Conference GuideConference Guide
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014Welcome to
the Gold CoastYour comprehensive guide to the
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference
Welcome to the Gold Coast
Your comprehensive guide to the 30th Australian Turfgrass Conference
Pitcher perfectSCG’s MLB transformation
Pitcher perfectSCG’s MLB transformation
Shed dreadIs your maintenancefacility a liability?
Shed dreadIs your maintenancefacility a liability?
Weiks in the life of…An ex-pat superintendent’s journey
Weiks in the life of…An ex-pat superintendent’s journey
Green lightGardiners up and runningGreen lightGardiners up and running
www.agcsa.com.au
Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 16.3 may-JuNe 2014
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The AR722T glides over ground contours and climbs hills with ease – thanks to the exclusive SureTrac™ four-wheel drive traction and weight transfer control. See for yourself why the powerful and productive Jacobsen AR722T contour mower is at the head of its class – call your local Jacobsen dealer today.
McIntosh & Son Western Australia
Tel: +61 (08) 9475 1600
Godings Victoria
Tel: +61 (03) 9716 9000
ProTurf Machinery Pty Ltd New South Wales
Tel: +61 02 8070 9364
K C Farm Equipment Queensland
Tel: +61 (07) 3807 1100
Gilbert MotorsSouth Australia
Tel: +61 (08) 8536 2066
Farm World NT Pty Ltd Northern Territory
Tel: +61 (08) 8988 9411
LAUNCHING ON THE
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BOOTH# 58
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Pa r t n e r r e c o g n i t i o n P r o g r a m m eSupport those organisations who support your association
Thank you to all the partners who help the AGCSA provide members with the greatest programmes and services the industry has to offer.
PLATINUM SPONSORAGCSA
GOLD SPONSORAGCSAGOLD SPONSORAGCSA
SILVER SPONSORAGCSA
SILVER SPONSORAGCSA
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
SIMPLOT PARTNERS WELCOMES
SCOTT MCKAYSIMPLOT PARTNERS is proud to announce that SCOTT MCKAY has taken up the
position of Technical Development Manager. Scott will spearhead our new Simplot
Analytical Services as well as specialty product development, sales and Apex support.
www.simplotpartners.com.au
May-june 2014 3
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New look for OldThe National’s Old Course
greens resurfacing
New look for OldThe National’s Old Course
greens resurfacing
Royals ramp upAustralian Masters, Open and World Cup previews
Royals ramp upAustralian Masters, Open and World Cup previews
Gove Country GCAustralia’s northernmost golf club
Gove Country GCAustralia’s northernmost golf club
Aussie EcoTurfDeveloping drought-resistant couchgrass varieties
Aussie EcoTurfDeveloping drought-resistant couchgrass varieties
www.agcsa.com.au
Winner of 8 aWards at the 2012 toCa international CommuniCators Contest
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 15.6 Nov-dec 2013
ResearchACL injury in footballResearchACL injury in football
AGCSA Excellence AwardManly’s metamorphosisAGCSA Excellence AwardManly’s metamorphosis
‘The’ graduateProfile: Jason Blacka‘The’ graduateProfile: Jason Blacka
AFL ground redevelopments
Colac’s Central Reserve Melbourne’s Olympic Park
AFL ground redevelopments
Colac’s Central Reserve Melbourne’s Olympic Park
Interns and OpensCongressional, TPC Scottsdale,
Sunningdale and Merion
Interns and OpensCongressional, TPC Scottsdale,
Sunningdale and Merion
www.agcsa.com.au
Winner of 8 aWards at the 2012 toCa international CommuniCators Contest
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 15.4 Jul-aug 2013
Turf app-eal!Apps for the modern day turf manager
Turf app-eal!Apps for the modern day turf manager
Course constructionChirnside Park on the Run
Brilliant Brookwater2013 Isuzu Queensland Open
www.agcsa.com.au
Winner of 8 aWards at the 2012 toCa international CommuniCators Contest
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 15.5 Sep-oct 2013
A November to rememberRoyals rule as Aussies rule
A November to remember
www.agcsa.com.au
Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 16.1 JaN-Feb 2014
Tournament calibreOpen season at Victoria, 13th BeachTournament calibreOpen season at Victoria, 13th Beach
Brothers in armsBradburys make their markBrothers in armsBradburys make their mark
Sun, sand and turfDoha Golf Club, Qatar
Sun, sand and turfDoha Golf Club, Qatar
Manuka makeoverCanberra’s new-look StarTrackManuka makeoverCanberra’s new-look StarTrack
Regional profilePambula-Merimbula GC
Regional profilePambula-Merimbula GC
www.agcsa.com.au
Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 16.2 mar-apr 2014
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Forward to: Australian Turfgrass Management Suite 1, Monash Corporate Centre, 752 Blackburn Road Clayton, VIC 3168 FAX: (03) 9548 8622
Australian Turfgrass ManagementPublished by:australian Golf Course Superintendents' associationaBn 96 053 205 888
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4 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
contentscontents
cover sanctuary cove Golf & country
club: the Palms Course at
sanctuary Cove will play host
to the 2014 toro AgCsA golf
Championships on 22 June.
Pictured is the 7th.
Photo: sanctuary Cove g&CC/
Mark Burgin Photography.
Conference GuideConference Guide
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014Welcome to
the Gold CoastYour comprehensive guide to the
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference
Welcome to the Gold Coast
Your comprehensive guide to the 30th Australian Turfgrass Conference
Pitcher perfectSCG’s MLB transformation
Pitcher perfectSCG’s MLB transformation
Shed dreadIs your maintenancefacility a liability?
Shed dreadIs your maintenancefacility a liability?
Weiks in the life of…An ex-pat superintendent’s journey
Weiks in the life of…An ex-pat superintendent’s journey
Green lightGardiners up and runningGreen lightGardiners up and running
www.agcsa.com.au
Celebrating the efforts of australia’s turf management professionals
ISSN 1442-2697
volume 16.3 may-JuNe 2014
FeaturesWeiks in the life of an ex-pat 14taking on an apprenticeship at 29 years of age is
quite a commitment, but for rob Weiks it was the
first big step on a career path that has taken him
around the world. Currently residing in Vietnam,
Weiks tracks his late-blooming greenkeeping career
and some of the lessons he has learned from
working in the cutthroat Asian golf market.
time to upgrade? 58is your maintenance facility a liability? is it costing
your golf course money? is it interfering with care
of the course? According to David Oatis these are
questions golf clubs should be asking themselves.
Green light for Gardiners 64Course superintendent Alan greatorex provides
the final instalment in his ongoing series about the
development of the new gardiners run golf Course
which opened up to eager members in the first week
of May.
Grass-roots With John neylan Pitcher perfect 22in his latest column, John neylan takes an
inside look at the stunning transformation
that took place at the sydney Cricket ground in
March to host two Major league Baseball games
and the race against time to reinstate the ground for
Afl and nrl.
sydney’s field of dreams 28AtM editor Brett robinson
catches up with Major
league Baseball’s field
guru Murray Cook who,
together with sCg curator
tom Parker and evergreen
turf’s graeme Colless,
played a key role in
turning the sydney Cricket
ground into a ballpark
befitting major league
status.
lead story: the Palms still a sanctuary 8
the last time the Australian turfgrass Conference ventured to the gold Coast, the Palms Course at
sanctuary Cove was in the midst of a full blown redevelopment under the auspices of local course
architect ross Watson. some four years later and with the course having been opened since April 2011,
AgCsA editor Brett robinson catches up AgCsA Accredited superintendent robin Doodson to look
back at how the course has performed and some of things that have and haven’t worked.
time for soil testing! Let us provide you with a truly independent
soil report
Send samples to
Ph. 03 9548 8600Fax. 03 9548 8622
Email. [email protected]
Suite 1, Monash Corporate Centre752 Blackburn Road
Clayton 3168 VicTech
A n a l y t i c a l , D i a g n o s t i c a n d C o n s u l t a n c y S e r v i c e s
MAy-June 2014 5
Contributors to Australian Turfgrass Management JournalVolume 16.3 (May-June 2014) Gausul Azam (University of Western Australia); Louise Barton (University of Western Australia); Barry Bryant (SAGCSA); Tim Colmer (University of Western Australia); Murray Cook (MLB/Brickman Group); John Cooper; Robin Doodson (Sanctuary Cove G&CC); Peter Frewin (AGCSA); Alan Greatorex (Gardiners Run); Tony Guy (STA WA); Martyn Hedley (STA WA); Steve Hewitt (VGCSA); Danny Hull (STA ACT); Mark Johnson (TGCSA); Peter Lonergan (GCSAQ); Ian McKendry (STANZ); John Neylan (Neyturf); David Oatis (USGA); Andrew Peart (AGCSATech); Pieter Poot (University of Western Australia); Phil Ryan (Pacific Coast Design); Richard Stephens (Turf Australia); Joshua Straub (Lismore Workers GC); Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust; Jim Vaughan (Turf Queensland); Rob Weiks (Twin Doves GC, Vietnam); Jenny Zadro (STA NSW).
Scott Van slyke. i’ll hazard a guess that this name will mean absolutely nothing to the
majority of Australian turfgrass Management readers. footballer? no. Cricketer? no.
superintendent? nothing on the AgCsA database...
On 22 March 2014 at the sydney Cricket ground (sCg), the 6’6” outfielder for the
los Angeles Dodgers entered his name into Australian sporting history when his slicing
flyball snuck inside the right field foul pole to score a two-run home run against the Arizona
Diamondbacks. not only was it the first Major league Baseball (MlB) home run of the 2014
season, it was also the very first MlB regular season home run on Australian soil.
now i’m the first to admit my baseball knowledge is somewhat lean and the closest i get
to seeing it regularly is when the seven-year-old fires up the Wii and proceeds to invoke the
mercy rule on me after hitting 10 home runs in a row! the world of screwballs, knuckleballs,
sliders and splitters (no, we’re not talking about rugby league front rowers but types of
baseball pitches) is about as foreign to most Australians as leg cutters, yorkers, flippers and
wrong ‘uns are to our American cousins. yet, in March, MlB hit town for the first time Down
under and over two days an impressive 76,345 fans flocked to our iconic sCg to see some
of the game’s biggest (and handsomely) paid stars do their thing.
to get MlB – a game which attracts more than 74 million fans to games annually in
the us and where a single player can earn more than the combined salary cap of two Afl
clubs in just one season – to these shores was no mean feat. As AtM columnist John neylan
writes in this edition, it took a number of key elements to all come together and (excuse
the pun) play ball. the integral component, however, was the venue and the remarkable
transformation of the sCg over a 16-day period from cricket ground to MlB ballpark (and
then back again for nrl and Afl) was something this industry has not witnessed before.
indeed it will be a project that all those involved with will look back on in years to come with
a tremendous sense of pride.
One of the key players involved to help bring the game, successfully, Down under was
a man by the name of Murray Cook. Hailing from just outside of Washington DC, Cook is
the les Burdett of the baseball world. Affectionately dubbed the ‘field guru’, Cook has, since
1975, prepared baseball grounds all over the us and for the past 20 years has been the
MlB’s official field consultant. it’s a role which has taken him to the four corners of the globe
to ensure that the ballparks MlB players play on are up to the exacting standards demanded
by the code. indeed, when there is more than $310 million worth of cattle running around, as
there was in March at the sCg, it’s paramount that the field is top notch.
Complementing John neylan’s column, we talk to Cook about his involvement in the
sCg project, one which he rates as being the most memorable and satisfying in all his
years. Cook could not be more effusive in his praise of the team he worked with, a team that
among others included veteran sCg curator tom Parker, evergreen turf’s graeme Colless
and their respective crews. Cook sums it up succinctly: “you couldn’t have put together a
better A-team to get this job done. take this project anywhere else in the world and it would
be a thousand times more difficult than it was doing it there. for sure it was difficult, but with
the people we had working on this project and the cooperation between everyone, we pulled
it off and i can’t thank them enough.” High praise indeed.
AtM congratulates all those involved in what was a very unique project and one that
again demonstrated to a worldwide audience the innate professionalism and skill that makes
Australian turf practitioners some of the best in the world. enjoy the read and i
look forward to seeing you all on the gold Coast for the upcoming conference.
Brett Robinson, Editor
Hitting a home runconFerence Guide Welcome to the Gold coast 37-57the 30th Australian turfgrass Conference and
trade exhibition returns to the gold Coast
Convention and exhibition Centre from 22-27
June 2014. AtM reviews the week ahead for
delegates, looks at the education sessions and
profiles the finalists for the AgCsA and stA
graduate of the year Awards. see you on the
gold Coast!
research
Water savers 68university of Western Australia researchers Pieter
Poot, gausul Azam, louise Barton and tim
Colmer outline a new three-year HAl-funded
project to investigate whether incorporating soil
amendments can reduce water use of turfgrass
when grown in a sandy soil.
Also in this edition…Foreword Thinking 6
AGCSATech Update 34
Regional Profile -
Lismore Workers Golf Club, NSW 72
Around the Trade 78
Turf Producers 82
State Reports 84
Off Course - Myanmar 92
Conference GuideConference Guide
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014
Looking for greenkeeping staff?
Advertise on the AGCSA website - the Australian turf industry’s LEADING online job resourcePost your job online now at www.agcsa.com.au/jobs or email [email protected]
6 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
foreword thinkingforeword thinking
Peter Frewin, General ManaGer, aGCSa
As i write this report, it is becoming very clear
that the biggest event on the Australian turf
industry calendar is but a few weeks away.
While most things are organised, there is still a great
deal to finalise to ensure that the event on the gold
Coast runs smoothly and that those attending have
a great experience.
the week is shaping up to be one of the most
successful events in recent times and later in this
edition of AtM we review the many components
which will make up the week. i am delighted to
report that delegate numbers are very good and
participation by the trade for the two-day exhibition
has been excellent. Complement that with the high
calibre of both local and international speakers and
it is sure to be a wonderful week.
if you have not committed to going as yet,
there is still plenty of time. registrations will be
taken through the AgCsA office or online up until
Wednesday 18 June – visit www.agcsa.com.au and
head to the dedicated conference page for more on
how to register – or after this date you can register
at the event itself.
for those who will be joining us on the gold
Coast, if you have not already done so please take
the time to download the AgCsA mobile device
app for the conference. the app will be a vital tool
to ensure your trip to the gold Coast is informative,
educational and, importantly, enjoyable. it will also
be a great tool to use throughout the year as many
companies have taken the opportunity to upload
their latest catalogues or brochures to the app which
will provide delegates an ongoing resource.
2014 aGCSa awardSthe AgCsA Awards are one of the highlights of
the annual conference and it was very pleasing to
see the first class quality of candidates nominated
for both the AgCsA excellence in golf Course
Management Award (presented in partnership with
John Deere) and the AgCsA graduate of the
Year Award (presented in partnership with toro
Australia). the judges of the respective awards had
a very difficult job assessing the applications before
deciding on the winners who will be announced
during our week on the gold Coast.
regrettably, this year the Claude Crockford
environment Award (presented in partnership with
syngenta) will not be bestowed. What is disappointing
about this is that many superintendents and clubs
are doing great work in their respective workplaces
in this field. given the current climate of heightened
environmental awareness it is vital that we showcase
what the industry is doing in this area. When the
wonderful week awaits delegates on the Gold Coast
| |
MAY-June 2014 7
agcsa membershipaGCSa MeMberShiP
2015 AgCsA Awards roll around, please consider
nominating one of your peers for this (and any)
award. We work in an industry where great work is
done on a daily basis and the awards are one way
this exceptional work can be acknowledged.
the AgCsA Awards ceremony will again be
a central part of the syngenta President’s Dinner
which, as most of you will be aware, has been
shifted to the start of the conference week (Monday
23 June at Jupiters). if the numbers are anything to
go by, this format change has proved to be a great
success and we are on track to record one of our
biggest dinner attendances in years.
SuPPort our PartnerSOn a recent trip to the riverina i came across a
sign on the clubrooms at robertson Oval in Wagga
Wagga (see photo opposite). the sign was simple,
yet encapsulated a vital message for our industry
– “Please support those that support us”. there
are over 70 companies and organisations that
have elected to display their wares and promote
their services at this year’s trade exhibition and it
is imperative that as an industry we support them.
if you live in the region, please take the time
to visit the exhibition even if you are not attending
as a delegate. entry to the trade exhibition is free
so bring along the general manager, committee
members and maintenance staff. it will be a great
opportunity to see what is new and a great way for
different parts of your organisation to work together
to improve your workplace.
traininG uPdatefinally, as readers of this column would know, the
AgCsA has been looking into what options are
available regarding undertaking training within our
industry. this work is ongoing and will take some
time to complete and the recent federal Budget
will also impact on any decision that is made going
forward.
there have been some interesting comments
fed back to me regarding some of our recent visits
to training providers. the AgCsA has not made any
commitment with any training provider regarding
our future plans. there is a great deal of work to
be done before any decision will be made. We will
complete our due diligence and if we elect to go
down this path any decision will be transparent
and in the best interests of the members and the
industry.
i look forward to seeing you all on the gold Coast
if you are making the trip for the 30th Australian
turfgrass Conference and trade exhibition. if not,
i look forward to catching up when our paths next
cross. Please feel free to contact me at any time if
you have an issue or suggestion; feedback is greatly
appreciated.
a u s t r a l i a n g o l f c o u r s e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s ’ a s s o c i a t i o n
MeMbership application forMHelping superintendents and their staff to achieve the best possible playing surfaces and adjacent environment within
the limitations of the available resourcesSurname: ............................................... First Name:..........................................................
Preferred Mailing Address: .................................................................................................
City/Suburb: ........................................... State: .................................Postcode: .................
Position: .............................................................................................................................
Club/Organisation: .............................................................................................................
Phone: Landline: ............................................ Mobile: ....................................................
Email: .................................................................................................................................
Member Category: ............................................................................................................
State Membership: ............................................................................................................
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Suite 1, Monash Corporate Centre, 752 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, 3168, VicPhone: 03 9548 8600 Fax: 03 9548 8622 Email: [email protected]
AGCSA MeMberShipSuperintendent .......................................................................................................... $360
Assistant Superintendent. .......................................................................................... $315
Ground Staff/Foreman/Irrigation Technician/3IC/Arborist. ........................................ $155
Sports Turf Manager................................................................................................... $315
Consultant .................................................................................................................. $360
International . ............................................................................................................. $215
Trade .......................................................................................................................... $330
Retired ........................................................................................................................ $140
StAte MeMberShip
NSW - New South Wales Golf Course Superintendents Association
Superintendent $100 Assistant $80 Groundstaff $60 Apprentice FREE
QLD - Golf Course Superintendents Association of Queensland .............................. $88
SA - South Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association
Superintendent $90 Assistant $80 Groundstaff $50 Trade $100 Apprentice FREE
TAS - Tasmania Golf Course Superintendents Association........................................ $70
Superintendent $70 Apprentice $20
WA - Golf Course Superintendents Association of Western Australia ..................... $125
VIC - Victorian Golf Course Superintendents Association ....... Please call 0408 354 100
the Next GeNerAtioN (StudeNt MeMberShip)Australian Turf Industry Apprentice/Student ............................................................ FREE
For superintendents and two or more staff joining AGCSA, a discounted membership rate may be available. For further information send your list of
names and positions to [email protected]
8 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
superintendentssuperintendents
The Palms course reopened in April 2011 after a two-year redevelopment
under the auspices of course architect Ross Watson. Pictured is
the 7th which is considered by many to be the most complete hole on the
course
The 2014 Toro AGCSA
Golf Championships will
be contested on The Palms
course at Sanctuary Cove
which three years ago
re-opened after a complete
redesign. ATM editor Brett
Robinson catches up with
course superintendent and
AGCSA Director Robin
Doodson to see what has
and hasn’t worked.
Uprooting yourself and moving tens of
thousands of kilometres to the other side
of the world to start a new life and career
isn’t the sort of thing you do lightly. in 2001, robin
Doodson did just that when, following the love of his
life Kerry (no, not glasgow’s famous Celtic football
Club), he bid farewell to the uK and his native
scotland and boarded a plane bound for Cairns.
the 13 years since have become a defining
period in the affable scot’s life. He duly tied the
knot, fathered twin girls Amy and emma and five
years ago became a fair dinkum Australian when
he aced the ‘citizenship test’ (AtM could not verify
at the time of going to print whether he did indeed
score 100 per cent). Yet it has been his career on
the golf course, his second home, where Doodson
has really transformed himself since arriving Down
under. Coming off jobs at the likes of hallowed
uK institutions Wentworth and turnberry, Doodson
pretty much had to reinvent himself as a greenkeeper
both in terms of his turf management skills and off
course management capabilities.
it was a short, sharp introduction to greenkeeping
the Australian way when Doodson took on his
first job at the links Port Douglas under then
superintendent Darren flanagan. the backblocks
of glasgow where he had grown up couldn’t have
been further removed from far north Queensland
with its monsoonal rains and ‘endearing’ fauna.
it was a steep learning curve both physically
and mentally and one which got even steeper when
just a few months after starting at the links he was
elevated to superintendent. He would spend the
next five-and-a-half years in Port Douglas honing
his warm-season grass management skills (and
getting a tan) before moving to the gold Coast and
eventually rising to be superintendent of the 36-hole
sanctuary Cove golf & Country Club in early 2009.
there have been many things that Doodson
has had to adapt to in order to make it in the
Australian industry and it has required plenty of
patience and a few ‘learning from you own mistakes’
type moments. Aside from the differences between
cool- and warm-season grass management and
getting his head around the arsenal of chemicals
required to manage them, he has also had to adapt
to the subtle cultural differences present in both the
greenkeeping industry and golf clubs in general.
palms still a
Sanctuarypalms still a
Sanctuary
MAY-june 2014 9
Sanctuary Cove’s AGCSA Accredited Superintendent Robin Doodson
s
Back home, members paid their subs, played
golf and were hardly heard. there, course managers
ruled. in Australia, by contrast, members are more
involved and feel it’s their right, for better or worse,
to cast their opinion on all matters regarding course
maintenance and club operations.
While that has taken some getting used to and
required the development of some deft diplomacy
skills, what Doodson has really embraced is the
camaraderie between his fellow superintendents.
While there is a certain closeness between his
counterparts back home, the spirit of helping the
bloke over the fence is nowhere near the same as
it is in Australia. the competitiveness is also more
pronounced in the uK.
As Doodson states: “in Australia we are almost
like one big gang and it often surprises our board
and committee just how much we do share our
knowledge, equipment and resources with each
other. that’s what makes the industry special out
here and Australian supers are, from my experience
anyway, the best at what they do in the world.”
PALMS PETin Doodson’s five-plus year tenure as superintendent
at sanctuary Cove a lot has gone down, but none
bigger than the complete redevelopment of the
Palms course between 2009 and 2011. it was a
pivotal project for not only the club but also for
Doodson, his first involvement in a full blown course
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10 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
superintendentssuperintendentss redevelopment which was orchestrated by local
course architect ross Watson. the end result was a
typically demanding Watson layout with no respite at
any point, a feature which has certainly challenged
the membership and one which continues to do so.
As Doodson states, the Palms is “a modern
course built to modern standards” and among the
wider golfing community it has won (and continues
to win) many plaudits not just for its greater strategic
nature than bigger sibling the Pines, but also for its
conditioning. indeed when Australian golf Digest
released its 2014 Australian top 100 golf Course
rankings listings in March, the Palms was one of the
biggest improvers, jumping 14 places to 63. Much
of that was attributed to “continual conditioning
improvements”. the Pines also jumped six spots
(to 52), however, the judging panel noted that the
course was looking “very tired and dated” and
that it “lacks genuine strategy, owing to its shallow
bunkering and flat, uninteresting greens.”
While admiring the uniqueness of the Arnold
Palmer Design Pines course, Doodson definitely
has a soft spot for the Palms given his intimate
involvement in its redevelopment and he has
watched with interest how it has matured since
opening in April 2011.
As with any project of this type there have been
successes and failures and ask Doodson what he
would do differently given the opportunity again and
a few things come immediately to mind. While only
minor issues in the grand scheme of things, they are
the sort of things a superintendent notices.
“the landscaping is something i would love to
start again,” admits Doodson. “We got a lot of the
plant selections wrong and we are paying for that
now and something we are progressively changing.
it wasn’t through anyone’s fault; it was more the soil
types and conditions. the native grasses which were
supposed to provide us with a low maintenance
landscape have proven to be the opposite.
“the greens construction we have subsequently
learnt was 99 per cent spot on, but we have had
some drainage issues develop. (Agronomist) john
neylan actually warned me this would happen
right from the start – what would he know – and
he proved to be spot on. it was all to do with the
undulations in the greens and the way the water
moved through them. What we found is that we have
these perennially wet areas where the water gathers
and causes turf loss. so over the past six months we
have spot drained 12 greens which has improved
them significantly.
“the greens collars were another thing i guess
you could say we got wrong. We planted the collars
with tifeagle, the same as the greens, with the idea
of having that as a buffer between the fairway and
greens grass. What we found very quickly was that
the tifeagle doesn’t like to grow to 8mm and as a
result we had very patchy or no definition between
the green and the collar. We now mow the tifeagle
at greens height right out to the fairway grass, which
has created a few issues as there are now some
irrigation heads on the putting surface. the plan is
to slowly change those collars over to Wintergreen
and have them at a triplex width.”
Despite the issues with the tifeagle collars, the
decision to go with the hybrid couchgrass on the
greens has well and truly been vindicated. Many
cautioned Doodson against the use of tifeagle over
the tried and tested tifgreen 328 given its reputation
for being a high maintenance grass, especially in
relation to thatch management. three years on and
Doodson has found the exact opposite.
“the only issue we have with the Palms greens
is keeping green speeds down,” says Doodson.
“the frequency of cut is significantly less than
the 328 on the Pines, we never have to roll them
because we are not chasing green speed and
disease pressure has been minimal. At the start we
had a few issues with eri-type diseases, but that’s
fairly common in any newly constructed greens up
here. it has been a fantastic grass so far and if i
could click my fingers and change the Pines greens
over i wouldn’t hesitate to.
“We renovate the greens essentially the same
across both courses, although we do more work
to the older Pines greens. in between the major
renovations, which we do either once or twice a year,
we will go out monthly, or fortnightly in the summer,
with 6mm hollow tines to remove thatch.
“Over the past two years we have brought in
what we call ‘super tuesdays’, where we shut one of
the courses down on a tuesday. One of the luxuries
we have here, and something we never really took
advantage of, is having 36 holes to play with. We
found that tuesday was a particularly quiet day
where we would be lucky to fill both courses, so we
said why not close one down.
“it started off slowly with a few tuesday closures
and we quickly realised that it was greatly assisting
us with maintenance operations without having any
impact on the members. We now have around 35 of
these ‘super tuesdays’ a year. We don’t do it every
week – for example we don’t have any in May due
it being out busiest time of year – but overall it has
worked fantastically well.
Despite warnings before the Palms reconstruction that the
TifEagle greens would be too high maintenance, Doodson says they
have provided a superb surface and would, without hesitation, switch the
Pines greens (below) across if the opportunity arose
Over the last six months 12 greens on the Palms course have had minor
drainage works undertaken
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MAY-june 2014 11
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“We work an extra long day on these tuesdays
and go gangbusters with our maintenance practices
on the course that is closed. it’s great for renovations
or spraying and we can do it all in one hit without
having to worry about golfers hitting up on staff.
the productivity is sensational and i don’t think our
members even notice it to be honest.”
ThE ‘B’ WoRDAnother unique feature of the Palms reconstruction
was Watson’s recommendation of Plateau
couchgrass for the bunker surrounds. As well as
giving them a rugged look, the Plateau’s slower
growth habit also had supposed benefits in reducing
the amount of maintenance required. three years
on and Doodson gives the Plateau a pass mark, but
due to significant Wintergreen encroachment from
the fairways, the amount of edging required has
doubled from three to six times a year.
the bunkers in general on the Palms course are
also starting to get to an age where contamination
and drainage issues are starting to crop up,
something Doodson is mindful of given the issues
he has on the Pines course. rather than let the
Palms bunkers get to a stage like the Pines, he is
hoping to put forward a rejuvenation programme
and tackle them slowly over the coming years.
Of more immediate focus, however, is the Pines
course and remedying some of its deficiencies,
especially the bunkers. Around the time the Palms
redevelopment finished, there was talk of the Pines
course undergoing a similar reconstruction due to
the poor health of the greens and inherent issues
with the bunkers, however that has since been put
on the backburner largely due to the improving
quality of the greens.
that change can be attributed to an intensive
dusting programme recommended by former
AgCsAtech chief agronomist john neylan. Over
the past six years Doodson and his crew have gone
out with fortnightly topdressings of 1mm which has
equated to more than 150mm of fresh sand over
a six year period, essentially rebuilding the greens
gradually over time. Also helping with the health
Over the past two years Sanctuary Cove has brought in ‘Super Tuesdays’ where one of the courses is closed. This enables Doodson and his crew to undertake maintenance works, in particular renovations, with greater productivity
12 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
superintendentssuperintendents
of the greens has been a significant tree removal
programme to eliminate shade issues as well as
oversowing the greens (and tees) with Poa trivialis
which has guaranteed excellent winter surfaces.
the 10,000m2 of Pines bunkers, however,
require some substantial work and starting this
winter Doodson hopes to rip into a number of the
course’s 71 hazards, installing new drainage and
liners and importing new sand to improve playability.
kiCkinG GoALSOutside of maintaining the two courses, one of the
interesting developments at sanctuary Cove this
past year has been the turning of its public access
driving range into a training base for the likes of the
Wallabies and Queensland state of Origin side.
in conjunction with the five-star interContinental
sanctuary Cove which also resides on site, the club
can convert the driving range into a rugby field (or
soccer pitch) and thus attract clubs who want to
use it as a training venue. A proper laser-levelled,
irrigated rectangular pitch was constructed there
well before Doodson’s time, but aside from hosting
an Origin camp many years ago the facility was
closed in 2009.
soon after the Palms course reopened,
sanctuary Cove acquired the area and turned it
into a second, public access driving range which
presented an opportunity to also use it again for
rugby/soccer. it was through enquires last year from
the Wallabies, who will have two training camps
there in june and september, that the facility has
subsequently taken off again.
On the back of that, two south African super 15
rugby teams – the Cheetahs and stormers – based
themselves there in March and a few weeks later
the Maroons announced they would use sanctuary
Cove as a training base for the 2014 Origin series.
“it’s pretty exciting having these teams here and
good publicity for sanctuary Cove,” says Doodson.
“We have one of our qualified greenkeepers – a Kiwi
as it happens – who is responsible for looking after
the rugby field when we have the teams here. We
managed to source some goal posts from ipswich
and nick jeffrey and the guys at Metricon stadium
helped out with the line-marking.”
PATiEnCE iS A viRTuEWhile league and union will provide a welcome
distraction in the coming months, there is another
event which Doodson is paying particular attention
to. Having hosted the turf tour at the conclusion of
the last Australian turfgrass Conference on the gold
Coast, many of those delegates are likely to return
when the Palms course hosts the 2014 toro AgCsA
golf Championships on sunday 23 june.
the ever-scrutinising eyes of around 80 of his
superintendent colleagues will no doubt be very
keen to see how the course has progressed and
Doodson is looking forward to hosting what has
become a hotly contested event. While hoping that
a Queenslander takes out the main prize for the very
first time, Doodson predicts it will be a patient player
that will eventually don the toro red jacket.
“You have to think about every shot around
the Palms,” advises Doodson. “Your short game is
going to be vital because you certainly aren’t going
to hit all the greens. it isn’t a long course, but you
have to be very selective where you pull out the
driver. Because it doesn’t have the length, it’s a very
strategic golf course in and around the greens.”
One of the most contentious holes is the 2nd,
a downhill par three which has a particularly gnarly
green. “it’s a par three-and-a-half,” jokes Doodson.
“Often the best strategy is to miss the green in the
right spot and try and get up and down. three there
is a birdie.” the 18th, dubbed ‘Adam’s Alley’ after
the club’s favourite son Adam scott, is a risk-reward
par five with water in play short of the green, while
the par four 7th (featured on this edition’s cover) is
Doodson’s favourite and requires a little bit of local
knowledge which he isn’t about to divulge.
And as for set up on the day, well, a sly wink and
nod of the head suggests Doodson won’t be going
easy on his ‘mates’. “think the glades four years
ago – brutal!”
While reconstruction of The Pines is off the table for now, a project to rejuvenate the course’s 25-year old
bunkers starts this winter
Sanctuary Cove’s public access driving range doubles as a rugby training venue and this year has seen two Super 15 rugby teams, the Queensland State of Origin team and the Wallabies use it as a training base
The closing hole on the Palms is named after Sanctuary Cove’s No.1
son Adam Scott
s
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toro.com.au
New South Wales Golf Club, 5th Hole
Toro the past, present and future of Australian golf.
GARY DEMPSEY & MACY
Golf Course Superintendent New South Wales Golf Club
Quality and Service. They are the two reasons the New South Wales
Golf Club currently has forty nine pieces of Toro turf maintenance
equipment in our fleet. The club has built a strong relationship with
Toro Australia over my 25 years here and look forward to continuing
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14 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
For the past six-and-a-
half years Queenslander
Rob Weiks has immersed
himself in the lifestyle of
being an ex-pat course
superintendent. It has taken
him to the Middle East,
Africa, India, China and
currently Vietnam where he
oversees course operations
at Twin Doves Golf Club.
Weiks, who turns 40 in
June, takes a look back
on his late-blooming
greenkeeping career and
some of the many lessons
he has learned along the
way.
It all starts at a young age, innocently enough, until
dad starts seeing the back yard checkerboard
double cut, the water bills soaring and the front
yard mown down to almost dirt with a rotary to
replicate a gabba belter.
Jumping on the heavy roller two hours before
playing 1st Xi cricket for the mighty Peninsula
Cricket Club in Brisbane was also a precursor. i had
always been drawn to agronomy and horticulture
and then just missing out on a vocational bowling
greenkeeper apprenticeship at Bramble Bay Bowls
Club fuelled my fire to get involved even more.
Before we get too far, it’s fair to say i like to
control what i am doing and how i do it. i’m very
passionate and hate to fail. Control is important to
me because i trust myself and my instincts, pure and
simple. i was brought up on the notion that if you
want it done and done properly, do it yourself. that
way you can’t blame anyone but yourself if it fails.
like i tell my staff, do it the way i showed you and
if it fails i will take full responsibility; if you do it your
way, you have to accept the consequences if it fails.
i always believe turf, staff and systems can
look and perform better no matter how good they
appear to be. if i have one weed on my course or
in my landscapes, that’s one weed too many, so the
continual improvement goal is always there. i make
my set-up staff carry spirit levels to make sure red
and yellow stakes, pins and distance markers are at
right angles. some might say it’s being idealistic or
pedantic, i just think it’s being thorough.
it definitely got me into situations where if i had
just apathetically accepted the situation i might
be still working there doing an okay job, but not
a good one. that’s just not me nor will it ever be
me. Whatever it is, it keeps driving me each day at
2.50am to get out of bed and travel to twin Doves
golf Club, a 27-hole Platinum paspalum facility
in Binh Duong just outside of Ho Chi Minh City
(saigon), Vietnam where i currently work as course
superintendent.
DoInG ThE hARD yARDsAfter school i took on a traineeship in horticulture
and completed my Certificate in Horticulture at
Caboolture tAfe. Dreams of playing rugby and
cricket for Australia soon faded (note faded; still
reckon i might get that call up one day!) and for the
next 13 years i worked in landscaping, wholesale/
retail nursery management, irrigation design and
indoor plantscaping.
Deep down, however, i had always yearned to
be a golf course greenkeeper and in 2003 my world
would change when i took on an apprenticeship
under stewart Poole at gailes golf Club in Brisbane’s
west at the age of 29.
the challenge of being a golf course
superintendent always intrigued me and also the
fact that the job is so multi-faceted that being bored
is simply not a factor. in the time i have worked on
golf courses i have yet to look at my watch or the
clock and wish that the day would end.
Course superintendent Rob Weiks
in the life of anWeiks
ex-patin the life of an
Weiks
ex-pat
superintendentssuperintendents
MAy-June 2014 15
s
i have always been a goal setter and my goal
was to be a superintendent within five years of
finishing my apprenticeship. it was a farsighted goal
when i remember not clearing $200 after working
all week, including overtime on both saturday and
sunday mornings, as an apprentice!
for this reason i worked three jobs during my
apprenticeship to stay on top of the bills. thanks
to gailes foreman Pete Agnew, who helped me out
with cheaper than normal rent (living right behind the
16th green) and an afterhours job with his garden
maintenance business, i was able to financially get
through. As Allan Border said, “nothing worthwhile
comes easy!”
Playing open Pennant for gailes provided an
opportunity to see how the other clubs in Brisbane
presented their courses (perhaps i should have paid
more attention to winning the matches – i’m how
many down?). Being exposed to new ideas and
different ways of doing things had always interested
me.
stew gave me every opportunity to improve
myself and was an awesome support base for
me then and now. My illusions of mowing greens
each morning or sitting on a fairway mower were
cruelly crushed when i entered the life of bunker
maintenance. edging, raking, smoothing faces,
hand weeding, flattening floors, fixing washouts,
spraying weeds in them, blowing leaves out of them,
day after day after day. One day i edged 81 bunkers!
there was only one way out of this pit of bunker hell
– bust my chops and hopefully stew would notice
and give me a chance doing something, anything,
else (except clean out the wash-down pit!).
stew always had time for my questions (and
still does) and would often stay back after work to
show me and help me with what i wanted to know.
He gave me a first class standing in greenkeeping
that i still look back on today, hand on heart, and
fully appreciate. Another key figure was Brian Dale
at grovely tAfe when i did my Certificate iii and iV.
He not only gave me the educational background
that i fully appreciated and needed, but his passion
definitely rubbed off also.
finishing my apprenticeship is still one of the
most treasured things i have done in my life and
thanks to stew it wasn’t only educational it was
a gratifying and good time as well. i learnt a
lot at gailes especially about water management/
irrigation scheduling, stress management and most
importantly, feel.
Van Tri Golf Club in Hanoi, Vietnam was Rob Weiks’ first opportunity to showcase his skills as a course superintendent in the competitive Asian golf market
One of Weiks’ first tasks at Van Tri was to focus on attention to detail
16 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
superintendentssuperintendentss trusting your instincts and having the
confidence and understanding of your particular
course situation is paramount. i remember clearly
stew telling me, ‘you can always put water in;
you can’t take it out. Water responsibly!’ it’s why
gailes under stew Poole’s control is one of the best
courses in Queensland.
Despite this burgeoning passion for the industry,
i soon realised that achieving a superintendent role
in Australia, where the only time a job rolls around is
if someone retires or someone’s greens croak, may
not be a short-term option. Working as a long-term
assistant didn’t excite me either so i decided to look
for alternatives. Possessing a love for travel, the idea
of working overseas quickly came into the picture.
As those who know me will attest, i am a
very impatient man. it has to happen, and nOW!
i actually see being impatient as a strength for a
superintendent. not waiting for things to happen,
being proactive and going out and chasing things
up has definitely got the courses i worked on in
better nick in a shorter time than procrastinating and
discussing options would have done.
After four years at gailes, Brookwater golf and
Country Club a few clicks south in springfield was
my next stop. i called Dave lunardelli out of the blue
and asked if i could meet with him for a potential
position on his staff. During the interview Dave
asked me, “What do you want to do?” i replied,
rather confidently, “not work here! get a job as an
assistant with troon somewhere, anywhere!”
About eight months later Dave drove past me
while Adam rose (now Brookwater assistant) and i
were working near the turf nursery and casually said,
“How soon could you move overseas?” “today!”
i answered. not long after i got a call from Colin
thorsborne, then course superintendent at the
Montgomerie, Dubai. i remember Col telling me that
they hadn’t approved a high enough salary and not
a decent enough place to stay for an ex-pat. i cut
him short and told him they could pay me whatever
and that i’d sleep in the workshop if necessary – the
opportunity was more important than anything else.
i learnt a lot at Brookwater and made some
lifelong friends. i definitely ruffled some feathers,
but i was there for a reason and determined not to
fail. i still have contact with Dave and i am eternally
grateful for his help and trust in me to refer me
for the position in Dubai. Without his referral my
dream would maybe still be just that, a dream. He
exposed me to a different side of agronomy and
expanded my expectations of the industry, although
i’m sure he was glad to see the back of me and my
incessant questioning about whether there were any
assistants jobs going.
sInk oR sWIMthree months after that call from Col i arrived in
Dubai at midnight on Boxing Day 2007. Jetlagged
to hell, i threw some clothes on, stumbled into a taxi
and, completely disorientated, found my way into
the Montgomerie workshop. My agronomy world
was about to change again.
With over 100 hectares of turf and landscapes
and extremely high expectations of maintenance,
the Montgomerie was a level above. throw in 7-8
different cultures on staff, extremely high tDs and
bicarbonates in the irrigation water, 50+degree
heat with high humidity for nine months of the year,
oversowing tees, fairways and greens surrounds,
floradwarf greens with nematodes present and no
registered chemical control allowed, it was sink or
swim time!
My head was spinning so much i truly didn’t
know what was up or down for the first few weeks,
but under Col i learnt to be more organised and
efficient, manage turf stress thresholds and acutely
improve my observation skills. Working with Col
developed my thoroughness, ability to record and
communicate efficiently, plus i learnt how to control
golf course conditioning like never before. Control
the controllables!
Having the opportunity to run the course with
the help of foreman tariq Mahmood while Col was
at the gCsAA show, just three weeks after i started,
and managing to get through unscathed was career-
defining for me. that two week experience stoked
my desire to run my own course even more.
throughout my time at the Montgomerie i
was involved first-hand with rebuilding and soft
shaping greens, establishing and implementing
fertility plans, tee construction, oversowing and a
huge amount of other advancements in my career
ConTInuED on pAGE 18
The Montgomerie in Dubai was Weiks’ first taste of greenkeeping
overseas. With over 100 hectares of turf and landscapes, extremely high expectations of maintenance, not to
mention 50+degree heat, the Middle East course was a level above
Van Tri’s par three 13th with the Tam Dao Mountains in the
background
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18 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
superintendentssuperintendents
~
}
that i still draw on today. Col was always trying to
improve things even if it was by one per cent and
that really rubbed off on me.
Dubai for the most part was a lonely place as
i worked, ate, slept and also tried to find time to
complete my Diploma online through nMit. i had
some great times in Dubai – the friday brunches are
definitely worth a look – and the opportunity to see
how guys like Craig Haldane (emirates golf Club)
and Brian Hampson (the els Club Dubai) worked
was motivating.
Also having guys like robin evans and Mark
Chapleski from troon golf to watch operate was
a good lesson in how to manage myself in a
professional capacity. i also have to thank the
Montgomerie general manager at that time, ray
Metz, when i eventually took over from Col as
superintendent; he was truly supportive and great to
work with. it was through working with troon golf
that i saw a different side of how to do things and
i still to this day follow a lot of the standard setting
principles that were taught to me back then.
We all understand the notion of the point of
diminishing returns and i learnt that lesson in Dubai
with regards to the amount of time i spent working.
if i had my time again, i would have socialised
more and taken some time out for myself. that
said, on a professional level it was absolutely
invaluable. Although i never really let myself enjoy
Dubai on a social side, what i was exposed to and
entrusted with during my 19 months there helped
me dramatically on my career path.
Dubai was also the place where, twice, i had
my unit block evacuated because i fell asleep (after
working a 14 hour day in the heat) on the lounge
after i had put a steak on the grill! looking down
onto the street from my third floor balcony, fanning
away the smoke, at my angry neighbours wasn’t
good!
DREAM AChIEVEDi remember thinking that if i could grow grass here
in Dubai i could grow it anywhere. that theory was
soon to be tested after accepting my first official
superintendent role in Asia at Van tri golf Club, the
only private golf course in Vietnam, in mid-2009.
situated about 20 minutes outside of the capital
of Hanoi, Van tri has sea isle 2000 paspalum on
greens, greens surrounds and bunkers and salam
paspalum in all other areas. i worked here with
experienced general manager rick Blackie and
it was truly a dream job with the autonomy to do
what was required and a staff, for the most part, that
cared and wanted their course to be as good as
possible, which is a rare commodity in Asia. thanks
to rick’s trust and passion, between the two of us
we accomplished more in one year than most gMs/
superintendents achieve in three.
On the turf management side, wet season
agronomics and low light intensity agronomics are
all about stress and fertility management. not seeing
even the outline of the sun for up to three weeks at
a time and sleety, sideways rain in sub-teen degree
conditions is not a lot of fun. the winters are long,
dark and cold and are contrasted with the sauna-like
heat and humidity of the sunny dry season.
the 16 months at Van tri was definitely a
challenge, as was working afterwards at Chi linh
and Dai lai golf clubs as construction and grow-
in superintendent. i did some time (sounds like a
prison sentence!) in China, again under troon golf
on a cool-season grow in/construction in western
yunnan Province and spent a year working for
Atlas turf international which took me to india,
China, singapore, thailand, indonesia, Vietnam,
Philippines, Hong Kong and Azerbaijan. i saw a side
of the industry that expanded my horizons not only
agronomically but about our industry as a whole. i
also had the opportunity to work at the Malaysian
and singapore Opens.
in september 2012 i returned to Vietnam to take
on my current role as course superintendent and
landscape curator at twin Doves golf Club about
42km north of Ho Chi Minh City. it is a 27-hole,
110ha site with 2.59ha of greens and 11.36ha of
lakes/waterways. Also under my control is a fully
operational production plant nursery and a 3ha
Platinum ‘te’ paspalum turf nursery.
the wet season averages 1.8m of rain and it
is low light intensity turf management for most of
this time. the dry season runs anywhere from mid-
november to May with temperatures getting into
the low 40s coupled with high humidity. it is located
In the time I have
worked on golf
courses, I have yet to
look at my watch or
the clock and wish that
the day would end.
Rob Weiks
ConTInuED FRoM pAGE 16Van Tri boasts Sea Isle 2000 paspalum on greens, greens
surrounds and bunkers and Salam paspalum in all other areas
Weiks’ career has also taken him to China where he was involved
in the construction and grow-in of Gaoligong Golf Course
MAy-June 2014 19
in a rural area and staff management is a constant
challenge to achieve high standards. the course
is predominately Korean owned with a percentage
being Vietnamese ownership.
A working day always consists of the following
and usually has requests or other challenges to
deal with:l 3.30am: leave home.l 4am: email replies and daily report sending
from the previous day, check pumps. get some
Weetbix down!l 4.30am: inform staff of required tasks and
check hand weeding tools are on person and
machinery pre-starts are done correctly and
following sOPs.l 4.30am-5.50am: Pump checks and full course
checks from front entrance to the back of
the 27th hole; task management for morning
preparation before golfers tee off.
l 5.50am: Brief with construction and landscape
supervisors of daily tasks and establish
completion times.l 6am-9am: Do daily worksheet stipulating the
tasks and the staff required; check and re-check
work is being done correctly and to standard.
stimp greens, pull some cores and check all
playing surfaces/course set-up while making
lists for the next day. establish the next day’s
mowing/cultural requirements, check lake levels
and check landscape work progress;l 9am-10.30am: spend time with (local) assistant
and landscape foreman and point out what is
being done correctly and incorrectly. Check
pumps. Check the correct amount of staff is
working in the correct areas and in the correct
way.l 10.30am-11am: follow up purchasing, check
mechanics.
s
Weiks’ current club Twin Doves (left) and working at the Malaysian Open in 2012 with Kuala Lumpur G&CC superintendent Mohd Nizam
20 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
superintendentssuperintendents
l 11am: time to put the feed bag on for 20
minutes.l 11.20am-2pm: Check in with the gM, inspect
course, check plant nursery and turf nursery.
train supervisors/assistant on what needs
correcting, establish irrigation scheduling, check
and calibrate spray tanks if needed for next day.
Check hand watering, check next day’s staffing
and set up second jobs. Also check clubhouse
and tee house indoor plants.l 2pm to whenever the day’s work is completed
(normally 3pm-3.30pm): finalise the next day’s
tasks/spraying etc. follow up purchasing/
deliveries, emails and file away daily photos.
GooD pEoplE, GooD TIMEsHaving spent time with industry people in Asia such
as Kirk Buchanan, Danny Potter, Peter Wardell,
greg turner, Dave Paterson, Pete Morison and Brad
Burgess, has given me an opportunity to pull from a
vast array of local knowledge.
Being exposed to the workings of other
superintendents has always intrigued me, seeing
how they cope with differing environmental
conditions and how they go about their course
presentations. Ali Mcfadyen from the Bluffs at
Ho tram has been a top mate, be it for a vent
or to bounce ideas off, while ronan McKeown
(Montgomerie links, Da nang) , Mohd nizam (Kuala
lumpur g&CC, Malaysia) and Brad leahey (laguna
national, singapore) have also have been great
support while working in Asia.
Jason Blacka (Hainan island) and Chris May
are two other guys i often bounce ideas off or in
Jason’s case discuss the fortunes of the Australian
cricket team. Ben styles has been a great mate
and confidant throughout my time here in Vietnam
also. surrounding yourself with likeminded, driven
individuals is really important so that you can
bounce ideas off and vent frustrations.
What people who haven’t worked overseas
and in Asia may not understand is that what
would normally be considered a simple task is
not. no matter how much training and direction
and examples you set, every day is a new day and
task/wheelbarrow management (two hands on and
pushing) is an absolute necessity. in Vietnam, as on
most Asian courses, it is locals with agricultural or
absolutely no educational background whatsoever
that will end up working on the course. this, as you
can imagine, creates a set of challenges unique to
our work environment.
in a nutshell, from my experiences to date in
Asia it’s hard, relentless and tiring work that always
gives you a sniff of reward and success, but can
slap you back as soon as you think you have it all
worked out.
Editor’s Note: if you would like to find out more
about working in Asia and what it takes, you can
email rob at [email protected]. you can also
check out the twin Doves gC Agronomy facebook
page, which rob regularly updates with photos, or
you can connect with rob through linked-in.
s
TOp 10 SupER Ex-pAT TIpS So you want to work as a superintendent in Asia? Here are a few sage tips from Rob Weiks that have helped him forge a successful
career over the past six-and-a-half years: l Cover your bases! Be thorough with pictorial evidence, before and
after type files and email proof that you have noted situations and
you are actioning them. Keep detailed records.l Pick your battles. Be smart about what to fight for and what to let
go.l inspect, don’t expect. never, ever assume it’s done properly! l Be proactive. Don’t wait to be told something is wrong. in Asia
they will make decisions without you knowing and if you don’t fix
it before it becomes an issue, good luck!l if applicable, don’t allow your standards to be compromised by
local standards.l spend time with your staff. A little personal investment in them
goes a long way.l trust your instincts. if you think it’s wrong, you’re almost always
right.l try and spend some time enjoying the country you work in.l Have a support network. Venting is crucial to sanity!l Work hard/smart. they are two of the same.
And from the ‘Only in Asia’ file, here are Rob’s top five comments/
requests from overseas course owners, members and local
managers! Enjoy…l “We have to move all the markers (five sets) up onto the front tees
because the course is playing too difficult!” the same gentleman
also asked to change the green complexes because they were
above the height of the fairway – he wanted his mishits to roll onto
the green!l “i want the entire course mown at 21mm, except the greens.”l “Why is there water on the course?” (immediately after 161mm of
rain fell in a 16 minute period).l i was introduced to a guy in Hanoi and upon asking what his role
was he replied, “Captain intelligence!” i then asked “Where is your
cape mate?”...nothing!l “the greens are too fast (11’2”)
and the fairways are too firm”…
best compliment/complaint i
have ever received.
With a supportive staff and general manager, Weiks was able to
achieve high standards of course presentation at Van Tri
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22 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
john neylanjohn neylan
Over a 16
day period in
March, the
iconic Sydney Cricket
Ground was dramatically
transformed into a Major
League Baseball venue for
the 2014 Opening Series.
As ATM columnist John
Neylan writes, the success
of the project came down
to having the right people
in the right roles and a
good helping of Aussie
‘can-do’ spirit.
Modern stadia are multi-use venues that
cater for sport, concerts, stunt motorcycles
and any other events that require a large
area and comfortable seating. the reconstruction of
the great southern stand at the Melbourne Cricket
ground in 1991-92 was a major improvement in
seating and amenities and set the standards for
other stadiums around Australia. the opening of
etihad stadium in 2000 further lifted the standard.
As a consequence, all of Australia’s major venues
have gone through various redevelopments to better
cater for the spectator. these redevelopments
come at a significant cost and the way to pay for
these enhanced facilities is to maximise the use
of the venue. the staging of events can be widely
varied and in some circumstances changeovers are
required within a matter of hours.
the impact of the events on the turf management
team can be wide-ranging and as stadiums host a
greater variety of events, the turf managers have had
to finetune their maintenance techniques and the
speed of repairing and changing over the surface.
Over many years i have discussed with sydney
Cricket ground (sCg) curator tom Parker the
challenges of coping with the transformation from
cricket to Afl football, particularly as it related to
the centre wicket and the potential hardness and
grass cover. throw in a sheffield shield final and
the anxiety levels can be very high as the sydney
swans fitness gurus scrutinise every aspect of the
playing surface.
this pales into insignificance, however,
compared to turning the sCg into a full-blown
Major league Baseball (MlB) venue. several years
ago tom showed me a proposal to convert the
iconic ground into such a stage. the proposal
seemed fanciful at best given that it would require
significant re-levelling of the playing surface and
the importation of large volumes of clay soil. the
timeframes were incredibly tight and on the face of
it just did not seem possible.
While it didn’t happen all of those years ago,
in June 2013 it was confirmed that the sCg would
indeed host two MlB games. More significantly, they
would be the opening two games of the 2014 MlB
season, the first time the Opening series was to
venture outside of the northern Hemisphere.
Promoter Jason Moore of Moore sports was the
driver behind enticing the los Angeles Dodgers and
Arizona Diamondbacks to contest two official games
on 22 and 23 March 2014 as well as two warm up
games against Australia. Adding to the occasion,
these games were to be played 100 years after the
Chicago White sox and the new York giants played
a series of exhibition matches against nsW at the
sCg in 1914.
Put simply, MlB is a huge business in the
us and has worldwide appeal on television. if
you are interested in the value of baseball there
is a fascinating article in forbes magazine by
Mike Ozanian which outlines team values and
player salaries. the two teams that came to
The Sydney Cricket Ground has witnessed many remarkable sporting feats in its long
history, but the recent transformation of the ground into a Major League Baseball venue
will go down as one of the most dramatic
PhOT
O CO
urTe
Sy O
f Th
e SC
G
PitcherperfectPitcherperfect
MAY-June 2014 23
s
Australia boasted over $us310 million worth of
baseball superstars with the Dodgers’ 2014 payroll
accounting for $us235 million of that. four Dodgers
players – Adrian gonzales (first base), Zack greinke
(pitcher), Carl Crawford (left field) and Matt Kemp
(center field) – each receive salaries in excess of
$us20 million per season. to put it in perspective,
gonzales’ salary of $us21,857,143 for the 2013 MlB
season was more than the combined salary caps of
two Afl clubs!
Obviously players on these sums of money
were not going to be happy with an inferior playing
surface, especially when travelling across the world
to play. it was without doubt that the MlB coming
Down under was big and the scrutiny was going
to be intense. the question was whether the sCg
could pull it off?
uNrivALLed TrANSfOrMATiONA project of this complexity requires excellent
planning, a high degree of organisation, ingenuity
and a ‘can do’ attitude. scott egelton, from the
Pier Property Corporation, was commissioned by
Moore sports to oversee the project. evergreen
turf (Australia) was appointed as the contractor
for undertaking all of the field works and to grow
the ‘ready for play’ turf for the post-baseball field
restoration. the full scope of works included;l levelling the northern end of the field;l removing the turf from the baseball diamond
and installing the special infield mix;l Digging out the ‘warning track’ and installing
a special terracotta material. the 15 foot wide
warning track runs around the perimeter of the
field so that as the players are running for a high
The baseball infield is marked up prior to turf removal and clay being installed
24 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.324 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent
john neylanjohn neylans ball they feel the change in surface underfoot
and therefore know they are close to the fence;l removing all of the imported infield mix and
warning track material post-game;l installing sand, laser levelling and turfing with
‘ready to play’ turf.
All of this was taking place in an Ashes year and
during the construction of the $186 million northern
stand. sCg curator tom Parker and his staff had
plenty of work to do with the rectification works to
the field at the northern end due to the new stand
and the levelling of the surface for MlB, not to
mention wicket preparation for an Ashes tour match,
new Year’s test, shield and Big Bash matches.
the MlB is big business and when the show is
in town it is the only show! to that end, MlB sent
over their field preparation ‘guru’ Murray Cook and
several staff to help prepare the field. i had met
Murray briefly in the lead up to the 2000 Olympics
when the baseball field was being prepared at
the sydney showgrounds. Pedantic, meticulous,
exacting and dogmatic best describe Murray’s
approach to MlB field preparation and as i clearly
recall him saying back then, “these players expect
the best and they will get the best.”
in 2014 the exacting standards were no different.
At the end of the event Murray congratulated the
team that put it all together and described the sCg
as one of the best fields in the world. Murray was
most impressed with the team work, technology and
ingenuity shown by all those involved.
PLAy BALLso how did it all unfold? At the end of the 2013
Afl season the northern end of the sCg field was
levelled to meet the standards acceptable to MlB.
this involved removing the turf, laser grading the
surface and then laying 8200 square metres of
washed legend couch.
this process had some challenges with the tie-
ins around the fence line which had been altered
because of the new stand. While there were no
concerns for baseball, it required additional works
so that it would be suitable for Afl. the new turf had
limited time to establish before the Ashes tour game
– but it got there. the sCg hosted its last shield
match from 12-15 february and starting 28 february
the MlB transformation began.
evergreen turf (Australia) brought together a
strong team of experts to undertake the necessary
works. evergreen was the principle contractor but
also utilised the expertise of turf Drain Australia,
flemming golf and golf shapes. thirty staff were
involved in a military precision exercise overseen
by the irrepressible graeme Colless and evergreen
project manager Wayne Davey. the preparations
involved: l removing 3000m2 of turf using evergreen’s
‘robo Max’ turf harvester;l removing about 400 tonnes of sand for the
95mm deep infield mix layer;l Placing, levelling and preparing 220 tonnes
of imported infield mix. this mix is a material
with a very exact particle size specification.
it is designed to provide good traction while
also being able to allow a player to slide over
the surface. the mix was shipped from the us
in 17 containers in 220 one tonne bags (read
more about the infield mix in the following article
‘sydney’s field of dreams’ pg 28-32);l removing 300 tonnes of material from the
warning track and placing 320 tonnes of triple-
washed crushed terracotta (from newcastle) in
its place;l Construction of two ‘bullpens’ at the southern
end of the field for the pitchers to warm up in.
Removal of turf and rootzone material for the warning track.
Around 3000m2 of turf was stripped and 400 tonnes of sand removed
In addition to the infield area, ‘bullpens’ (warm-up areas for
pitchers) were constructed and temporary outfield fencing
installed using 100 tonne concrete counterweights for support
MAY-June 2014 25
s
All of this work was successfully achieved in
seven days. the MlB crew meticulously constructed
the pitcher’s mound with a very basic tool set
that included a spirit level, plate compactor, mash
hammer, a string line, hand tamp, landscape rake,
shovel, level board and various pieces of timber to
get the angles just right. the consistency of the clay
is also very important so that the mound can be
constructed to the required specification. According
to an article written by Murray Cook on his MlB blog
about construction of the pitcher’s mound, it takes
about 8-10 tonnes of clay.
the ‘can do’ attitude of graeme and the
evergreen crew, together with tom Parker and the
sCg staff, made the ‘impossible’ happen. the field
had to be ready for training on friday 14 March
with both MlB teams playing warm-up games
against Australia on 20 and 21 March with the series
openers on 22 and 23 March. from an agronomic
perspective, the set up was possibly the easiest
task – it was the subsequent restoration process and
creating a good surface for nrl and Afl that would
be the next big challenge.
the MlB games went off without a hitch despite
severe thunderstorms in the vicinity of the sCg
around game time. As an example, on 22 March
there was 2-3cm hail reported in the sutherland
region. MlB guru Murray Cook was regularly on the
hotline to the Bureau for the latest updates as heavy
rainfall would have been a disaster for the game.
interestingly, on the day after the second game
(24 March) there were storms around sydney that
caused flooding.
With the weather gods smiling, the MlB
hierarchy were described as being “blown away” by
the condition of the field and the event in general.
the sCg was described as being one of the “best
in the world”. this was high praise given that the
MlB had previously opened seasons in Monterrey,
Mexico (1999), tokyo, Japan (2000, 2004, 2008 and
2012) and san Juan, Puerto rico (2001).
in addition to the 76,000-plus spectators across
the two games, they were televised live to 341
million viewers and an additional 900,000 viewers
in Australia. One unique aspect of the Australian
coverage was ian Chappell trying to describe to the
us commentators about the game of cricket and the
wicket table in the middle of the outfield.
So convincing and meticulous was the transformation of the SCG, many MLB pundits commented that they felt like they were watching a game in an MLB venue back in the US
26 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
john neylanjohn neylans reSTOrATiON
the big show finished on the sunday and within
hours of the players leaving the field the dismantling
process and surface restoration began in earnest.
the team had to have all works completed before
the nrl Heritage round game between st george
illawarra Dragons and south sydney rabbitohs on 5
April, a time frame of just 13 days. this included the
removal of the infield and warning track materials,
temporary fencing, the dugouts, foul ball line posts
and repairing all the damaged turf areas.
A major component of the restoration process
was growing the replacement turf ahead of time
so that once it was installed it could be played
on immediately. Any major turf replacement is a
huge issue for the sports that follow and it can
be guaranteed that it will be closely scrutinised to
ensure there are no hazards for the players.
evergreen grew 5000m2 of stalok instant Play
turf for the repairs. the washed legend couch was
established on a sand profile reinforced with stalok
fibres. the development of the turf was closely
monitored and evergreen had a dedicated team
whose only job it was to grow the replacement turf.
As with all big projects, there is never enough
time to grow all of the turf that is likely to be
required and it literally peaked the day it was
needed. Attention to nutrition and pest control were
key elements in growing a high quality turf and in
particular having a strong, dense root system. While
initially about 3700m2 of turf was to be replaced, a
total of 4700m2 was used once the ‘doubtful’ areas
were replaced.
As luck would have it, the day the restoration
works started, sydney’s wet March kicked in. During
the first seven days after the MlB games there was
85mm of rain at the sCg and over 100mm at the
turf farm in Hawkesbury. remarkably, there was
minimal peripheral damage to the field outside of
the infield and warning track. the warning track
provided an excellent road system for the removal of
all of the temporary fixtures and it was an absolute
credit to everyone involved that there was so little
unnecessary damage to the turf.
One aspect of the wet weather that provided
additional work was the extra weight in the turf rolls
due to the water. it made them extremely heavy to
handle and there was some superficial damage to
the turf due to the damage on the pressure points
where the turf sat on the truck during transport. Most
of the work was completed by 2 April with some
minor repair work needed so the ground would be
ready for nrl. Once the turf was installed, the field
was oversown with ryegrass.
the swans use the sCg for training and they
love the ground and were very keen to get on it for
training as soon as possible. At a time when the
swans weren’t playing well and Buddy franklin’s
form was under the microscope, the pressure was
on. the nrl game was played in wet conditions
but the surface came through the game with little
damage. in the lead up to the swans first game at
the sCg on 13 April there were several days of rain
and rain during the game. Again the surface came
through the game in good condition and will only
get better as the season progresses.
Key iNGredieNTSso what makes a huge event such as this a
success? from my observations there were several
keys to making it all happen:l A promoter and a venue that is prepared to
spend the money necessary to do the job well;l excellent planning and project management;l A dedicated team of workers;l good cooperation between trades;l excellent supervision and control of traffic
movements. the sCg has just one acces
point that allowed equipment to move onto the
ground; andl A ‘can do’ attitude. this is the intangible factor
that makes things happen irrespective of the
circumstances. this project had no wriggle
room either in the set up or the restoration.
the success of the project from a turf
management perspective can be summed up in a
comment from evergreen project manager Wayne
Davey. “the MlB were highly impressed with the
team effort and cooperation between the different
subcontractors and sCg staff. there was no
whinging or arguments.” Wayne also added that the
Americans were “very impressed with the Australian
turf industry in terms of its professionalism and
technology.” A big wrap indeed!
A total of 4700m2 of specially grown Legend couchgrass sod was laid to
complete the restoration works
With the MLB games complete, the Evergreen Turf and SCG crews had just 13 days to reinstate the ground
ahead of the Dragons-Rabbitohs NRL Heritage Round clash
The success of the whole MLB project can be put down to excellent
planning and project management, a dedicated team of workers and a
‘can-do’ attitude
Copyright © Roy Gripske & Sons Pty. Ltd. 2014. All rights reserved. 1404232
www.plpgolfandturf.com.au | 1300 363 027
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28 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
MLBmlb
28 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
ATM editor Brett Robinson
catches up with Major
League Baseball’s fields
and facilities coordinator
Murray Cook to reflect on
his involvement with the
historic project to transform
the Sydney Cricket Ground
into a ballpark for the
Opening Series of the 2014
MLB season.
MLB field and facilities coordinator Murray Cook
(left) and SCG curator Tom Parker turn the first
sod in preparation for the transformation of the
ground to a MLB venue PhOT
O CO
uRTe
Sy O
f Th
e SC
G
Sydney’s
field of dreamsfield of dreams
MAy-june 2014 29
s
Construction of the home plate area at the Sydney Cricket Ground
He’s affectionately dubbed Major league
Baseball’s ‘field guru’. since taking his first
steps as a young groundskeeper way back
in 1975, salem, Virginia-born Murray Cook has
developed a reputation as being the best in the
business when it comes to preparing, constructing
and maintaining baseball grounds.
it’s a passion that since 1990 has seen him
consult to Major league Baseball (MlB) as the
organisation’s fields and facilities coordinator, a role
which has taken him to more than 50 countries to
help MlB spread the word about a sport which is as
ingrained into America’s collective psyche as cricket
is to Australia’s.
since its first forays as a professional sport in the
early 1900s, baseball has grown into a behemoth.
the figures are astounding. last season alone MlB
attracted more than 74 million fans to games and
boasted gross revenue in excess of $us8 billion.
According to a forbes magazine article penned
ahead of the start of the 2014 season, the average
worth of each of the 30 MlB clubs was a staggering
$us811 million.
that’s chicken feed, however, when you look at
the league’s top two ranked teams in terms of value.
Coming in on top of the list is the new york yankees,
which has a value of $us2.5 billion alone, with the
los Angeles Dodgers, who played in the Opening
series in March at the sydney Cricket ground
(sCg), tipping $2 billion.
Helping these values soar in recent times has
been some mind-boggling television rights deals
struck by a number of clubs. As an example, prior to
the 2014 season the Dodgers signed a 25-year deal
with time Warner Cable for $us8.35 billion; that’s
for just one club! the players too are cashing in on
these lucrative tV deals and in january superstar
pitcher Clayton Kershaw iced a seven-year, $us215
million contract extension which will see him remain
with the Dodgers until the 2020 season.
it’s not surprising therefore that given so much
money is invested into the sport, that fastidious
attention is paid to the conditions and standards of
the facilities upon which the game is played. And
that’s where Cook comes into the equation. As well
as providing expert advice and support to MlB
and minor league ballparks across the length and
breadth of the us and Canada, Cook also packs his
bags every time MlB heads overseas.
30 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
mlbmlbs Over the years MlB has taken exhibition games
and Opening series all around the world with Cook
front and centre in ensuring that these facilities,
sometimes in countries where baseball is a minority
sport, meet the exacting standards demanded by
baseball’s code. He has worked in japan, Mexico,
Venezuela, Dominican republic, Puerto rico, Cuba,
taiwain and China and in 1989, just prior to being
picked up by MlB, he also oversaw three exhibition
games in the former ussr. Cook is also president
of Brickman sportsturf which manages and builds
sportsfields the world over.
Cook is no stranger to Australian shores either
and when the Olympics came to sydney in 2000
he was sent out by MlB to oversee the baseball
facilities at both the sydney showgrounds and
Blacktown. Around the same time he also played
a significant role in the development of the Palm
Meadows Baseball Complex on the gold Coast,
which is home to the MlB Australian Academy
Program that develops local players with the goal of
getting them into the us leagues.
As Cook states, “it’s been a fun road these
past 38 years and i have had the opportunity to
work with some great people along the way.” such
experiences have enriched him both professionally
and personally, however, it will be his most recent
trip to Australia that will for a long time hold a special
place in his heart.
it’s not every day you get to play a major role in
transforming another country’s iconic and history-
laden sporting citadel into a MlB venue, but for
the 2014 Opening series matches between the lA
Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks at the sCg in
March, that’s exactly what Cook did.
The whOLe nine yARdS
While there were many history-making aspects to
bringing MlB Down under, for Cook there were
two components which made this project such a
groundbreaker – the scope of works required to
transform a cricket oval into a ballpark and the
extremely narrow timeframe in which to pull it off.
“We pretty much had to build an entire ballpark
in 16 days,” reflects Cook, speaking from his home
just outside of Washington DC some three weeks
after the Opening series had concluded. “it wasn’t
just a matter of setting up the infield, but a whole
baseball stadium. We had to build outfield fencing,
bullpens (areas where pitchers warm up in), batter’s
eyes (similar to sightscreens in cricket), backstops,
locker rooms, batters tunnels, foul poles.
“We had all these different things going on all
at the same time and we had to make sure that it
didn’t impact on tom Parker’s (sCg curator) turf
too much, especially the wicket block. for instance,
with the fence we couldn’t dig down into the field
so we had to bring in over 100 one-tonne concrete
counterweights to stablise the fence so it would not
fall over if a player ran into it.
“normally we would have up to three months
to get a venue like this ready, so it was a huge
difference. initially we only had 10 days to work with,
but the promoter was able to work with the sCg to
get a few more days. even then we knew it would
be a push, especially if we had any rain delays,
which fortunately we didn’t. looking back it’s pretty
amazing we were able to turn it around in that sort of
time frame and the most pleasing aspect of all was
that we didn’t have to compromise on anything.”
Planning and preparation to stage MlB in
sydney began some 16 months before the players
even took to the sCg. Along with the infrastructure
required to construct a ballpark, one of the key
considerations for Cook was sourcing the infield and
pitcher’s mound clay mix.
Around 70 per cent of baseball is played within
the infield area – the 90 foot square formed by home
plate and the bases – and there is a particular set of
guidelines on how these areas are constructed and
the materials used. Along with the need for this area
to be dead level, which itself required significant
works by the sCg at the end of the 2013 Afl
season, of paramount importance is the physical
characteristics and blend of the clay mix.
the infield clay (used for the basepaths and
area out to the infield/outfield grass line) is generally
about a 30-40 per cent clay/10-20 per cent silt/50-60
per cent sand mix, while the pitcher’s mound has a
heavier clay content and is somewhere in the range
of 40-50 per cent clay, 10-15 per cent silt and 30-40
per cent sand.
starting february 2013, the hunt began for a local
source of this material, with graeme Colless from
evergreen turf, which was contracted to undertake
the field construction, heading the search. While
finding an adequate crushed terracotta mix for the
15-foot warning track which rings the entire playing
field, the infield mix proved more difficult.
Despite numerous testing of various materials
both in Australia (through sydney environmental
soil laboratories) and in the us and getting very
COnTinued On PAGe 32
The pitcher’s mound, the highest point on a baseball field, consumes
between 8-10 tonnes of a special clay blend
The infield mix was imported from San Diego in 220 one tonne ‘super
sacks’. It was then spread at a depth of between 3-3.5 inches along the
basepaths
FL
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Syngenta Australia Pty Ltd, Level 1, 2-4 Lyonpark Road, Macquarie Park NSW 2113. ABN 33 002 933 717. ®Registered trademark of Syngenta Group Company. ™Trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. All products written in uppercase are registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. AD 14/186
Banish Winter Fusarium from your courseColder temperatures, high moisture and low light are ideal conditions for Winter Fusarium to develop. Attacks appear late in autumn and through winter so it’s important to keep your turf protected as scarring will only start to recover in spring when active growth resumes.
Maintaining optimum turf health and surface integrity throughout winter ensures the best possible start in spring. Trust the industry’s best – INSTRATA Turf Fungicide and HERITAGE MAXX Turf Fungicide.
For more information ask your Syngenta Agent or go to www.syngenta.com.au
Note: While Flame™ has taken great care in preparing this artwork responsibility for the printed artwork and copy accuracy lies with the client. The printer is responsible for checking artwork before plates are made, accuracy in measurements, plates tolerance requirements, registration and construction detailing. Any questions please contact flame before proceeding with the job. Copyright 2014 Flame.
Christina Salisbury (account service) | [email protected] | +61 2 9887 8500 | flame.com.au
Name: FLAME_SYN1346 Winter Fusarium AD14-186_ATM_287x210_May 2014
Date: 07.05.14 | Round: FSize: 287Hmm x 210Wmm
32 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
MLBmlb
close to the required specification (Colless estimates
they were about 80 per cent there), by november
the call had to be made to import the desired infield
mix from san Diego. gail Materials had offered a
product that met the specification required by MlB
and that actually cost less than the various local
materials minus the shipping.
two-hundred-and-twenty one tonne bags
– called super sacks – were shipped across in
containers along with pellets of a calcined clay
conditioner called turface. this product is applied
to the top of the infield mix once on the ground to
assist with moisture retention and prevent the clay
sticking to the player’s cleats if it gets wet.
Aside from the pitcher’s mound, which usually
consumes between 8-10 tonnes of clay, the infield
mix is typically spread at a four inch depth along
the basepaths. given the sCg was only hosting
two games and to make the transition back to
nrl and Afl afterwards easier, the basepaths
were constructed a little shallower – between 3-3.5
inches. in order to protect the existing sCg
rootzone material, wherever the infield clay and
terracotta mix went on the ground, geofabric cloth
was laid prior to minimise contamination.
One BiG fAMiLyWith so many elements to bring together in such a
short time, ask Cook what the key factor was to make
it such a success and without hesitation he gives the
biggest rap to the people he worked with. from
promoter jason Moore (Moore sports) and project
manager scott egleton (Pier Property Corporation)
to sCg curator tom Parker and evergreen turf’s
graeme Colless and Wayne Davey, it was their
combined experience and work ethic that ultimately
made the first Opening series Down under a hit.
“it came down to the many months of planning
and coordination, but also having the right people
there who were focussed on what we were trying to
do which was to create a little bit of history,” says
Cook, who was one of a team of four who came out
from the us. “it was by far the best team effort from
all parties that i have ever been involved with.
“Bottom line – we would never have got this
done without tom Parker. tom and his guys were
phenomenal. tom was just a tremendous guy and
the cool part about working with him was that he
knew where we were coming from. He had that
understanding about clays and the need to have
specific clays for specific areas and the importance
of areas being level. Our ‘wicket’ in baseball is the
infield, so essentially we were talking the same
language, just two different sports. My team of us
baseball experts and tom’s crew worked seamlessly,
like they had known each other for years!
“Between jason, scott, tom’s crew and the
evergreen crew, you couldn’t have put a better
A-team together to get this done. Having their
ability and knowledge of hosting major events and
knowing they had the equipment and resources
to do the job was extremely comforting. i mean,
when you are doing something as major as this sort
of event, which is being televised to hundreds of
millions of people around the world, there was a lot
of pressure to make sure it was done right.
“take this project anywhere else in the world
and it would be a thousand times more difficult than
it was doing it there. for sure it was difficult to put
it all together in just 16 days, but with the people
we had working on this project and the cooperation
between everyone, we pulled it off and i can’t thank
them enough.
“But it was more than just what these guys did
on the ground. it was walking away from the whole
experience with some lifelong friendships that really
sticks with me. Working alongside them for the best
part of a month, i got to know them like family which
was really nice. We walked away with more in terms
of relationships and friendships than you could ever
put a value on.”
COnTinued fROM PAGe 30
BaSeBaLL By THe nuMBerSso what are the requirements for an official MlB ballpark? Well here are a few facts and
figures to help improve your knowledge bank: l the home plate and three bases form a 90 foot square; l the pitcher’s mound must be 10 inches above the height of home plate. the
distance from the back tip of the home plate to the front of the pitching rubber is 60
feet 6 inches;l the typical pitcher’s mound is an 18’ diameter circle with a 5’ x 34” level plateau which
contains the 2’ x 6” pitching rubber (from which the pitchers launch themselves). l from six inches in front of the pitching rubber, the pitching mound must start to fall
one inch every foot towards the home plate.l the infield/outfield grass line is a 95 foot radius from the front of the pitching rubber; l the outfield fence can be anywhere from 328 feet (100m) to 435 feet (133m) from
home plate. in the case of the sCg, the outfield boundary was 328 feet (100m) down
the left and right foul lines and 400 feet (122m) to the centre-field fence.l the sCg infield and outfield turf was raised from its usual height of 10mm to a final
height of 23mm for the MlB games.
to find out what goes into constructing a pitcher’s mound and to keep up with the latest
in ballpark maintenance news from MlB, visit Cook’s excellent MlB field and Ballpark
blog http://groundskeeper.mlblogs.com/
normally the transformation of a non-baseball ground into an MLB
venue would take three months. The SCG project was completed in just
16 days
In between games the top 5-10mm of the infield clay mix is watered,
levelled and groomed
FL
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Syngenta Australia Pty Ltd, Level 1, 2-4 Lyonpark Road, Macquarie Park NSW 2113. ABN 33 002 933 717. ®Registered trademark of Syngenta Group Company. ™Trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. All products written in uppercase are registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. AD 14/187
Trust the industry’s bestPrevention is better than cure and INSTRATA has you covered with three active ingredients. INSTRATA is an excellent choice for the management of Winter Fusarium as it can halt infections immediately and prevent new ones from occurring.
Entrusting your turf to INSTRATA and HERITAGE MAXX will give you peace of mind for 28 days after either product’s application. With these great options Syngenta offers high impact on Winter Fusarium with little operational complexity.
For more information ask your Syngenta Agent or go to www.syngenta.com.au
Note: While Flame™ has taken great care in preparing this artwork responsibility for the printed artwork and copy accuracy lies with the client. The printer is responsible for checking artwork before plates are made, accuracy in measurements, plates tolerance requirements, registration and construction detailing. Any questions please contact flame before proceeding with the job. Copyright 2014 Flame.
Christina Salisbury (account service) [email protected] |
+61 2 9887 8500 | flame.com.au
Name: FLAME_SYN1347 Heritage_Instrata AD14-187_ATM_287x210_May 2014
Date: 07.05.14 | Round: FSize: 287Hmm x 210Wmm
34 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
agcsatech updateagcsatech update
AGCSATech agronomist
Andrew Peart looks back
on a recent project which
saw the modification of
a bowling green sand
profile to remedy issues
of excessive moisture
retention.
During last summer AgCsAtech was involved
in a project whereby a sand profile was
deemed to hold onto excessive moisture,
therefore preventing it from adequately drying out,
especially during autumn and spring. this was
a somewhat different case as most of the issues
surrounding sand profiles are that they have a
tendency to be too droughty, especially during
establishment.
During the drought years, sand profiles were still
constructed with the specific reason of trying to not
only provide better drainage for year round usage,
but also to retain adequate moisture. However, in
some cases the retention of moisture, probably
excess, was seen as a priority which meant using
finer sands, having shallower profiles and utilising a
gravel drainage layer.
Decisions regarding sand type, sand
amendments and profile depth over a gravel
layer can all dictate how much moisture a sand
profile will retain. During the drought these types
of constructions proved viable, but with more
consistent summer rains and natural accumulation
of organic matter within the profile, in some cases it
was only a matter of time before moisture retention
reached a point where aeration porosity started to
be severely compromised.
the sand profile in this particular instance was
used in the construction of a tifdwarf bowling green
in Melbourne, the physical analysis of which can be
seen in table 1 (opposite page). As the figures show,
the sand was finer than a conventional specification
and had a high volumetric water content. the
resultant conditions were not only affecting turf
health, with the presence of persistent disease,
but also limiting the amount of pace that could be
generated from the surface.
reconstruction of bowling greens are slightly
more difficult than that of golf greens as there is
generally fixed infrastructure around the perimeter
of the bowling green that is very difficult to alter. in
addition, the height of the bowling green playing
surface cannot be raised in relation to the perimeter
due to the set height of the ditch units.
generally the best way to reduce moisture
retention within a soil profile is not only to remove
the accumulated organic matter but also increase
the depth of the sand profile. for a golf green
this could be undertaken by modifying the green
surrounds to allow for an addition of sand above
the current levels, but for a bowling green this was
not possible and excavation of the base would be
required.
given the locality of the bowling green, the
costs associated with excavation and subsequent
disposal of the base material proved to be cost
prohibitive. the initial scope of works had specified
that all of the original sand was to be excavated and
a sand meeting usgA specifications be imported.
After taking representative samples from across
the green, the depth of the sand above the drainage
layer was only 220mm which included a 40mm layer
of thatch. the following options were discussed to
amend the profile:l undertake an aggressive scarification and
hollow coring programme;l remove the accumulated thatch layer, import
the same sand type and sprig;l remove the accumulated thatch layer, import
and blend a droughtier sand and sprig.
the aggressive scarification and hollow coring
programme was deemed unacceptable due to
the continual impact it would have on the playing
surface over a number of years. As well, the
sand profilesModifyingModifying
MAy-June 2014 35
s
current level of disease was an ongoing concern.
importing the same sand type was deemed to be
unacceptable due to the overall shallow depth of
profile that would still be present in conjunction with
its high volumetric water.
importing and blending an imported profile was
deemed to be the best option given the constraints
that the club faced. Blending of the sand was going
to be an important aspect of the upgrade to the
surface as simply placing a layer of new sand over
the old sand may have led to issues with layering
and the uneven movement of water through the
profile.
the imported sand that was to be used was
a rocla medium washed sand which had a low
moisture retention, however, the sand particle
distribution did not quite meet that of a usgA-spec
sand profile. the physical analysis of the rocla sand
can be seen in table 2.
TriAl workPrior to the start of the full reconstruction, two small
test sites were constructed along the northern and
southern sides of the bowling green. each of these
sites contained four plots measuring 1.2m x 1.2m
which gave an overall area of 4.8m x 1.2m.
the trial was conducted primarily to understand
how the proposed new profile would perform in
terms of its moisture retention compared to the
alternatives. the primary evaluation tool for the trial
was the fieldscout® tDr300 moisture probe which
was used to assess moisture retention at different
depths.
the four plots consisted of the following profiles:l Plot 1: existing bowling green with turf and
thatch layer still present.l Plot 2: the top 60mm of the green was removed
which included turf, thatch, rootmat and sand.
this was then replaced with the same sand
which was placed and consolidated to the same
level as the playing surface. l Plot 3: A homogenous 1:1 blend of the imported
rocla sand with the existing sand from a depth
of 60mm-180mm, above the remaining 40mm
of existing sand. the top 60mm was a straight
rocla medium washed sand.l Plot 4: A homogenous 1:1 blend of the imported
rocla sand with the existing sand from a depth
of 120mm-180mm, above the remaining 40mm
of existing sand. the top 120mm was a 1:1
blended mix of straight rocla medium sand
with the upper 60mm of the original 1:1 blend of
rocla sand with existing sand, as in Plot 3.
the initial testing was undertaken on both
test areas (each containing the same construction
techniques) with a range of differing length probes
fitted to the fieldscout tDr300 to understand the
moisture retention within the depths – 0-38mm,
0-76mm, 0-120mm and 0-200mm. tables 3 and
4 show the results obtained from the plots as
described above.
TAble 3. MoiSTure reTenTion (SouThern AreA)
0-38mm 0-76mm 0-120mm 0-200mm
Plot 1 21.3% 15.9% 13.1% 15.4%
Plot 2 11.9 9.7 9.6 14.3
Plot 3 7.0 5.6 6.5 12.4
Plot 4 8.7 6.4 6.2 11.9
TAble 4. MoiSTure reTenTion (norThern AreA)
0-38mm 0-76mm 0-120mm 0-200mm
Plot 1 25.3% 17.4% 15.1% 16.5%
Plot 2 11.6 10.5 9.9 14.1
Plot 3 8.0 6.1 6.2 10.8
Plot 4 8.7 6.3 5.2 10.5
Opposite page top: The project involved the construction of small trial plots in the bowling green where the various profile options were tested for their ability to retain moisture
Opposite page bottom: The three trialled profile options (from bottom to top), Plot 2 (existing sand), Plot 3 (straight Rocla sand on top) and Plot 4 (blended Rocla sand)
Particle size distribution Sieve Specification Sand
Fraction (%ret) (mm) Recommendation
fine gravel >2.00 0 1
Very Coarse sand 1.00 - 2.00 < 10 <1
Coarse sand 0.50 - 1.00 < 20 5
Medium sand 0.25 - 0.50 40 - 60 37
fine sand 0.15 - 0.25 < 30 44
Very fine sand 0.05 - 0.15 < 10 11
silt plus Clay <0.05 < 5 2
Physical characteristics
at 30 cm tension
Bulk Density (g/cm3) 1.2 - 1.6 1.6
total Porosity (%V/V) 35 - 55 38.9
Volumetric Water (%V/V) 15 - 25 27.9
Aeration Porosity (%V/V) 15 - 30 11.0
Hydraulic conductivity (mm/hr) > 150 220
Chemical characteristics
pH-1:5 water 5 - 7 7.7
electrical conductivity-1:5 water (ds/m) <0.2 0.05
salinity (ppm) <600 150
TAble 1. exiSTinG SAnd PhySiCAl AnAlySiS
TAble 2. roClA SAnd PhySiCAl AnAlySiSParticle size distribution Sieve USGA Specification Sample
(retained) (mm) Recommendation
fine gravel >2.00 < 3 total particles 0
Very Coarse sand 1.00 - 2.00 < 10 2
Coarse sand 0.50 - 1.00 total particles 20
Medium sand 0.25 - 0.50 > 60 47
fine sand 0.15 - 0.25 < 20 26
Very fine sand 0.05 - 0.15 < 5 total particles 4
silt plus Clay <0.05 < 5 < 10 1
Physical characteristics
at 30 cm tension
Bulk Density (g/cm3) 1.2 - 1.6 1.6
total Porosity (%V/V) 35 - 55 38.1
Volumetric Water (%V/V) 15 - 25 8.2
Aeration Porosity (%V/V) 15 - 30 29.9
Hydraulic conductivity (mm/hr) > 150 440
Chemical characteristics
pH-1:5 water 5 - 7 5.1
eC -1:5 water (ds/m) < 0.2 0.05
salinity (ppm) <600 150
36 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
agcsatech updateagcsatech updates
The noticeable change in colour from the blended Rocla sand (top
120mm in this photo) to the existing sand used in the profile
the results from this initial testing firstly indicated
the dramatic increase in moisture retention due to a
turf cover and thatch layer above the sand profile
(Plot 1 compared to Plot 2). secondly, the results
also showed that the two blended plots (Plots 3
and 4) had about 40 per cent less moisture than
the existing sand at depths of 38mm, 76mm and
120mm below the surface. there is less difference
at the 200mm depth where the perched water table
is created.
following that initial testing, the northern test
area was watered with 9l of water (the equivalent
of 6mm of irrigation) and the moisture retention was
again tested after five minutes with the following
results.
TAble 5. MoiSTure reTenTion (norThern – 6MM)
0-38mm 0-76mm 0-120mm 0-200mm
Plot 1 33.8% 25.4% 20.3% 18.9%
Plot 2 18.7 16.9 13.9 16.3
Plot 3 14.5 11.3 8.8 12.5
Plot 4 17.1 12.2 10.7 12.0
As the moisture readings were taken very soon
after the watering, the results are more similar
although the blended plots still retained less
moisture which was pleasing from a reconstruction
point of view.
finally, the southern test area was watered
with 18 litres of water (the equivalent of 12mm of
irrigation) and the moisture was again tested after
five minutes with the following results.
TAble 6. MoiSTure reTenTion (SouThern – 12MM)
0-38mm 0-76mm 0-120mm 0-200mm
Plot 1 33.5% 25.9% 19.8% 19.3%
Plot 2 23.4 20.3 17.4 17.4
Plot 3 18.3 16.1 14.2 14.6
Plot 4 19.2 18.0 15.1 15.9
Again, a similar trend was noted, although less
pronounced due to the amount of water applied and
the little time taken before the moisture readings
were taken.
six days following the construction of the two test
areas, they were again tested for moisture retention.
given the condition of the green, it appeared as
though no irrigation had been applied over that
period and according the Bureau of Meteorology’s
Melbourne weather station, the area had received
2.2mm of rainfall.
TAble 7. MoiSTure reTenTion (SouThern AreA – AfTer 6 dAyS)
0-38mm 0-76mm 0-120mm 0-200mm
Plot 1 16.8% 13.0% 9.7% 10.4%
Plot 2 8.3 6.6 6.7 9.6
Plot 3 4.1 3.8 3.3 6.5
Plot 4 5.0 3.9 2.9 6.3
TAble 8. MoiSTure reTenTion (norThern AreA – AfTer 6 dAyS)
0-38mm 0-76mm 0-120mm 0-200mm
Plot 1 21.7% 15.9% 11.4% 12.5%
Plot 2 9.0 6.6 6.3 9.5
Plot 3 4.4 3.9 2.9 6.2
Plot 4 4.1 4.3 2.7 6.2
the results again showed that the two blended
plots had about 40-50 per cent less moisture than
the existing sand at all depths. it can clearly be seen
the influence of the perched water table given the
increase in moisture retention at the 200mm depth.
ConCluSionit was very noticeable that both plots that contained
the rocla medium washed sand (Plots 3 and 4)
provided less moisture retention (at both assessment
dates) than the existing sand profile. the other major
influence on moisture retention was the impact that
the turf and thatch layer had (Plot 1) when compared
to Plot 2 which contained just the same sand type.
the take home message is that greens, whether
bowling or golf, can be modified if there has initially
been an inappropriate sand/soil selection made or
if they have aged and with ineffective renovation
practices hold excess moisture.
the trial work conducted illustrated that simply
removing the accumulated organic matter will
assist in reducing moisture retention, however,
the incorporation of a droughtier sand to reduce
moisture retention even more, particularly in the top
120mm, may prove to be even more beneficial.
As always though, greater inputs such as
sanding, coring and scarifying should always
be undertaken as often as possible on correctly
sourced rootzone material to avoid excessive
moisture retention over time.
Conference GuideConference Guide
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade ExhibitionGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
22-27 June 2014
38 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
The Australian golf Course superintendents’
Association, in conjunction with principal
partners toro, Jacobsen, syngenta, John
Deere and rain Bird, extends a very warm welcome
to delegates of the 30th Australian turfgrass
Conference and trade exhibition.
this is the second time in four years that the
conference ventures to the gold Coast Convention
and exhibition Centre (gCCeC) and after the warm
climes of the sunshine Coast last year, delegates,
particularly those from down south, will be looking
forward to returning to Queensland. the gCCeC,
refurbished ahead of the 2010 conference, proved
to be a sensational venue and combined with the
tremendous facilities and hospitality that the gold
Coast is famous for, it’s little surprise that the turf
industry’s biggest gathering is heading back to the
Broadbeach hub.
so what’s in store for delegates? Well, whether
its golf, education, networking with peers or seeing
the latest innovations from the trade, the 30th
Australian turfgrass Conference will have something
for all sectors of our diverse and talented industry.
to make sure delegates get the most out of their
conference experience, the AgCsA has been
mindful to keep costs down, while at the same time
providing a wide range of topics, social events and
networking opportunities.
session highlightsfollowing a successful trial last year, the 2014
toro AgCsA golf Championships will again be
played on sunday which frees up the Monday for
the Jacobsen-sponsored workshops. these day-
long workshops were introduced for the first time
on the sunshine Coast last year and proved to be
extremely popular with delegates. that looks likely
to continue, with both workshops this year fully
subscribed within weeks of being announced. the
two workshops to be held this year are:l Managing turfgrass under environmental and
pest stress: the identification and management
of agronomic stresses is the key to successful
golf and sportsturf management. turfgrasses
grow within an optimum range of conditions
whether it is temperature, light or moisture.
30Th AusTrAliAn TurfgrAss ConferenCe And TrAde exhibiTion
Pat finlen
stephen newport
Welcome to the Gold Coasto
n behalf of my fellow AgCsA
Directors i would like to welcome you
all to the 30th Australian turfgrass
Conference and trade exhibition at the gold
Coast Convention and exhibition Centre in
Broadbeach. We appreciate you making the
effort to attend what is the Australian turf
industry’s largest annual gathering.
the industry continues to experience
a time of change across the board and we
believe we have compiled a diverse range of
speakers and topics to help you remain at
the cutting edge of your chosen profession.
topics include ‘taking the next step’,
‘Alternative/biological practices’, a forum on
bunker design, an excellent discussion on
couchgrass dormancy and a Cricket World
Cup preparation forum.
Pat Finlen, former gCsAA president,
superintendent and now general manager
of the Olympic Club in san francisco, is
one of our headline speakers not to be
missed and will join a panel of Australian
superintendents who have taken the major
step from the course into the general
manager’s office.
last year’s highly successful Jacobsen
sponsored workshops make a welcome
return on the Monday of conference week
with Dr Karl Danneberger (Ohio state
university, us) and David Bancroft-Turner
(Academy of Political intelligence, uK)
hosting these. David’s presentation on
‘How to survive, thrive and manage the
politics at your club’ booked out very quickly
and Dr Danneberger will provide the latest
information on ‘Managing turfgrass under
environmental and pest stress’. together
with our own home grown array of speakers
there really is something for everyone with
the golf stream supported by the sportsfield,
Architects and technicians streams.
the trade exhibition this year will
allow you to see the latest innovations
and products available in our industry. At
the time of printing, it appears that the
exhibition centre will be near capacity and
as always we are indebted to our trade
partners for their unwavering support of
conference week – please support those
companies that support us. Don’t forget
to download the official 30th Australian
turfgrass Conference app to enhance your
experience around the trade show floor and
education sessions as well.
the AgCsA golf Championships,
once again hosted by AgCsA Platinum
Partner toro Australia, will be held on the
superb tifeagle greens of sanctuary Cove
(Robin Doodson, AgCsA Accredited
superintendent) and the equally impressive
328 greens of Hope island (superintendent
Danny Foote).
unfortunately i will not be joining you
this year as a significant birthday for my wife
will find me out of the country. i am sure that
the AgCsA Board and the staff, led capably
by our general manager Peter Frewin, will
once again ensure a seamless week of
education and entertainment.
Peter lonerganCoolangatta &
tweed heads gCPresident, agCsa
MAy-June 2014 39
Outside the optimum range plant stress occurs.
this day-long workshop, presented by Dr Karl
Danneberger (Professor of turfgrass science,
Ohio state university, usA) will look at the
impact of environmental stress on turfgrass
growth and how we can manage the turf during
these stress periods. l How to survive, thrive and manage politics
at your club: Political behaviour is alive and
well in all golf clubs, schools and councils. this
session, presented by expert David Bancroft-
Turner (the Academy of Political intelligence,
uK) will help turf managers to recognise and
manage politics more effectively and provide
tips and suggestions to improve performance.
the tradition education component from tuesday
through to thursday will again encompass four
individual streams – golf, sportsfield, technicians
and Architects. Both Danneberger and Bancroft-
turner will also present during these sessions as
will another of this year’s keynote speakers Pat
finlen, immediate past president of the golf Course
superintendents Association of America (gCsAA).
As well as being at the head of the world’s
largest superintendent organisation, finlen is also a
key figure at one of America’s most revered sporting
institutions – the Olympic Club in san francisco.
finlen is currently the general manager and up until
recently was course superintendent, hosting among
other things the 2012 us Open. finlen will make
the following presentations during his time on the
gold Coast:l Hosting the us Open (Plenary Session,
Tuesday 24 June, 12.20pm);l ‘taking the next step’ management forum with
Andrew Casey, Peter schumacher and Craig
Molloy (Golf Stream, Wednesday 25 June, 8.30am); and
l Course maintenance at the Olympic Club (Golf Stream, Thursday 26 June, 12pm).
this year’s programme also sees the inclusion
of a two-hour spray Application Workshop. initially
two were scheduled for the week, however, they
proved so popular that the AgCsA has added a
third. these workshops will be held: l Wednesday 25 June: 1pm-3pm
l Wednesday 25 June: 3.30pm-5.30pml thursday 26 June: 11am-1pm
Other highlights to watch out for during the
education sessions include:l Staging the Cricket World Cup: stephen
newport will discuss preparations for the 2015
iCC Cricket World Cup to be jointly held between
Australia and new Zealand (Plenary Session, Tuesday 24 June, 9.50am). this will be followed
on thursday by a Cricket World Cup Wicket
Preparation Forum, which will feature a number
of curators discussing their various wickets
and preparations methods (Sportsfield Stream, Thursday 26 June, 11.30am).
l Bunker Management Workshop:
superintendents Daryl sellar (glenelg gC),
Paul gumbleton (Monash CC) and David
Warwick (Avondale gC) will join with golf course
architects richard Chamberlain and ross Perret
to discuss all aspects of bunkers, from design
through to construction and maintenance (Golf Stream, Wednesday 25 June, 10.30am).
event Changesthere have been a number of changes made to
the social events to be held during the gold Coast
conference. One of the biggest changes is the
switching of the syngenta President’s Dinner from
the end of the week to the start of the week. to be
held in the Pavilion Ballroom at Jupiters on Monday
23 June, the dinner also incorporates the annual
AgCsA Awards where the industry acknowledges
its outstanding achievers.
following a hiatus at last year’s conference,
the AgCsA is delighted to inform delegates that its
highest honour, the Distinguished service Award,
will be bestowed in 2014. so if you are heading to
the gold Coast make sure to book yourself a dinner
ticket and come and celebrate what will be a special
night for one of this industry’s principal contributors.
With the dinner taking the place of the usual
Welcome reception, this has freed up thursday
evening for the everris-sponsored farewell Bash.
the traditional post conference turf tour has also
morphed and will now feature not only a tour but golf
as well. the AgCsA AgM has also had a change
The 30th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade exhibition returns to the gold Coast Convention and exhibition Centre from 22-27 June, 2014
Caragh Threlfall
John neylan
Andrew Casey
Craig Molloy
Paul gumbleton
Peter schumacher
40 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
of timeslot and will now be held on Wednesday
morning ahead of the start of the education sessions.
for all the information (dates, times, venues) on the
key events at this year’s conference check out the
page opposite and punch them into your calendar,
or better still, download the…
ConferenCe aPPyes, the official 30th Australian turfgrass Conference
and trade exhibition app is now available for
download and is bigger and better than last year.
Developed by local Victorian company invisage,
the app is available on all Apple and Android
devices and can be downloaded for free from
the respective app stores simply by searching for
‘AgCsA’.
the app contains all the relevant information
that you need to know about this year’s event and
it will be continually updated in the lead-up to and
during the conference with the latest information for
delegates. Here are some of the app’s features:
Speakers: under the speakers icon there is a list
of all speakers in alphabetical order (by surname)
which contains a photo, biography and the sessions
they are presenting. By clicking on their sessions
you can bring up a synopsis of their presentation
which includes title, time, location and duration.
from here you can take notes for that particular
session (you can then email all notes through the
settings feature), rate the session or bookmark
it. Bookmarking the session will add it to your
upcoming schedule which will appear on the front
page of the app. you can bookmark as many
sessions as you like and as the show goes on the
next session will be displayed on the front page.
Programme: the Programme icon contains the
complete conference programme which includes
all the education sessions and social events which
can be viewed either by day or by stream (Jacobsen
Monday workshops, Plenary sessions, the two
golf streams and sportsfield stream). Clicking on
a session, as above, will take you through to
information about the session – time, location and
duration as well as a brief synopsis – and you can
bookmark it so that it appears on your schedule.
you can also simply click the star icon next to the
session listings to add it to your schedule.
Exhibitors: those companies exhibiting at the trade
show are contained behind the exhibitors icon and
are listed both alphabetically and by category (e.g.:
machinery, irrigation, chemicals etc) and by AgCsA
partner status. Clicking on an exhibitor will take you
through to a company bio and logo and here you
can also access full company and representative
contact details. under the Actions tab you can
mark the company as a favourite (you can also do
this by clicking the star icon next to the company
in the main exhibitor listings), take notes and click
the Visited tab to indicate you have stopped by the
stand. links to product brochures are also available.
the new app also features a photo gallery,
which will be updated during the week with photos
from the event, and a ‘Contacts’ icon which contains
a list of those delegates attending the conference
along with their details (you can set up your contact
details through the My Profile area in settings).
Please ensure that when you download the
app that you allow Push notifications as this will be
one of the key means through which the AgCsA
will communicate important updates to delegates
during the actual conference.
ConferenCe webCastsOver the past four years, the AgCsA, in conjunction
with Brisbane-based tr Vidcom, has recorded a
series of webcasts from each conference. the gold
Coast conference in 2010 saw the first of these
webcasts produced and since then the AgCsA has
ramped up the number of webcasts recorded. Over
the past four conferences, a total of 102 webcasts
have been released, representing more than 97
hours worth of turf management education.
the full suite of webcasts from past conferences
can be accessed through the AgCsA website http://
www.agcsa.com.au/video and all delegates who
attend this year’s conference will receive exclusive
access to the 2014 webcasts as soon as they are
published. for those who don’t attend, the 2014
webcasts will be available in the lead up to the 2015
conference.
Disclaimer: the above speaker session information
was correct at the time of this edition of AtM going
to print. Any changes will be announced during the
conference sessions or notified through the official
conference app.
Phil beal
daryl sellar
Chris lambrides
bruce davies
The stunning Palms Course at sanctuary Cove plays host to the 2014 Toro AgCsA golf
Championships
MAy-June 2014 41
evenT inforMATion And ConferenCe regisTrATion
The main conference registration desk
will be located in the main foyer of the
gold Coast Convention and exhibition
Centre (gCCeC). Delegates are requested
to visit the registration desk upon arrival to
receive their conference accreditation and
delegate satchel.
there will also be a registration desk set
up outside the entry of the trade exhibition
during trade exhibition hours. if the main
conference registration desk is closed,
please proceed to the trade exhibition
registration desk. the registration desk(s)
will be open during the following times:l Sunday: 2pm-4pml Monday: 9am-4pml Tuesday: 8am-4pml Wednesday: 8am-3pml Thursday: 8am-2.30pm
2014 toro agCsa golf ChamPionshiPs and dinnerWhen: sunday 22 June (10am-8.30pm)
Where: sanctuary Cove golf & Country
Club and Hope island golf Club
Details: the 2014 toro AgCsA golf
Championships will be played across two
courses, with the stroke competition held
on the Palms Course at sanctuary Cove
and stableford competition staged at Hope
island golf Club. 11.30am shotgun start at
sanctuary Cove, 12 noon shotgun start at
Hope island.
for those at sanctuary Cove, at the
conclusion of the round players will be
transported to Hope island for the
presentation dinner. Buses will depart from
the gCCeC for both courses at 10am and
return 9pm. Cost: $130.
2014 agCsa trade ChallengeWhen: Monday 23 June (10am-5pm)
Where: lakelands golf Club
Details: the 2014 AgCsA trade Challenge
will be contested at lakelands golf Club.
Open to all AgCsA and state trade members,
this is a three-person team stableford event
with the best two scores counting. there
will also be an individual prize. Winning
team receives $2000 credit for advertising in
Australian turfgrass Management Journal.
At the conclusion of the round there will
be drinks, finger food and prize presentation.
Players are requested to be at lakelands
by 10.45am for an 11.30am shotgun start.
Buses will depart from the gCCeC at 10am
and return at the conclusion of presentations.
Cost: $330 (team of three), $120 per person
or included for those companies exhibiting
at the trade exhibition.
syngenta President’s welCome dinner and 2014 agCsa awardsWhen: Monday 23 June (6.30pm-10.30pm)
Where: Pavilion Ballroom, Jupiters
Details: traditionally held at the end of the
conference, this year’s syngenta President’s
Dinner will kick off the conference week
and replaces the Welcome reception of
past years. Always a highlight of the week,
this great night of fine food, AgCsA Award
presentations and entertainment will be the
perfect platform from which to launch the
conference’s return to the gold Coast. Pre-
dinner drinks from 6.30pm. Dress code:
semi-formal, dress pants and collared shirt
(jacket and tie optional). Cost: $120.
30th australian turfgrass ConferenCe trade exhibition When: Wednesday 25 June (9am-5pm) and
thursday 26 June (9am-2pm)
Where: gCCeC
Details: this year’s trade exhibition will
feature more than 60 of the industry’s
leading turf management companies
exhibiting their products and services. entry
to the trade exhibition is free (please note
if you are only attending the trade exhibition
you will still need to register on the door to
receive a name tag). see later in this guide
for a full listing of companies exhibiting.
for registered delegates only, the trade
exhibition cocktail opening will be held from
4pm-6pm on tuesday 24 June.
2014 agCsa annual general meetingWhen: Wednesday 25 June (7am for a
7.30am start)
Where: gCCeC (room 6 or 7 – please
check on the day)
Details: Please note the change in time from
previous years. Open to all current financial
AgCsA members. two AgCsA Director
positions will be up for election. Coffee
and muffins will be served from 7am with a
7.30am meeting start.
everris farewell bashWhen: thursday 26 June (6pm-8pm)
Where: PA Pub, Jupiters
Details: With the syngenta President’s
Dinner moving to the start of the week, the
everris-sponsored farewell Bash will take
its place on the thursday evening. this
will be a great way to relax and unwind
with fellow delegates and reflect on the
conference week that was. finger food
and drinks provided. Cost: included for all
registered conference delegates and trade
show exhibitors. Additional tickets $88.
friday fun dayWhen: friday 27 June (8.30am-5pm)
Where: rACV royal Pines resort
Details: normally the day set aside for the
post conference turf tour, friday this year
will incorporate a tour of rACV royal Pines
resort, currently being reconstructed, as
well as 18 holes of golf (scramble) in the
afternoon.
Buses will depart from the gCCeC to
rACV royal Pines at 8.30am for a 9am tour
start with superintendent lincoln Coombes.
for those staying on to play golf, a BBQ
lunch will be served from 11am with a 12
noon shotgun start. for those who just
want to attend the tour of the course, this
component is free, however, please note
that there will be no transportation back to
the gCCeC until the conclusion of the golf.
Cost: $120 (for those playing golf). tour
component free (does not include lunch or
golf).
Disclaimer: the above event information
was correct at the time of this edition of AtM
going to print. Any changes in times, venues
or locations will be announced during the
conference sessions or notified through the
official conference app (see more on the
app oppositie page).
42 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
The future of the Australian turf
management industry lies in the young
blood coming through its ranks and
each year the AgCsA and stA aim to give
two lucky turf management apprentices a kick
start to their careers through their respective
graduate of the year Award programmes.
the life of a turf management apprentice
can be a thankless one at times, but as this
year’s field of finalists demonstrate, with a
little bit of hard work and commitment, not to
mention a fair helping of skill and nous, the
wonderful opportunities that the industry can
afford are there for the taking.
As has been tradition, this year’s
recipients will receive a trip of a lifetime
courtesy of award sponsors toro Australia.
Both graduates will get the opportunity to
attend the Winter school of turf Management
at the university of Massachusetts and visit
the 2015 golf industry show in san Antonio.
Judging for both awards was undertaken
in mid-May and the AgCsA, together with
the stA, congratulate the following finalists
for getting through to this stage and making
some fantastic presentations to the judging
panel.
gCsaQSimon Winzar
Lakelands Golf Club
A naturally gifted sportsman
from an early age, Winzar
took up playing golf at the age of 12 and
immediately fell in love with the sport. A five-
day work experience placement at a small
privately run golf course in nerang fuelled the
desire to work on golf courses even more and
eventually led to a school-based traineeship
opening up with lakelands golf Club.
Working one day a week and weekends
starting in november 2008, Winzar would
go on to complete his Certificate ii in sports
turf Management through grovely tAfe and
following year 12 was taken on as a first
year apprentice. following completion of that,
Winzar immediately enrolled in the Diploma of
sports turf Management course through ryde
tAfe in sydney as well as the Certificate iii in
landscape Construction. Having completed
the latter, he hopes to finish the Diploma by
the end of 2014.
if having a full time job at lakelands and
studying isn’t enough to keep him busy, the
20-year-old also operates his own lawn and
landscaping business for clients around the
gold Coast. such has been the success of
this little venture that Winzar now has a part-
time employee working for him.
gCsawaChris Varty
Gosnells Golf Club
Born and bred in Victoria but
spending most of his formative
years in Western Australia, Varty began his
turf management career back in Victoria at the
age of 19 working for a contract maintenance
company. Visiting many different facilities
during this time exposed Varty to many facets
of the turf industry, but it was golf courses
which appealed the most.
Moving back to Perth, Varty struggled
to gain an apprenticeship and ended up
working as a removalist. it was after suffering
a dislocated knee that Varty was able to
re-evaluate his career goals and as luck
would have it he successfully applied for an
apprenticeship at gosnells golf Club.
During his time at gosnells, Varty
has worked under three different course
superintendents which has exposed him
to different turf management styles and
philosophies. However, it has been attending
Challenger tAfe and understanding the
reasoning behind the various turf management
practices employed on the golf course that
has truly opened Varty’s eyes to the world of
turf management.
nswgCsaKurt Eldridge
Bermagui Golf Club
eldridge is one of two finalists
this year to have completed
their studies through the Canberra institute of
technology. employed at Bermagui Country
Club since January 2010, eldridge has
inherited a love for plants and nature through
his mother who is a horticulturalist.
During his time at Bermagui, under the
astute leadership of AgCsA Accredited
superintendent David thomson, eldridge has
completed his Certificate iii in sports turf
Management and has actively participated
and contributed in daily preparations of the
golf course, bowling greens, croquet and clay
tennis courts.
Bermagui has a small crew of six which
has meant that eldridge has experienced
most facets of golf course maintenance. With
all capital improvement works being carried
out in-house as well, eldridge has been
exposed to a number of major projects during
his apprenticeship including irrigation design
and installation, bunker construction, tee
construction, landscaping and renovations.
the big goal for eldridge is to secure a
placement on the Ohio Program.
sagCsaLuke Merchant
Vines Golf Club of Reynella
twenty-year-old Merchant has
been employed at the Vines
golf Club of reynella since 2011 under
AgCsA Accredited superintendent rob
Millington. Completing his studies through
urrbrae tAfe, Merchant is now looking to
undertake Certificate iV and hopes to move to
england with his girlfriend in the near future
and continue his career there.
sta aCtSimon Snedden
Gold Creek Country Club
it has been a whirlwind past
six months for stA ACt
representative simon snedden. following the
completion of his apprenticeship last year,
snedden joined the crew at gold Creek
Country Club, Canberra in January and
impressed AgCsA Accredited superintendent
scott Harris so much that within five months
he was elevated to assistant superintendent.
twenty-six-year-old snedden’s path into
golf course management came about after
his contract to play rugby league with the
newcastle Knights ended. During his time
at the Knights he was part of the stadium’s
ground crew for six months, but it was his love
for golf (snedden is a 3 handicapper) that saw
him take on an apprenticeship at young golf
Club in 2010 which he completed through
the Canberra institute of technology (Cit)
last December. snedden’s future ambition
AgCsA, sTA grAduATes vie for nATionAl honoursatm profiles the finalists in both the agCsa and sta graduate
of the year awards which will be handed out during the 30th
australian turfgrass Conference on the gold Coast.
MAy-June 2014 43
is to continue on and complete his Diploma
in sports turf Management and in the years
following become a course superintendent.
snedden is one of two finalists this year
to hail from Cit and will be looking to emulate
the feats of 2013 winner luke Jorgensen
(federal golf Club) who became the fifth
graduate from Cit to win the national award
since its inception in 1996.
tgCsaAndrew Burgess
Riverside Golf Club
twenty-two-year-old Andrew
Burgess is the second tgCsA
Apprentice of the year in as many years to
hail from launceston’s riverside golf Club,
following in the footsteps of Andrew schindler
in 2013. Burgess has worked at riverside
for the past five years and completed his
apprenticeship through tAfe tasmania.
Burgess is part of a small team of three,
headed by course superintendent sam
O’Keefe, that is tasked with maintaining the
18-hole course which lies on the western
banks of the tamar river. should Burgess
win the AgCsA graduate of the year Award it
would be tasmania’s first at the national level.
vgCsaEthan Bell
Wangaratta Golf Club
Bell, who at just 19 years of
age has the honour of being
the youngest finalist in 2014, hails from
Wangaratta golf Club where in only a short
amount of time he has risen to be assistant
superintendent such is his maturity and skill
level.
Born and bred in the north eastern
Victorian township, it was during year 9
that a family friend who ran his own turf
management business offered Bell some part
time summer work. that sparked his desire to
be in the industry and in 2010 Bell undertook
a school-based apprenticeship through
Wangaratta golf Club which saw him continue
his schooling four days a week with one day
a week spent at the golf course. recognising
his abilities, the club offered him a full-time
apprenticeship in 2011 which he completed
through Wodonga tAfe.
in early 2012 Bell was promoted to
assistant superintendent and when incumbent
superintendent David Warnaar moved to
Warrnambool golf Club at the start of that
winter, Bell was asked by the club to fill the void
until a new superintendent was appointed.
taking charge at just 17 years of age, Bell
acquitted himself for some three months in the
role before current superintendent rick lee
was appointed. since then Bell has continued
to impress in his role as assistant and is also
undertaking the Diploma course.
Wyong shire Council’s Andrew spicer
created a little slice of history for
stA nsW when he became their
first graduate representative to collect the
stA national sports turf graduate of the year
Award at the 2013 twin Waters conference.
this year sees a field of four contest the
national award with the finalists coming from
the ACt, nsW, Queensland and WA.
sta aCt
Timothy Jopling
Aust Sports Commission
Jopling’s career in sports turf
management developed after
several years working in horticulture. since
completing his Certificate in Horticulture
(nursery) in 2004, Jopling has worked his
way from apprentice to horticulturist at
nurseries and for the past five years has been
at the Australian sports Commission.
Jopling completed his sports turf
Management course at the Canberra institute
of technology. He loves the variety of work
undertaken each day and the different skill
sets required to achieve good results. Jopling
is keen to continue to expand his knowledge
of turf management in the future.
sta nswTom Kelly
Green Options
When asked what he enjoys
about his job, Kelly replied, “i
have the best job in the world!” Kelly recently
received the highest pass at ryde tAfe
for students working on sportsfields, cricket
wickets or race tracks and his commitment to
his work is evident in the way he talks about
preparing surfaces.
Kelly works at sites such as st ignatius
College, graham reserve, Manly Oval and
Macquarie university playing fields. He
prepares wickets for 1st grade cricket as
well as rugby and soccer events.
sta QldAlex Jensen
Brisbane Metropolitan Touch
Association
Jensen’s love for sports and
being outdoors has set him up for the best
job he could ask for. since graduating from
Brisbane north institute of tAfe, Jensen
has been promoted to head groundsman
at Brisbane Metropolitan touch Association
(BtMA) giving him the responsibility of
looking after the sports fields.
the BtMA competition is one of
Australia’s largest and operates across two
venues including Queensland’s premier
touch football facility, Whites Hill super
Centre, which comprises 15 floodlit fields
built specifically for touch.
Prior to greenkeeping, Jensen worked
in landscape construction. His long-term
ambition is to work at a major stadium either
in Australia or the us.
sta waLuke Cooney
Hale School
it is fair to say that Cooney
isn’t your average turfie. His
background is studying economics at
university but it was his true passion for
cricket that gave him the opportunity to
change his career path.
After helping out with looking after wickets
at tuart Hill Cricket Club between university
classes, he gained as much information and
advice he could to manage the wickets for
the six weeks remaining in the season. the
following season he was then offered the
position of curator at the club. He put down
the pen and calculator and grabbed hold of a
wicket roller and hasn’t looked back.
Cooney spent five years working at
the university of WA as cricket curator at
James Oval and while there completed his
apprenticeship after attending Challenger
institute of technology. last november he
collected the C.H. Bailey & sons Perpetual
shield for best WA sports turf graduate. More
recently Cooney has made the move to Hale
school .
2014 sTA nATionAl sPorTs Turf grAduATe of The YeAr AWArd
agCsa graduate of the year award – Past winners2013: luke Jorgensen (federal golf Club,
ACt); 2012: Dave Canterbury (Kiama golf
Club, nsW); 2011: Dan Oswin (novotel
forest resort, ViC); 2010: Adam shields
(Casino golf Club, nsW).
sta sPorts turf graduate of the year – Past winners2013: Andrew spicer (Wyong shire); 2012:
rory Bairnsfather-scott (WACA); 2011:
rebecca Dynon (racing Victoria)
44 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
GolfSundAy10am - 4.30pm - AGCSA Golf Championships - Sanctuary Cove and Hope Island GCs4.30pm - 5.30pm - Pre-dinner drinks and canapes (Hope Island GC)5.30pm - 8.30pm - Toro Golf Dinner (Hope Island GC)
MondAyAll Day Workshops10am - 3pm (Lunch @ 12.30pm)Karl DannebergerManaging turfgrass under environmental and pest stress
David Bancroft-Turner Political intelligence - How to survive, thrive and manage the politics at your club
10am - 5pm - AGCSA Trade Challenge - Lakeslands GC
6.30pm - 10.30pm SYNGENTA PrESiDENT’S DiNNEr
TuESdAy8.30am - 9.10amDavid Bancroft-Turner - What is politics and why do I have to manage them?9.10am - 9.50amDr Karl Danneberger - Growing Degree Days9.50am - 10.30amStephen Newport - Staging the Cricket World Cup
10.30am - 11.00am - Morning Tea
11am - 12.20pmDr Caragh Threlfall, Dr Nick Williams and Dr Nigel Stork - Final Report on Uni Melb Biodiversity Study12.20pm - 1pmPat Finlen - Hosting the US Open
1pm-2pm - Lunch
2pm - 4pm Soils and Couch Dormancy DiscussionJim Hull - Carbon in Soils;Dr Phil Ford - Reducing couch dor-mancy;John Neylan - Couch Dormancy: Is it necessary?
4pm - 6pm - TrADE SHOW COCKTAiL OPENiNG
wEdnESdAy7.30am - AGCSA AGMGolf i8.30am - 10amPat Finlen, Peter Schumacher, Andrew Casey and Craig Molloy Taking the Next Step
10.30am - 12.30pmBunker Maintenance Workshop
Golf ll8.30am - 10am Alternative/Biological Practices David Officer - Biological control of Parramatta Grass; Graham Sait - Minerals, microbes and turf resilience; Nick Malajczuk - Adding Mycorrhizal fungi to improve plant performance
10.30am - 12.30pmDr Caragh Threlfall, Dr Nick Williams and Dr Nigel Stork Practical and cost-effective ways to improve golf course vegetation habitat for different biodiversity groups
12.30pm - 5pm - Lunch/Trade Show
ThurSdAy8.30am - 9.10amPlenary Discussion - Scott Harris, Bruce Davies, Luke Jorgensen - Sportsturf management apprentices 9.10am - 9.50amJohn Neylan - Reflections: A career in turf9.50am - 10.30amPhil Beal - Rebuilding The Australian
10.30am - 11.30am - Morning Tea
11.30am - 12pm Adam Power - Update on New Course Rating System12pm - 12.30pmPat Finlen - Course maintenance at The Olympic Club12.30pm - 1pmDavid Bancroft-Turner - Making club politics a positive experience
1pm - 2pm - Lunch and Trade Show
2pm - 4pm Paul McLean and Gavin Kirkamn Workplace accidents - Learning on the run
6pm - 8pm - EvErriS FArEWELL BASH
fridAy8.30am - 5pm - Friday Fun DayTour of RACV Royal Pines reconstruc-tion with optional 18-hole Scramble golf event
N.B. Times correct at time of publication. Subject to change
SprAy AppliCATion workShopS
Interactive learning experience on making sprayers, products and people work seamlessly to get great results. Max. 40 per session.
Wednesday: 1pm - 3.00pmWednesday: 3.30pm - 5.30pmThursday: 11am - 1pm
ArChiTECTSTuESdAySociety of Australian Golf Course Architects Golf Competitionand Dinner - Featuring Fireside chat
wEdnESdAy10.30am - 12.30pmBunker Maintenance Workshop Daryl Sellar will be joined by various superintendents and architects to look at bunkers and the use of bunker liners as cost/time saving tools.
12.30pm - 2pm - Lunch
2.15pm - 4.30pmSAGCA Annual General Meeting
4.30pm - 5.30pmPaul Jones, David Hanby and Andrew Price - Key irrigation information for golf course architects.
ThurSdAyChoice of sessions and Trade Show
6pm - 8pm - EvErriS FArEWELL BASH
MAy-June 2014 45
SporTSfiEld wEdnESdAy8.30am - 10.30amManuka Oval Redevelopment Forum Brad van Dam, John Neylan, Jarrod Hill and Dimitri Dimakopoulos
10.30am - 11am - Morning Tea
11am - 12.30pmAlternative/Biological Practices David Officer - Biological control of Parramatta Grass; Graham Sait - Minerals, microbes and turf resilience; Nick Malajczuk - Adding Mycorrhizal fungi to improve plant performance
12.30pm - 5pm - Lunch/Trade Show
ThurSdAy8.30am - 9.10amPlenary Discussion - Scott Harris, Bruce Davies, Luke Jorgensen - Sportsturf management apprentices - A shared responsibility9.10am - 9.50amDr Chris Lambrides - University of Queensland EcoTurf project9.50am - 10.30amJim Hull/Phil Ford - Oversowing couch with ryegrass on sportsfields
10.30am - 11.30am - Morning Tea
11.30am - 1pm2015 Cricket World Cup Cricket Wicket Preparation Forum - A look at the varying methods of pitch types and preperation methods across some of the CWC venues.
1pm - 2pm - Lunch and Trade Show
2pm - 3.30pm David Bancroft-Turner - Managing the politics rather than politics managing you
6pm - 8pm EvErriS FArEWELL BASH
fridAy8.30am - 5pm - Friday Fun DayTour of RACV Royal Pines reconstruc-tion with optional 18-hole Scramble golf event
N.B. Times correct at time of publication. Subject to change
SundAy 10am - 4.30pm - AGCSA Golf Championships - Sanctuary Cove and Hope Island GCs4.30pm - 5.30pm - Pre-dinner drinks and canapes (Hope Island GC)5.30pm - 8.30pm - Toro Golf Dinner (Hope Island GC)
MondAyAll Day Workshops10am - 3pm (Lunch @ 12.30pm)Karl DannebergerManaging turfgrass under environmental and pest stress
David Bancroft-Turner Political intelligence - How to survive, thrive and manage the politics at your club
10am - 5pm - AGCSA Trade Challenge - Lakeslands GC
6.30pm - 10.30pm SYNGENTA PrESiDENT’S DiNNEr
TuESdAy8.30am - 9.10amDavid Bancroft-Turner - What is politics and why do I have to manage them?9.10am - 9.50amDr Karl Danneberger - Growing Degree Days9.50am - 10.30amStephen Newport - Staging the Cricket World Cup
10.30am - 11.00am - Morning Tea
11am - 12.20pmDr Caragh Threlfall, Dr Nick Williams and Dr Nigel Stork - Final Report on Uni Melb Biodiversity Study12.20pm - 1pmPat Finlen - Hosting the US Open
1pm-2pm - Lunch
2pm - 4pm Soils and Couch Dormancy DiscussionJim Hull - Carbon in Soils;Dr Phil Ford - Reducing couch dor-mancy;John Neylan - Couch Dormancy: Is it necessary?
4pm - 6pm - TrADE SHOW COCKTAiL OPENiNG
SprAy AppliCATion workShopS
Interactive learning experience on making sprayers, products and people work seamlessly to get great results. Max. 40 per session.
Wednesday: 1pm - 3.00pmWednesday: 3.30pm - 5.30pmThursday: 11am - 1pm
TEChniCiAnSSundAy10am - 4.30pm - AGCSA Golf Championships - Sanctuary Cove and Hope Island GCs4.30pm - 5.30pm - Pre-dinner drinks and canapes (Hope Island GC)5.30pm - 8.30pm - Toro Golf Dinner (Hope Island GC)
MondAy8.30 - 4.00 Toro Workshop
6.30pm - 10.30pm SYNGENTA PrESiDENT’S DiNNEr
TuESdAy8.30am - 4pmJacobsen Workshop
4pm - 6pm - TrADE SHOW COCKTAiL OPENiNG
wEdnESdAy8.30am - 4pmJohn Deere Workshop
4pm - 8pm - JOHN DEErE TECHNiCiANS DiNNEr
ThurSdAyAll day - Trade Show
6pm - 8pm EvErriS FArEWELL BASH
46 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
30th Australian Turfgrass Conference Trade Exhibition
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, 25-26 June 2014whether you’re a seasoned turf manager or an apprentice just entering the industry, the annual australian
turfgrass Conference trade exhibition is one event you can’t afford to miss. read on to see which of australia’s leading turf management companies and service providers will be present on the gold Coast.
abel sPortsStand 25
Abel sports is a leading manufacturer
and supplier of aluminium goal post and
sports ground equipment for major sporting
stadiums, councils, schools and sporting
clubs throughout Australia. We manufacture
and install goal posts for Afl football, rugby
league, rugby union, soccer and hockey.
All goal posts are designed to be easily
and safely installed/removed and be WH&s
compliant.
Afl and rugby goals are available in all
lengths up to 16m and come with ground
tubes, base plates or hinges. soccer and
futsal goals are available for either junior or
senior level. semi-permanent or portable
soccer goals are also available with rear
posts and hinged base supports for nets.
Abel sports also manufacture rugby/soccer
combo goals approved by both codes. goal
post storage systems are also available for
onsite and offsite storage.
Other Abel sports products include
coaches boxes and interchange benches,
goal post pads, boot cleaning and goal post
lifting systems. Abel sports also design and
install to engineer specifications barrier/safety
netting systems for Afl, soccer and cricket
grounds. Abel sports not only guarantee
all their manufactured products (5 years),
they have their own team of installers and
guarantee all installations. Abel sports is
a proud supporter of the Australian Made
Campaign.
ade turf eQuiPmentStand 98
ADe turf equipment on stand 98 is pleased
to bring together an exciting range of
innovative turf equipment to the conference.
shibaura golf and turf products include
compact tractors, rotary and reel mowers and
the amazing slope Mower Ce certified to 30
degrees – Japanese quality at a competitive
price.
Buffalo turbine boasts the most
comprehensive range of turbine blowers in
the market. Check out the impressive 40hp
twin turbine blower along with front mount
and PtO versions.
Club Car golf and turf vehicles – visit
us to view the amazing new Carryall utility
vehicles which feature the new fuel efficient
subaru fuel injected engines to bring a new
level of performance and fuel consumption
savings of up to 50 percent. the new heavy
duty 48 volt battery systems feature extended
endurance, on board chargers and increased
payloads.
advanCed seedStand 50
Advanced seed is a leading importer and
provider of turfgrass seed and related
products for both the commercial and retail
markets throughout Australia. Our products
are used by leading racecourses, golf
courses, turf farms, local governments and
sporting facilities throughout Australia.
Our extensive range of both cool- and
warm-season grasses allows us to provide
the very best selection of products to turf
managers. Access to major seed producers
and breeders from usA, europe and new
Zealand allows us to provide a product range
at the cutting edge of turfgrass research. High
performance varieties from leading turf grass
breeders seed research of Oregon & Dlf
seeds provide a quality broad selection of
turfgrass for the turf professional.
Apart from highlighting our turf grasses,
we will be displaying information on our
evergreen turf Covers, earthway spreaders
and our new Playmatta product. Be sure to
visit us at stand 50 where we will be happy to
assist you with all of your turf enquiries. www.
adseed.com.au.
all stake suPPlyStand 43
All stake supply is a family owned, Australian
company established in 1976. Our business is
focused on providing a complete distribution
service supplying quality grass reinforcement,
revegetation and erosion control systems.
Visit our stand (no. 43) to see the latest
technology in grass reinforcement.
agCsaStand 1
the official host of the 30th Australian
turfgrass Conference, the Australian golf
Course superintendents’ Association is
committed to the ongoing professional
development and support of all those
involved in the golf course maintenance and
turf management industry.
With a membership of over 1200 drawn
from Australasia and across the globe, the
AgCsA offers a range of unique services
to help superintendents, turf managers
and their staff who are seeking access
to resources, training and networking
opportunities.
Visit the AgCsA stand to find out about
the extensive range of services available
and how they have been tailored to meet the
needs of people working in the golf course
and turf maintenance industry. Back issues
of the AgCsA’s award-winning journal,
Australian turfgrass Management, will be
available, as will merchandise and a wide
selection of turf management text books.
new membership applications from
delegates are always welcome and current
members can renew their membership
or update contact details. in the coming
months the AgCsA will be launching a new-
look website and membership management
system, so it is important that we have your
correct details on file. get your photo taken
at the stand and go into the draw to win a
major prize. AgCsA Board members and
AgCsAtech agronomist Andrew Peart will
also be present throughout the show to help
with any queries.
MAy-June 2014 47
augusta golf CarsStand 60
Our new Cushman range of maintenance and
utility vehicles were born to help you eliminate
downtime and get more doing out of your
day. for decades, we’ve sat on the top of the
leaderboard for hauling, moving, loading and
just plain getting the job done and the new
Cushman Hauler Pro is fully loaded and ready
to work all day long.
equipped with a 72-volt AC drivetrain,
the Cushman Hauler PrO has the range,
power and operational efficiencies your
course demands. Powered by a quiet, zero
emissions 72-volt electric drivetrain, the
Hauler PrO features a daily range of up to
80km fully loaded and all the energy benefits
of a low maintenance and unique AC system.
A standard on-board charger gives you the
flexibility to charge the Hauler PrO at any
outlet within your facility.
With a 450kg vehicle payload, over 500kg
towing capacity and optional limited-slip
differential, the Hauler PrO is the strong
silent type that is easy to work with! Augusta
golf Cars now have stock of the new Hauler
Pro around the country and ready for delivery.
Visit www.ezgo.com.au.
ba grouP australiaStand 28
BA group Australia is a manufacturer of
spraying equipment, established in 2008 with
a dedicated team encompassing years of
experience in the ag spraying industry.
Our head office is based in geelong,
Victoria and we also have a warehouse
in toowoomba, Queensland. together we
distribute a large range of sprayers and
accessories, creating spraying solutions for
the turfgrass industry.
We have a large range of trailed and skid
mount units, our new greens keeper walk
behind sprayer especially designed for green
and bunker surrounds. We also distribute
teeJet products and can provide you the
latest info on nozzle technology. We provide
a custom build service as well so give us a
call any time to discuss your spraying needs
with one of our sprayer specialists. Keep your
spraying on course with BA group Australia.
basfStand 92
BAsf is a trusted resource in providing
solutions to meet the needs of professionals
in the turf industry, including superintendents
and turf managers, greenhouse and nursery
growers, lake and pond managers and
vegetation management applicators. We are
dedicated to producing the highest quality
products that help solve unique challenges,
backed by guaranteed customer service
satisfaction.
Our products are specifically designed
to help solve any of your turfgrass problems
with maximum efficiency of labour and
other resources. for the turf professional
this means a powerful portfolio of leading
edge chemistry, colorants, dyes, wetting
agents, herbicide, fungicide and insecticide
bayerStand 49
SILVER SPONSORAGCSA
Visit Bayer at stand 49 and hear about
Bayer’s latest innovation in turf fungicides
– interface with stressgard formulation
technology.
stressgard is unique to Bayer and is
proven to give outstanding disease control
while alleviating plant stresses, ultimately
improving turf quality, density, colour and
playability. the newly launched interface
with stressgard is Bayer’s most powerful
turf fungicide to date.
Have you registered with Bayer’s
Amplify turf website yet – www.
bayeramplifyturf.com.au? register at
the Bayer booth and go in the draw to
win an iPad Mini! Bayer Amplify turf is
designed for golf superintendents and turf
managers. it aims to help you solve your
biggest challenges and concerns whether
budgeting, water, disease, insect or weed
management. Our online training keeps
you up to date with the latest in skills and
knowledge on everything from managing
chemical spills to broadleaf weed control
and chemical application.
Our regular weekly insights and advice
will give you practical tips on everything
from correct application of insecticides,
herbicides and fungicides to compliance
with laws regulating chemical use. finally,
‘turf talk’ will take you to the golf courses
that are leading the way in the latest thinking
and innovation and show you how they are
managing the important issues.
brown brothers engineersStand 94 BRONZE SPONSOR
AGCSA
Brown Brothers engineers Australia P/l is
an importer and distributor of lowara pumps
and pumping equipment, with sales offices
in Melbourne, sydney and Brisbane. lowara
pumps were established in Vicenza, italy in
1968 and it is part of Xylem inc., a global
engineering and manufacturing company.
lowara specialises in the manufacture of
premium quality pumps and fluid handling
equipment and is recognised worldwide for
quality, efficiency and reliability.
Brown Brothers engineers specialises
in the design and fabrication of purpose
built booster systems particularly for golf
courses in both new Zealand and Australia.
Many of these booster systems include a
microprocessor pumping system controller,
but it does more than just change the speed.
it actually manages the performance of the
pump to match a wide range of system
conditions and requirements.
the Hydrovar software is designed
specifically for centrifugal pump operation,
control and protection. it can be set up to
protect the pump for operating under various
unfavourable conditions, e.g. cavitation,
operating against a closed head, low nPsH
etc. the Hydrovar provides the golf course
superintendent with flexibility of watering
when required with substantial savings on
installation, power usage and maintenance.
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
Country Club internationalStand 66
the evolution of Country Club international
into one of Australia’s leading golf course
and range suppliers has been built on an
eclectic and diverse range of products that
have been compiled and evolved to meet
market need for innovation and quality.
the most obvious include; the biggest
and tallest safety barrier screens in Australia
(over 36m high in some cases); the latest
high tech closed loop esD Waste2Water
washdown systems from usA that are now
becoming a ‘must’ in every maintenance
shed facility; practice range equipment
from range servant sweden that has
been the world industry benchmark for the
past 20 years; and the signature Par Aide
product range that has inspired imitators
(supposedly the most sincere form of
flattery!) both in Australia and around the
world.
Complementing these are some
fabulous suppliers including; eagle One
in the usA with an incredible array of golf
course product; Petro industrial in Australia
with the largest range of fuel storage tanks
and accessories; Woodbay engineering in
Canada with their amazing de-thatchers
and greens rollers; enviromist industries
with their world leading CDA chemical
sprayers; and greenjoy, Duchell and many
more. see what’s new from Country Club
international. you will be surprised!
48 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
dint golf solutions Stand 59
Dint golf is proud to be once again exhibiting
at the Australian turfgrass Conference
trade exhibition. the year comes and goes
so quickly in the busy golfing world that we
all operate in and so the annual conference
is an ideal way to stop for a while and catch
up with friends. the relationships that Dint
has built with loyal customers over many
years are highly valued.
Dint will be exhibiting new products,
new ideas and offering our highest levels
of service. As you know, our ability to
customise and accommodate our products
to suit your needs is second to none, and
we will have many examples of this work
to show you and talk about when we
catch up in June. Dint will be at stand 59
and the sales team of Adam, nathan, Jon
and Damien, as well as Anthony, will look
forward to welcoming you. the team at Dint
golf – making golf courses look great.
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
david golfStand 75
for over 50 years, Melbourne based David
golf has been a household name to course
superintendents and club managers. the
company is Australia’s largest supplier of
course hardware and practice equipment
with in excess of 200 product lines. the
company also has offices in sydney and
Brisbane and exports to Asia and new
Zealand.
At David golf our commitment to the golf
industry is very real. We have a commitment
to quality, a commitment to carrying a full
range of product, a commitment to inventory
which means we can supply immediate
delivery and a commitment to client service.
in recent years David golf has expanded
into corporate promotional golf products,
supply of selected pro-shop equipment such
as golf hire buggies, work and safety gear
and construction of safety netting barriers
through sports safety netting.
Of particular importance has been
the expansion of our hardware sales to
countries outside Australia. new Zealand,
usA, south east Asia, Japan, China and
india have become important markets as
superintendents realise the quality and
service benefits of dealing with David golf.
Our client’s requirements are our priority.
We intend to keep improving each year by
providing the service and back-up customers
have come to expect.
technologies that provide the optimal level of
protection for both cool-season and warm-
season turf.
Managing turfgrass requires significant
expertise, particularly when it comes to
disease management. We’re here to help.
take a look and see which BAsf solution
is right for you. Come see us at the 30th
Australian turfgrass Conference at stand 92.
bernhard grindersStand 65
Well known by the professional golf tours
worldwide as the premier blade sharpening
machines, Bernhard grinders ensure
maintenance equipment at the World top 100
mainstays, as well as daily-fee, private, resort
and municipal courses world-wide, is always
in ideal cutting condition. Bernhard grinders
helps greenkeepers, owners and operators
cultivate consistent, healthy turf. Private, public
and resort golf courses realise top and bottom-
line benefits from their precise cut, ease
of use, reliability, environmental friendliness,
safety-first design, value proposition, industry-
best 10-year warranty and more.
ChemsearChStand 57
Chemsearch’s BioAmp system is a
revolutionary and environmentally friendly
biological solution or your turf and pond
care. the BioAmp system plus freeflow
significantly improves golf course conditions,
while also providing an excellent alternative
to traditional treatments. BioAmp has the
ability to break down organic compounds,
like pesticide residue, and convert difficult
minerals into useful nutrients. freeflow
bacteria have the ability to trigger a plant’s
natural defences against stress, reducing the
level of disease and giving the turf a nutritional
advantage.
golf courses are experiencing the
benefits of using the BioAmp system plus
freeflow, from reductions in chemical costs
to minimising expensive labour fees. the
BioAmp system has become a popular
choice for superintendents all over Australia.
Where industry turns for solutions, visit www.
chemsearch.net.au or call us at 1800 252 087.
Colin CamPbell (ChemiCals)Stand 2
Colin Campbell (Chemicals) has been
developing plant protection products since
the 1940s. We have brought to the industry
many innovative turf products and continue
to do so with our commitment to the turf
industry. At Campbells we pride ourselves in
bringing the highest quality products to the
turf industry. We test all products stringently
before bringing the product to the turf market.
We will be providing updated information
on our existing product range along with an
update on fairy ring trials with the workings
of Monstar and best way to manage fairy
ring. Also, come talk to us about disease
management; we can show you how to make
your existing programme work better for you.
social media and apps are becoming
more popular within our industry for turf
management and we can help by providing
you with a list of tools to assist with your
daily turf management regimes. if you need
help on how to start we can help you as well.
Come see us during the week. you can keep
up to date before and during the show on our
website www.campbellchemcials.com.au our
blog www.campbellturf.blogspot.com. you
can also follow us on twitter.com/campbellturf.
dennis & sisisStand 46
Dennis and sisis have been manufacturing
world class turf maintenance equipment for
over 80 years. Quality influences our approach
at every stage and shapes our attitude towards
delivering excellent equipment capable of
creating a world class finish.
the product portfolio includes dedicated
and cassette system mowers, pedestrian and
tractor-mounted scarifiers, sweepers, aerators,
seeders and brushes. take hold of Dennis or
sisis machine and you’ll feel the difference
immediately – solidly built, well balanced and
a joy to operate. to find out more about our
range of products or request a catalogue
please visit stand 46.
drummuster/ChemClearStand 22
Chemical users across Australia can take
advantage of two fantastic industry stewardship
programmes that can help them dispose of
both their out-of-date ag vet chemicals and
empty containers.
the drumMuster service was first
established in 1998 and works in conjunction
with local tips and waste transfer sites to
arrange the collection and recycling of pre-
cleaned, empty chemical containers. Once you
find your local collection site and clean your
containers, simply call your local collection
site, bring them in during the relevant opening
hours and we will do the rest. to find out more
about the programme or to discover your
nearest collection site, go to www.drummuster.
com.au or call 1800 008 707.
MAy-June 2014 49
leaving left-over obsolete chemical on
your property can create a variety of potential
dangers. ChemClear started in 2004 and is
responsible for the collection and disposal
of your unwanted, inherited or out-of-date
chemical products. We liaise with shire
councils to arrange state-wide collection runs,
which are set up according to demand. to get
started, give us a call or 1800 008 182 or head
online at www.chemclear.com.au to register
and begin taking an inventory of the chemicals
you wish to dispose of.
eQuiPment solutions
Stands 80 and 82
equipment solutions Pty ltd, a division of
Amgrow, imports, distributes and sources
locally manufactured range of specialist turf
management equipment. equipment solutions
has access to the latest technologies and
design and our national network of sales
specialists can assist you with new and
used equipment as well as spare parts and
accessories.
the huge range of equipment available
comprises tractor-mounted deep tine and
rotary blade de-compaction aerators, rotary
blade root pruner, overseeders, renovation/
debris collection machines, debris blowers,
topdressers and material handlers, tractor-
mounted and walk-behind scarifiers, walk
behind turf cutters, pedestrian corers and
specialist articulating wide area mowing
equipment.
international brands such as Agrimetal,
Amazone, Blec, Dakota, first Products,
groundsman industries, rgf, lastec, true
surface, thatch-Away and Wiedenmann,
along with local manufactured brands such
as truturf ,turf engineering and our own es
Allied range are available through our sales
team. this year equipment solutions will
display some new innovative products that
have not yet been exposed to the Australian
turf Management industry. so drop by stand
80 and discuss your equipment requirements
with stan Wells, Mike Pauna, Dean scullion
and Jordan tishler.
evergreen turfStand 54
An Australian owned business, now in its
32nd year, evergreen turf has grown into one
of Australia’s leading turf and horticultural
entities.
evergreen turf provide products and
services to golf courses, sporting clubs,
schools, builders, sports stadiums, race
courses and turf growers. evergreen turf
offers consultation, design, construction and
maintenance services and turf reinforcing
systems for race courses and sportsfields,
landscaping services and turf machinery.
evergreen turf understand the needs of the
turf industry which is why we proudly supply
stalok and evergreen ‘Matrix’ instant play
turf. Both are turf replacement systems which
can be used immediately after installation
on any turf surface. two of our most recent
stadium stalok installations have been the
sydney Cricket ground after the Major league
Baseball and Manuka Oval reconstruction in
Canberra.
evergreen turf also offers a wide range
of services to cater for your needs, including
but not limited to the following: lineplanting
and sprigging, verti-draining, fertilising,
topdressing, oversowing, coring, scarifying,
topmaking, instant turf replacement,
consultancy, design and construction. for all
inquiries, see one of our staff at stand 54 at
the AgCsA trade show 2014.
fernland agenCiesStand 71
fernland Agencies is a family owned business
which has been servicing the needs of the
horticultural industry since 1978. We are a
‘one stop shop’ for all nursery, landscape and
turf care requirements. in the last 12 months
we have added some excellent new products
to our turf care range, including Verde-
Cal (activated lime and gypsum), OArs (a
corrective wetting agent), essential Plus (a root
promoter and soil conditioner), Companion
(microbial inoculant), tru-Prill fertiliser for golf
greens and Club green fertiliser for fairways
and sports fields.
Between our two specialist turf consultants,
who have many years practical experience in
the trade and in sales, we can offer expert
advice and supply products for golf courses,
sports fields, stadiums and other facilities.
We operate out of a purpose-built warehouse
and distribution centre, located adjacent to
the Bruce Hwy at yandina (approx. 1hr north
of Brisbane), from where we can efficiently
despatch products anywhere in Australia.
Our commitment: friendly and helpful staff
who understand the products we sell; a wide
range of quality products which give excellent
value across a broad range of applications ;
and prompt despatch of all orders, with clear
communication if there are any hold-ups with
any products.
floratine ProduCts grouPStand 78
floratine Products group has been designing
and manufacturing high-grade nutrient
products for the turf industry for over 22
years. they understand that your professional
reputation and livelihood are largely
dependent upon the quality of the turfgrass
you manage, and with their technically trained
and dedicated distribution team, floratine
works with turf managers to develop proactive
plans that meet the turf management goals of
each particular facility.
floratine’s product line is divided among
four general categories: foliar, soil, biological
and additional (specialty) products, such as
wetting agents. Our floratine foliars allow
the turf manager to deliver nutrients quickly
and efficiently directly through the leaves,
bypassing the root system, making pH,
microbes, nutrient tie-ups, temperatures and
other factors irrelevant to ensure your turf is
receiving nutrients exactly when it needs them
most.
Our products are environmentally friendly,
do not contain non-beneficial, agricultural or
utility-grade nutrients, or synthetic chelates.
to see what’s new in 2014, please drop by
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
everrisStand 53
everris is a global organisation with product
portfolios renowned for their innovation,
performance and precision, including but
not limited to turf fertiliser brands sierrablen,
sierraform gt, sportsmaster and Proturf,
with Osmocote exact and rout in the
horticulture market and brands like Agroblen
and Agrocote in agriculture.
Working in partnership with customers
and inspired by nature, everris is passionate
about creating improved nutrition
programmes and total solutions delivering
healthy green turf. As the world leader in
fertiliser manufacturing, everris has a vast
range of solutions to deliver reliable and
exemplary results. everris offers high quality
products such as premium fertilisers, wetting
agents and plant protection to deliver a
solution for every turf manager’s need.
Around the world, turf managers put
their trust in everris’ advanced technology
to deliver high-quality nutrition for optimum
health, performance, endurance and
appearance. Dynamic products such as
slow and controlled release fertilisers put
the turf manager in total control. this allows
for efficient and precise delivery of nutrients,
specifically designed for your turf. We also
manufacture and supply economical short-
term release fertilisers in mini prill sizes
for quick response when needed. everris
is committed to maintaining balance and
respect with the natural environment it is
inspired by.
50 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
and have a chat with our experienced sales
team. We look forward to seeing you all on the
beautiful gold Coast this coming June.
geo tyres online
Stand 51
geOtyres Online is an Australian-based
online tyre distributor specialising in all tyres
for golf courses, sports grounds, parks and
off-highway industrial and agricultural uses.
geOtyres Online is a division of Australia’s
largest importer of turf, AtV, utV, industrial
and specialty tyres, who have been importing
world-leading brands Kenda and Deestone for
over 16 years.
the main focus of the business is
on supplying quality tyre solutions to the
golf course and turf industries in the most
convenient and easiest way for customers – a
one-stop shop for all turf and golf cart tyres,
being just one click away when you need it.
All tyres are covered by the manufacturer’s
warranty and product liability insurance,
backed up with the long-term commercial
commitment within Australia. Our online
network, with stocking points around
Australia ensures fastest delivery times. stock
is available when you need it. Visit www.
geotyres.com.au
golf & bowling maChineryStand 95
golf & Bowling Machinery are the Australian
distributors of scott Bonnar turf equipment,
smooth range turf equipment and JrM tines
and bedknives.
the scott Bonnar 30” Queen mower, scott
Bonnar scarifier, smooth roll for golf clubs
and bowls clubs, smooth spread and smooth
Cut mower are all products sold Australia wide
by golf & Bowling Machinery.
golf & Bowling Machinery stock a huge
range of JrM high quality bedknives and tines
making the task of maintaining and improving
your golf course more efficient. new to this
range is the super-thin cut bedknife designed
to cut as low as 0.50” for courses looking to
go low for those special events.
golf, bowling and sporting clubs can
also benefit from our range of pre-owned
equipment. from ‘as traded’ to ‘fully
reconditioned’, we work with clubs to come
up with the best product to suit their needs.
Our hire equipment is also available to provide
clubs with a flexible and economical option for
renovation equipment. With five technicians
employed across two branches, we support
our products with specialised service and
repairs. golf & Bowling Machinery – sales,
service and hire; servicing the turf industry
since 1982.
graden industriesStand 40
graden industries has been around a long
time – since 1986 in fact. We are known for
our high quality, ‘Australian’ designed and
manufactured range of turf equipment, known
worldwide for their effectiveness and trouble-
free service life.
specialising in verticutters for greens
and fairway application, graden now has
responded to the many requests for machines
to pick up the bigger volume of material these
verticutters generate. graden is launching the
first of a new range of clean-up units – the
groundhog see video footage of the new
groundhog in action, collecting cores and
verticutting material, removing it and dumping
into a trailer – a one man clean-up machine.
the swing-Wing tractor mounted fairway
unit can be viewed, specifically designed for
undulating fairways and effectively address
the entire surface with its floating wings. the
Contour sand injector will have its seeder
attachment, allowing a fourth process to be
incorporated in the one pass – aeration,
de-thatching, sand injecting and over-seeding.
this has been very successful in the uK.
graden’s smallest verticutter – the Airrow – will
also be on the stand. Obvious applications for
this unit are tight tee box areas, lawn areas
with obstacles and domestic applications.
globe growing solutionsStand 4
globe is a long-term supporter of the Australian
golf Course superintendents Association and
has been a major participant in the trade
exhibition for many years. it is a great
opportunity for globe growing solutions to
introduce new products and services to the
Australian professional turf market. equally
it is important for globe growing solutions
staff to spend time with their clients, both at a
business and social level.
this year, globe growing solutions will
have our key golf client managers from each
state at the AgCsA event to be amongst the
clientele at conference week. the globe
growing solutions team is looking forward to
discussing some of our new technologies and
products that have become industry trialled
and trusted.
Make sure you drop past the globe
growing solutions trade stand to see what
new and exciting products and promotions
we are offering. We wish all delegates an
enjoyable and worthwhile time at the 2014
AgCsA Conference on the gold Coast.
hg sPorts turfStand 55
Hg sports turf is a global leader in the design
and construction of premium quality natural,
synthetic and hybrid turf sports fields. Hg
sports turf markets and installs proprietary
products throughout Australasia (including
Xtragrass and Desso grassmaster), ensuring
it is at the forefront of worldwide research,
development and innovation through its many
partnerships with respected international
companies.
Many high profile events including the 2000
sydney Olympic games (Olympic stadium),
30th australian turfgrass ConferenCe maJor sPonsor
JaCobsen, a textron ComPanyStand 58
Jacobsen® is committed to providing high-
quality turf equipment to customers around
the world. We produce walking greens,
riding greens and fairway mowers, as well
as utility vehicles, sprayers and aerators. We
engineer our products to meet the needs of
today’s turfgrass professionals by asking for
and listening to their feedback throughout
the product lifecycle. you will find Jacobsen
equipment at the finest golf courses and
sports facilities world-wide.
Headquartered in Charlotte, nC,
Jacobsen is a textron company. We market
and sell Jacobsen products through an
extensive global distribution network and
our sister company ransomes Jacobsen,
in the uK. Our skilled teams are trained to
provide quality service and support for every
machine we sell. We even have our own
training facility – Jacobsen university – which
provides service training for customers and
dealers.
We take great pride in our business and
are pleased to be the only turf equipment
manufacturer to have achieved isO 14001
Certification for environmental management.
We know that the environment is the
cornerstone of our business and yours, so
we do everything we can to protect it in our
facilities and in the field.
GOLD SPONSORAGCSA
MAy-June 2014 51
the 2003 and 2011 rugby World Cups, the
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth games
(MCg) and the 2006 Doha Asian games
(Qatar) have been played on Hg sports turf.
Over the last decade, the company has built or
rebuilt many sports stadium fields in Australia
and new Zealand with one of its proprietary
products, eclipse stabilized turf including AMi
stadium, AnZ stadium, Canberra stadium,
eden Park, etihad stadium, gabba, MCg,
niB stadium, and Waikato stadium. www.
hgsportsturf.com.au. Please come and visit us
at stand 55.
hortiCultural training P/lStand 84
Horticultural training Pty ltd is a registered
training Organisation and has been offering
specialist horticulture and conservation
and land management training since their
establishment in 1991.
they offer nationally accredited competency
based training from Certificate ii to Advanced
Diploma level in a range of horticultural
subjects including turf, parks and gardens,
arboriculture, landscaping, nursery and
conservation and land management.
All training is delivered onsite by
knowledgeable, qualified trainers and tailored
to the enterprise and learners requirements.
this is backed up by comprehensive
learning resources compiled over many
years. learning material has been written
by Horticultural training specifically for the
horticultural industry. this ensures their ability
to deliver superior work based training.
training can be arranged for new and
existing employees. Additional services offered
include agricultural chemical and distribution
control licensing, AusChem training, chainsaw
training, irrigation training, skills audits,
competency assessments and recognition of
prior learning. Horticultural training Pty ltd is
an accredited training provider with funding
may be available to assist with your training
requirements.
hunter industriesStand 42
Hunter industries is a global manufacturer of
products for the irrigation, landscape lighting
and custom moulding sectors. founded in
1981, the family-owned company offers over
1000 products including a complete spectrum
of water-efficient solutions for golf course
irrigation systems.
Our Central Control system can be used
in retrofit, upgrade and new construction
situations. Paired with Hunter’s total top
serviceable rotors, this package offers
complete control of your course. to learn
more about Hunter’s line of golf irrigation
products, visit hunterindustries.com/golf.
hybrid agStand 77
Hybrid Ag was established in Melbourne
in 2002 with the sole focus of supplying
the agricultural market with high quality,
prescription-blended soil and plant nutrient
solutions. At that time a market was emerging
that was demanding higher quality and higher
profitability at lower prices. the only way
for the grower to survive was to raise the
yields! through careful analysis of the soil and
plants and applying the relevant nutrients in
a buffered and balanced manner, the results
required began to speak for themselves.
As demand for our services grew, a decision
was made to move to Wangaratta. Our new
manufacturing plant has been meticulously
set up to produce the highest quality product
on time, every time. Hybrid Ag has complete
control over the entire supply chain, from raw
materials through manufacturing, bottling and
supply and delivery, making our operations
smooth and streamlined.
today, through recognition that there was
a significant need within the market, Hybrid
Ag has moved into turf nutrient supply. After
working with three major players in the turf
market for the last three years, to achieve
maximum r&D, we are ready to help the
industry move forward into a new and exciting
era of turf fertilisation.
hydro teChniCs irrigationStand 47
Visit Hydro technics irrigation to see the latest
technology for actuating sprinklers wirelessly
– the ‘g Wave’ Control system. Capable of
adaption to any controller which puts out
a 24v signal and sprinklers that can use a
DC latching coil via the use of the patented
ground wave system designed and developed
in Australia. this new ground wave technology
represents the future of irrigation.
Whether installing a new system or
retrofitting an old one, wiring between satellite
and sprinkler is now redundant. simply install
the new sprinkler with receiver, load the
unique iD number into the transmitter using
the user friendly software package and you
are operational. the elimination of field wiring
within the system will reduce maintenance
costs to almost nothing as well as limiting
damage caused by lightning to satellites as
there are no wires connected. Visit Hydro
technics irrigation on stand 47 for a working
display.
indePendent turf serviCesStand 56
independent turf services (its) was started
in August 2007, with one main objective – to
service the commercial turf industry with a
range of quality products, unique renovation
practices, soil testing and sportsfield
construction services. the company
manufactures, imports and distributes turf
seed, specialist fertilisers, chemicals, analytical
services, general irrigation equipment and golf
course accessories. its also lead the turf
industry in warm-season grass conversions
and specialised renovation equipment.
the key to our success has been our
commitment to practical research and
development programmes. Most recently its,
in conjunction with the Australian soil research
company injekta, has brought soil structural
stability soil testing to the turf market for
30th australian turfgrass ConferenCe maJor sPonsor
John deere golfStand 70
John Deere has been involved with grounds
maintenance since 1837 stemming from
a simple blacksmith shop in illinois, usA.
today the company has grown by listening
to customers and meeting expectations for a
wide range of products and environmentally
friendly technology such as hybrid mowers
resulting in reduced noise levels and fuel
consumption whilst still providing leading
performance and longevity.
Customers who are using John Deere
machines around the world today to
maintain golf courses and sporting venues
to exceptional high standards are supported
by a factory-trained dealer network that is
second to none. this network can provide
service, including parts solutions with
minimal downtime should the need arise.
When partnered with the flexibility of being
able to offer finance options through John
Deere finance, the company’s own finance
division, it’s no wonder that John Deere
is proud to have been entrusted with the
grounds maintenance of top golf courses
and sporting arenas throughout the world.
SILVER SPONSORAGCSA
52 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
the first time. injekta’s soil structural stability
assessment comprehensively analyses
the stability of soil structure through the
assessment of a range of factors including
the Cation ratio of soil stability (CrOss),
Zeta potential measurement as well as
soluble and exchangeable cation analysis,
in addition to the traditional basic suite of soil
measurements.
the s3A diagnosis positions its to
interpret the performance of a soil and develop
immediate and effective management plans
to improve soil function, whether improving
soil porosity and drainage, addressing soil
and plant nutrient deficiencies or overcoming
pathogens in the soil.
kustom bindStand 52
Kustom Bind is a permeable, polymer-treated
gravel layer, used for the lining of bunkers,
separating the bunker base from the bunker
sand. the process involves binding specified
aggregates together, which produces a
superior drainage blanket for water to escape
the bunker sand, enabling it to move laterally
toward the drainage pipes.
Kustom Bind prevents sand slumping,
erosion and contamination, drastically
reducing the costs associated with bunker
maintenance as well as being extremely
durable, long-lasting and environmentally
friendly. Kustom Bind is also resistant yet
flexible and will not crack, break down or
disintegrate like other liners on the market.
Kustom Bind’s polymer formula will not be
affected by weather-caused soil expansion or
contraction – it moves with the soil, rather than
resisting it.
furthermore, Kustom Bind is the most
effective Australian made bunker liner that
seals off the bunker sub grade eliminating
contamination of the sand and drainage
systems. We know of no other system that
protects the integrity of your drainage the
way Kustom Bind does. fully functional, fast
drainage means the sand dries quicker and
the course is back in play faster after it rains.
lawn solutions australiaStand 97
lawn solutions Australia – your national
accredited turf supply group. lawn solutions
Australia is a hand-picked group of Australia’s
best and most experienced turf producers
who have come together to make it easier to
specify and purchase turf across the country.
Our growers are the names behind sir Walter
soft leaf buffalo – Australia’s favourite lawn
– so you can have the confidence of the
same standard of quality and performance
to our new range of turf brands. When you
deal with a lawn solutions Australia, you can
be confident you are accessing consistently
branded varieties that will suit your needs and
local growing environment.
lawn solutions Australia has exclusive
arrangements with the world’s leading turf
breeders and research facilities, including
texas A&M university and the university of
georgia in the us. We are committed to
investigating and commercialising new breeds
and varieties – but only if they bring something
new to the table. Our strategy is to introduce
new varieties only if they have clear and
distinguishable environmental advantages
over existing varieties in the marketplace.
you can find out more, including the
location of your nearest lawn solutions
Australia grower by visiting www.
lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au or calling 1300
883 711.
living turf Stand 81
living turf will showcase Australia’s first
smart phone app with ‘disease alerts’ from
My-results. My-results’ proprietary algorithms
draw on local weather information and historic
data to provide early warning on disease
breakouts and weed emergence. this allows
you to treat less, more accurately and for
greater effect. the mobile app format allows
all your staff access, no matter where they
are, 24/7.
Additionally, living turf sales professionals
will be on the stand to profile Australia’s
largest range of technology specific fertilisers,
including exclusive brands you can’t get
anywhere else such as soluCal, lebanon,
nutrite and Matchplay, an Australian owned
and made range developed in conjunction
with living turf that has been proven across
some of Australia’s most iconic stadiums and
golf courses.
living turf is proud of the fact that our field
team individually all have a minimum of 15
years’ experience in Australian turf, making us
the largest Australian owned distributor of turf
products in this market today. Having tertiary
trained agronomists and trade qualified sales
professionals on staff, it is our focus to seek
to understand first that lets us provide smarter
results for clients. While you are visiting
living turf, ask about the ‘green and gold
Challenge’.
maredo bvStand 44
Maredo is a Dutch company that develops
innovative heads like coring, seeding and
sweeping for triplex greens mowers. now is
the time to use your triplex greens mower for
more than just mowing!!
maxwell & kemPStand 20
At M&K we have been servicing the golf and
sports turf industry with supply of chemical,
fertiliser, wetters, seed, hardware and
professional testing services since 1984. We
have seen a lot of change in this time and it
is great to see how professional the industry
is today. sales staff at M&K are all former
superintendents, which holds them in a great
position when dealing with our clients, in that
they have a firsthand understanding of the
client’s issues, needs and requirements.
We are proud to distribute for a wide range
of respected manufacturers and offer a range
of niche products in conjunction with the
mainstream ranges. We are an independent,
family owned and proud Australian Company
and we hope you come and pay us a visit
at stand 20 at the Australian turfgrass
Conference.
mCmahonsStand 90
Whether it is a single tee construction or
the development of a 27-hole golf course,
McMahons are specialists in the field having
provided services to the industry throughout
Australia for in excess of 20 years. remodelling
and renovation works are undertaken using
our specialist equipment operated by our
team of experienced operators.
there is a growing trend within the golfing
community to restore greens to their original
design. golf greens throughout their life will
undergo minor repair or modification works
in addition to regular maintenance regimes.
the result being many greens slowly deviate
from their original design and slowly, albeit
unnoticeably, change.
As many courses are looking to return
to their heritage design they are enlisting
technology to achieve exactly this. Our ability
to scale with flexibility to adapt to any size
project, benefits clubs in drawing on our
extensive experience and resources to satisfy
project requirements, affordably.
mentayStand 88
selecting the right cricket pitch roller is
important. some prefer water-ballasted rollers
while others choose a ride on roller with
a concrete-filled rear barrel. the gabba in
Brisbane has been using a Mentay 2000 for
years. the Allan Border fields have one as
well. We have developed a new roller, the
MAy-June 2014 53
Mentay 1200 Custom, ride-on cricket pitch
roller which is wider and those that use it love
it. scotch College in Melbourne saw it at a
trade show and asked us to deliver it to them
at the end of the show.
the Mentay 2000 ride on cricket pitch
roller with a petrol motor has a tare weight
of 860kg. Water ballasted the roller weighs
1660kg. the Mentay 2000 wicket roller has a
total weight of 2200kg with a water filled barrel
at the front and a concrete filled rear barrel.
nuturf australiaStand 91
nuturf, a division of Amgrow P/l, is a leading
distributor of products and agronomic
services specialising in the turf and amenity
horticulture industry in Australia. Our national
network of qualified sales specialists offers
advice and solutions in plant nutrition, plant
protection, seed, surfactants and colourants.
the core segments of the business which our
sales specialists focus on are golf courses,
sportsfields and amenity turf, spray contractors
and facility management, racetracks, schools,
turf farms, bowling greens, landscape,
industrial vegetation management
in addition to servicing the Australian
market, nuturf also operates in new Zealand,
fiji, China and singapore. nuturf continues to
look for new opportunities in overseas markets
to expand its international activities. nuturf’s
mission is to deliver to the Australian turf and
amenity horticulture industry products, service
and agronomic solutions above and beyond
the expectations of our valued clients. Our
commitment is to our customers, our staff,
the environment and the community. the
reputation and performance of our products
and service is critical in achieving growth and
business success, providing a great place to
work, and the delivery of our mission.
Website: www.nuturf.com.au. Organisation
street address: unit B2a, 3-29 Birnie Avenue
lidcombe nsW 2141. Call 1800 631 008 or
email [email protected]
on-Pin
Stand 19
On-Pin is now launching linksMap, a web-
based course management system with an
interactive aerial map of the golf course which
in conjunction with online reports is used to
manage a course’s logistical requirements
and succession planning. for the golf club
it will provide a live, constantly evolving,
permanent online library of course knowledge.
founded in 1998 On-Pin has grown from
its Australian roots into a global operation
with offices now in Australia, europe and Asia.
On-Pin is as passionate about enhancing
the golfer’s playing experience as it is about
providing the golf club with a management
solution that can have a significant impact
on the productivity and efficiency of the golf
operation.
Along with our international development
partners, On-Pin’s commitment to continual
improvement in technology, product
functionality and affordability has resulted in a
state-of-the-art range of gPs products to suit
the golf course management, superintendent,
individual golfer and fleet markets. this
commitment to excellence is built around
industry feedback over the past 14 years from
both golfers and club managers alike.
Qturf maChineryStand 38
Qturf Machinery is a Brisbane based company
specialising in the supply, installation and
support of aeration, topdressing and mowing
equipment used in the renovation and
maintenance of turfgrass on golf courses,
sportsfields and in parks and gardens
applications.
Qturf is the Australian and new Zealand
importer and distributor of the Wiedenmann
product range. Wiedenmann is one of the
leading manufacturers of high-class machines
for turf maintenance, dirt removal and
winter service. the comprehensive range of
implements for compact tractors and light-duty
utility vehicles is targeted towards commercial
and municipal customers. the main focus are
machines for turf regeneration, collection and
removal of grass and leaves, mower decks,
turf sweepers and sand spreaders as well as
sweepers for snow and dirt, snow blades and
salt spreaders. Wiedenmann make products
that are suited to every situation, such as
artificial turf maintenance, turf maintenance
and dirt removal.
Qturf Machinery is also the importer and
distributor of the fieldmaster range of high
quality, high productivity grass maintenance
equipment used extensively in the commercial
and municipal market as well as in the
agricultural industry. the range includes
machines for basic grass slashing and pasture
topping to dedicated heavy duty roadside
mower/slashers and fine park mowers.
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
Pgg wrightson turf Stand 27
Pgg Wrightson turf is a leader in the
research and development of innovative
seed products for the Australasian turf
market. from our world class research
and development site at Kimihia research
Centre based in Christchurch, new
Zealand, we utilise the latest technology
advances to thoroughly evaluate products
before bringing them to the market.
Pgg Wrightson turf specifically selects
and breeds turfgrasses for Australasia’s
unique temperate environment. the
process of plant breeding involves
correctly selecting plants, both locally
sourced and from international germplasm,
that are genetically crossed, and back-
crossed, and then further selected for
the characteristics that are sought after
for the desired environment. from there,
the suitable plants are rigorously tested
in multiple turf trials spread throughout
Australasia, where only the elite cultivars
are finally selected for commercial
production.
Pgg Wrightson turf has partnerships
with Agresearch, stri (uK), nteP
(usA), AnteP (Australia), nZsti (nZ)
and PlAntwise (lincoln university,
new Zealand) and work with these
organisations to produce new cultivars
and technology. Pgg Wrightson turf
has qualified representatives on hand to
ensure the correct seed selection is made.
With representatives and facilities covering
Australia, we are well placed to cater for
customer’s needs, always delivering in a
timely fashion.
PlP golf and turf
Stand 79 PlP golf and turf is a division of Powerup
lawncare Products which operates under
the banner of family owned company, roy
gripske & sons Pty. ltd., a 100 per cent
Australian owned and operated company.
We are Australian distributors for Hustler
golf, ryan turf renovation products,
eastman Hover Mower, r&r products,
Bayco golf accessories, golfco rollers,
Mean green ii lapping paste and Accu-
products.
Our philosophy is to provide the golf
and turf industry with quality, affordable
products backed up by our customer
service team that is second to none. We
have an extensive sales team on the road –
servicing every state of Australia – ready to
answer any of your questions concerning
our products.
this year at the 30th Australian
turfgrass Conference and trade exhibition
you will be able to view all of our new
products on stand 79 from r&r, Bayco,
golfco and Accu-products . We look
forward to answering any of your questions
concerning our products or about us and
our vision.
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
54 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
redeximStand 100
redexim continues to address the global
demand for more efficient turf renovation
and cleaning equipment for both natural and
synthetic turf. understanding these needs
and working closely with clients across all
facets of turf maintenance has led redexim
to developing and now offering over 120
specialised machines to meet these demands.
this comprehensive range include
pedestrian, self-propelled and tractor-
mounted machines to carry out these
maintenance practices including deep tine
aeration, slitting with ability for sand inlaying,
coring, scarification, raking, sweeping,
seeding, topdressing, stone buriers and
the comprehensive range of synthetic turf
maintenance products.
redexim’s reputation for quality, reliability,
multifunctional applications, ease of use and
high safety standards continues and remains
paramount in the quest to continue serving
the respective sectors of the turf industry. for
more information visit stand 100 and chat with
our representatives. www.redexim.com or call
0419 310 546.
signature Control systemsStand 41
signature can trace its roots in the irrigation
industry to over 100 years ago. since then,
signature Control systems has been dedicated
to providing the highest-quality products and
services in the golf, landscape and irrigation
industry. signature Control systems is an
industry leader in the design and manufacture
of intelligent golf, residential and commercial
irrigation equipment for golf courses, turfgrass
sites and landscape management. We will
be exhibiting sprinklers, intelligent irrigation
controllers, intelligent field satellites, valves,
sensors and accessories, electronic control
equipment, central control systems and site
management software.
We provide superintendents, landscape
managers and property managers direct
control of their irrigation system, water and
energy resources. With our global strategic
partners, we have more than 600 golf courses
installed with signature irrigation systems
worldwide. Many are in the top 100 golf
courses in the world. With our intelligent
control systems, golf course superintendents
have reduced their water usage between 20-30
per cent, thus supporting our environmental
awareness campaign and contributing to their
operational efficiency.
signature Control systems is now a
full line manufacturer and supplier to the
irrigation industry with products that cover
any installation requirement. Check out the
signature share web-based et Controllers.
smart traCk australiaStand 21
smart track Australia is proud to be exhibiting
its extensive range of turf protection products.
Come and talk to us about supa-trac and
i-trac, find out how they have been used
at stadiums and golf courses throughout
Australia and how they can help you!
supa-trac will provide superior turf
protection over any other product available
worldwide. supa-trac can be laid down for
longer periods than any comparable product,
without leaving bearing marks or feet circles.
this unique product is trafficable and at the
same time allows the turf to breath and
enhances growth. i-trac is an extremely heavy
duty roadway that will not damage the profile
or kill the grass. i-trac has been embraced by
stadia and major events as an answer to short-
term temporary access of heavy vehicles. With
turf replacement at $100m2, i-trac can save
you many thousands of dollars.
even if you don’t have an immediate need,
it will come up one day, so come and see us.
We will be happy to provide all the information
you may ever need, so when the unforseen
happens you won’t be left with the damage.
southern PaCifiC sandsStand 96
located at ningi, approximately 40km north
of Brisbane, southern Pacific sands is the
premier supplier of quality washed silica sands,
bio-retention filtration medium and As4419
simPlot PartnersStand 76 simplot Partners is amongst the largest
suppliers of professional turf products in the
world, with facilities throughout the western
usA, Asia and Australia. simplot welcomes
the opportunity to be involved in the 30th
Australian turfgrass Conference on the gold
Coast.
this year we will be introducing an
exclusive range of new specialty products
including one of the most advanced
surfactants direct from the usA. We will also
have on display our exclusive spectrum
technologies tools including the popular
tDr 300 plus a number of new released
products. We will also have on our stand
tony Braga from AAC to discuss the
simplot liquids which are considered the
most advanced turf liquid range on the
market including such names as liquiMaxx
greenMaxx, ferro-cious and Drop Zone
etc…
As per previous years we will be running
some promotions on the stand including
fantastic industry related prizes. Please
come and see us on the simplot Partners
stand – no. 76.
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
30th australian turfgrass ConferenCe maJor sPonsor
rain bird australiaStand 99
A privately held company founded in
1933, rain Bird Corporation is the leading
manufacturer and provider of irrigation
products and services. since its beginnings,
rain Bird has offered the industry’s broadest
range of irrigation products for farms,
golf courses, sports arenas, commercial
developments and homes in more than 130
countries around the world.
rain Bird has been awarded more than
130 patents, including the first in 1935 for
the original horizontal action impact drive
sprinkler (u.s. patent #1997901), which
revolutionised the food production industry
and ushered in a new era in irrigation
worldwide. the original impact sprinkler
was designated a historic landmark in 1990
by the American society of Agricultural
engineers. today, rain Bird offers over
4000 irrigation products and services.
rain Bird is committed to the intelligent
use of Water™. it is our legacy to design
and manufacture only those products of
the highest value and quality. We work for
long-term, responsible partnerships with
our customers and our vendors. this is
who we are, and this is how we wish to be
perceived in the irrigation industry and our
communities.
SILVER SPONSORAGCSA
MAy-June 2014 55
soil products servicing Brisbane, south east
Queensland and beyond. established in 1993
southern Pacific sands has built a reputation
of providing high quality silica sand, soil
products and timely service, providing a truly
independent supply source of washed and
classified sands,
As a certified isO9001 quality
organisation, we are proud of our ability to
provide a range of products meeting specific
industry standards such as fAWB, As4419,
As4422 and DtMr (Dept of transport & Main
roads). from major projects or developments
requiring bulk supply, through to smaller
single load deliveries, southern Pacific sands
prides itself on the proven track record of
providing quality products, excellent service
and delivery.
southern Pacific sands has a diverse
customer base from metal casting foundries,
concrete and asphalt batching plants, civil
construction industry, local and international
supply of golf course construction and
maintenance material through to locomotive
grit for Queensland railways.
With significant proven reserves, southern
Pacific sands has the ability to provide
customers with the security of accessing a
long term supply of quality products.
sst australiaStand 7
sst Australia is a significant manufacturer
and supplier of soil moisture maintenance
aids and spray additives for the turf industry
in Australia and new Zealand. the principle
products supplied by sst include Aquaforce
(a premium highly penetrating soil wetting
agent), Broadwet (an irrigation applied soil
wetting agent), restore (an economical
general purpose soil wetting agent), Breakthru
gold (a highly effective corrective wetting
agent for severely water repellent areas) and
envirodye (an environmentally compatible
marker dyes for turf sprays).
sst Australia has recently introduced to
the market a new product known as Bi-Agra.
Bi-Agra is a highly effective moisture retention
aid which is easily applied to turfgrass and
sports areas that suffer from poor moisture
retention and consequent poor turf health
and vigour. independent trials have shown
that application of Bi-Agra can retain up to
five times the normal amount of moisture held
in the rootzone at field capacity. improved
appearance and vigour can be obtained with
half the amount of applied water to the turf,
enabling reduced irrigation requirements.
sst’s products are exclusively available
from globe Australia and in new Zealand from
PPg Wrightson turf.
strathayr turf systemsStand 86
strathAyr is a turf producer, a developer of
natural turf technology and a world-leader
in sportsfield and racetrack construction
techniques. strathAyr has turf farms in
Victoria and tasmania and grow a full range
of turf varieties for supply to major sport and
racing facilities and the domestic market. turf
varieties include: legend couchgrass, Village
green kikuyu, sir Walter Buffalo lawn turf,
rtf tall fescue, santa ana couch, Penn g2
bentgrass and Penn A1/A4 bentgrass
strathAyr turf systems is based at our
Victorian farm. We specialise in the reflex
reinforced strathAyr system for sportsfields
and racetracks and also construct high quality
unreinforced sand profile sportsfields. We
also produce MegAyr turf – instant use,
50mm thick turf reinforced with reflex mesh
elements. this product is ideal for use on both
sportsfields and racetracks.
Other strathAyr products include:
removable natural turf systems for stadia,
tennis and racecourses; permanent natural
turf system for stadia and racecourses;
‘drop-in’ portable cricket wickets; and natural
instant turf teplacement products. We have
recently completed the construction of a sand
profile field for the richmond football Club
at Punt road with other projects including
Moe racetrack, Kensington track at royal
randwick and Adelaide Oval.
suPaturfStand 16
An Australian company established in 1992
with experience spanning nearly 20 years,
supaturf provides a complete line marking
system for professional use on grass sports
surfaces – everything you need available
from one single supplier who specialises
only in this area with all products made in
Australia. While providing consistent and
quality service, supaturf accurately defines
and meets specific line marking and logo
requirements. Because of this experience we
have developed a strong and loyal customer
base from local football clubs through to
professional stadia.
internationally recognised in the design
and manufacture of line marking systems,
supaturf has introduced a new and improved
formulation. Our new superior, environmental
line marking liquids and sophisticated
production methods now create a brighter,
whiter and longer lasting product.
supaturf has representatives in ACt,
Victoria and nsW and distributors in WA,
sA, tasmania, Queensland, nt, Central
Coast nsW, south Coast nsW, nZ and new
Caledonia. Visit www.supaturf.com.au or call
(02) 6040 4808 to find out how supaturf can
streamline your line marking requirements.
the groundsmanStand 64
the groundsman is your premier resource
for buying and selling new and used turf
and landscaping equipment. Why? Because
the groundsman is the first place turf care
professionals turn to when looking to buy the
right equipment for the right price.
Visit stand 64 for free copies of the
special turfgrass trade exhibition edition
of the groundsman and get the info you
30th australian turfgrass ConferenCemaJor sPonsor
syngenta australia Stand 39
syngenta has an ongoing commitment
toward creating specialist turf management
solutions and services for the golf industry,
combining innovative, commercially viable
and environmentally responsible ways
for superintendents and turf managers to
achieve consistently high levels of playing
surface quality. As the game of golf evolves
to embrace new markets, we are gaining
an even greater understanding of the
challenges that superintendents face in
terms of maintaining and developing the
courses of tomorrow.
Our products and services have been
developed through significant investment in
research and development, harnessing the
latest discoveries in science and technology
to provide new ways to enhance courses
worldwide. Alongside our product range,
we share our insight and expertise through
education, support and advice – helping our
customers to get the most from their time
and resources by promoting best practice
usage.
syngenta is one of the world’s leading
companies, with over 27,000 employees
in over 90 countries dedicated to bringing
plant potential to life.
GOLD SPONSORAGCSA
56 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
gold coast 2014gold coast 2014
need for your next purchase. Have it on
hand for reference when making enquiries
with advertisers that are also attending and
exhibiting at the trade exhibition. Ask about
the benefits of becoming a member of the
groundsman and how the latest technology
is being embraced to make it easier to source
and sell your machinery and equipment.
looking to market your business or
product? Discuss how the groundsman
can offer marketing strategies using printed
products, the internet and social media to get
you and your products noticed by your target
market. got something to sell? Visit stand 64
to receive special offers and discounts only
available to turfgrass attendees! We look
forward to meeting you!
total edenStand 26
total eden has been a supplier to the irrigation,
turf, water treatment and agricultural market
for the last 50 years. We pride ourselves
on providing complete and sustainable
solutions involving quality products, expertise
and service. Putting customers first is
fundamental to the way we do business and it
is this ethos that has helped make us one of
Australia’s premier suppliers of quality water
management products and services.
Our nationwide service network and
personnel, who understand the specific needs
of the market, make total eden your smart
choice supplier. total eden offer products
and services across a range of applications
including pumps (pressure, stormwater and
sewage), a range of irrigation sprinklers,
complete filtrations systems, controller
and solenoid valve systems for irrigation
applications, PVC and poly pressure pipes,
valves and fittings.
By dealing with one supplier for your
water, fluid and environmental management
projects, you can improve your bottom
line through increasing your logistical and
operational efficiencies. Our experience
in delivering successful turn-key water
management systems for both small and
large projects makes us a market leader in
the industry. Come and see us at stand 25 to
discuss the solutions we can offer you.
triangle waterQuiPStand 93
triangle Waterquip is an Australian owned
company that has been established for
30 years as a manufacturer, distributor of
irrigation equipment to the golf course, turf
and agricultural irrigation markets. Our head
office is located in Melbourne with branch
offices in Perth, sydney and Brisbane. Key
contacts are managing director Wally Menke
and national marketing manager gary Horton.
A range of the filtaworx stainless steel
Australian made, fully automatic self-cleaning
screen filters, that have developed a strong
reputation for reliability and dependability
even in the most difficult of water conditions,
will be on display. Additionally we will be
exhibiting a comprehensive range of electric
fertigation injection pumps which can be
installed to operate fully automatic with a
controller and sensors or as a manually
controlled system.
should your requirements be as simple
as applying wetting agent on an irregular
basis or injecting acid for pH correction, we
will have equipment on display to suit your
needs. Other products on display will include
water meters, hydraulic control valves, impact
sprinklers and manual filtration equipment.
tru-turfStand 89
tru-turf – the original turf rolling company
that brought you such things as the patented
tri-roller smoothing heads. tru-turf greens
rollers are renowned for their ability to follow
the most contoured of greens with even
ground pressure, utilising design, not weight,
to produce a tru-turf surface.
Our latest stealthy r52-eltac machine
will be making its first appearance at the
show with its AC electric motor and belt drive
turf drain australiaStand 17
turf Drain Australia specialises in sports field
slit drainage and sports field construction
projects, including the design and
construction of turf bowling greens and turf
cricket wickets. We have been successfully
installing these types of projects across
Australia for over 30 years and have
developed an industry-proven reputation
for our quality, service and experience. All
projects we complete are either the drainage
or construction of sports field surfaces.
turf Drain Australia offers the following
services; sports field slit drainage –
design and construction; sports field –
design and construction; laser controlled
trenching, gPs guided and two-way laser
controlled grading, turf wicket construction
to international standard; bowling green
construction; and sanding and grooving
turf Drain Australia brings our vast
experience, the right equipment and
a proven track record to every project.
Plus we own and operate all of our highly
specialised and purpose built equipment.
this means that we can ensure that we
achieve a successful outcome for our clients
on any project that we undertake.
turf Drain Australia is proud of our
reputation and we are continually ongoing in
our efforts to develop innovative machinery,
processes and methodologies that will
continue to improve sports field slit drainage
and construction projects.
BRONZE SPONSORAGCSA
30th australian turfgrass ConferenCe maJor sPonsor
toro australiaStand 102
toro Australia was founded over 40 years
ago and is a wholly owned subsidiary of
the toro Company. toro Australia today is
a leading nationwide supplier of mowers,
turf care and construction equipment
that caters for golf, turf, sports fields and
grounds, professional landscape contractor,
residential and hire and rental markets. toro
Australia has also expanded to become the
largest single supplier of irrigation products
to landscape, agricultural, turf care and
domestic garden markets.
toro Australia continues to provide
unparalleled service and new technical
advances across all of its ever-expanding
fleet and irrigation products. each piece
of equipment is designed to make the job
safer, easier, more economical and kinder
to the environment. toro Australia’s highly
efficient golf sprinklers and controllers
can help you save time, money and water
and ultimately deliver improved playing
conditions.
Built on a legacy of excellence and
innovation, toro Australia offers a range of
commercial turf management equipment,
irrigation products, quality used machinery,
spare parts and a reputation for service and
support like no other.
PLATINUM SPONSORAGCSA
MAy-June 2014 57
making it even quieter. this new model will
roll in excess of 25 greens on a single charge,
while effortlessly maintaining its rolling speed
up or down hills. the unique and easily
operated, built in trailer includes built in axles
and trailer arms. When combined with the
rugged lightweight features of tru-turf greens
rollers, they’re ready to take on the world’s
most demanding golf courses. tru-turf greens
rollers are used extensively on the PgA tour,
Champions tour and the Web.Com tour.
We will also be releasing the new frH-
108 fairway rolling heads. they’re five heads
that attach in the place of the cutting heads to
a fairway mower, so as to allow the fairways
to be rolled for a fraction of the cost of the
current dedicated machine on the market.
turfCraft internationalStand 24
this year’s Australian turfgrass Conference
will continue the long association between
turfCraft international and the event. turfCraft
editor Alastair Dowie was invited to be on
the organising committee of the Millennium
conference and turfCraft has been an
exhibitor and supporter for many years.
Once again the stand will be manned
by Alastair and turfCraft sales manager ed
Kryskow. the pair invites all current and
past subscribers to the magazine to come
and have a chat and pass on any feedback
regarding the magazine and how it can meet
the needs of the readers and its valuable
advertisers. turfCraft also welcomes new
subscriber inquiries and has a range of
features that are relevant for turf managers
and staff from all sectors of the industry.
this year the stand will also feature
demonstrations and information on the
recently upgraded turfCraft international
website. Alastair and ed will be available
throughout the trade show to discuss the
website and how readers and advertisers
can take advantage of the site. turfCraft is on
stand 24 so drop in for a visit.
ventraCStands 3&5
take the risk out of the operation. Ventrac will
provide you a level of stability and comfort
that is unmatched while operating on severe
inclines. see the simplicity and versatility
that Ventrac has to offer with its 30 plus
attachments and the ease of changing from
one to the other.
if it’s slopes, undulations, leaves,
trenching, grinding down those unwanted
stumps, then Ventrac can offer a solution. get
more bang for your buck with a product that
lets you do more than just mow.
also exhibiting…river sands (85).
Disclaimer: the exhibitor listings and stand
numbers above were correct at the time of this
edition of AtM going to print. Any changes will
be announced during the conference sessions
or notified through the official conference app.
ThE AGCsA WishEs To ThAnk PrinCiPAl ConfErEnCE sPonsors
58 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
facilitiesfacilities
Never have golf clubs been under more
pressure to reduce expenditure than in the
current economic climate. Ask many course
superintendents around the country and they will
impart stories of how their maintenance budgets
have been cut back or frozen. Capital investment
in course maintenance equipment and replacement
of larger, more expensive infrastructure items are
often put off or ignored at many facilities, which isn’t
surprising because the need to reduce spending is
understandable when income is down.
However, few golf facilities compute the cost of
not investing in infrastructure items. in some cases,
the cost of not investing can be considerable,
though it is not immediately obvious and it is
difficult to quantify. in short, there are times when
it is financially impossible or unwise to invest in
infrastructure items, but before deciding to pull the
plug on needed improvements, carefully consider
the cost of not making them.
You may find it surprising, but there are times
when golf facilities simply cannot afford not to invest
in infrastructure. even in the best economic times,
it can be challenging to convince golfers to invest
in infrastructure that they do not believe will directly
benefit them. irrigation systems, drainage projects,
maintenance equipment (especially machinery
needed for much-hated cultivation programmes)
and maintenance facilities quickly come to mind as
examples.
Historically, courses have been very slow
to invest in maintenance facilities, despite their
enormous impact on nearly all golf course
maintenance activities. While plenty of courses have
newer or upgraded maintenance facilities, few are
top notch. regrettably, many courses are struggling
with substandard facilities. in case you are in denial
and think that your facility ‘isn’t that old’, you may
be surprised to learn that maintenance facilities that
were state-of-the-art 15-20 years ago may now be
deficient in certain areas.
Why? golf course presentation and maintenance
practices have changed dramatically in the last
20 years and equipment has become increasingly
specialised to cater for this. equipment inventories
have expanded in response to the increase in
specialisation and maintenance facilities must
adjust to accommodate larger equipment fleets.
Change also may be necessary due to differences
in staff levels and make-up, local, state or federal
regulations or to account for environmental issues
and concerns.
Is your maintenance facility
a liability? Is it costing
the club money? Is it
interfering with your course
maintenance operations?
David Oatis asks whether
your club can afford not to
invest in a new or upgraded
maintenance facility.
Historically, courses have been slow to invest in
maintenance facilities, despite their enormous impact
on nearly all golf course maintenance activities
Golf course maintenance equipment is expensive. Every piece of equipment should be kept in a clean, dry environment and protected from the elements, have its own storage space and be accessible without having to move other equipment
time toupgrade?time toupgrade?
MAY-june 2014 59
s
Here are a few questions to help determine if
your golf course maintenance facility is up to date:l Does your maintenance facility provide a safe
working environment for your employees?l Does it provide a comfortable, efficient working
environment, or is it a hardship and a challenge
that must be overcome?l Does it effectively protect your equipment
assets?l Does it increase efficiency, or does it drag your
maintenance staff down and cost your course
money?l Does your maintenance facility help attract and
retain quality employees, or is it a deterrent?l Does your maintenance facility protect the
environment, or is it a liability?
reviewing the strengths and weaknesses
of your maintenance facility is a very worthwhile
exercise. You may find that your maintenance facility
is costing you money in ways you never considered,
and some fixes may be relatively inexpensive. to get
started, let’s first answer a few questions.
PurPOsethe obvious question is, ‘What precisely is the
purpose of a golf course maintenance facility?’ A
maintenance facility is not just an equipment repair
or equipment storage facility, an office or a locker
room. it must allow for proper care and organisation
of all things related to staff, planning and equipment
necessary to conduct golf course turf management
programmes, projects and activities. in the simplest
possible terms, it serves as the centre from which
all golf course maintenance activities emanate. A
weakness that affects operational efficiency can
adversely affect nearly all maintenance activities.
Often maintenance facilities began their life as
something else. if your maintenance building was
originally intended to be something else, chances
are good that it is not ideally suited to its current
purpose. if it was built in a different era, it may simply
be too small. such deficiencies can often be worked
around but they can still impact efficiency.
APPeArAnceWhen it comes to maintenance facilities, many
clubs take an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach.
Maintenance facilities often are disdainfully referred
to as the “shed.” unfortunately, the name sometimes
fits. it is important to recognise that the appearance
of the maintenance facility has an impact on the
staff. if your maintenance facility is old, dirty,
disorganised, worn out, in disrepair or unattractive,
the effect it has on staff will not be positive.
the questions to ask include:l Does the appearance of your facility have a
negative impact on staff morale? Clearly, this
is difficult to assess, but if the staff don’t take
pride in their work it may be because they are
influenced by their surroundings.
Do not confuse an inadequate facility with one that is sloppy and rundown. A facility like this will make it hard to attract and retain quality employees
Available from Globe Australia Pty Ltd Ph (02) 8713 5555 SST Australia Pty Ltd Ph (03) 9720 6306
Special purpose wetting agents and moisture maintenance aids for optimum turf health
Optimize water usage for turf with SST Products
60 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
facilitiesfacilitiess l Does an unkempt appearance foster a lack of
care and respect for maintenance equipment
and the course? if it appears that you don’t
care about the cleanliness and care of the
maintenance facility, why should the feelings
of your employees be any different toward
equipment or the golf course?l Does your maintenance facility have an impact
on your ability to attract new employees and
retain quality ones? think about it. if looking for
a new job, what sort of operation would you be
most attracted to? A clean, neat, professional
maintenance facility will be much more inviting
to prospective employees than one that is
cramped, dilapidated, dirty and disorganised.
if the maintenance facility looks so bad that
it adversely affects staff morale or is making it
harder to attract and retain quality employees, then
it is already costing you money. However, do not
confuse a poor maintenance facility with one that
is disorganised and run down. Many facilities can
be improved with good organisation and regular
maintenance. spring cleaning, reorganisation and
some paint could have a very positive effect if the
space and building(s) are adequate.
equIPment AnD stOrAgegolf course maintenance equipment is expensive.
Many of the machines used for care and conditioning
of the course are complex and have a high degree
of sophistication and precision. thus, every piece
of equipment should be kept in a clean, dry
environment and protected from the elements. for
the sake of organisation, each piece should have its
own storage space and most equipment should be
accessible without having to move other equipment.
the exceptions would be less frequently used items
such as aerators, topdressers, seeders and the like.
Here is the million-dollar question regarding
equipment storage: How much of your maintenance
equipment is kept outside and left fully exposed
to, or perhaps only marginally protected from, the
elements? What constitutes ‘marginal’ protection?
Dusty, leaky buildings, lean-tos or equipment stored
in trailers or beneath tarps all constitute marginal
protection. equipment is often brought indoors wet
from washing after use or from precipitation, so the
storage environment should be dry and ventilated
to hasten drying.
in order to assess how insufficient your storage
situation is, complete the following exercise:l Calculate the new replacement value of every
single piece of equipment that is left outside or
is only marginally protected.l Be sure to count everything. this includes items
big and small, such as backhoes, dump trucks,
mower and construction trailers, cultivation
equipment, etc. even an old tractor that is
only used a few weeks a year has value, so be
sure to account for every piece of equipment,
regardless of how old or how seldom it is used.
it is not uncommon for golf facilities to have
several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of
equipment poorly protected. this results in several
obvious costs. the equipment will deteriorate and
break down more often. this results in higher
repair costs and a shorter lifespan. Also consider
the impact untimely breakdowns have on the golf
schedule. Breakdown of specialised cultivation
equipment stretches out aeration, which is already
a disruptive and disliked operation for course
superintendents and golfers alike.
Mowers and other equipment lose precision
more quickly and this can become noticeable as
course conditions eventually decline. Operational
efficiency is lost and daily jobs take longer to
perform. When daily jobs take longer to perform
because of unreliable equipment, other secondary
or ‘detail’ jobs may not get done.
Another important question is, ‘How much of
the equipment needs to be moved every day?’ in
facilities where space is limited, equipment often
is packed tightly together in an effort to get as
much of it indoors as possible. this creates several
significant problems:l equipment that is parked too closely together is
often subject to damage. the dreaded hydraulic
oil leak may be the result of a hydraulic hose
worn out from normal use, or the hose could
have been damaged by another piece of
equipment while moving in or out of storage. Do
not let it be the latter.l A significant amount of time and labour is
wasted when equipment must be moved twice
a day regardless of whether it is used. if this
sounds familiar, calculate the number of labour
hours required to get equipment in and out
each day and multiply it by the number of days
in a week/month/year. the amount of labour
wasted on shuttling equipment in and out of the
maintenance facility may be shocking.l Keep in mind the number of cold starts that
engines sustain when they have to be moved
twice a day or more. Much of engine wear
occurs when engines are first started, so more
cold starts translates to greater engine wear.
Equipment parked too closely together is often subject to damage. The dreaded hydraulic oil leak may be the result of damage caused by another piece of equipment while
moving it in or out of the facility
How much of your maintenance equipment is kept outside and left fully exposed to, or perhaps only
marginally protected from, the elements?
MAY-june 2014 61
s
HAnD-tOOl stOrAgestorage of hand tools represents a unique challenge
because they need to be accessed quickly and
easily. furthermore, many hand tools are awkward
and heavy and they come in myriad shapes and
sizes. improper storage can result in expensive
power hand tools (whippersnippers, hedge trimmers
etc…) being damaged. staff also can be injured
when improperly stored tools unexpectedly fall
down on them.
so, how are your hand tools stored?l Are hand tools neatly organised so that they can
be quickly located and accessed easily, or are
they a jumbled, disorganised mess?l is there frequently a line of staff at the start and
end of the workday getting hand tools out and
putting them away?l Are hand tools organised so that you can
quickly assess inventory?
equIPment mAIntenAnce AnD rePAIr given the huge investment in golf course equipment,
careful attention must be paid to its maintenance
and repair. An adequately sized, well-organised
work area can save time and money. following
are a few points to consider when evaluating your
equipment repair area:l lighting and climate control must be considered
with respect to adequacy and energy efficiency.
l it is imperative that the repair area be separate
from the primary traffic flow pattern. if traffic
flows through the repair area, work flow will be
disrupted and parts and tools can be lost or
misplaced.l equipment maintenance and repair can be
noisy, so the workshop should be located away
from areas designated for staff.l Certain maintenance tasks (e.g.: grinding,
painting and woodworking) require specialised
equipment and/or facilities.l for efficient repair and maintenance of
equipment, especially given larger equipment
fleets and the complexity of modern equipment,
Storage of hand tools represents a unique challenge because they need to be accessed quickly and easily, are often awkward and heavy and come in myriad shapes and sizes
If you’ve got the turf,
we’ve got the equipment solution.
Equipment Solutions Pty Ltd. Our name says it all. We lead the way in the Australian turf industry, with the best and most comprehensive and innovative range of equipment available.
8 Hexham Place, Wetherill Park NSW 2164 Phone 02 9827 1310 Fax 02 9756 1513 Email [email protected]
THATCHAWAYS
SEEDERS
AERATION/DECOMPACTION
TOP DRESSERS
ARTICULATED MOWERS
BLECAVATORS
DEBRIS BLOWERS
VC60 FIRST PRODUCTS SCARIFIER
SOD CUTTERS
VACS/RENOVATION
Come and see our new products at Stand 80.
62 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
facilitiesfacilities
equipment lifts are now considered a standard
feature rather than a luxury. equipment lifts
require high ceilings and plenty of space, which
many older facilities do not have.l Having repair parts accessible is critical to
keeping the equipment fleet running efficiently.
thus, it is important to keep parts organised and
secure so that inventory can be monitored and
parts quickly accessed. this requires adequate
space and storage shelving or the like. l saving old equipment for parts is both good
and bad. A field full of old, broken-down and
partially disassembled equipment gives a
messy, unprofessional image. By the same
token, keeping old equipment for parts can save
money. A balance must be struck.l equipment technicians are critically important
to a smooth-running golf operation and a
substandard maintenance facility may limit the
ability to attract qualified personnel.
stAff fAcIlItIesMaintenance facilities adequate for 5-8 employees
will become overcrowded with 12 staff members
and very uncomfortable and inefficient with 15-20.
Overcrowding causes a number of problems:l storage of personal gear is frequently a problem
when space is limited. Maintenance staff
members work outside in the elements, so they
need a variety of jackets, sweaters, raingear,
shoes, boots, etc. l inevitably, clothing gets wet with perspiration and/
or precipitation. if it is stored without adequate
ventilation, odours develop and clothing can be
ruined. Without adequate facilities, staff usually
resort to spreading wet clothing over equipment
or somewhere else in the facility. this creates an
unprofessional and unattractive mess.l some facilities issue employees uniforms and
personal protection equipment. Overcrowding
makes it very difficult to keep track of personal
items and uniforms.l undersized lunch rooms may force staff to
take breaks outdoors or in equipment storage
or repair areas. When kitchen facilities are too
small, lunch and break time may cut into work
time.l superintendents are responsible for training staff
on a variety of issues, which means meeting
facilities are necessary. usually, the lunch/break
room can double as a meeting room, but it must
be large enough to do so.l separate, climate-controlled office and meeting
space is necessary for the superintendent,
assistant superintendents and equipment
technicians.
sAfety AnD envIrOnmentAl Issuesit goes without saying that proper storage of fuel,
pesticides and fertilisers is critically important for
practical, legal and environmental reasons. these
materials are expensive, so common sense and
regulations dictate that they be kept secure.
Accidental spills represent significant concerns.
the long-term effects of equipment washing
and pesticide mixing and loading operations also
must be considered. Be sure to check local, state
and federal ordinances regarding containment and
rinsate storage of these materials. requirements
vary throughout Australia, but no golf facility can
afford to be deficient when it comes to safety and
environmental issues.
sOlutIOnsVisiting maintenance facilities at other golf courses
is very helpful in gauging how deficient your facility
may be and for identifying possible solutions.
including course committee members, owners, or
other decision makers on maintenance facility tours
helps to educate and communicate the needs of
your facility.
Consulting with architects who specialise in
designing golf course maintenance facilities can
also be enlightening. Have a conversation with your
insurance agent and get input regarding possible
safety and liability concerns for your maintenance
facility. Developing a master plan for upgrading your
facility is an excellent first step.
new construction and total replacement may
be the best solution, but when this is not feasible,
smaller improvements can help tremendously.
identify what can be accomplished and develop a
manageable implementation plan. Here are a few
things that can be done on a budget:l Organise and clean the existing structure. A
good spring cleaning and a coat of paint can do
wonders.
An adequately sized, well-organised and well-equipped workshop area
can save significant time and money
Visiting recently constructed maintenance facilities at other
courses is very helpful in gauging how deficient your facility may be
and for identifying possible solutions
MAY-june 2014 63
l Clean and upgrade kitchen, bathroom and
locker-room facilities.l Assign staff to maintain the facility so it is kept
clean, neat and organised.l evaluate the equipment inventory and determine
if the fleet can be trimmed or whether it should
be expanded.
Also consider reorganisation options that add
space and/or re-purpose existing space. A few
examples include:l if storage is an issue, it may be feasible to
add a cold-storage facility. this can usually
be accomplished with reasonable expense,
and it may free up other space and improve
operational efficiency significantly.l if the repair area is inadequate, adding space by
constructing an additional building or adding to
the existing building is worth consideration.l if office space is lacking, consider adding a
separate facility for offices. An office portable
can provide an economical solution.l if staff facilities are limited, a separate building
for all staff activities may be the solution. Be sure
to include a mud or drying room.l Purchasing extra microwave ovens and/or
toaster ovens and larger coffee makers are
simple solutions to help staff enjoy their breaks.
cOnclusIOn
Your golf course may not currently have the funds
available to build a new maintenance facility.
However, understanding the deficiencies of your
facility and how they impact maintenance activities,
budget and care of the course is the first step toward
improving the situation.
Maintenance equipment, staff and their activities
and programmes represent a huge expense and
are vitally important to the success of a golf facility.
improving the protection of equipment and material
assets combined with more efficient maintenance
operations makes a big impact on the bottom line.
they can also have a favourable impact on the
golfer experience.
there are many other areas of turf maintenance
facilities worthy of examination. this article cannot
address them all. As such, if your facility is weak in the
areas discussed, then it is a good bet that there are
other areas that need upgrading and modernisation
as well. given the impact maintenance facilities
have on the efficiency of all course-care activities,
improvements here can elevate course conditions,
enhance golfer satisfaction and even save money in
ways you may never realise.
AcknOwleDgementsDavid Oatis is the director of the USGA Green
Section’s Northeast Region. This article has been
reprinted with permission from the April 4 2014, Vol
52 (7) edition of the USGA Green Section Record.
Copyright USGA. All rights reserved.
Does your maintenance facility help attract and retain quality employees, or is it a deterrent?
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sportsfields Victoria wide including interstate
Contact: Chris Dunoon 0418 522 390 David Dunoon 0409 235 008
www.newcombsand.com.au
64 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.2
constructionconstruction
The first
weekend
of May
2014 saw
the official opening of
Gardiners Run Golf Course
in Melbourne’s north east.
Course superintendent
Alan Greatorex provides
the final instalment in his
ongoing series about the
development of the new
course.
By the time this edition of AtM hits your shed,
the new gardiners run golf Course will have
been open for play for just over a month. An
official opening ceremony was held on the afternoon
of friday 2 May with nearly 300 eager members
taking to the course over the following two days,
signalling the start of a new era for the club.
to say that they were champing at the bit
would be an understatement. the new Pacific Coast
Design course has been under construction for the
past 28 months and with the old Chirnside Park
course reduced to nine holes during this time, the
members were suffering withdrawal.
since the last article in Volume 16.2, which
looked specifically at greens construction, work has
continued apace with the countdown to opening
day looming. Construction works as such finished
in early April with the last of the bunkers being
completed with drainage, bunker mat installed and
sand placed. it was then time to focus on preparing
the course as best as possible for opening day and
beyond.
GRow, GRow, GRowAt this point our main focus was on establishing
a full coverage of santa Ana couchgrass on the
back nine fairways, green surrounds and Penn g2
bentgrass greens. As mentioned in past articles,
due to delays in getting access to the back nine
holes, they were planted almost a year behind the
front nine. With all tees (santa Ana) and the front
nine holes already having a good coverage, it was
just a matter of increasing mowing regimes to pull
them into shape.
Based on recommendations from our turf
consultants, the decision was made in January
2014 to hold off on any herbicide applications on
the back nine fairways during the summer-autumn
Green light for
GardinersGreen light for
Gardiners
With construction finishing in early April, the focus in the final weeks before opening was on preparing the course as best as possible. Pictured is the 6th
Alan Greatorex
64 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.2
MArCh-APril 2014 65
s
period so as to maximise the growth of the santa
Ana before the onset of any cooler weather and
winter dormancy.
Melbourne’s weather during this late summer/
autumn period was kind in this regard with a
very warm run, including very mild overnight
temperatures, which meant the couch continued
to spread and cover over. the downside of
this decision, however, has been that the weed
infestation in these fairways makes them look a
bit ugly, but with constant mowing and a gradual
eradication programme over the winter months they
will still provide an acceptable playing surface.
it has definitely been the correct decision and
we are all looking forward to the following spring/
summer to really clean up the back nine fairways
and have a pure santa Ana surface. A spring
topdressing will also be beneficial in providing a
smoother surface.
fertiliser in the form of granular nitrophoska was
applied at 75-100kg/ha every 21 days during this
period to maximise growth. Cutting heights have
been at 15mm to encourage lateral growth and this
height will remain right through the first winter. tees
and surrounds have received similar applications of
fertiliser, but are being cut at a height of 18mm. At
this stage that height will remain going into the first
winter in an attempt to maintain adequate coverage
and wear resistance.
it is always difficult to resist the temptation and
pressure to lower the height of cut and increase the
mowing frequency as i already feel as if we have cut
too short, too quickly and too often with the growing
conditions slowing going into winter.
greens were cut at a height of 4mm for the
opening and even at this height there were some
signs of minor scalping, exposing the crown of the
plant and making them vulnerable to disease and
lessening its ability to handle the onslaught of daily
play.
the main issue with the greens is that the back
nine are relatively young and immature having been
planted in the height of summer 2013-2014. it wasn’t
an ideal time to plant, especially with temperatures
hitting the 40 degree mark on a number of occasions
and over consecutive days.
the need to establish a healthy rootzone was
of paramount importance so as to have a stable
firm base that would allow us to put a ride-on
greensmower on them without leaving wheel marks.
As it is we started this mowing regime in late March
2014 which i believe has been too early resulting in
some minor corrugations which will require some
rolling to iron them out.
phoT
os: b
ReTT
Rob
inso
n
Main photo: Some 28 months after construction started, Gardiners Run officially opened the first
weekend of May. Pictured is the par 3 16th green
Gardiners’ par three 11th
MArCh-APril 2014 65
66 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.2
constructionconstructions By contrast, with the front nine greens being
in the ground a lot longer, the issue with them was
that they had become a little long and ‘puffy’. the
challenge was to bring the height down gradually
and at the same time topdress heavily to establish
a firm surface ready for play. these greens could
handle the ride-on mowers without any corrugations
and could also tolerate the small Dakota topdresser.
All the greens will benefit from a regular mowing
regime now that we are open for play and with a
regular dusting programme and light grooming it
won’t be long before they are all behaving the same.
leading up to opening day the greens were cut
daily with the perimeter cut done with a pedestrian
mower to lessen the wheel marks of the ride-on
mowers ringing the green. A week out from opening
a final application of fungicide, wetting agent, amino
acid emulsion, seaweed, liquid fertiliser and trace
elements was made to give them a shiny glow.
One of the biggest challenges in relation to the
greens has been controlling the duck population
and their ravenous grazing habits. We have three
greens (12, 16 and 18) that are sub-standard due
to the fact that the ducks have continually harvested
areas not allowing the bent grass to spread laterally
and knit together.
some areas have been seeded 3-4 times in an
attempt to cover but the ducks just pluck out the
newly germinating seed. in the end we covered
these areas with chicken wire laid on the ground
until the plant had enough maturity to cover over
and were able to cope with regular low mowing
which in turn helped discourage the ducks. A heavy
fertiliser programme was also implemented to push
the growth along faster than the ducks could eat it
which then required a daily mowing programme.
posiTive sTARTDespite some inclement weather hanging around,
the opening weekend went well with morning and
afternoon shotgun starts on both the saturday and
sunday. the course stood up exceptionally well
considering the numbers and conditions and even
the following day it looked like it only had normal
wear and tear.
the course was set up to be easy off the middle
markers, but the following week were able to provide
a full challenge by setting the course up off the
back markers and setting some more aggressive
pin positions. feedback from the members was
overwhelmingly positive with many commenting that
it was great to finally play a course that had been
built to be ‘member-friendly’. so far, so good.
looking back over the project, one of the most
pleasing aspects from a superintendent perspective
has been the opportunity given to me by the
Chirnside Park Country Club, Pacific Coast Design,
Densal, A&M Watering (irrigation) and JW reid
Builders (maintenance facility) to be actively involved
in the decision-making process and construction of
a new golf course.
With all new projects there are always challenging
situations that require changes to the original design
and i am grateful to those involved in allowing me
to contribute to the successful establishment of the
new gardiners run golf Course.
A couRSe foR the MeMBeRS
on 3 May 2014, Pacific Coast Design director Paul reeves and i played 18 holes
at the opening of the new gardiners run golf Course. it is always very satisfying
to play golf on one of your own designs that has been nurtured through many
(many) days of planning, discussion, design, redesign and on-site work. it was even
more so in respect to gardiners run as PCD have been involved for over 12 years, from
the original application process through to opening.
it is never easy building a golf project in Australia and to be honest i really think
that it would not have happened at Chirnside without the club general manager Barbara
Kelly and a core of their committee that stayed right through the process. Alan greatorex
(superintendent) and the Densal team (construction) were at many times stretched by
external issues but also just got on with the job and were great.
Paul and i really enjoyed our round with the club president and treasurer, we really
had fun and were very happy with the way the course had come out. however, the test
was when we got back to the club and were confronted by the field of 150 members who
had also played that day. thankfully there was not one that did not have a huge smile on
their face. My favourite comment… “thank god we got what we asked for; not a monster,
but a great course for the members”.
phil RyAnDiReCToR, pACifiC CoAsT DesiGn
Looking down the par five 2nd with the par three 3rd and Dandenong Ranges in the background. the front nine holes are a full season ahead of the back nine in terms of turf maturity
Looking across to the par four dogleg opening hole
Some greens and surrounds needed to be covered with chicken wire to deter ducks from grazing the
establishing turf
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68 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
researchresearch
University of Western
Australia researchers
Pieter Poot, Gausul Azam,
Louise Barton and Tim
Colmer outline a new
three-year Horticulture
Australia Limited-funded
project to investigate
whether incorporating soil
amendments can reduce
water use of turfgrass
when grown in a sandy
soil.
Many Australian cities face future water short-
ages and in Perth substantial water deficits
are predicted to develop as early as 2020. A
significant proportion of Perth’s annual water use of
562 gigalitres is associated with turfgrass irrigation,
with over 10 per cent used in community parks and
gardens alone. in addition, a substantial fraction of
household water is used for watering home gardens,
including lawns.
Although much of this water is extracted from
private garden bores, water restrictions have been
introduced for scheme water, as well as private bore
water, in response to increasing water demands
and environmental concerns related to groundwater
over-extraction. thus, turfgrass managers, including
home owners, will face ongoing water restrictions,
likely affecting turfgrass quality and growth.
Public green spaces are important for
maintaining community physical and mental health,
so research into avenues of how to maintain
turfgrass quality under limited irrigation is essential.
Maintaining turfgrass under limited water supply is
problematic especially in sandy soils, which have
relatively low water retention and are thus highly
dependent on frequent summer irrigation (e.g. WA
coastal plain, ‘sandbelts’ of Melbourne and south
eastern suburbs of sydney).
in addition, these soils often develop soil water
repellency over summer, exacerbating the problem.
earlier university of Western Australia (uWA)
research by louise Barton and tim Colmer (HAl
Project tu07006) showed that water repellency can
at least partly be overcome by the application of
soil wetting agents to increase soil water infiltration.
However, the increase in soil water content is still
rather limited.
to further increase the water holding capacity
of sand, other amendments would need to be
incorporated. soil amendments can hold on to
water much better than sands, due to either a
much smaller particle size or a porous structure
that can store water internally. incorporating these
amendments in the surface soil would decrease
the amount of water that would otherwise leach
beyond the zone of the turfgrass root system. the
extra water retained would reduce the demand for
irrigation.
ProjeCT AimsVarious soil amendment products are likely to
improve soil moisture retention, but few have been
systematically tested by independent agencies
under Western Australian conditions. Our three-year
The UWA’s three-year research project will investigate the efficacy of a range of soil
amendments (organic, inorganic and blends). Pictured are the established experimental plots
at Shenton Park, Perth in January 2014
Watersaverssavers
MAy-June 2014 69
s
research project (Application of soil amendments to
maintain turf quality on sandy soils under reduced
irrigation - HAl Project tu13000) will investigate
the efficacy of a range of soil amendments
(organic, inorganic and blends) to decrease water
requirement, while maintaining turfgrass quality,
under restricted water supply.
the main aims of our research include: l Obtaining independent evidence of the efficacy
of a range of soil amendments in decreasing the
irrigation requirements of turfgrass;l identifying the mechanisms responsible for the
variation in efficacy of different amendments;
andl estimating the amount of water that can
potentially be saved by using soil amendments
without compromising turfgrass quality.
exPerimenTAL APProACHthe soil amendments that are included in the current
trial have been selected in consultation with the local
turfgrass industry (i.e. turf growers Association
of WA, consultants and turfgrass managers) and
include both organic and inorganic products that
are largely locally produced and are likely to be
economically viable. the latter is essential for uptake
of soil amendment technology.
similarly, the choice of turfgrass species – soft-
leaf buffalograss (Stenotaphrum secundatum; cv
Palmetto) – is based on industry recommendations
and reflects the wide use of this species for new or
replacement turfgrass for amenity areas in many
regions of Australia.
the research is being conducted at the uWA
turf research facility at shenton Park, which has
been successfully used for turfgrass research for
the last 15 years. the field station occurs on the
spearwood Dune system underlying most of the
western suburbs of Perth and thus has sandy soils
that are representative for the region.
in the first two summers of the project, 12
amendment treatments will be evaluated at two
irrigation rates [65 per cent et replacement (three
irrigations per week) or 43 per cent et replacement
(two irrigations per week)], with four replicates for
each treatment combination, totalling 96 plots (each
2.5 x 3.5 metres).
Amendments (see page 76 for full list of
amendments used) were rotary hoed into the surface
A range of amendment products were spread over their respective plots prior to turf being established
Figure 1: Infrared imaging will be used to analyse turfgrass surface temperatures
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70 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
researchresearchs 10cm of the soil in October 2013. One week later,
turfgrass rolls were laid and the plots were further
levelled with a small pedestrian roller. the turfgrass
plots were allowed three months to establish before
experimental irrigation rates started in february
2014. the experiment will run for at least two
summers, after which more plots will be established
to further quantify potential water savings using the
most successful amendments.
meAsUremenTsturfgrass growth and quality in each plot will be
assessed regularly during the first 1.5 years of the
project, including two summers. growth will be
determined by measuring the dry weight of clippings
after each mowing event (weekly), while colour will
be determined weekly during the irrigation season
using a Chromameter.
We will also make use of several ‘cutting edge’
technologies to improve our understanding of
turfgrass responses to the various soil amendments.
for example, we will regularly assess root growth
in the surface 0.7m of the soil using a specialised
circular scanner that can be lowered into the
transparent access tubes installed in each plot.
each plot also has a 1.7m deep PVC access tube
installed for measuring soil water contents at 10cm
intervals using a sentek Diviner.
lastly, we will analyse turfgrass surface
temperatures using an infrared camera, (see
example, figure1). the temperature of the turfgrass
surface is a good proxy for its water use, and
transpiring turfgrass would be expected to have
much lower surface temperatures than plots that
have less water available and lower transpiration.
reseArCH oUTComesthe benefits of this research to the turfgrass
industry and wider community include water
savings and maintenance of high quality turfgrass
surfaces despite a warmer and drier climate, better
environmental management and an improved public
perception of turfgrass management.
turfgrass managers have been involved in
designing the project and will be able to view and
evaluate treatment effects and research outcomes
at regular field days. the first field day was held
in february 2014. A workshop will be held at the
completion of the study and research findings will be
presented in journals and at various conferences, to
industry and scientific audiences.
ACknoWLedGemenTsthis project has been facilitated by Horticulture
Australia limited (tu13000) in partnership with the
Australian turf industry. it is funded by contributions
from the Water Corporation, a consortium of local
government authorities, amendment product
suppliers, turf growers Association (WA), sports
turf Australia (WA) and the WA land Authority.
in kind support has been provided by Baileys
fertilisers, turfgrass fertiliser supplier, irrigator
repairs, M.e.y. equipment, Mower supply, Mow
Master and Mower service. greenacres turf farm is
thanked for providing the turfgrass for the research
site and Darren Kirkwood from the tgA of WA
for his support in the preparation of the field site.
Members of the uWA turf industries research
steering Committee are thanked for their support
and advice.
AmendmenTs UsedBelow is a list of the amendment treatments
included in the trial. Values in parentheses
represent the percentage at which amendments
have been incorporated in the top 10 cm of the
soil (weight fresh product/weight soil).l Bentonite (5%)l Compost (10%)l Kaolinite (Ca and silt amended; 10%)l ready grit™ (10%)l spongelite (5%)l Zeolite (5%)l Bentonite (5%) + Compost (10%)l Kaolinite (10%) + Compost (10%)l ready grit™ (10%) + Compost (10%)l spongelite (5%) + Compost (10%)l Zeolite (5%) + Compost (10%)l Control (no amendments added)
Rotary hoeing soil amendments into the surface 10cm of soil
The choice of turfgrass species used for the trial – soft-leaf buffalograss – was
based on industry recommendations
The project will assess root growth in the surface 0.7m of the soil using
a specialised scanner that can be lowered into transparent access
tubes (pictured) in each plot
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72 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
regional profileregional profile
72 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent
Nine months ago Josh
Straub took over the reins
as superintendent at the
picturesque Lismore
Workers Golf Club in
northern NSW. With a
young bub also on the
way it is proving to be a
life-changing year for the
31-year-old.
Following the recent retirement of long-serving course superintendent
Chris Haselden, Josh Straub has taken the reins at Lismore Workers
Golf Club
Superintendent: Joshua straub (31).
Family: Partner natasha (soon to be proud parents
end of May!)
Period as a superintendent: nine months.
Association involvement: AgCsA (two years,
AgCsA Accredited superintendent), gCsAQ.
Turf management career: Club taree (apprentice
and assistant superintendent), Ocean shores
Country Club (greenkeeper) and lismore
Workers golf Club (assistant superintendent and
superintendent).
Qualifications: Cert ii & iii Horticulture and Cert iii
Horticulture (turf Management).
Where in Australia is Lismore Workers GC?
lismore is situated in the northern rivers region
of nsW, about 1.5 hours south of the Queensland
border and 25 minutes inland from Ballina. lismore
is home to southern Cross university, so it attracts
plenty of young people and is a very multi-cultural
city. lismore is known for its new Year’s eve tropical
fruit festival, lantern Parade and is the birthplace of
lions Australia.
Tell us a bit about your background in turf
management. i started out in the industry at the age
of 16 as a summer time casual at taree golf Club
under Bryce strachan. that got me a taste of being
in the industry and stirred up the desire to take on
an apprenticeship. At the time there was already
an apprentice at the golf club so i had to patiently
wait until one become available in my hometown.
After a year or so of waiting i enrolled myself into a
Cert ii Horticulture course to start my education and
show my future employer i was keen to further my
knowledge. that led me to getting an apprenticeship
and being 2iC at Club taree under Paul eggins. Paul
taught me a huge amount about the trade, having an
eye for detail and making presentation your number
one priority.
After three years as 2iC, i went for a trip up to
lismore where i met my partner natasha and the
rest, as they say, is history! six months later i was
living in the northern rivers which led to me getting
a position at Ocean shores Country Club and then
eventually getting the 2iC position here at lismore
Workers under Chris Haselden. following Chris’s
recent retirement i took over as superintendent.
Being a country kid i always enjoyed being
outdoors and loved playing with machinery. i guess
greenkeeping allowed me to do that and also get
paid at the same time! Also there is no other job in
the world that you can work hard all day on, then
knock off and enjoy the results you have just worked
hard to produce.
You have taken over from Chris who retired
after a long career as Lismore superintendent.
How has the transition gone from assistant to
superintendent? i think the transition has gone
fairly smoothly. Chris got me trained up pretty well
with the operations of the course before he left. i
Lismore Workers Golf Club, nSW
Lismore Workers Golf Club, nSW
MAY-June 2014 73
s
The Lismore Workers crew (from left) Richard Hooton, Trent Roberts, Graeme Eaton (assistant superintendent), Greg Williams and Josh Straub (superintendent)
Since starting as superintendent, Straub has targeted Lismore’s 328 greens and is looking to further enhance their health and playability. Pictured is the 11th green with the 9th fairway in the background
guess the good part about it all is that Chris is still
around all the time playing golf and fixing members’
carts, so firing a quick question here or there isn’t
too hard for me. He also regularly drops in to see
how things are going.
i guess the biggest changes have been getting
the staff under me used to my interpretation of how i
want the course to be presented on a weekly basis,
which has come along nicely. i’m also still getting
used to maintaining warm-season greens instead
of cool-season greens when i was at Club taree.
Warm-season greens need a lot more attention in
maintaining thatch levels and this summer was a
huge learning curve for me. i have picked up a lot
which will put me in good stead for the next growing
season and help me to keep on top of things
in the coming years. Other than that, having full
responsibility of decision making and sticking with
that decision, whether it works out or not, has been
another part which has changed moving up into the
main role.
Give us an overview of Lismore Workers GC
and some of its unique characteristics? lismore
Workers golf Club is known for its undulating
playing surfaces, especially the fairways. there are
a lot of undulations so it’s very rare a golfer will get
a level lie which can give the average player a bit of
trouble if not used to the course. the course has a
good variety of par 3s, six in total, and a lot of the
greens are elevated which makes visibility of hole
locations that little bit harder and usually requires an
extra club or two to reach the green. it is also a koala
habitat for our little fury natives, so we occasionally
see them running from tree line to tree line which
gives the golfers a bit of extra value for money!
What are some of the unique features about
Lismore Workers GC from a turf management
perspective? the unique features are the fairway
undulations, the soil profile being made up of mostly
clay, above average rainfall and only one water
drainage exit leaving the course (both underneath
and surface water). All these combined mean that
in wet periods the course can be hard to maintain,
especially getting machinery around and operating
safely. it also takes a long time for it to dry out. this
can test the patience, but you just have to keep
plugging away and do the jobs you can do in these
conditions.
the course in the dry times is fairly easy to
maintain. the overall size of greens, tees and
bunkers isn’t too big compared to previous courses
i worked on, so getting around and doing most jobs
is fairly quick and easy. the course has slightly
changed since first starting with some drainage
work carried out and concrete/gravel pathways
installed too. this has helped dry out a couple of big
wet areas and made the course more accessible for
carts/machinery.
74 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
regional profileregional profiles
Take us through your turf management operations
there and some of the changes you have made.
seeing our climate is sub-tropical and we usually
receive plenty of rainfall, our biggest task is keeping
on top of the mowing on a weekly basis. greens
get cut daily and we try to get tees and collars done
twice a week.
fairways, surrounds and second cut around tee
banks are carried out once a week, with bunkers
raked twice. the rough mower usually doesn’t stop
most weeks! Also, boom spraying the course can
take up some time in the summer months with the
majority of fertilisers used being liquid forms along
with fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, wetting
agents and growth retardants.
the biggest change i have implemented so far
is the purchasing of a new gA24 Jacobsen aerator
which now means we do all our own renovations
in-house. Hopefully this winter we can get out
monthly and mini-tine the greens to get some air
into them and relieve compaction. i have also tried
solid tinning some of the more compacted tees to
loosen up their profiles.
We have now started cutting tees and collars
with a toro 3250-D greens mower instead of using
a 3100-D sidewinder surrounds mower. this has
made these playing areas a lot cleaner due to using
a catcher mower, less wheel marks due to different
tyre pattern and has given a better ribbon pattern
effect too. We have also started cutting fairways
in a straight ribbon cut pattern which has made
presentation of the course a lot more noticeable and
the members/guests are appreciating the difference
in appearance.
the next thing on the wish list is to purchase
a set of wire brush heads off Andrew smith from
Yamba gC. this will help me keep the thatch levels
in the greens under control better, as well removing
unwanted dead material and giving them a truer/
faster putting surface. next spring i want to renovate
the greens fairly aggressively and keep on top of my
thatch programme better than last growing season.
Any special environmental considerations that
you have to incorporate into the management
of the course? the biggest consideration at the
moment is the maintenance facility – it is old and
needs a lot of attention to get up to date with
legislation and environmental requirements. the
board and club recently agreed to sign up to a
five-year platinum eMs subscription with e-par
AT A GLAnCE – LiSmoRE WoRkERS GoLF CLubCourse specs: 18-hole course which
measures 5775m from the blue plates, 5542m
(white plates) and 5084m (red plates). Par 70
for men, par 72 for women. forty hectares
total area to be maintained.l Greens: 20 tifgreen hybrid couch greens,
including one putter and one chipper,
total size approx. 8000m2. l Tees: total size about 8000m2, mix of
Wintergreen, Queensland blue and
common couch.l Fairways: 11ha, mixture of common
couch, Queensland blue, kikuyu and
carpetgrass.l Surrounds: 1.5ha mix same as above. l Roughs: 25ha, mix same as above. l Bunkers: 22.
Cutting heights: greens 3-4mm, tees and
collars 10-12mm, surrounds 13mm, fairways
15mm and roughs 51mm.
Members: 500.
Annual rounds: 20,000.
Major tournaments: northern rivers
District 36-hole easter tournament (stroke),
september Pro-Am tournament and northern
rivers District ladies spring Cup.
Staff structure: Joshua straub
(superintendent), graeme eaton (assistant
superintendent), trent roberts (greenkeeper),
richard Hooton (casual greenkeeper) and
greg Williams (trainee).
Climate: lismore has a mild, sub-tropical
climate. Average yearly rainfall is 1343mm.
Soil types: greens are a sandy loam; rest of
course consists mainly of clay loam.
Water sources: Main water source is river
water from Wilson’s river. this is pumped
to two holding tanks on top of the hill above
the course which is then gravity feed to the
irrigation system.
Irrigation system: gti gemini trident
decoder system. sprinklers for greens and
fairways are toro 730 valve-in-head. tees are
toro 2001 sprinklers.
Renovations: in October we scarify, ½ inch
hollow tine and topdress. in february we
scarify, ½ inch solid tine and topdressing.
During the winter months we go out with ¼ to 3/8 solid tines monthly when possible.
Major disease pressures and how you
combat them: During the summer months
(December to April) our biggest disease
problem would be with the eri family
pathogen, especially take All Patch. to keep
this disease at bay we regularly manage our
thatch levels by verticutting, grooming and
dusting. We use slow release nitrogen forms
of fertiliser, soil testing to keep an eye on
pH levels, monthly applications of calcium
and potassium and have a preventative
fungicide programme in place during this
period. last spring we started a monthly
biological fungicide program using Bacillus
subtilis gB03 strain to combat disease fungi
and help encourage soil microbe activity.
During the cooler months, winter fusarium
and black helminthosporium can be a problem
depending on how wet it gets. We use
contact fungicides to knock the disease on
the head when first signs appear and regular
aeration during the dormant period. We also
do a granular application of potassium and
calcium in autumn to help the warm-season
grass cope with the cooler temperatures
when coming into the winter months.
Lismore is known for its undulating layout and terrific vistas from many areas around the course. The 11ha
of fairways are a mix of common couch, Queensland blue, kikuyu and
carpetgrass
MAY-June 2014 75
s
which starts in July. terry and the team will be
going through our facility with a fine-toothed comb,
helping us get an appropriate eMs in place for
future safety of our facility, staff, golf course and
neighbouring environment.
What are some of the major challenges facing
Lismore Workers GC both from a turf and club
management perspective? i guess the biggest
challenge is making the course more playable and
accessible with golf carts in the wet weather periods.
like most courses, the income really suffers when
carts are not allowed on the course. the club has
already started constructing new concrete paths
around the course as well as less expensive gravel
pathways too. this has allowed carts still to access
the course in wet periods and has kept the numbers
of weekly rounds up during these times.
Also, drainage issues mean that playability out
of bunkers and low lying areas can be problematic.
there has been talk of selecting the worst areas
and redoing drainage/construction on a year by
year basis.
Outline any major course improvement works
recently completed or future works planned.
the last 18 months the club has focused on
concreting cart pathways with the 11th, 14th and
16th tee complexes completed. next will be the
2nd tee followed by more gravel pathways. We
are also about to undertake a tree and branch
lopping programme on the 3rd, 11th and 18th tees
to improve sunlight to these areas and for WHs
issues. the works will mean the course is a lot safer
for both golfers and staff, improve plant and playing
conditions and help with wear issues too.
How is Lismore Workers faring in the water
management stakes? We are pretty lucky with
water and despite the past nine months being
very dry the council has not put any restrictions on
our use. saying that, i still try to water as little as
possible to try and avoid the huge power bills for
pumping the water.
Greens are scarified, hollow tined and topdressed in october, with the hollows swapped for solids in February. During winter the greens are mini-tined monthly when possible
76 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
regional profileregional profiles
The one product I couldn’t manage my course
without is... Primo Maxx and trinex 250 are the two
products which save us a lot of time and money.
Being a small crew, growth retardants help us keep
on top of the growth, gives the playing surfaces a
nice tight finish and reduces seed head growth. this
especially helps us out over the Christmas break
when there are a lot of public holidays.
What are some pros and cons of being a regional-
based superintendent? the pros, as most regional
supers would agree, is the lifestyle, avoiding the
hustle and bustle of the city and having a better
environment for bringing up your children. As for
cons, not having the budgets and staff the city
courses have and having to travel a bit more to get
to seminars or conferences.
Are expectations of course presentation and
conditioning any less than that placed on your
metropolitan counterparts? i think expectations
are not set any lower than the city courses and i am
always striving to give my members/visitors the best
possible playing surfaces all year round. that way
your members don’t want to play anywhere else and
visitors will keep coming back.
Do you have to be more resourceful as a regional-
based superintendent? Yes you do, especially
when it comes to multitasking jobs. this means we
may carry out a couple of tasks at the same time to
eliminate travel time around the course, due to the
lack of staffing numbers. for example, i have set
greens mowers with blower racks and spray bottle
holders, so when cutting greens we can also blow
all debris off greens and spot spray for weeds. the
job may take a little longer, but we can keep on top
of weed control and have all playing surfaces clean
and cut before play.
Also, with machine maintenance and fixing
we do most procedures ourselves as we don’t
have a mechanic. this helps us have a better
understanding on how the equipment works and
runs and also saves the club in maintenance costs.
using volunteers to do odd jobs around the course
is also very helpful and enables us to concentrate on
the main roles while still keeping the course in good
shape all year round.
One thing you would change about your job?
More time in the day! You are always multitasking
and with small staff numbers you are still doing a lot
of the small jobs yourself which can make the days
go really quick. i guess the biggest lesson i have
learnt is prioritising and accepting that some smaller
jobs will just have to wait!
Lismore has a mild, sub-tropical climate with average yearly rainfall
1343mm
Straub has started striping fairways which has made a noticeable
difference to course presentation
MAY-June 2014 77
How important are the relationships you have
with other course supers/trade reps? Very
important as these people can be a very resourceful
tool to help solve problems, share and get new
ideas, borrow equipment off and build friendships
with. in particular, Wayne tickle (superintendent)
and tony from Ballina golf Club have been a great
help to me over the past six months and i am very
grateful for that.
What have you got in your shed? toro 3150-D
greensmaster triplex, 2 x toro 3250-D greensmaster
triplex (one greens, one tees & collars), toro 3100-
D sidewinder, toro 3300-D Workman and tycrop
topdresser, toro 4000-D groundsmaster, toro 1250
Multi Pro spray unit, Jacobsen lf570 fairway unit,
Jacobsen groommaster ii bunker rake, Jacobson
gA24 aerator, quad bike, Bobcat, utility Clubcar,
John Deere tractor and Dean trailer.
What’s your favourite piece of machinery and
what’s next on the wish list? the favourite is the
toro 1250 Multi Pro which makes spraying the
course so simple, accurate and easy. the next major
purchase will hopefully be the wire brush heads for
one of the triplex mowers. this will make keeping
on top of thatch levels easier while increasing speed
and uniformity. the Dean trailer has clocked up a
number of years and we get one of our members
to come in and patch it up once in a while to keep
it going.
Favourite spot on your course? On the 11th green,
looking back down the 9th fairway to the clubhouse
(see photo bottom page 79).
Most pleasing/rewarding moment during your
time as Lismore Workers superintendent? Just
recently after the northern rivers District two-
day easter tournament. the staff got so many
compliments about the course being in top condition
from both members and visitors. One member said
it was the best condition he had seen the course in
his 50 years being a member of the club. this was
great to hear and keeps me motivated to looking to
improve it more.
Straub is looking to purchase a set of wire brush heads to help keep thatch levels under control in his 328 greens and improve speed and uniformity
For further information contact your PGG Wrightson Turf Representative, free phone 1800 DURATURF or email [email protected] pggwrightsonturf.com.au
Stop for a chat with the Turf team at booth 23.To go into the draw fill out the coupon below and put it in the bowl at our stand. Winners drawn Thursday 26th June at the conference.
Your name
Your contact number
WIN a Leatherman Multi-Tool
at the AGCSA Conference 2014. Five to be won.
78 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
around the tradearound the trade
Jacobsen launches bi-directional turf groomer and brush system
agCsA gold Partner Jacobsen will launch
its new bi-directional turf groomer and
brush system for selected Jacobsen greens
mowers into the Australian market at the upcoming
30th Australian turfgrass Conference trade
exhibition on the gold Coast (25-26 June).
unveiled at the BtMe show in the uK in
January, the new groomer and brush system allows
the superintendent to select the aggressiveness of
their greens maintenance regime depending on
the prevailing soil conditions, with the option of
using either a groomer or a brush rotating in both a
forward or reverse direction. the reverse action of
the groomer or brush is more aggressive, while the
forward direction (i.e.: with the same rotation as the
cutting cylinder) has a more gentle action.
grooming and brushing the turf prior to mowing
has several benefits. it reduces the grain of the turf
area by standing the grass blades up (brush) or
cutting horizontal runners (groomer) and promoting
vertical growth. it can also remove thatch which
promotes healthier greens and opens up the soil
canopy to allow gas exchange and topdressings to
reach the soil more efficiently.
to switch between groomer and brush takes
less than five minutes allowing course managers
to adapt quickly to changing conditions. there are
a selection of brushes with a herring bone pattern
and different levels of stiffness to accommodate a
variety of turfgrasses.
traditionally, Jacobsen’s turf groomer has been
designed with a patented interlocking system with
the front roller, allowing for a shorter roller base
and providing the ability to follow ground contours
on undulating greens. incorporated into the new
design is the option to increase the roller base by
the addition of a smooth roller, ideal for conditions
when the turf is under stress.
for the groomer, a new blade design has
been introduced using the same profile as the
existing groomer, but double sided. this enables
the groomer to switch between forward and reverse
rotation without changing the blades. Changing
the rotation of the groomer or brush is a simple
operation; there are two different drive belts and
these can be changed out in less than five minutes
using just a ½” deep well socket.
“going down this route we have one accessory
that can accommodate two turf management
operations – grooming and brushing,” says
ransomes Jacobsen’s product manager lee
Kristensen. “We have retained our class-leading
groomer attachment, but added the option of
a powered brush as well. With quick and easy
change out from groomer to brush and forward
or reverse, we have provided course managers
with multiple options for their greens management
regimes.”
the new groomer/brush system is available for
the following Jacobsen mowers: eclipse 2 floating
head walking greens mower, gP400 riding greens
mower and eclipse 322 riding greens mower.
For more information about the new bi-directional
turf groomer and brush system contact your
Jacobsen distributor, visit www.jacobsen.com or
visit Stand 58 on the Gold Coast.
Bayer’s ChipCo GT hiTs markeT
AgCsA silver Partner Bayer has launched Chipco
gt into the Australia market, a new and improved
advanced formulation turf fungicide that has been
especially developed to provide fast disease
knockdown within 24 hours. According to Bayer
national sales manager Paul Conradt, Chipco gt
(ai: 240g/l iprodione) is the only iprodione on the
market with this technology.
“Chipco gt affects all phases of the development
cycle of the fungi, including spore germination,
mycelial growth and spore production,” says
Conradt. “Chipco gt is a penetrant fungicide with
limited systemic activity. the curative activity is
restricted to fungal growth on or very near the leaf
surface.”
Conradt adds that Chipco gt is an all-round,
versatile fungicide that is also easy to tank mix with
other products, such as Bayer’s Chipco signature.
it controls five turf diseases, including dollar spot,
brown patch, fusarium patch, spring dead spot
and helminthosporium, as well as botrytis blight in
ornamentals.
Bayer recommends Chipco gt for use on all
recreational turf such as golf courses, bowling
greens, sports fields, race tracks and other turf
areas, as well as ornamentals. it should be applied
as part of an integrated programme on greens,
tees and fairways and applied preventatively when
conditions are favourable for disease.
Chipco gt is available in a handy 5l pack at
Bayer distributor outlets now.
Jacobsen’s new groomer/brush system is available for the eclipse 2, gP400 and eclipse 322 greens
mowers
bayer’s new fast knockdown turf fungicide chipco gt
MAy-June 2014 79
LonG paddoCk sporTsTurf ranGe To assisT Turf manaGersthe long Paddock sportsturf range from nsW-
based long Paddock Organic solutions is now
available on the Australian turf market. the long
Paddock sportsturf range includes:l Renovator (organic fish pellets – NPK
6-5-4+12% Ca plus organic carbon 17%):
Designed for quick turf recovery after renovation
as well as fast tracking plant maturity during pre-
and post-construction programmes.l Rapid Uptake (liquid fish concentrate –
11-2-10+kelp+fulvic acid plus 14% organic
carbon): ensures rapid plant recovery from turf
renovations, heat and cold stress, shade as well
as low light intensity caused by extended wet
weather periods.l Sportsturf Organic (natural liquid fish
concentrate plus kelp) and Sportsturf 10-2-
6 (liquid organic based concentrate with
added trace elements): encourage beneficial
soil microbial stimulation, increase soil carbon,
assist in breakdown of organic matter.
“the long Paddock sportsturf range is
designed for progressive turf managers seeking
biological and environmental outcomes to their turf
management programmes,” says long Paddock
Organic solutions founder and director Phil Knight.
“sportsturf managers are collectively some
of the greatest ambassadors for environmental
stewardship on the planet. that’s why it’s important
for all turf professionals that use our sports turf
products to realise that while they are performing
daily environmental stewardship at their own sports
turf complexes, they are also helping to protect our
Australian inland river systems.
“long Paddock products are manufactured by
Charlie Carp and made wholly from european Carp,
the no.1 pest currently destroying the biodiversity
and health of these systems.”
For more information about the Long Paddock
Sportsturf Range, contact Phil Knight on 0408
533 090, email longpaddockorganicsolutions@
gmail.com or visit www.charliecarp.com.au.
spray riGhT wiTh synGenTa
AgCsA gold Partner syngenta
has announced that its XC spray
nozzles (pictured) are now available
in Australia.
the nozzles deliver refined air
induction technology with increased
spray angles that increase width
of coverage, reduce spray drift,
increase the number of droplets per ml, equalise
front and back spray deposits and remove sensitivity
to boom height. the XC nozzle range includes two
foliar nozzles and one soil nozzle.
Contact your syngenta representative or local
agent for further information or to obtain a set, or
visit stand 39 on the gold Coast.
in for The LonG hauLerthe new Cushman Hauler Pro electric utility vehicle
is now available in Australia through distributor
Augusta golf Cars. equipped with a zero-emission
72-volt electric drivetrain, the Cushman Hauler Pro
has the range, power and operational efficiencies
that course superintendents demand.
the Hauler Pro features a daily range of up
to 80km fully loaded and all the energy benefits
of a low maintenance and unique AC system. A
standard on-board charger provides flexibility to
charge the vehicle at any outlet within the facility.
the Hauler Pro has a 450kg vehicle payload and
over 500kg towing capacity, while the optional
limited-slip differential ensures traction in wet and
slippery conditions.
“the new Cushman range of maintenance
and utility vehicles were designed to help
superintendents and turf managers eliminate
downtime and get more doing out of their day,”
says Mats Marklund, Augusta’s state manager for
Victoria and tasmania. “for decades, we’ve sat
on the top of the leaderboard for hauling, moving,
loading and just plain getting the job done and the
new Cushman Hauler Pro is fully loaded and ready
to work all day long.”
For more information about the Cushman Hauler
Pro contact Mats Marklund on 0411 110 119,
email [email protected] or visit www.ezgo.
com.au. You can also view the YouTube video
on the Hauler Pro http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Lpv2uxPHd0s
permanenT ChemCLear faCiLiTiesAgvet chemical users in and around Melbourne
and sydney now have access to ChemClear’s
new permanent facilities. the new sites in laverton
north (Melbourne) and st Marys (sydney) will hold
collections once a month to service users looking
to get rid of chemicals they no longer need or want.
the addition of these permanent facilities means
chemical users in Melbourne and sydney and
the new cushman hauler Pro features a 450kg vehicle payload and daily range of up to 80km fully loaded
the long Paddock sportsturf range is designed for progressive turf managers seeking biological and environmental outcomes to their turf management programmes
80 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
around the tradearound the trade
surrounding areas no longer need to wait for a state
collection to be scheduled. registrations are still
essential, however, to utilise the new service and
users can do so by calling 1800 008 182 or filling
in the online form at www.chemclear.com.au. An
appointment time and address will be provided to all
registrants and receipt provided at the delivery point
once the chemicals are signed off.
More than 102,000 litres/kilograms of unwanted
or out-of-date chemicals throughout nsW have
been disposed of through ChemClear since the
programme first started in 2003. Collections in
Victoria have collected a total of 46,572 litres/
kilograms of chemicals.
Toro T5 roTor Goes rapid
toro has now enhanced its t5 series rotor with the
new rapidset feature. rapidset technology offers a
quick and easy way to adjust rotor arc settings with
no tools required and works with just a few twists of
the nozzle turret.
turning the head clockwise sets the right arc
edge, then turning the head counter-clockwise
increases the arc to the desired position (see
diagram above). the arc can be reduced in a similar
fashion. A built in ‘slip-clutch’ protects the gears
during adjustment.
the toro t5 series rotor, tailored for the
residential market, has a number of features
including a 5” pop-up height, advanced nozzle
technology and debris-tolerant seal. toro irrigation
product manager David richardson says the
rapidset is easy to operate for home gardeners
and the technology significantly reduces installation
time.
the t5 also features a high-performance,
patent-pending Airfoil nozzle design. the Airfoil
technology creates a low pressure zone under
the nozzle stream to gently glide water downward
for close-in watering that won’t wash away seeds,
making it ideal for grow-in applications.
For more information on the T5 Series Rotor with
RapidSet, visit www.toro.com.au/t5 or call 1300
130 898.
rain Bird kiCkinG GoaLseleven regional soccer stadiums recently
constructed and upgraded to host the 2014 fifA
World Cup in Brazil will use rain Bird irrigation
systems to keep their turf in top condition. the first
Brazilian stadium to install a rain Bird irrigation
system was Castelao stadium located in the city of
fortaleza in september 2012.
Over the next 11 months, rain Bird signed on
nine more stadiums in the Brazilian cities of rio
de Janeiro, sao Paulo, salvador, Belo Horizonte,
Brasília, Cuiabá, Manaus, natal and recife. the
eleventh installation, finalised in January 2014, is
currently underway at Arena da Baixada stadium
in Curitiba. the World Cup will run from 12 June-13
July 2014.
growers band together to form lawn solutions australia
specifying and buying turf has become
easier with the launch in March 2014
of a new national group of turf growers
offering industry best practice and a uniformly
branded range of turf.
lawn solutions Australia brings together
nearly 40 of Australia’s accredited turf
producers under a single banner to supply
nationally branded turf varieties, as well as
a range of value-add products and services.
the group and its exclusive turf brands have
been developed off the back of the success of
Australia’s sir Walter soft-leaf buffalo with all
members of the new group being sir Walter
growers.
“the launch of lawn solutions Australia
will be a game-changer for our industry
and our customers,” says business manager
simon Adermann. “Currently there are nearly
70 turf varieties in the Australian market.
each of our members will grow and sell the
most appropriate turf varieties for their local
regions, but they will be marketed under our
uniform, national brand names.”
the lawn solutions Australia, turf brands
include: l sir Walter soft-leaf buffalol nullarbor Couch Commerciall nullarbor sport and nullarbor Home,l Platinum zoysial eureka kikuyul tropical carpet grassl rtf fescue.
the full list of lsA growers are: Active turf,
Agturf supplies, Anco seed & turf, Australian
lawn Concepts, Bay turf, Buchanan turf
supplies, Caboolture turf, Cobbitty turf,
Coolabah turf, Daley’s turf, Down south turf,
earl’s turf, emerald green turf, glenview
turf, grech’s turf supplies, green life turf,
greener lawn supplies, greenhills turf farm,
greenway turf supplies, Harden Park lawns,
J&B Buffalo, Jimboomba turf Co, lawn
Doctor, lilydale instant lawn, Miller’s turf,
newlawn turf, President turf, rivturf instant
turf, strathAyr, sunnyside instant lawn,
superior lawns, sydney lawn & turf, the turf
farm, top end turf, turf Central, turf the lot
nsW, turfco, twin View turf and yarramalong
turf supplies.
For more information phone 1300 883 711,
visit www.lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au.
industry aPPointments
Tom BaCk wiTh davidAgCsA Bronze
Partner David golf
has welcomed
Tom Sheedy (pictured) back
into the fold after a 15 month
spell working in Asia in a sales
management position for a golf
brand distribution company.
sheedy returns to Australia and
his David golf career in sydney
as the new sales executive
alongside Brandon Waters.
sheedy will be servicing David
golf’s existing customers and
working on growing the business
and increasing the company’s
presence in nsW. sheedy can
be contacted on 0438 885 422 or
email [email protected]
82 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.2
turf producersturf producers
The aim of Turf Australia’s R&D Strategic Investment Plan is to drive growth and sustainability of the Australian turf industry
In the last edition of Australian turfgrass
Management it was highlighted that Horticulture
Australia limited (HAl) was undergoing
an independent review. this process has now
been completed and nine recommendations were
released in early May which, if implemented, would
result in sweeping changes to the management and
processes governing research and development
and marketing programmes in horticulture.
the recommendations are:l establish a grower-owned rDC (a new HAl)
with a transitional government-owned body to
be set up as an interim;l remove industry Advisory Committees (iACs),
but retain the ability to seek independent advice; l rationalise and strengthen planning for
research, development and extension (rD&e);l streamline industry liaison and rD&e service
areas within the new HAl;l improve project procurement, management and
reporting;l the new HAl will engage in marketing only on a
fee for service basis with industry representative
bodies able to govern and manage their levy
marketing programme;l improve direct communication with growers;l greater levy efficiency and transparency; andl improved internal accountability/processes.
the current HAl funding agreement with the
Department of Agriculture ends on 3 november
2014. the federal government is yet to respond
to this review, but decisions will now need to be
made so that rD&e in the horticulture sector has
a direction and certainty can be provided to the
existing 1200 projects currently funded by HAl.
the detailed review document, all 312 pages,
is available from the HAl website, www.horticulture.
com.au/news_events/Hal_review.asp
Same iSSueS, different countrieSthe recent turf Producers international (tPi)
Midwinter Conference and field Day in Orlando,
florida attracted almost 700 delegates, including
73 Australians. the four day event included 25
speakers presenting 16 separate sessions covering
11 different topics.
Many of the issues we face in the turf industry
here in Australia are similar to those faced by turf
growers worldwide. some of the topics covered
included: l the need for more water efficient turf varieties;l Knowing the actual cost of turf production;l Promoting to the community the substantial
benefits of turf;l Attracting and maintaining reliable staff;l Opportunities for diversification and value
adding.
florida is an interesting place and there are
some very interesting facts and figures which impact
on the local turf industry. for example, florida has
partly sandy soils which do not hold a lot of water.
However, 1000 people per day are moving to florida
and 10,000 people per week are retiring there. since
the global financial Crisis, over 100 golf courses
have closed in florida, however, the economy is
now turning and golf courses are being reopened.
local governments in florida are concerned
about the perceived effect fertilisers are having
on the environment and, as a result, there are
laws restricting the sale, use and application of
phosphorous and nitrogen in fertilisers. As a result,
all landscapers are required to undergo best
management practice (BMP) training in order to
apply fertiliser, control pests, manage irrigation and
select plants.
the popularity of zoysia in the southern states
of the us, particularly florida, is increasing. it
is being promoted as more water efficient than
the popular st Augustine varieties (known as soft
leaf buffalo here in Australia), however, it requires
different management. for example, zoysia should
be mowed at about 3-4cm high while, in florida, st
Augustine is usually mowed at 6-8cm high.
As zoysia takes longer to establish, it must
be laid tight to hide the sod lines and the use of
a roller is recommended. spreading slow release
fertiliser just prior to laying is also recommended
and nutrition needs to be carefully managed once
established as excess nitrogen can cause problems.
America has between 40-50 turf research and
education facilities, mostly universities, and there
are approximately 150 education-only facilities
that cover turf, commonly known as colleges. the
university of florida has over 16 hectares devoted
to turf research and is part of the national turfgrass
evaluation Program (nteP). this programme
After being held in Queensland last year, the annual Turf Australia Conference and Field Day will be held in Penrith from 27-29 August
turf australia’s richard
Stephens looks at the
recommendations to
come out of the recent
Horticulture australia
Limited review and
previews the upcoming turf
australia conference.
www.turfaustralia.com.au
review recommends
HAL changeHAL change
MArCH-APril 2014 83
enables companies, individuals and industry to
submit new turf lines for trials across several testing
sites throughout the country.
the trial period is five years and costs $5000
per entry to enter the trial and $1000 per year. if a
turf line is commercially released during the trial,
a $10,000 royalty payment is required. Currently,
nteP has 33 entries in total, with 19 of those
originating from florida.
the university of florida is currently trialling a
dwarf bahiagrass which is dark green in colour and
has a finer texture than most bahiagrasses. the
opportunity to develop this into a mainstream turf
variety is significant as bahiagrass has low nutrient
requirements, is drought tolerant and requires less
mowing. interestingly, kikuyu is a declared noxious
weed in most usA states.
the lawn institute is another organisation set
up to provide scientific information, education and
awareness of the environmental benefits of turf. the
lawn institute research advisors claim that turfgrass
is the plant that many urban people know, touch and
understand the most. it can be their most significant
link with nature and it directly connects communities
to landscapes.
turfgrass gives many direct beneficial services
back to communities and much more than just
aesthetics. turfgrass provides a significant cooling
effect, erosion control, absorbs carbon dioxide,
produces oxygen, reduces runoff, decreases fire
risks, increases property values as well as improves
physical and mental wellbeing. All these are
significant benefits that need to be better understood
by law makers and the general community.
in recent years, constant advances in breeding
varieties have resulted in significantly more water
use efficient turfgrass varieties with up to 50 per cent
less irrigation water being required and/or up to four
weeks difference in ‘dry down’ time.
However, for turfgrass to provide these
community benefits to their full capacity, lawns must
be properly maintained and be healthy. unfortunately,
over 20 American states have completely banned
the use of pesticides on all school grounds. this has
resulted in a significant decline in the surface quality
of many sporting fields and outdoor play areas and
a corresponding increase in surface related injuries.
2014 turf auStraLia conference and fieLd day With the tPi conference done and dusted, the local
focus now turns to the turf Australia Conference
and field Day which will be held in Penrith from
27-29 August. this conference is shaping up to be
the biggest ever and back by popular demand is
Kerry Domann (aka ‘nigel’) who will again be our
conference MC.
starting at lunch time on Wednesday 27 August
at the Penrith Panthers, the option of attending either
the traditional Dik Murphy Memorial golf Day or a
paddle steamer tour up the nepean river and into
the Blue Mountains national Park will enable you to
get into networking mode. the Welcome BBQ that
evening will also enable everyone to catch up with
old friends and make new ones.
the programme for thursday 28 August will
feature something for everyone, including:l How to develop practical and strategic
approaches to developing a turf farm business;l the real costs of turf production;l improving irrigation efficiency;l Determining the minimum water requirements of
turf varieties;l Benefiting from the new national turf industry
marketing programme;l learning from the usA and tPi; and l A gala conference dinner.
the turf Australia AgM and Annual levy Payers
Meeting will kick off proceedings on the friday
followed by an interactive field day at greener lawn
supplies at freemans reach.
this year’s conference and field day is not to be
missed and sponsorship and exhibition opportunities
are still available. for more information, please
contact the turf Australia office on (02) 4588 5735 or
TuRF FARm wATeR uSe SuSTAInAbILITy
water availability continues to be
a major issue confronting turf
producers in Queensland and in
recent times 80 per cent of the state has
been drought declared with the remainder,
other than the tropical north, not far off.
Due to this ongoing demand placed
on our turf production facilities as a result
of a variable climate, turf Queensland has
investigated the availability of an easy to
use water use calculator to identifying
seasonal water demand in megalitres/
hectare based on a range of set criteria
such as industry, turf species, irrigation
system, soil types and location.
turf Queensland is also investigating
the efficiency benefits to turf farmers by
installing new technology and innovation
such as centre pivots or lateral irrigation,
fertigation, soil moisture monitoring,
soil and crop health mapping, gPs and
variable rate irrigation.
the effect of this on farm usage of
water and energy are subject to current
programmes being undertaken by turf
Queensland in conjunction with the
Queensland government’s Department
of natural resources and Mines and
Department of Agriculture, fisheries and
forestry.
A software programme utilised in
the sugar industry here in Queensland
was developed through the Queensland
government’s rural Water use efficiency
initiative, CsirO and a number of sugar
industry organisations. We are not sure if
this is still available and are undertaking
the appropriate investigations to see if it
can be modified to suit turf production.
the target for this updated project
would be to understand the specific
needs of the turf producer in various
areas based on the availability of water
in different climatic zones over the past
40-50 years for example. this would assist
the turf producer in understanding the
sustainability of the farm based on their
water storage capacity or water availability
in the medium- to long-term.
the issue of benefits to turf farmers
of water savings and efficiency gains by
utilising innovative equipment is currently
being investigated by turf Queensland
through the rural Water use efficiency
irrigation futures programme. Obviously
there is a return on investment calculation
required and currently and unfortunately
in the short-term the low price of turf
does not support heavy investment. the
turf industry in Queensland has some
strong economic decisions to make on its
sustainability.
Jim VaugHanceo, turf QueenSLand
84 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
state reportsstate reports
sagcsa
After a hot dry summer with a few storms that
produced some very high winds, the weather
has started to cool down with some welcome
rain falling at the end of April.
the first sAgCsA meeting of 2014 was held
at the new-look Adelaide Oval, just before the first
Afl footy game and on the second day of the
last sheffield shield game for the year between
sA and nsW. thank you to host curator Damien
Hough for his time during this busy period of
the reconstruction. Damien talked about the new
drop-in pitches for both cricket and footy, oval
reconstruction and the preparation for the change
from cricket to football. We also did a tour of the new
southern stand.
i recommend anyone coming to Adelaide to get
down to the Adelaide Oval and see the changes that
have occurred. the ground has always been one of
the best sporting facilities in the world, but with the
new facilities and Afl footy now in the middle of the
city, it is simply awesome.
Our next meeting will be the annual regional bus
trip. this year we are heading down to the beautiful
fleurieu Peninsula where we will visit Willunga
golf Club (superintendent Chad Dawe), south
lakes golf Club at goolwa (Don McAvaney), Victor
Harbour golf Club (Mike Bohnsack) and links lady
Bay golf Club at normanville (Ian Putland). the
sAgCsA Annual general Meeting will be held in the
middle of July at the royal Adelaide golf Club (host
superintendent Nathan Bennett).
the sAgCsA is delighted to announce that
Luke Merchant from the Vines of reynella golf
Club has been awarded the sAgCsA graduate of
the Year who and will represent the association in
the AgCsA graduate of the Year Award. under the
guidance of AgCsA Accredited superintendent Rob
Millington, we wish luke all the best in the judging
of the national award.
good luck to all clubs holding Pro-Ams and
other events at this time of the year. Have a good
autumn and winter and i look forward to catching
up with everyone heading up to the gold Coast
conference in June.
Barry Bryant President, sagcsa
Above right: The first SAGCSA meeting of 2014 was held at the
new-look Adelaide Oval
Above: Adelaide Oval staff reinstate the ground following the end of the
cricket season and ahead of the venue’s opening AFL fixture between
the Crows v Power on 29 March
stanz
The winter is upon us so many Kiwi turf
managers are looking forward to attending
the 30th Australian turfgrass Conference
where we always enjoy the spoils of the mild
winter and hospitality on the gold Coast. the
Australian conference is always a key opportunity
for personal development and bridging innovation
and technology transfer and, most importantly,
networking with industry peers.
A key focus in the upper north island of new
Zealand is the trend towards warm-season turfgrass
management which continues to be a challenge
in our temperate climate. nZ is now contending
with drier summers and milder winters and the
intensification of sporting groups using facilities has
required turf managers to look at more sustainable
and holistic turf management practices in many
instances.
We often look to our Australian counterparts for
guidance in the management and development of
warm-season grasses and management of various
spp under various conditions, so we look forward
to the cross pollination of ideas and management
concepts towards the delivery of improved sports
turf surfaces. the stAnZ wishes everyone a
fantastic week.
ian MckendrychairMan, stanz
Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui recently hosted a number of 2015 Cricket
World Cup Qualifier matches. Bay Oval is home to curator Jared Carter
(right) who is pictured with visiting ICC officials
MAY-June 2014 85
tgcsa
Most reports from around the state are
showing a tremendous autumn with almost
unprecedented growth for this time of the
year. taking advantage of the good weather, the
tgCsA has held two field days in recent times.
Our second field day for 2014 was held on 4
March with good numbers heading along to north
Hobart Oval. the day kicked off with a terrific
presentation from Bryan Dunn which outlined the
first 12 months of operation with the new drop-in
pitch at Aurora stadium.
John Neylan presented an interesting piece
dealing with growth regulators and their increasing
use in the turf industry. Dan Docherty, on behalf
of co-sponsor syngenta, presented the latest
technology in spray nozzles and the advantages in
efficiency and coverage that they provide along with
some new product lines.
Our host at north Hobart was Todd Struthers
from Hobart City Council who did a great job
outlining the rebuilding of the playing surface at
north Hobart Oval by the day’s other co-sponsor
total turf Care. Along with Nic Hanson, todd
explained the cutting edge techniques involved in
the reconstruction.
On 6 May, tgCsA members headed to Poatina
golf Club in central tasmania for our third field
day. Proceedings were opened by Brendon
McMahon from the Bureau of Meteorology and
ABC radio whose presentation was enlightening,
entertaining and finished far too early. thanks to
Doug Ollington (tas turf solutions) for arranging a
terrific presentation. Andrew Hall from sltec gave
a detailed presentation on nutritional uptake and
pointed out some common mistakes made when
deciding what to apply and where.
tgCsA graduate of the Year Award winner
Andrew Burgess from riverside golf Club was
also presented with his award and then, after
thanking his superintendent Sam O’Keefe, showed
us the presentation he had prepared for the AgCsA
graduate of the Year Award.
Poatina club captain Greg Williams presented a
history of the club and the course and spoke about
the recent work that had been carried out on their
irrigation system.
Preparations for our two-day conference, trade
show and Annual general Meeting on 19-20 August
are coming along nicely with some exciting new
changes in the pipeline and a terrific group of
presenters confirmed.
Mark JohnsonPresident, tgcsa
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BEFORE AFTER
86 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
state reportsstate reports
sta qld
The first stA QlD field day for 2014 was held
at the Western Magpies Afl ground in March
where there was a good turnout of members
for our annual education day. We kicked off with
an interesting presentation from Phil Ford (Pgg
Wrightson seeds) on ryegrass transition trials. even
for those of us that don’t oversow our fields, the
information he presented on couch and its growth
habits gave us plenty to think about.
next up was a segment by Carl Groenewald
(the Mower Place) on small engine maintenance.
Carl discussed plenty of things we can all do to help
preserve and extend the life of the machines we use
on a daily basis and also those that tend to sit in the
corner of the shed and only get used occasionally.
Many of his tips were simple and some reminded
us that we can all become guilty of neglecting our
equipment, so it was a good wake up call.
After lunch we finished off the day with a
presentation from the south Brisbane storm chasers
on ‘all things weather and storm chasing’. some of
these guys work for the Bureau of Meteorology so
it’s a case of their work becoming a hobby too. they
would’ve had a pretty lean year in seQ this past
summer with a non-existent wet season, but they
showed plenty of slides of their past escapades.
A video of their trip to the us in 2011 where they
chased an infamous tornado which destroyed the
town of Joplin, having a near miss themselves,
finished off a memorable presentation.
Back down to earth, a reminder to all of our
members that this year’s fees are due, so make
sure you get online and re-join. We’d also like to
welcome our new gold partners, living turf and
Jacobsen/KC farm equipment, as they come on
board, along with all of our partners.
in May we held our AgM at Victoria Park golf
club in Brisbane. it was a great venue with good
food and a game of putt-putt afterwards. Our new
committee was voted in with very little change.
foundation committee member shane Biddle
(university of Queensland) decided to ‘retire’, at
least for now, while Callum Marsh (living turf) has
joined the committee. We’d like to thank shane for
his contribution over the years and welcome Callum.
Also at the AgM, our state graduate of the Year
was announced and presented with his award. Alex
Jensen (Brisbane Metropolitan touch Association)
will now represent Queensland in the national
sports turf graduate of the Year Award to be
announced in June. We wish him all the best.
the other big stA QlD news of the moment is
the launch of our own mobile device app. this app
is available on both Apple and Android devices –
just search both stores for stA QlD and install for
free.
the app allows you to get up to date news and
information from the association, sign up to become
a member, view details on upcoming events, share
your stories with the association, view pictures taken
by stA QlD members, fill in on-line forms, keep
up to date with facebook and receive instant push
notifications from stA QlD. We will be adding more
features as time goes on so download now and
keep the association at your fingertips.
Martyn hedleyVice-President, sta qld
STA QLD has recently launched a new mobile device app
sta wa
Well here we are again, cresting that middle
year hump and getting the shivers thinking
about how quickly time flies past and how
those ‘next spring renovation’ discussions demand
decisions much sooner than expected.
they say that the things you should worry
the least about are those that you have little or no
control over, but unfortunately when it comes to the
weather, especially in regard to quantity of rainfall
and degrees of heat, it’s a worry. they also say
that there is no point complaining about something
from which everyone else suffers because as yet i
don’t think our sunburnt country of droughts and
flooding rains has blessed any of us with favourable
conditions of late.
As i write this, the stA WA committee is very
pleased that Horticulture Australia ltd has agreed to
continue to support the funding of WA turf industry
development officer Eva Ricci. largely thanks to
eva’s professionalism, skill as a communicator and
good old doggedness, conversations regarding turf
are receiving due attention and respect within our
state government departments. We still have a long
way to go but hope and optimism remain strong
enough to fuel our efforts.
Our small committee has been working hard to
keep training options available to all WA members
for the remainder of the year. As well as a couple
of workshops planned, we are busy organising our
major seminar/trade show for later in the year. this
year’s event has all the hallmarks of being one of our
best yet and will include a gala dinner in celebration
of our graduating and award winning turf students
of 2014.
i hope i will meet up with many of our eastern
and southern state colleagues at the 30th Australian
turfgrass Conference on the gold Coast this year.
By all accounts the AgCsA has put together another
brilliant week of seminars and demonstrations.
tony guyPresident, sta wa
88 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
state reportsstate reports
WOrLD CuP CALL uP FOr LAnGstA ViC member and AAMi Park sportsfield
coordinator Justin Lang recently embarked on
the professional trip of a lifetime to provide his
expertise at this year’s fifA World Cup in Brazil.
At the invitation of the sports turf research
institute (stri), lang’s six week sojourn entails
World Cup turf consultancy in Curitiba, one of
12 host venues for the tournament which kicks
off on 12 June. lang’s pitch assessments of
the Arena da Baixada will contribute to reports
for a venue scheduled to host four preliminary
round games, including the 23 June group B
match between the socceroos and World Cup
defending champions and world no.1 ranked
nation spain.
the invitation was something of a surprise for the unassuming richmond Afl
fanatic who, after a decade at Punt road Oval followed by a nine-year stint at etihad
stadium, has been in charge of AAMi Park’s turf since the stadium’s 2010 opening.
“this will be my biggest career highlight so far. Possibly the biggest i will
ever have,” lang said. “i’ve never been overseas before, so you can imagine the
scrambling to get my passport, vaccinations, banking and phones sorted.”
the scale of the World Cup is evidenced by the 12 stadiums and 32 training
facilities that will be used for the event. While lang expects reasonably similar
surfaces to home, he’s looking forward to being on the ground to forensically assess
the grounds.
under lang, AAMi Park’s playing surface won back-to-back Professional
footballers Association Best Pitch Awards in 2012 and 2013. As well as preparing
AAMi Park for A-league matches, Justin and his team also meet the challenge of
curating a field with the additional demands of rugby (Melbourne rebels, super 15)
and rugby league (Melbourne storm, nrl) and at times simultaneously when the three
football codes’ seasons intersect.
Justin Lang is currently in Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Vgcsa
The VgCsA Annual general Meeting was
held at Commonwealth golf Club on 19
May with AgCsA Accredited superintendent
Mark Prosser and his team having the course in
magnificent condition. Compliments also to the
clubhouse staff for making our day enjoyable. We
are certainly grateful to be able to conduct our
meetings at excellent venues and it was wonderful
to see the recently refurbished Commonwealth
clubhouse.
toro have been long time sponsors of our AgM
and again they were there to ensure our day was a
success. thank you to Dean, Michael, Chris and the
toro organisation for their ongoing support of the
VgCsA and the AgM.
As part of the AgM we presented the winner
of the VgCsA Apprentice of the Year Award. this
year’s winner is Ethan Bell from Wangaratta golf
Club who attended Wodonga tAfe. ethan beat a
strong field of finalists that included Simon Wilson
(freeway golf Club/nMit), Thomas Golding
(torquay golf Club/ gordon tafe) and David Cope
(settlers run/Chisholm tafe). Congratulations to
ethan and all finalists.
Victorian Police senior sergeant Peter Bellion
was our guest speaker on the day. At the subsequent
AgM, Jeremy Cutajar was installed as the new
VgCsA president with the committee for the next 12
months to consist of: l President: Jeremy Cutajar (ringwood/Dorset
gCs)l Vice-president: Mathew Poultney (green
Acres gC)l Secretary: Barry Proctor (Cranbourne gC)l Treasurer: Mark Jennings (Box Hill gC)l Committee: Shane Greenhill (sorrento gC),
Steve Burchett (Portarlington gC), Michael
Freeman (Huntingdale gC) and Steve Hewitt
(13th Beach)
the coveted Powell trophy went to Adam Lamb
(Barwon Heads), while the toro Cup went the way
of David Phillips (spring Valley gC). the Presidents
shield trade competition was collected by Matt
Steven (Oasis turf).
the AgM was my last as VgCsA president and
i would like to thank everyone who has supported
me since stepping into the role in 2011. the VgCsA
has continued to focus on providing quality content
at meetings and to produce a great newsletter. i
believe these two areas are a core focus and to be
a part of providing this to our members to a high
standard has been very satisfying.
this could not have been possible without the
commitment of the VgCsA committee members
and our administrative coordinator Lesley Mitchell.
As a team i feel that we have been progressive in
implementing new initiatives while at the same time
improving areas of the association that were already
done well as a result of past committees.
thank you to our generous sponsors who
continue to support the association. to all members,
thank you for the effort you have made to embrace
the opportunities made available to you. the
association cannot prosper and grow without the
input and enthusiasm of its members.
i will continue to be a part of the committee as i
feel that i still have more to offer but feel that a new
person from a leadership perspective is required.
good luck to Jeremy who i know will do a fine job.
the next VgCsA event will be the Assistants/3iC
education Meeting scheduled for 16 June at
Chisholm tAfe. this day will include a number
of guest speakers and information provided from
the state’s tAfe colleges. i would encourage all
superintendents to allow their senior staff to attend
what should be a very informative day. thank you to
Jim Brennan (Applied Agronomics) for sponsoring
the day and to Chisholm tAfe for offering their
venue for the meeting.
steVen hewittiMMediate Past President, Vgcsa
MAY-June 2014 89
sta act region
It’s that time of the year in Canberra when we
dust off the gloves, beanie and thermals in
preparation for the winter months to come. We
have already had a few small frosts and daytime
temperatures are now hovering around the mid-
teens. Autumn renovations have been completed
and most warm-season grasses are starting to lose
colour and have well and truly stopped growth.
Our annual stA ACt region golf Day was
recently held at gold Creek Country Club (AgCsA
Accredited superintendent Scott Harris). Overall
numbers were a bit down for the day with about
50 delegates enjoying a picturesque sunny day of
golf. Simon Snedden was presented with the ACt
student of the Year Award before golfers took to the
course. thank you to sponsors nuturf, simplot and
Complete turf & landscaping. thank you also to
Bill Franklin from nuturf for tirelessly slaving away
all day on the barbeque to ensure everyone was fed.
the start of May saw the federation of Bowling
greenkeepers Week with around 100 bowling
greenkeepers converging on Canberra from around
Australia. each day was hosted by a different club
starting with Queanbeyan rsl Club followed by
tuggeranong Bowling Club, Weston Creek Bowling
Club, north Bowling Club, Queanbeyan Bowling
Club and Belconnen Bowling Club.
there were sponsor talks most mornings and
a turf tour of Manuka Oval and Parliament House.
Championships for singles, pairs and fours were
also contested as well as test matches between the
states, with a gala dinner in the Bradman room at
Manuka Oval rounding off the week.
the annual stA ACt turf seminar, to be held at
tuggeranong town sports Centre on Wednesday
30 July, is fast approaching. Once again we have
a quality line-up of speakers for the day with the
central theme being playing surface rejuvenation.
topics include the reconstruction of Manuka Oval,
rejuvenation of royal Melbourne golf Club, shaving
bowling greens and the reconstruction plans for
royal Canberra. there will also be machinery
demonstrations and Luke Jorgensen will give an
overview of his study trip to the usA as part of
winning the AgCsA graduate of the Year Award.
there really is something for everyone with
a focus on getting back to the grass roots topics
of greenkeeping. Our AgM will be held at the
conclusion of the seminar. registrations can be
made online at www.sportsturf.asn.au or enquiries
through Consec-Conference Management on (02)
6251 0675.
danny hull,coMMittee, sta act region
90 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
state reportsstate reports
gcsaq
Some absolutely glorious Queensland autumn
weather has had the golfers out in force
with most superintendents across the state
reporting large player numbers. the rainfall hasn’t
been too extreme and the warmth lasted into May,
so most courses are well placed heading into winter
which makes for a nice change from previous years.
Horton Park AgCsA Accredited superintendent
Pat Pauli’s new course at Bli Bli is progressing
nicely with nine fairways and six greens already
handed over to his crew. further south at rACV
royal Pines resort, the fine weather has them
ahead of schedule at the time of writing, while
Charlie Giffard at indooroopilly reports that his
club is about to spend upwards of $150K to realign
the fairway on 6 red to hopefully solve a boundary
issue. And Ben Tilley has taken it upon himself to
cause a drought by installing a new water storage
area at Headland golf Club!
there has been a little bit of movement among
the troops in south east Queensland, particularly
on the trade side. simplot Partners state manager
Col Thorsborne is making a return to the bright
side by taking the superintendent role at Parkwood
international on the gold Coast. the club has had
a renaissance of sorts over the past couple of years
with improvements happening in all areas of the
facility.
former Hyatt Coolum assistant superintendent,
David golf rep and most recently living turf rep
Brock Agnew also returns from the dark side
by joining the crew at sanctuary Cove as Robin
Doodson’s assistant. robin’s former assistant
Glenn Gibson-Smith has taken the position as
superintendent at riverside Oaks in nsW and we all
wish him well.
Luke Mortimer at Arundel found the 60 hour
weeks trying to keep bentgrass greens alive a bit
wearisome (i know how he feels!) and has moved
on to allow former sanctuary Cove greenkeeper
Todd McCully to take the reins. And former gCsAQ
committee member Graham Sims has pulled up
stumps at Pacific golf Club in Brisbane after 31
years on the tools.
the sad news from an industry perspective
here recently was the permanent closing of nine
holes at Club Banora golf Club. the golf course
was constructed on a reclaimed swamp 30 years
ago and has not been without structural issues
since then. the golf course was also damaged
by salt in the early 1990s requiring substantial
rectification work and numerous reports since then
have predicted the sort of event that has now
happened.
Despite ample irrigation water in storage on
the golf course, the structure below the turf surface
has become so parched that some areas of the
golf course have begun to crack open, resulting
in potentially hazardous conditions if people were
to enter these zones. the chairman of twin towns
services Club, Michael Fraser, which operates
Club Banora, said that, “the extent of damage in
certain areas is such that we will need to close them
from all golf operations and they will be fenced off.
the areas that are not damaged beyond repair will
be reconfigured to provide nine holes of golf for our
members.”
the club has recently been able to further
reconfigure some tee and green locations to provide
an 18-hole option for the members that have stayed
on. gCsAQ member Bob McCowan has been
leading from the front in these recent course works.
Peter lonerganPresident, gcsaq
Ben Tilley has been digging some big holes at Headland which will
no doubt spark a mass drought in Queensland
on the MoVeLucas Brown: from superintendent emerald golf
Club, Qld to superintendent Mildura golf resort,
Vic.
David Cheape: from Mandurah Country Club, WA
to assistant superintendent Melville glades golf
Club, WA replacing Dave Brennan.
Glenn Gibson-Smith: from assistant
superintendent sanctuary Cove golf & Country
Club, Qld to superintendent riverside Oaks golf
Club, nsW.
Tony Jonas: Appointed superintendent
toowoomba golf Club (Middle ridge), Qld.
Bryan Kelly: Appointed superintendent
Queanbeyan golf Club, nsW replacing scott
fogg.
Tim Madder: elevated to assistant superintendent,
Kew golf Club, Vic.
Brad Marsden: from superintendent Kings Cove,
Metung, Vic to landscape maintenance manager
Cameron Outdoor (Bairnsdale, Vic).
Craig Molloy: from general manager shortland
Waters golf Club, nsW to superintendent Cypress
lakes resort, nsW replacing Merv Hayward.
Jason Pou: from leading hand to assistant
superintendent royal fremantle golf Club, WA.
Liam Spooner: Appointed assistant superintendent
secret Harbour golf Club, WA.
Cameron Sutherland: from curator WACA, WA to
general manager of tracks Perth racing, WA.
Earl Warmington: from assistant superintendent
Jacks Point, nZ to assistant superintendent royal
Canberra golf Club, ACt.
Gibson-Smith
Marsden
Molloy
Sutherland
Ph. 03 9548 8600 Fax. 03 9548 8622 Email: [email protected] 1, Monash Corporate Centre, 752 Blackburn Road, Clayton 3168 Vic
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92 AustrAliAn turfgrAss MAnAgeMent 16.3
off courseoff course
Those who know south Australian turf industry
veteran John Cooper will appreciate that
he’s the sort of man who likes to travel the
unbeaten path. readers of AtM may recall his
article in Volume 11.2 back in 2009 which recounted
his 46-day solo kayak down the entire length of the
Murray river. recently Cooper packed the bags
(and golf clubs) on yet another adventure, this time
to Myanmar, formerly Burma. He penned this little
report for AtM about one of his many stops along
the way – thayet golf Club – which claims to be the
oldest course in Myanmar.
“the ‘road to Mandalay’ is actually the Ayerarwaddy
(irrawaddy) river inspired by rudyard Kipling’s
poem and made famous by the frank sinatra song.
the river bisects Myanmar from the far north through
Mandalay to Yangon (rangoon) in the south and is
the lifeblood of the many villages and towns along
its banks.
Once of these is the port city of thayet and
after a short horse and cart ride (and a long straight
drive), i was standing on the 1st green of the first
golf course in Myanmar. thayet golf Club proudly
boasts being the first golf course built in the country
and also of its affiliation with the royal and Ancient
golf Club. the club claims that its members have
reciprocal green fees with them, although apparently
st Andrews does not acknowledge this connection.
British colonial rule in the 18th and 19th
Centuries brought to this part of the world two
quintessentially British cultural and social institutions
– gentlemen’s clubs and golf clubs. the city of
thayet was significant to the British occupation as
it once guarded the borders of royal Burma and
British Burma following the 2nd Anglo-Burmese War
of 1855. As such, the english population of the time
saw the need to build a golf course and thus in 1887
thayet golf Club was born.
nowadays most of the country’s golf courses
are in the bigger cities of Yangon (rangoon) and
Mandalay which cater for the increasing number
of tourists as well as those locals who have the
financial resources to play the game. thayet, by
contrast, remains very rural. the primary means of
living is agriculture and not surprisingly there is little
interest in golf.
Despite the club’s references to st Andrews,
course maintenance at thayet is rudimentary at
best, with some interesting rotary mowers used
on most surfaces. the nine greenkeeping staff are
mostly occupied with manual tasks and each green
has its own hand roller, sand supply and nearby
water trough to help achieve a puttable surface.
As i looked around the landscape of the course,
the financial future seemed to be more in the
projected worth of the teak trees planted between
the fairways than the number of golfers coming
through the facility. According to the club, it has 472
members on its books, but for that to be believable
many would need to come from the major cities
which are more than 200kms away.
But at the very modest cost of just $AuD5 a
round, complete with a local caddy to hold the
umbrella and clubs, it was certainly on the affordable
side and meant i could enjoy a few of the $AuD1
beers in the midday sun afterwards.”
Thayet Golf Club is Myanmar’s oldest course, formed in 1887
The local transport to and from the course
Now that’s a rotary mower!
John Cooper with caddy at Thayet
on the road to
MandalayMandalay