6, pages 14-20).

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design design

Golf course redesign is a big step for any club and the pitfalls can be many and varied. Australian Golf Digest architecture editor Darius Oliver looks at some of the simple rules golf clubs must follow to ensure they get a product that won’t cost them in the long run.

O

ne of the founding fathers of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin, once famously quipped that, ‘if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.’ While true of almost every endeavour, Franklin’s words ring especially true in golf. Those clubs and courses struggling with decreasing memberships or reduced green fee revenue are almost certainly destined for failure unless able to properly plan a way out of the financial mire.

The key question to address in any situation of strife is ‘Why aren’t golfers joining/playing our course?’ To many observers golf related recoveries start with better marketing and better management or some sort of internal or financial restructure. For others, however, it is more simple and starts or finishes with better golf. Improve your golf course and surely local golfers will want to play the course more often, or join. That’s the theory but as history has proven time and time again it’s more difficult in practice.

Across Australia in recent years a number of major redesign projects have backfired spectacularly, with clubs spending good money on what they thought were improvements only to find golfers unimpressed by the changes. Addressing concerns through redesign is important, provided the work undertaken is appropriate to the problem at hand and, crucially, likely to make the golf course better and more fun to play than it previously was.

Golfers are more discerning than we sometimes give them credit for and simply adding bunkers or back tees for the single figure elite player isn’t going to improve things for the vast majority.

When it comes to major redevelopment or design refinement, there are a few pitfalls to be

Addressing concerns through redesign is important, provided the work undertaken is appropriate to the problem at hand and, crucially, likely to make the golf course better and more fun to play 44

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

aware of. For inexperienced board members or administrators charged with making changes to a golf course, it’s crucial to understand how and when things go wrong – and to make sure you do not repeat, but instead learn from, mistakes made elsewhere.

Inappropriate Brief Despite what some would have you believe, golf course architects are not necessarily the fountains of all knowledge. Some have tremendous passion and creativity and are capable of producing exceptional work, but even the best are unlikely to understand your golf course as intimately as your members or course staff. They are also unlikely to be able to solve each and every one of your problems.

Often in design solving one problem only creates another. It’s crucial, therefore, that the brief given a golf course designer aims to produce a better golf course for those who play it on a regular basis, not for a consultant who then moves onto another project. A good designer will appreciate strong direction from the club on precisely what it hopes to achieve and where it draws the design line.

If your design brief talks of longer or harder holes or of making the course more challenging then you might have a problem. Unless you are a tier-one course that wants to host regular events, or have anecdotal proof that golfers are staying away because the holes are too easy, why would you want to make your course tougher? Making it more interesting is certainly sensible, but that doesn’t necessarily mean simply adding length and tightening fairways and greens.

The other reason for a strong, clear brief to the designer is to control costs and project timelines.

Golf architects are often great salesmen and able to espouse the virtues of a particular change or new hole on the basis that it will become an icon and elevate the status of the course. An expensive change can often make sense, but sometimes clubs can achieve more by doing less and fixing blackspots rather than focusing on those that might be just a little brown.

Wrong Architect An inappropriate design brief can be a problem, but not in the same league as choosing the wrong course designer to carry out the work. Often design selections are made on name or reputation alone, with the club reliant upon the designer to deliver on what’s trumpeted on their brochure or corporate website.

There is no one-size fits all option for golf course design and the most appropriate choice for any particular club depends entirely on what they hope to achieve, the land upon which they sit and the funds available for the work. The number of redesigned holes in Australia that have been redesigned a second or third time is quite disturbing.

Dr MacKenzie talked about the ‘Finality of Design’ in one of his books, and if your brief is clear and the architect suitably skilled there is no reason why the next significant change to your course can’t be the last.

Size matters?

Containing the modern golfer typically means choosing between lowering your par and perhaps adding a par three or shorter par four, against protecting what you have by adding trees and back tees and narrowing the golfing corridors

manner only really makes sense if the elite golfer is your only consideration.

Working Internally This is an age-old problem in golf, across the world.

Committees, captains, presidents etc looking to leave their imprint by making design changes without consideration for what these decisions might mean down the track. Trees are the obvious one, but we also see a lot of odd bunkers, tees or greens on courses that we discover were changed at the insistence of a certain club figure.

The biggest issue with working internally on design is that often there is no over-arching plan on

s

As part of any golf club’s design brief, references to length and par need to be very carefully considered.

Too often am I told, by board members or managers, that a membership won’t tolerate a sub 72-par or sub 6000-metre golf course, when in fact the reality

is often different. Vocal, skilled golfers are likely to resist a change downwards in length and par, but my experience suggests the average member is far less concerned.

Just consider the facts for a moment. Australia’s No. 1 course, Royal Melbourne West, barely breaks the 6000m mark, while several of the World’s top 10, including Pine Valley, Shinnecock Hills and Royal Dornoch, are all par 70s. Additionally, some of the best courses in Britain, such as Swinley Forest and Rye, have pars in the high 60s.

Steadfastly refusing to entertain the notion of a shorter golf course is a mistake, particularly for suburban golf clubs surrounded by housing. As the golf ball travels further and further, options for improvement become fewer and fewer. Containing the modern golfer typically means choosing between lowering your par and perhaps adding a par three or shorter par four, against protecting what you have by adding trees and back tees and narrowing the golfing corridors. Diminishing the fun and strategic integrity of the existing holes in this

The rules of

redesign March-April 2015 march-april

45

design design

fact that millions spent will not make it a new Royal Melbourne, is less likely to waste good money on gratuitous design alterations.

Not spending enough money On the flipside of the over-spenders are those clubs that don’t spend enough on redesign and cut corners on important areas like drainage, greens shaping and bunker construction. Clubs obviously need to consider what an appropriate spend is for their own particular budgets, but often they are better off spending a little more and doing things more slowly than rushing a project through on a shoestring to try have it finished by a certain date.

Not planning properly ahead

s

There is no one-size fits all option for golf course design and the most appropriate choice for a club depends on what they hope to achieve, the land and the funds available

how every part of the golf course is best arranged.

Moving a bunker or reshaping an old, tired green in isolation might not seem too great a risk, but it can create problems if the overall Masterplan suggests something different.

Even clubs that can’t afford golf course architects should at least consider outside advice when it comes to design changes, just to help guide works undertaken and provide a likely roadmap for future enhancements.

Spending too much money

Below right: A strong, clear brief to the designer will assist in controlling costs and project timelines Below: Not having the resources to allow your superintendent and their team to properly maintain your new holes is about as basic a mistake as a club can make

46

Tellingly, the best golf courses built in Australia and elsewhere over the last 20 or so years have also been among the least expensive. The golf world has fallen in love with natural sandy sites again, and these are great because the golf is not only better but also less expensive to build.

There is a fine line to tread here, but one of the common mistakes made with higher-end private clubs in particular, is to spend too much money on redesign. Unless there are serious structural deficiencies with the course routing, improvements to greens, tees, fairways and bunkers need not cost as much as a brand-new standalone golf course somewhere else.

A golf club that knows its limitations, is comfortable within its own skin and accepting of the

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Regardless of how often commentators pretend that great golf is all about design, we all know that conditioning is important and that golfers love nice fairways and smooth greens. Not having the resources to allow your course superintendent and their team to properly maintain your new holes is about as basic a mistake as a club can make, yet it is often made.

Whether it’s not appreciating the man-hours required to tend bunkers or cut larger greens, having the appropriate machinery or simply not having an adequate water supply for increased turf acreage, failing to plan in this regard is almost certainly a recipe for failure.

Ultimately, proper planning gets back to a detailed and appropriate design brief, coupled with a sensible design appointment and adequate budget for course works.

There are many pitfalls, as outlined, to be aware of when considering major redesign, but there are also many valid and compelling reasons to undertake such a risky project. Looking at golf courses across Australia that are struggling or in financial strife, and many are the victim of an inappropriate redevelopment that either left them with a heavy debt or an unpopular golf course.

There aren’t many that offer wonderful golf.

Acknowledgement This article has been reprinted with the permission of Australian Golf Digest (AGD). The article originally appeared in the November 2014 edition of AGD. Darius Oliver is AGD’s architecture editor and also runs the www.planetgolf.com.au website.

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Turf management in a

changing climate

ATM columnist and turf industry icon John Neylan looks at the challenges of turf management in forever changing climatic conditions and revisits the issue of herbicide resistance from last edition which generated a lot of industry feedback

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A

t the end of every summer, many of us involved in the turf industry look back at the weather and the influences that it has had on turf management. As an agronomist the inputs affecting the maintenance of high quality turf are relatively basic and have not changed. It has always been about soils, water, nutrition, sunlight, pest control and climate.

While there have been changes in machinery, fertiliser formulations, plant protection products and other innovations, the weather continues to be an overriding factor. It can often cause an uneasy moment when you are explaining to a non-turfie that the problems with the turf or the playability of the turf are principally due to the weather.

What makes dealing with climatic extremes so challenging is the expectation that the playing surfaces will always be maintained at their peak, irrespective of the weather conditions. Long gone are the days when turf was babied through the worst of the weather and some deterioration in the turf was the norm. With the improvement in irrigation systems, better adapted grasses, a wide array of plant protection chemicals and the improved knowledge of turf managers, these periods of high stress are well managed – to a point.

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

The reality is that finely maintained turf and in particular golf greens are often on the edge before the weather extremes kick in and unless the management is modified through this period there will be turf damage. This of course then conflicts with the expectations for year-round perfection.

Over this past summer we have seen weather extremes yet again. In Victoria there have been extended periods of cool weather in the south and drought in the west of the state; in Sydney there has been heavy rainfall, high humidity and extended periods of cloud cover; WA has been very hot with extended dry periods which have been followed by humid weather; and Queensland has been hotter and wetter than the long-term averages.

Maintaining sports turf surfaces is often a dayto-day proposition and there seems to be little doubt that changes in the climate are going to continue to impact on how we manage turf. The CSIRO recently issued a technical report on Climate Change in Australia (http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov. au) and it is interesting to note the key points from the report’s executive summary in relation to Australian climate variability and change; l Australia has been warming and will warm substantially during the 21st Century.

This past summer has again seen some extreme weather events create plenty of headaches for turf managers around the country.

Sydney experienced heavy rainfall, high humidity and extended periods of cloud cover. Pictured left and above is Riverside Oaks which copped a belting when it hosted the NSW PGA in early December 2014

are again faced by the sustainability equation of attempting to balance inputs economically while meeting expectation.

Bentgrass management in a warming climate Environmental stresses are particularly severe in transitional zones where cool-season grasses are not particularly well adapted to conditions that may occur during the summer months. However, weakening of the turf sward by only slight environmental stresses can cause severe damage if they are coupled with some other type of stress such as traffic or pests.

The most recognised environmental stress placed on cool-season turf during summer is high temperatures. Heat stress is particularly damaging when turfgrasses lose the ability to cool themselves.

The principal means by which plants cool themselves or dissipate energy are re-radiation, convection and transpiration. Canopy temperatures can be much higher than the surrounding air temperature during periods of high light intensity due to a lack of transpirational and convectional cooling.

Transpiration involves the reduction of heat through evaporative cooling due to vapour loss

Bentgrass under stress due to heat and humidity march-april 2015

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More frequent and hotter hot days and fewer frost days are projected. l Mid-latitude weather systems are projected to shift south in winter and the tropics to expand. l Cool-season rainfall is projected to decline in southern Australia; other changes to average rainfall are uncertain. l Extreme rain events are projected to become more intense. l Time in drought is projected to increase in southern Australia, with a greater frequency of severe droughts. l More sunshine is projected in winter and spring, with lower relative humidity and higher evaporation rates throughout the year. l Soil moisture is projected to decrease and future runoff will decrease where rainfall is projected to decrease.

The consequences for the turf industry will be quite challenging as we attempt to cope with the climatic stresses and maintaining cool-season grasses in particular while sustaining high quality playing surfaces. Having to deal with the extremes in weather conditions is going to be very difficult without additional resources and a more flexible acceptance that there will be variations in surface quality. We l

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nematodes and it is not until the nematodes are controlled that the fungicides are effective.

It is important to note that with root diseases such as Rhizoctonia sp. a systemic fungicide is required to achieve satisfactory control and for the systemic fungicide to move through the plant it needs to be actively growing and have a reasonably functioning root system.

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Warm-season grass management in a warming climate

Syringing is the most cost effective way of reducing not only soil temperatures but also canopy temperatures

Studies have shown that by raising the mowing height of bentgrass from 3.2mm to 4.0mm during the summer can have positive results on the plant’s physiology and quality

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from the leaf surface. This is a very efficient means of cooling and is optimised by low humidity, wind and adequate soil moisture. This process can be responsible for the turfgrass plant being up to 10oC lower than the adjacent air temperature. However, if transpiration is impaired by plant water deficit the plant temperature can rapidly rise above the adjacent air temperature.

Under conditions of high humidity plants are less able to transpire moisture for transpirational cooling. In recent times prolonged periods of high humidity appear to be occurring more frequently and this is undoubtedly placing more stress on the turf. When this is combined with shade and poor air circulation, turf thinning and disease is almost inevitable unless the maintenance regime is altered.

Drought, humidity and a depleted root system all cause a reduction in the ability of the plant to transpire. Maximising root development is essential for maintaining adequate transpirational cooling.

Root deterioration causes several plant responses. There is reduced nutrient and water uptake and less cytokinin production. Roots are the primary site of cytokinin synthesis and supply the shoots with this plant growth regulator that promotes cell division and elongation.

When carbohydrates become limited due to an imbalance between photosynthesis and respiration, root cells have a lower priority than shoot tissue and root growth stops and root dieback eventually occurs. Root cells lose their structure as cells rupture resulting in a gel like mass that retains water, reduces infiltration and soil oxygen.

The extensive cloud cover and low light conditions experienced in Sydney this summer provides another stress to bentgrass. Heavy cloud cover affects the amount and quality of light available for photosynthesis.

Where the plant is weakened and the root system is poor, root diseases Rhizoctonia sp. and Pythium sp. are typically represented as well as parasitic nematodes. In some situations the disease symptoms are secondary to the effects of the

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Warm-season grasses are well suited to hot climates but can suffer when subjected to periods of high humidity and low light conditions. When this is combined with high wear, low cutting heights or mid-summer renovations, turf deterioration will often occur. Turf damage is often due to the incidence of disease because the plant is weak rather than direct heat injury. In particular, root diseases such as ERI fungi can be quite destructive.

The presence of ERI disease in the roots is a common occurrence in hybrid couch greens and couch fairways. The ERI fungi are always present and the turf damage tends to occur when there are other stresses such as high temperatures, high humidity, low light and wear. When outbreaks are severe the damage is usually quite extensive and the disease is difficult to control.

Nematode damage to the roots is an added stress that can complicate the disease outbreak and control. Leaf diseases such as Drechslera and Curvularia are secondary diseases that can also occur due to the turf being weakened by the ERI fungi and can compound the damage to the turf.

In an AGCSA survey some years back, the contributing factors identified were strongly related to high rainfall events, high humidity and low light.

The compounding factors were a lack of cultural practices that maintained adequate infiltration rates (resulting in the rootzone being at a high moisture content) and nutritional imbalances.

As with many turf-related problems the take home message was that it was unlikely to be a single factor but rather a combination of factors that weaken the turf. The weather conditions at the time were high on the list of factors corresponding with the disease outbreak.

Where an outbreak occurs it is important to firstly identify the disease organism, investigate the soil/thatch conditions and microclimate, review the maintenance practices and gather the climate data.

It is important to review the maintenance practices in the months preceding the high stress time of the year – was the turf in the best possible condition leading into the known stress period?

Summer Stress Management If the projected effects of climate change come to fruition, what proactive action can we take to maintain healthy turf and good quality surfaces?

First and foremost it is very important to take a

proactive approach such as lifting cutting heights, relieving soil compaction, reducing thatch, applying wetting agents etc… before the stress periods occur.

This will of course run counter to the expectations of year round perfection.

One particular observation that I have made over the past few years is that even when the weather conditions are less than favourable for maintaining the highest quality playing surfaces there is still an expectation that the surfaces will be ‘perfect’.

A recent example was at RACV Royal Pines where there was a rise in the Nerang River after 335mm of rain over six days (238mm on a single day) which flooded the golf course. The next day the sun was shining and the golfers were knocking on the door wanting to play! In Sydney, after 10 days of rain and low light, the golfers complain that “the greens are too soft!” I feel that as the climate impacts more on sportsturf we are going to have to drop back a peg or two in the quality of the surface in order to keep a surface for the future.

Bentgrass management: High soil temperatures are one of the most critical factors in the decline of bentgrass quality during summer. If soil temperatures can be kept below 30oC it will improve overall

Australia has been warming and will warm substantially during the 21st Century. This will mean increasing periods of drought, while extreme rain events are projected to become more intense

appropriate application times are mid-summer when the roots begin to deteriorate and early autumn as regrowth commences. Seaweed extracts appear to provide more consistent responses than synthetic cytokinins, possibly due to the presence of other hormones and nutrients.

Raising the mowing height of bentgrass during the summer can have beneficial effects on the

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turf quality greatly. Subsoil aeration, syringing and the use of fans are methods of reducing soil temperatures. Fans can also be used effectively for increasing air movement thus increasing the rates of convection and transpiration.

Syringing is the most cost effective way of reducing not only soil temperatures but also canopy temperatures. However, syringing in humid conditions does not result in beneficial cooling unless soil moisture is limiting or the turfgrass root system is not viable. It may however increase the likelihood of disease.

Summer cultivation techniques can also provide valuable assistance in the management of summer bentgrass decline. It reduces surface compaction, improves water infiltration and percolation rates and maintains soil gaseous exchange, critical for roots subjected to high soil temperatures.

Good plant nutrition is very important in managing heat stressed greens. Greens would ideally be spoon fed over summer with a soluble, low N fertiliser. The benefits of potassium in providing added heat stress tolerance is still hotly debated, however, I am a great supporter of maintaining high K applications.

Cytokinin applications may be beneficial when the root system is absent or not viable. The most

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quality of the turf. Studies have shown that by raising the mowing height by 0.8mm, from 3.2mm to 4.0mm, during the summer can have positive results on the plant’s physiology and quality. At 4.0mm plants maintain a photosynthesis rate greater than the respiration that resulted in production and retention of carbohydrates allowing for maintenance of root and shoot growth.

Preventative fungicide programmes can be helpful in improving bentgrass quality during periods of summer stress, however, summer bentgrass decline is more a physiological problem than a pathological one.

Warm-season grass management: The occurrence of disease is likely to be the main problem experienced on warm-season grasses. A proactive approach is the key with an emphasis on; l Adequate control of thatch and soil compaction; l Lifting cutting heights; l Good nutrition and in particular maintaining adequate potassium and manganese.

Manganese is tied up by the Gaeumannomyces spp fungi and becomes unavailable to the plant;

Remove or reduce the rates of plant growth regulators leading into high stress periods; l Apply a strobilurin fungicide as a preventative.

The fungicide needs to be applied about six weeks before the disease is likely to appear. l The ERI fungi are very difficult to control once an outbreak occurs, however, when an outbreak occurs applying a tank mix of propiconazole and chlorothalonil has provided some success.

This should be applied in plenty of water and left on the leaf. Including a fungicide that controls Pythium may also be required. In 2-3 days a contact fungicide such as mancozeb can assist in cleaning up any leaf diseases infecting damaged turf. Applying a high K fertiliser and manganese can also assist in turf recovery.

The challenge in turf management when dealing with high stress periods is taking the initiative and being proactive before the turf presents signs of stress and damage. Undertaking the basics of good cultural practices and realising when the ‘perfect surface’ is not appropriate does take good planning and good communication to the user groups. l

The ‘R’ word revisited

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n the last edition of ATM (Volume 17.1) I discussed the challenges of herbicide resistance in turf management and in particular the resistance of Poa annua. I was pleased to receive some feedback on the article and the discussions I have had raised some additional points of discussion and need for action. At the top of the list is the question of ‘How widespread is the problem?’ The reality is that we have no idea other than personal observation and anecdotal evidence.

If we are going to tackle the issue more seriously we need to know the extent of the problem. My belief is that the only way to do it is to undertake an industry survey. For the survey to be of value it needs a high participation rate and has to be honest and complete anonymity would be crucial. The key survey factors would need to include; l Sportsturf situation (i.e.: golf, sportsfield, racing etc.); l Turfgrass species; l Has a lack of weed control been noted? If so, under what circumstances? l When was lack of control first noticed; l Geographical location; and l Detailed herbicide programme over the past three (maybe five) years including herbicide active (pre- and post-emergent), rate of application, frequency of application, time of applications and method of application.

As with all of these concerns the question is who is going to manage it? The primary interest groups are the turf managers.

From many years’ experience, while the user organisations may be concerned about the presence of weeds, they care very little about how it is achieved as long as it is done.

The other key group is herbicide manufacturers. Are they an appropriate group to undertake such a survey? While they have extensive experience in this area they clearly have a conflict of interest and I suggest few turf managers would be as open and honest as required if such a group were to undertake a survey.

In my opinion the AGCSA, the Sports Turf Association, the Racetrack Managers Association and Turf Australia are the obvious lead agencies because of their broad membership network. I would 52

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

be interested to hear from turf managers as to whether they would be keen to participate in such a survey.

The Missing Links In the subsequent discussions regarding resistance management following my last column there have been several important points made; l There is a lack of herbicide groups available. The question is how can we as an industry get access to a broader range of chemical groups without relying entirely on the chemical companies undertaking the exhaustive and costly registration process. l The current APVMA regulations and label requirements are an impediment to the broader use of turf-registered herbicides. This is a contentious area, however, some turf managers are obtaining permits for the broader use of some herbicides. The key take home message here is that once you go off-label you assume the risk. As an industry group more discussions need to be held with the regulators. l The chemical companies and in particular the distributors have a huge responsibility in assisting turf managers in programming their weed control strategies. It is all too common that a ‘different’ branded herbicide is sold with little consideration for what has been used previously. At times I wonder if there is a thought that a new brand name or active represents a change in the chemical group and will avoid resistance. l There is a specific herbicide from a different herbicide group that is used in the USA that is currently not registered in Australia that would fit well into the programme if registration could be obtained (herbicide not named because of the ire this usually causes!). l Reporting resistance. There is one reported incidence of confirmed resistance in Australia and this relates to the use of endothal.

While undertaking the formal process of confirming resistance is costly, I believe that a reporting system and a database of suspected resistance could be a useful source of information. This would be a useful adjunct to an industry survey.

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regional profile regional profile

The Commercial Club is located in Albury on the NSW/Vic border and has been home to superintendent Anthony Toogood since 2004.

Pictured is the 2nd

The Commercial Coming from one of Tasmania’s most influential golfing families, Anthony Toogood was always destined for a career in golf. About to hit the big 50, the multiple AGCSA Golf Championship winner and superintendent gives ATM an insight into his course management operations at The Commercial Club in Albury.

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Superintendent: Anthony Toogood.

Nickname: Tooey (inherited from father Peter).

Family: Partner Leanne, daughter Amelia (5) and son Peter (2).

Age: 49 (50 in July).

Period as a superintendent: 11 years.

Association involvement: AGCSA 11 years (on and off before that), NSWGCSA. Member of Kew Golf Club, Melbourne.

Turf management career: Willow Point Country Club, Alabama, USA (part-time while at Middle Tennessee State University, 1988-91); Llanherne Golf Club, Tas (1992-95); Woodlands Golf Club, Vic (1996), Riverside Golf Club, Tas (1997-99); Huntingdale Golf Club, Vic (2000-01); Barwon Heads Golf Club, Vic (assistant superintendent, 2002-03), Commercial Club, Albury, NSW (superintendent 2004-present).

Turf management qualifications: BSc (Majored in Plant and Soil science, Minored in Management) from the Middle Tennessee State University.

Where in Australia is The Commercial Club and what is the town famous/known for? The Commercial Club is located in Albury on the border between NSW and VIC on the Hume highway. The Commercial Club (Albury) Ltd was founded back in 1903 as a businessman’s club with an emphasis on commercial travellers. The club is now a large social

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

Club,

NSW

club with 30,000 members and provides restaurants, bars, lounges, entertainment and sporting activities including the golf club. The sporting sections of the club have 3000 members.

Tell us a bit about your background. Obviously you grew up part of a very golf-oriented family with your father Peter Toogood being one of this country’s best amateur players of his time.

What was it like having a father of such high profile within the golf industry and how did he influence you in your eventual move into golf/ turf management? The funny thing is that dad is the only one who understands this, because he was there, but he had no influence on my golf or entry into greenkeeping. It wasn’t until I was a little older that it sunk in just how good he was. To me we just lived on a golf course – next to the 2nd hole at Royal Hobart Golf Club – and thought you were a little strange if you didn’t.

I have two brothers who would play less than once a year and I think may have been a little influenced by dad’s reputation, but I can honestly say that I never thought I felt it helped or hindered, although I will admit living next to a golf course was probably part of dad’s plan. I don’t really know why I wanted to play all the time. It just seemed that all my friends played golf. As for greenkeeping, when I finished university in the US I never considered

doing anything else – I just liked it! The ability you have to influence things on your course is fun.

Obviously you are a good player in your own right. Tell us a bit about your achievements with the sticks in hand. You spend a lot of time by yourself as a golfer, so pennant flags are always fun. As an individual I won the 1991 Augusta College home tournament while playing for Middle Tennessee State University, The Australian Amateur Medal in 1993 and making it to the quarters was probably the best quality golf in a tournament that I ever achieved. I also won the Tasmanian Vardon Averages (ironically the Toogood Trophy) in 1999.

During my time at Willow Point Country Club while at university I finished second in the annual WPCC Invitational in 1989 and 1991. Even though I did not win I played really well those weeks and regard them as special for both golf and personal reasons due to the people that were there.

Where did you start out in the turf industry, why did you choose to go down the turf management path and how did you end up at The Commercial Club? I had wanted to get into greenkeeping well before heading to the US, so it seemed the right thing to study when I started university. A friend of the family, who I am still really good friends with today, went to school in America and he encouraged me to go and through he and my dad they organised a scholarship.

The first official job I had was working at the Willow Point Country Club in Alabama. I worked there during the winter and summer breaks from university. The superintendent there gave me opportunities that he did not give others and looking back I owe him a lot. Once back home I made my way through a few jobs, building my course management experience before answering the advertisement for The Commercial Club. I was fortunate enough to get the job as superintendent and have been here since 2004.

We have tried moth balls and hot chillies sprayed onto the grass but are still looking for a witch’s brew that might scare them away. You can read all about weeds, bugs and fungus, but no one can give me any advice on how to get rid of the galahs!

Is it an easy/hard facility to manage and has that changed during the time you have been there?

What’s the most challenging aspect? Whether it is easy or hard I will leave for others to judge!

But in my time we have retrofitted the irrigation control system and pumps which has left us with a really usable irrigation system. The manager of The Commercial Club has allowed us to slowly and incrementally pick up mostly new major machinery and some second-hand items when we found a good one at the right time.

I feel we are now in quite a good position and have mostly what we need. There are always some items that would help, but you can’t have everything.

The actual turf footprint that we look after is quite small compared to other courses and that can be an advantage and therefore our resources are more intensively used.

The Commercial Club course management team (from left) Anthony Toogood (superintendent), Andrew Maggs, Luke Deans, Gary Smith (assistant superintendent) and Josh Verity. Absent is Paul Kovaks

The Commercial Club is a tight layout that measures 5755m. The actual turf footprint is relatively small with 0.7ha of greens (17 Penncross bentgrass, two A1 bentgrass) and 13ha of kikuyu fairways. Pictured is the 16th

What are some of the unique features about The Commercial Club from a turf management perspective? We have bentgrass greens (17 Penncross and two A1), so the annual war against Poa annua is hardly unique, but dealing with several days over 40oC each summer certainly keeps you on your toes. The fairways are pure kikuyu and I think maintaining a kikuyu surface these days is a bit of a dying art as many courses are making the switch across to couchgrass. march-april 2015

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Give us an overview of The Commercial Club and some of its unique characteristics? The Commercial Club is quite tight and all the holes are different. About half the course is quite flat and the rest is quite hilly. It is a very old and traditional design. With a clubhouse that sits above most of the course, it affords great views over to the hills.

In the middle of summer the fairways are in really good condition and give a great surface to play from, but the galahs just tear the place to pieces.

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One of the highlights of Toogood’s tenure to date was seeing the club named as the 2012 Victorian Regional Pro-Am Course of the Year.

Pictured is the practice putter and chipper

What, if any, changes have you brought about in terms of managing the course during your time as superintendent and what other changes are you currently implementing or would like to implement? I began my time here when The Commercial Club took over the management of the golf course. In that time we have become more organised and accountable. The fairways were really patchy and bare in large areas. We really focused on getting the irrigation right and getting a little improvement each year.

We try to rebuild a tee each year from our own couchgrass nursery and have concreted large portions of paths. The fairways were originally just whatever they could get to grow, but are now practically all kikuyu and with some applications of Primo can be quite good.

Any special environmental considerations that you have to incorporate into the management of the course? We have a creek that runs through the course and we need to be mindful of what gets

into that creek, but the most important thing to be considerate of is all the residential properties that surround the course as we are located in the middle of the Albury CBD. What are some of the major challenges facing The Commercial Club both from a turf management and general club management perspective? Are these challenges unique to your club? The major challenge in the next decade is going to be the ageing irrigation infrastructure that is in the ground and when to replace it. The other major challenge is anything but unique and that is the dwindling membership base.

Outline any major course improvement works recently completed and/or highlight any ongoing or future works that the club is undertaking. Not too much in the way of major works have recently been completed but that may change in the near future. There are some aspects of the old design that may need to be modernised.

At a glance – the commercial club, albury Course specs: 5755 metres, par 70. 0.7 hectares of greens (17 Penncross bentgrass, two A1 bentgrass), 13ha of kikuyu fairways.

Annual rounds: 35,000 competition rounds a year.

Major tournaments: Inland Amateur Championship, Commercial Club Pro-Am. Annual course management budget: $200,000 (including capital expenditure + wages).

Staff structure: Anthony Toogood (course superintendent), Gary Smith (assistant superintendent), Andrew Maggs, Luke Deans and Josh Verity (all qualified greenkeepers), Paul Kovacs (second year apprentice). Justin Frohling recently departed to Maryborough GC, Qld. Climate/annual rainfall: Warm temperate four season climate with a mean annual rainfall of 701mm. I personally have found the thing that sticks out is the incredibly hot, dry summers.

Soil types: 17 old push-up greens and two USGA-spec greens. One of the two A1 greens was rebuilt a year before I started here, while 56

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

the other was rebuilt about eight years ago. Fairways are a heavy clay loam.

Water sources: Bore (210ML allowance per annum).

Irrigation system: Rain Bird Stratus II control system, hydraulic valvein-head Toro sprinkler heads (Toro 835S around the greens and Toro 690 single row on the fairways).

Cutting heights/regimes: Greens – 2.8mm six times a week for about nine months; tees and surrounds – 10mm twice a week about nine months; fairways – 12mm twice a week about nine months a year.

Renovations: We do two main greens renovations and are quite traditional with hollow tining being used quite often and reasonable topdressing, as well as a little dusting in between each major renovation. Most of the time I will use 5/8 hollow tines but have also been known to use 5/16 tines as well.

Major disease pressures: We actually don’t have any real disease pressures except for fairy ring all through the greens in the early summer if we are not careful to stay on top of it.

How is The Commercial Club faring in the water management stakes? To be honest, we have a bore that will provide constant water for all of the summer, up to 210 megalitres. This is enough to meet our needs but if it is a really dry summer we can run a little low as the bore does not deliver water quite fast enough, but mostly it works out fine.

centres. As for expectations, I think enough people travel and play that they expect playing surfaces that can be similar to the metropolitan clubs.

What are some pros and cons of being a regionalbased superintendent? Are expectations of course presentation and conditioning any less than that placed on your metropolitan counterparts? I think the budgets are a little smaller in the country and it might be a little nicer to live a bit closer to the footy, but the lifestyle is pretty good in the regional

Do you have to be more resourceful as a regionalbased superintendent? Not sure! I think that you just have to be a lot more lean and mean – every cent has to be spent wisely. I would like to think that we don’t compromise or cut corners but just don’t do the greens rebuilding or other capital items at the rate of other clubs.

The Commercial Club greens are renovated twice a year. Pictured is the 18th

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The weather and climate is always a great leveller for a course superintendent. How has Mother Nature treated the course in recent times? A few years ago we had an isolated tornado come through the course which destroyed three holes. The rest of the course was hardly touched! We had to close for a few days and slowly open the bottom part of the course once it was cleaned up. This happened to a few courses a little bit further down the river recently.

Most of the time we miss the really crazy stuff that happens in Sydney and Queensland. The thing that you just have to manage here is the constant dry heat and the run of days above 40oC that we get because we are so far inland.

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regional profile regional profile

During Toogood’s time as superintendent a lot of attention has been paid to improving the kikuyu fairway surfaces

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If you could change one thing about your job as a regional superintendent what would it be and why? The expectation on turf surfaces is similar, but the expectation on what people are willing to pay is not very similar.

How important are the relationships you have with other course supers/trade reps? All your relationships are important and you are always getting information off different people. You can’t survive in a bubble especially when you are already slightly isolated in the country. Your phone is full of numbers and people in Melbourne and Sydney are not that far away when you need to call.

What are some of the more unusual requests/ things you have had to do as a superintendent of a regional course? We work at such a large multi-faceted club that we are always doing strange things. One day we had to roll up one side of the synthetic bowling green to fix a low spot in the base.

It took about 25 staff!

An aerial view of The Commercial Club which is located in the middle of Albury

What have you got in your shed? Mostly Toro.

Three Flex 2100s for greens and three 3250Ds for greens, tees and surrounds; Sidewinder for outside surrounds of greens and tees; Toro 5510 for fairways; Toro Multi Pro sprayer; two John Deere

rough cutters; John Deere 4310 mid tractor, David Brown tractor and Case loader; three Toro MDX utilities; Turfco topdresser; Verti drain; Jacobsen fairway blower; and 1000-litre Hardi spray tank What’s your favourite piece of machinery and why? We purchased a second-hand fairway blower a couple of years ago that has paid for itself threefold! Our course is lined with old yellow box eucalypt trees. Our next major purchase will likely be a rough cutter. Our No.2 rough cutter is a little old and if we are lucky enough to get it turned over this year then next year we will look at a new fairway mower, so the current fairway unit can stay as a back-up. Our topdresser is a bit long in the tooth but still a lot better than a shovel!

Do you have any interesting pieces of machinery which have been manufactured out of necessity or any old pieces of equipment that you keep alive? We have made our own articulated drag brooms to brush renovation and dusting sand into the greens. We do repair things others would not, but sometimes I see that as just saving money.

Plus sometimes it is not in your budget to replace something, so things like our old rough cutter just keep getting fixed.

Favourite spot on your course? The practice fairway after work (good friends will understand)!

Best advice you have received about being a course superintendent/greenkeeper and who gave it to you. I have had so much technical advice from people like John Spencer and Graeme Grant, but it would be hard to single anything out. Working for Peter Frewin at Barwon Heads and seeing how organised he was and how well he kept his daily records is something I always try to emulate.

Most pleasing/rewarding moment during your time as The Commercial Club superintendent?

Winning the 2012 Victorian Regional Pro-Am Course of the Year.

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Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

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around the trade around the trade

AGCSA welcomes new conference principal partners, award sponsor

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he AGCSA has welcomed three brand new principal sponsors for the upcoming 31st Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade Exhibition to be held in the Hunter Valley this June.

Shortly after New Year, the AGCSA had confirmation from Hybrid-Ag, Kubota/Baroness and Ubimet that they were taking up principal partner status, joining the likes of established principal partners Bayer, Rain Bird, Syngenta and Toro.

Late last year Kubota Tractor Australia announced that it had entered the golf and sports turf equipment market as the new Australian distributor of Japan’s premium turf equipment brand – Baroness. Wangaratta-based HybridAg was established in 2002 with the sole focus of supplying the agricultural market with high quality prescription blended soil and plant nutrient solutions. Ubimet is a leading international private weather service provider which recently launched two solutions into the Australian market – it’s advanced Lightning Detection System (LDS) and ‘Weather Cockpit’.

In addition to the new conference partners, long-standing AGCSA Silver Partner Rain Bird Australia also announced at the start of the year that it was taking over sponsorship of the AGCSA Excellence in Golf Course Management Award.

Following the departure of original sponsor John Deere after more than 20 years, Rain Bird agreed

Mansfield sets up own golf, turf services company

John Mansfield 60

After 22 years working with AGCSA Bronze Partner David Golf, John Mansfield has branched out on his own with the launch of JM Golf & Turf Services.

Mansfield (52) was one of the original sales reps for David Golf when he joined the company in January 1993 and until recently has looked after sales for the company’s driving range equipment, sports safety netting and course hardware lines.

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

to come on board as a new long-term partner for one of the AGCSA’s most highly sought after and longest running industry awards.

Tony Irvine, general manager for Rain Bird Australia/New Zealand, says the company is relishing the opportunity to be involved with the award and in doing so commented on the close alignment of the basis of the award and the key values that drive Rain Bird globally.

“We were really thrilled to be able to take this opportunity to show our support for the industry into the future,” says Irvine. “In particular, the key judging criteria for the Award around a superintendent’s commitment to excellence, innovation and continuous improvement around turfgrass management and course presentation all seem a perfect fit with Rain Bird’s own desire to strive for excellence in product and systems design, all aimed at helping users put water efficiency to work for them! We call it ‘The Intelligent Use of Water’.”

Adds AGCSA general manager Peter Frewin: “Rain Bird has always been a strong supporter of the AGCSA and we are delighted they have put their name to the AGCSA’s longest-standing and highly prestigious award. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank John Deere for their sponsorship of the award since its inception back in 1993, when it was called the AGCSA Fellowship Award. A veritable who’s who of the industry have collected the award over the years which has provided due recognition for the excellent course management efforts of AGCSA members.”

With Rain Bird coming on board as a new naming rights sponsor, the AGCSA Board also took the opportunity to review all of the association’s current awards. While criterion remains the same for all four of the awards, a change has been made to standardise the prizes for the Excellence and Claude Crockford awards.

In keeping with the importance and stature of these awards, the winners of the Excellence and Crockford awards will now receive a $5000 educational bursary that is to be used for work related education. The AGCSA Board will have the right to approve the bursary to ensure it fits within the requirement for an educational outcome and fits within the charter of the AGCSA. Under the new arrangement with David Golf, Mansfield will continue to sell the company’s full range of equipment, but will also offer a range of additional turf industry products. Among these new products are Evergreen turf covers and EarthWay spreaders with further additions to be announced as they come online. Mansfield’s existing client base and new customers can contact him directly on 0418 362 353 or email john@jmgolfturfservices. com.au.

Like Toro Australia on Facebook AGCSA Platinum Partner Toro Australia is now on Facebook. To stay up to date on the latest company news and to ‘like’ their page visit www.facebook. com/toroaus. You can also follow Toro on Twitter @ toroaus or visit the revamped Toro Australia website www.toro.com.au.

All Stake Supply releases BioPin All Stake Supply has introduced its new BioPin and applicator for use in the turf market. The 100 per cent biodegradable pin is used for pinning down turf when repairing bunker faces, pinning bunker matting when building new bunkers and on slopes and drainage swales to prevent turf from moving until new roots establish.

The advantages of the eco-friendly pin include easy installation using the applicator. Its barbed

design won’t pull out of the ground as easily as smooth steel pins, won’t damage mower blades if they come in contact and return visits to remove the pin after the turf is established are not needed which cuts down on labour time.

The BioPin is a polyhydroxyalkanoate plastic made from naturally occurring plant sugars and vegetable oils. BioPins biodegrade once in the soil from microbial attack between temperatures of 6-80 degrees. This is a surface erosion mechanism which will take approximately two years.

The BioPin is available in boxes of 1000 and come in two sizes – 100mm (32.5 x 32.5 x 25) or 150mm (47.5 x 37.5 x 32.5). The BioPin applicator fits both staple sizes.

For more information about All Stake Supply’s new BioPin, visit www.allstakesupply.com.au or Free Call 1300 130 123.

Industry appointments and announcements Schumacher appointed Nuturf business manager Nuturf Australia announced in late January that it had appointed former AGCSA Board member Peter Schumacher (pictured) to the role of business manager, Nuturf. Amgrow Group’s technical manager, Dr Brett Morris, says that Schumacher brings substantial management experience from both the turf management and trade sectors in highly commercial environments as well as traditional hands on turf management roles.

Schumacher has held significant positions within the Australian turf industry, from superintendent at Elanora Country Club, to national sales manager with Toro golf and most recently as general manager at Monash Country Club. In addition to his industry experience, Schumacher holds a Master’s Degree in Turf Management and was the recipient of the AGCSA Excellence in Golf Course Management Award in 2004. Schumacher is based out of the company’s head office in Sydney and can be contacted on 0438 418 202 or peter. schumacher@nuturf.com.au.

Martyn Black joins Golf NSW support team Golf NSW announced in early February that it had appointed former Castle Hill Country Club superintendent Martyn Black (pictured) as part of its Club Support Service which the organisation is expanding to cover the field of agronomy. The NSWGCSA life member and industry icon brings over 41 years’ experience to the newly created role which will see him assist clubs throughout NSW with their turf management programmes.

Golf NSW chief executive Stuart Fraser said he was “thrilled to secure Martyn Black’s services to further assist clubs throughout NSW via its Club Support Service. The golf course is a club’s biggest asset, however, it is also its largest expense. Martyn’s vast experience, knowledge and respect within the turf management industry will be a real benefit and assistance to our member clubs.”

Black’s career started as a 15-year-old apprentice at Pennant Hills Golf Club under the tutelage of legendary greenkeeper Vince Church. After 11 years he moved on to hold several positions at Asquith and Gordon Golf Clubs prior to starting as superintendent at Castle Hill Country Club in 1989, a position he stepped down

from after nearly 26 years last December. In addition to being a very handy golfer (3 handicap) Black is also a life and board member of his local club, Asquith Golf Club and also served on the Board of the NSWGCSA and AGCSA.

Clark named as e-par Group Queensland area manager After a national recruitment process, former Cairns Golf Club superintendent Brendan Clark (pictured) was appointed as the new e-par area manager for Queensland starting in January.

“We are delighted that Brendan has agreed to take up the area manager’s role, bringing his extensive experience of the sector and his passion for making a difference,” says e-par general manager Ben Gibson. “This is an exciting step forward as we redefine our customer focus in line with our strategy to expand our environmental and safety services to our existing Queensland members and to growing our membership in the Sunshine State.”

Clark, who is now based in Brisbane, can be contacted on 0404 996 315 or email brendan@epar.com.au.

Cooke appointment strengthens CCI Country Club International has strengthened its representation in New Zealand by partnering up with former golf course superintendent and current consultant to the NZ turf industry Dave Cooke (pictured). Cook, who has been in the industry for over 20 years, brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the market requirements to the Country Club International team.

Managing Director of Country Club International, Mike Baker, says the company is “excited to extend further into this market and with Dave’s addition we feel he will be a great asset to the business.”

Country Club International is well recognised within the industry for supplying waste water treatment systems, fuel tank systems, high safety netting, golf course and range hardware and can be contacted on Free Call 1300 138 804 or www.countryclub.com.au If your company has any new appointments or announcements, contact ATM editor Brett Robinson brett@agcsa.com.au march-april 2015

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turf producers turf producers

The aim of Turf Australia’s R&D Strategic Investment Plan is to drive growth and sustainability of the Australian turf industry

Inherent

benefits To help consumers better understand the value of natural turf, Turf Australia, in conjunction with Horticulture Innovation Australia, has recently launched a Ground Cover Area Calculator.

R

esearch conducted on behalf of the Australian turf industry continues to show that natural turf provides great value for money, especially when compared to alternative ground covering options.

Back in 2007 and 2010, market research company Brand Story conducted nationwide research which showed that the majority of consumers believed that a house with a lawn was worth 10-15 per cent more than the same house without a lawn. Also, the majority believed a house with a lawn was easier to sell, faster to sell and more attractive to a wider selection of potential buyers.

The key messages from the Brand Story research included: More than half didn’t know the actual cost per square metre of turf; l More than half thought it was the best value for money outdoor ground covering; l Almost half considered turf the least expensive covering; and l Sixty per cent considered it didn’t cost too much to maintain a lawn.

Despite this, the research also showed that there were some issues that the turf industry needed to address, with consumers only partially aware of the environmental benefits of natural turf. The majority said there also needed to be widespread education on how to properly maintain a lawn (e.g.: correct watering techniques and management of lawns in high traffic areas).

In 2013, Sprout Research added to this by interviewing 1200 consumers. They discovered that: l The most common brand/variety of turf purchased was soft leaf buffalo (22 per cent), while 32 per cent couldn’t recall which brand/ variety they purchased; l Key reasons for buying turf were it softened the look of the home (52 per cent), added value to the home (45 per cent) and was an ideal surface for the family (45 per cent); l

www.turfaustralia.com.au

Above: Natural turf is the cheapest ground cover option by a big margin and as well as providing great value for money it has many inherent environmental benefits over other forms of ground cover 62

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

l

Sixty per cent self-laid their turf (either themselves or someone in their household);

l

Turf farms were the most common place of purchase at 32 per cent; and Approximately 1 in 3 was concerned about the cost of watering and maintaining their turf.

l

Ground cover calculator To help consumers better understand the value of natural turf, Turf Australia, in conjunction with Horticulture Innovation Australia, has recently developed and launched a Ground Cover Area Calculator. The calculator resides on the Turf Australia website – www.turfaustralia.com.au – and enables anyone to enter a proposed ground cover area to compare the cost of the following ground cover types – natural turf, synthetic grass, pavers, sandstone, concrete and mass garden plantings.

The calculator gives a cost range for each ground cover option and includes the cost of site preparation, underlay, soil, surface preparation, supply, install and optional finishing (see Table 1).

The source of the cost information in the Ground Cover Area Calculator comes from the 15th edition of the ‘Guideline Schedule of Rates for Landscape Works’ published by the Landscape Association of NSW & ACT in 2013.

The bottom line is natural turf is the cheapest ground cover option by a big margin. Even the high end of natural turf is cheaper than the low end of any alternative. Combine this with turf’s inherent qualities, we should all feel good about the industry we are in and continually remind ourselves and our customers of the many inherent benefits of natural turf.

Don’t fake it!

With a sudden influx of local councils considering synthetic grass for sporting grounds, Turf Australia recently put out a press release to warn of the negative impacts for players and the community

Table 1: Ground cover area calculator results for 100m2 Surface Type Low End Natural Turf $2,520.00 Synthetic Grass $5,675.00 Pavers $14,350.00 Sandstone $18,100.00 Concrete $8,000.00 Mass Garden Planting $4,980.00 posed by synthetic grass. President of Turf Australia, Anthony Muscat, who is both a natural turf grower and seller of synthetic grass, says local councils may not be properly weighing up the pros and cons of fake grass for sporting purposes.

“Synthetic grass has its place, but it isn’t on the sporting field,” says Muscat. “There have been several studies that show synthetic turf increases injury risk for players, as it doesn’t have the cushioning effect like natural turf. In fact, in a recent survey of nearly 100 professional soccer players, 94 per cent said synthetic grass increased the risk of sustaining an injury.

“Additionally, fake grass gets up to three times hotter than natural grass and has shown to reach temperatures 93.3 degrees Celsius. Also, there is a common misconception that synthetic grass doesn’t require maintenance. This is simply not correct.

It still requires watering for cooling and cleaning, needs to be sprayed for weeds, and, particularly for contact sports, blood and sweat need to be cleaned up with disinfectant as, unlike real grass, synthetic

High End Median cost $3,175.00 $2,800.48 $27,925.00 $16,800.00 $21,650.00 $18,000.00 $25,600.00 $21,800.50 $15,100.00 $11,500.50 $23,000.00 $13,900.90

grass does not have beneficial bacteria that do the job for you.”

Muscat adds that synthetic surfaces also cost more money in the long-term, requiring a full replacement in about eight to 10 years and that with some careful planning and care, councils can maintain natural playing and recreational surfaces at much less cost.

“By spending a little bit of extra maintenance time in autumn to fertilise and in spring to fertilise, aerate and spread gypsum, you can keep natural turf in good shape,” says Muscat. “We’d also encourage councils to speak to us to discuss measures that can be put in place to assist with their needs, before opting for fake grass.”

Turf Australia warns that the community also misses out on the benefits of natural grass sporting grounds if they are replaced by synthetic. Natural grass helps to cool suburbs by breaking up radiant energy and absorbing heat. Additionally, natural grass absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, traps dust and improves water quality.

Lilydale Instant Lawn celebrates 30 years

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ne of the biggest names in the Victorian turf production industry will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in April. Lilydale Instant Lawn started operation in 1985 with Garry and Peter Lusk on a small rural property based in Wonga Park in Melbourne’s north east. Due to rapid expansion a larger 70 acre property was quickly acquired in Yarra Glen.

Over the past 30 years, Lilydale Instant Lawn has gone from strength to strength with Garry Lusk at the helm as managing director, Denise Lusk running the company’s OH&S and HR divisions and Steve Cole who has been general manager since 2004.

Lilydale Instant Lawn’s farm portfolio now comprises in excess of 1500 acres in total, including the original 70 acre farm and head office based in Yarra Glen, three Pakenham farms and a large scale sand-based farm at Bairnsdale. With the acquisition of the Bairnsdale property in 2011, it has given the company the flexibility to supply a variety of soil-based turf products including sandbased instant turf to service the sports and racing industries.

Lilydale Instant Lawn harvests a unique

Lilydale Instant Lawn’s farm portfolio now comprises in excess of 1500 acres in total

Garry Lusk, Steve Cole and Denise Lusk instant lawn product in QWELTS - Quick establishing, Water saving, Easy to handle, Long lasting, Thick cut, Slabs. The company grows a vast array of instant turf varieties including Sir Walter buffalo, Eureka kikuyu Premium VG, Eureka kikuyu, Nullarbor couch, Village Green kikuyu and Grand Prix couch.

In addition to supplying the residential market, Lilydale Instant Lawn also has a proven track record in large commercial projects including Settlers Run GC, Yering Meadows GC (ex Croydon GC), Commonwealth Golf Club, Yarra Valley Racing Centre, Sandown Race Track, Pakenham Race Track course proper and Eastern Golf Club at Yarra Glen.

One of Lilydale’s most recent projects saw it supply and lay 15,500m2 of Nullarbor couch at the Yarra Glen Recreational Reserve Football Ground.

In 2014, Lilydale Instant Lawn became part of Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA), an independent group of turf farmers around the country which has Australia’s first 10 year product warranty, internal quality assurance and accreditation programmes to ensure consumers are getting the best product. In addition to this LSA accreditation, Lilydale Instant Lawn also uses Cm3, Australia’s leading online contractor WHS prequalification system as an independent OH&S auditor.

For more information visit www. lilydaleinstantlawn.com.au or call (03) 9730 1128. march-april 2015

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hope everyone is getting through the summer without too many dramas. I had 40mm of rain last week (first week of February) which has dramatically assisted the management of the course.

The GCSAWA committee would like to keep all members informed on a regular basis on educational days, the 2015 Margret River conference and any other issues happening with the association.

Plans are going well for the Margaret River event which will be held from Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 August. Glenn Cross is once again organising the conference with the proposed programme looking extremely informative and as always a good way to catch up with all the people in the industry.

Once again we are making efforts for the AGCSA Board to hold its meeting at the conference which would give members the opportunity to meet the Board and allow us also to add to the list of speakers. I’m sure once again the AGCSA will fully support us by giving us access to several staff members.

The committee is currently organising more educational days with some of these planned to work in conjunction with the Super Series. Jason Kelly has organised the following 2015 calendar to be confirmed by clubs. l

l

14 April: Sun City (11am ‘walk and talk’ followed by 9 holes of golf at 12pm); 11 May: Royal Fremantle (GCSAWA Management Challenge – 11am lunch, 12pm golf);

9 June: The Cut (7am nine holes of golf, 9.15am ‘walk and talk’ followed by BBQ); l 14July: Mosman Park (7am golf followed by BBQ and presentations); l 8 August: Toro Cup Margaret River Conference; l 14 September: WA Golf Club (6.30am golf, 9am Idris Evans talk followed by BBQ; and l 20 October: Araluen Golf Resort (Trade Challenge – 11am lunch, 12pm 18 holes golf).

The WA Industry Golf Awards will be once again held at the Crown Casino Burswood on Friday 6 March. We’ve had good nominations in all categories with special attention to the GCSAWA awards of Superintendent of the Year, Environmental Award and Apprentice of the Year. Hopefully we will see a good turnout of GCSAWA members and trade in support of these awards.

The workshop at Wembley last year discussing apprentice training was successful. There were many points of view taken into consideration and I’m sure the staff at Challenger TAFE will continue to work with us. I recently went to TAFE for an open morning with the STA WA and I’m sure all associations will work together more to improve education within the turf industry. The work TAFE is doing with trials is of great benefit to all of us.

I look forward to seeing you all at most of the calendar events in 2015. l

Neil Graham President, GCSAWA

sta act region

I

t has been a pretty mild summer here in the ACT with temperatures averaging in the mid-20s.

We’ve had a mixed bag with some mornings being very cool and a few days here and there struggling to reach 20. We have also been lucky with regular rainfall, mostly in the form of afternoon storms. While it has been welcome, I’m sure Andrew Boyle and the team at Royal Canberra Golf Club who were seeding fairways and roughs might beg to differ.

Once again Manuka Oval has been the focus here in Canberra. On 28 January it hosted the Big Bash final between the Sydney Sixers and the Perth Scorchers and what a game and finish it was. On a very chilly evening, a packed house witnessed a last ball thriller. The game seemed destined to go to a Superover when on the last ball with scores level a run-out seemed certain until a fumble gifted the Scorchers their second title.

Congratulations again goes to curator Brad Van Dam and his team for producing a wicket that was responsible for such an even and exciting contest. Manuka Oval was also in the spotlight for

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the 2015 Cricket World Cup, hosting three games – Bangladesh v Afghanistan, West Indies v Zimbabwe and South Africa v Ireland.

The STA ACT Annual Golf Day is now almost a must-attend event. For the first time we will be offering a guaranteed $10,000 for the first person to score a hole-in-one on the par three 3rd hole.

I’m sure there will be plenty of hearts racing as they step up to take their tee shot and this will only add to what has always been a great day.

The event has a new home this year at Federal Golf Club (superintendent Mark Thomson) and will be held on Monday 11 May. There will be a barbeque and refreshments as part of the cost for the day so get your four-person Ambrose teams organised and register to play.

We also advise that our annual Turf Seminar is set down for Wednesday 29 July. We are currently working on this year’s topics and speakers and will announce more details in the next edition of ATM.

Danny Hull Committee, STA ACT Region

sagcsa

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delaide has experienced a cooler and drier than normal summer, although temperatures at present (mid-February) are rising into the high 30s, and low 40s.

Late last year the SAGCSA held a meeting at Blackwood Golf Club (host superintendent Stephen Pellatt). About 35 people attended what was a great day which consisted of nine holes of golf and a course inspection. Following Steve’s presentation on a few aspects of the Blackwood layout we all enjoyed a BBQ lunch.

Our first meeting for 2015 was held at Mt Osmond Golf Club on 12 February, hosted by yours truly. The day started with nine holes of golf for the early risers followed by a course inspection. I highlighted our water sources and showed off the spectacular views of Adelaide from areas on the course. I also described the affects the strong gully winds have on our irrigation system at this time of the year and the debris from the gums throughout the course caused by these winds.

Following the course inspection, John Deere, represented by our local dealer Metropolitan Machinery (rep Chris Simmonds) along with some help from a few Queensland reps, demonstrated some of the John Deere fleet. This was followed by a BBQ lunch at our maintenance facility.

The next SAGCSA meeting is planned to be another superintendent forum at Royal Adelaide Golf Club (superintendent Nathan Bennett) in late March, before heading to the beautiful Yorke Peninsula town of Port Hughes for a meeting at the Dunes Port Hughes Golf Club (superintendent Rohan Bock) in May. Both meetings will have plenty on offer so it would be encouraging to see as many members as possible. I wish everyone a safe and happy rest of the summer.

Bazz Bryant President, SAGCSA

Above: The SAGCSA’s first meeting of 2015 was held at Blackwood GC Top: The stunning views of Adelaide from Mt Osmond Golf Club

GCSAQ

A

fter a very prolonged period of drought as reported on in the last edition of ATM, the summer has again presented many challenges for Queensland superintendents.

Cyclone Marcia ravaged the state in the third week of February, bringing with it destructive winds and flooding rains. The likes of Nambour and Maroochydore recorded two day totals of 370mm and 330mm respectively while Gympie and Tewantin recorded 250mm. In the far north of the state there were some huge rainfall events as well with Cairns recording 247mm on a single day (8 February) to push its monthly total in excess of 600mm. It’s yet to be seen what the lasting damage will be, but economically it’s the last thing the industry needs as public playing numbers are fragile enough.

With a turn in the weather down in the SE parts of Queensland – high rainfall totals (265mm in January for us here) combined with humidity and warm days (and nights!) – it has meant superintendents have been forever vigilant for those typical disease outbreaks common around this time of year, probably more so than in years past.

Elsewhere around the state, Tony Jonas has decided to move on as superintendent from Toowoomba (Middle Ridge) with the New Zealand native returning to the ‘Shaky Isles’. The course offers

a unique opportunity to grow bentgrass in a cool temperate climate while still living in Queensland, as John Halter can attest to over at City Golf Club which successfully hosted the Queensland PGA Championship. We wish Toowoomba Golf Club all the best in its quest to find a new superintendent.

The GCSAQ is in the process of organising events for the next six months. This may include course inspections on the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. We are also looking to breathe new life into the bus/turf tour concept with the Wide Bay area around Hervey Bay a possibility.

In March, we will again be attending the glittering Queensland Golf Industry Awards night at Jupiter’s Casino. This is a night to appreciate and applaud the hard work done by all associated in our great industry. Again, we are typically scratching to get nominations for the Achievement and Environmental sections. We are a modest bunch by nature and it’s somewhat akin to pulling teeth to get our deserved members to rightfully seek acknowledgement for the fantastic work done.

Let’s hope for fine times ahead and may the weather gods smile down upon us all!

Charlie Giffard President, GCSAQ march-april 2015

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Launceston’s Aurora Stadium hosted a TGCSA field day in early March

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nusual weather conditions have made life interesting for superintendents and turf managers around the southern state during summer. The usually dry southern regions have recorded a lot of rain with flooding in some areas in early January and consistently colder than average temperatures, while areas such as the north west have suffered drought conditions.

On 23 November 2014 the TGCSA staged a field day at Tasmanian Toro dealers Pellows Saws and Mowers, with golf at Riverside Golf Club in the afternoon. The day was run as a machinery maintenance workshop hosted by Brody Coulson who took delegates through an in-depth look at the technical operations at their extensive workshop and gave many tips and instructions on getting the most from your equipment.

Clinton Shaw from Toro Irrigation presented some of the latest technology available in popup sprinklers and controllers and explained some

On the move TIM ALLEN: Departed as assistant superintendent Bonnie Doon Golf Club, NSW in November 2014.

AARON CACHIA: From senior greenkeeper RydeParramatta Golf Club, NSW to superintendent Bexley Golf Club, NSW. MATTHEW CLISSOLD: From 3IC Monash Country Club, NSW to assistant superintendent Asquith Golf Club, NSW. BRITTNEY GOLDSWORTHY: From irrigation technician Lake Karrinyup Country Club, WA to superintendent Seaview Golf Club, WA. TONY JONAS: Resigned as superintendent of Toowoomba Golf Club, Qld to head back to his native New Zealand.

ADAM LEECH: From irrigation technician Royal Canberra Golf Club, ACT to assistant superintendent Federal Golf Club, ACT. JOSH LEYLAND: From superintendent Churchill 66

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finance options to help clubs access some of the latest gear. The day proved very popular with good numbers in attendance and several new faces among the crowd. Delegates gathered at Riverside Golf Club after lunch to play for the Reg Roberts Memorial Trophy which was won for the second time

by Andrew Currie (Seabrook Golf Club).

Our next field day is scheduled for Aurora Stadium in Launceston (head curator Bryan Dunn) on 12 March, sponsored by Oasis fertilisers and Gaffney machinery. The day will feature a presentation by Graeme Grant, golf course designer, former superintendent and owner of the Ocean Dunes golf course development currently under construction on King Island.

The day will also feature a walk ‘n’ talk session at the neighbouring Invermay Park precinct which is currently being redeveloped and the development of more drop-in pitches for Aurora Stadium. There will also be a machinery demonstration featuring Jacobsen mowers, New Holland tractors and BA spray equipment.

Later on in the year there will be a field day staged at Beltana Bowls Club on 6 May with a small bowls challenge attached (details still to be finalised). The two-day TGCSA and STA co-sanctioned conference and trade show will be held on 18-19 August at Barnbougle Dunes (host superintendent Phil Hill).

There has already been considerable interest in this event and while the programme is not yet confirmed it is shaping up to be a great couple of days.

Mark Johnson President, TGCSA Park Golf Club, Vic to superintendent Box Hill Golf Club, Vic. JOHN MANN: From assistant superintendent Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Vic to superintendent Woodlands Golf Club, Vic. ADAM MCMAHON: From assistant superintendent to superintendent Longyard Golf Club, Tamworth, NSW. JAMES NEWELL: From assistant superintendent Woodlands Golf Club, Vic to assistant superintendent Yarra Yarra Golf Club, Vic. BEN NORTON-SMITH: Stepped down as superintendent after 8.5 years at Longyard Golf Club to concentrate on growing his local turf businesses GreenCulture and Tamworth TurfCulture.

BRENDAN WARBY: The former Highlands Golf Club superintendent has been appointed superintendent Narooma Golf Club, NSW.

sta qld

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ummer is generally the association’s quieter time, in terms of field days and events that is. We’re all usually too busy, whether trying to keep the grass under control, carrying out renovations, mopping up after storms or covering and then uncovering wicket blocks (and repeat), to afford time off work to attend any.

Our first event of the year will be our annual education day at QSAC stadium in March, hosted

by Peter Cronin. The day will include presentations from Character Builders, Dr Chris Lambrides (University of Queensland), John Hagan (BNIT) and Silvan sprayers.

Upcoming field days for 2015 will be our very popular Cricket Wicket Seminar on 12 May at Allan Border Field which will this year be combined with our AGM. Two more field days are also planned for 14 July and 13 October with details yet to be finalised. There will be vacancies on the committee

this year so if you feel that you can offer some time to help run our association please come to the AGM and put your hand up. It sounds like a total cliché, but being on the committee can really be rewarding.

Memberships for 2015 are due so please don’t forget to renew – we’ll do our best to keep reminding you! This year we even have a new ‘Sign up button’ on Facebook. To our partners (thank you for your support) and potential partners out there, we will be sending out an updated prospectus for this year.

Of course I can’t end this report without mentioning the weather. As I write this we have Cyclone Marcia bearing down on the coast with very heavy rain and winds predicted. I hope you all got out of it safe and very lightly.

Martyn Hedley Vice-president, STA QLD

POLO ARRIVES AT BARNBOUGLE

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n 25 January 2015 the inaugural Barnbougle Polo event was held between the Dunes and Lost Farm golf courses on the newly constructed pitch which was planted out in January 2014.

Looking back on what was just a flat paddock with pasture grass and thistles, which is flood prone in winter because it sits next to the Great Forrester River right on the water table, it was always going to be challenging to grow and maintain Legend couchgrass which does not like to be in a wet environment for long periods.

The Tasmanian climate also throws in an additional challenge in that the Legend couch needs soil temperatures around 18 degrees before the couchgrass becomes active enough to produce a surface of any quality. This limits the growing period that we have by using a warm-season grass in a cool/temperate climate, but it was the species of turf preferred for the polo pitch.

Having all these challenges presented to me was somewhat daunting as there were considerable funds invested to have the pitch prepared and planted out, with some element of risk involved in the location (i.e.: water table, climate etc).

Preparations for the pitch began back in October 2013 when the 5ha paddock was sprayed out with Roundup. The following month it was power harrowed and levelled out with StrathAyr planting out the Legend in January 2014 on a balmy 31-degree day.

Barnbougle’s new polo pitch

The polo pitch was planted with Legend couch and with plenty of TLC bounced out of the ground last spring

Having limited experience in warmseason turf establishment, I was overwhelmed by the rapid establishment after planting took place. Yes we did give it lots of love and the rewards soon came. We had planned on having 50 per cent cover going into dormancy, but we ended up with 90 per cent cover pre-May 2014.

To encourage the Legend to come out dormancy, we put out a high N fertiliser in late October and by mid-November 2014 it had become a thriving plant which we were able to then work with and prepare a quality surface for the much anticipated inaugural Barnbougle Polo.

Mother Nature was certainly on our side for most of the way leading up to the event as we did not have to irrigate the pitch at all. We applied Ronstar in mid-November 2014 to clean up any grassy weeds with an application of Sportsground herbicide to follow to clean up any remaining weeds.

Preparations from then on included a light fertiliser application in January and daily mowing to promote a dense healthy turf plant that could stand up to the rigours of the polo horses tearing around at great speed.

The event itself on the day, after a huge amount of preparation and planning by all parties, was a great success and plans for Barnbougle Polo 2016 are now well under way.

- Phil Hill, Superintendent, Barnbougle

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letters letters

Team effort ensures successful PGA

Dear Editor, I just wanted to write a short note thanking you for the article (Wet ‘n’ Wild Royal Pines, p26-32, Volume 17.1 – January-February 2015) in the last edition of Australian Turfgrass Management Journal.

One thing I did forget to mention in the article was my sincere appreciation of the efforts of the people that helped in the lead-up to and during the tournament. As the breakout article ‘Irrigation issues put PGA preparations under the pump’ pointed out, we had a string of unlucky events, with irrigation problems including mainline issues on the 18th green followed by a pump failure.

In the end we got there and this would not have happened without the efforts of David Hanby (Hydro Pumping & Controls) being able to organise a swift change to our system. David organised for us to have a pump built and flown in within 48 hours which was a remarkable achievement. Bryan Ranger (All Range Electrical) was on hand to keep us running while our system was struggling and while all efforts to have things go smoothly (which they don’t) Bryan was on call when needed, coming in early Sunday morning to hook up and commission. The pump was up and running within minutes of installing.

I would also like to thank Grundfos for making themselves available to build a new pump in such a short time frame and then have it flown to Brisbane for collection, then organise their technician to attach the pump and motor together so we were able to install with minimal fuss.

I would also like to thank Paul Bevan and the Simplot Partners boys for organising a BBQ breakfast for the crew each morning and Phil Soegaard (superintendent, Lakelands Golf Club) for sending his staff over to help. I am very appreciative of the fact that Phil sent them over knowing that they copped the same weather as we did and he had his own dramas to deal with.

The stress can be overwhelming some days but having the expertise and help from these people made for a successful 2014 Australian PGA Championship in the end. Keep up the good work; ATM is a credit to you and the AGCSA.

Lincoln Coombes Superintendent, RACV Royal Pines, Qld

PWT complexities Dear Editor, I read with interest the article ‘Navigating the Curves’ in the November-December 2014 edition (Volume 16.6) of Australian Turfgrass Management Journal (pages 42-46).

Soil physics and its application to sports turf has been a special interest of mine during my 30 years in the industry. Sadly many in this industry do not fully understand the complexities of the perched water table (PWT) and/or misrepresent the need for it in certain situations. The classic case is where one drainage company and associated consultants promote the idea that a specific sand depth (typically 180mm) above the gravel in a piped drainage slit is essential to maintain a PWT and hence prevent drought in the slit.

Those of us who understand soil physics will realise that any accumulated water at the sand/ 68

Australian Turfgrass Management 17.2

gravel interface in a 75mm wide slit will quickly be drawn into the soil of the trench wall and the sand will be as dry as if there was no sand/gravel junction.

The same can occur on the perimeter of USGA constructed greens.

As a general comment, what is the point of having a PWT if the turf roots cannot access it?

A new USGA bentgrass putting green will often have roots down to the gravel in its first year but this depth decreases due to maintenance and play with effective roots often no deeper than 150mm.

Then why have a PWT profile at all? Why not simply amend the expected root depth such that adequate moisture after drainage will be maintained?

Trevor Siviour (B.Sc.Agr) Managing Director, Turspec P/L New South Wales

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