40
Labour of love
PHOTO: CON CHRONIS/PGA TOUR
A
COLUMNS
PETER MCMAUGH – AUSTRALIA’S FOREMOST TURF EXPERT
62
COMPLIANCE CORNER WITH TERRY MUIR
76
58 Contributors to Australian Turfgrass Management Journal Volume 21.5 (September-October 2019) Nathan Andrews (Citywide Service Solutions); Shane Baker (GCSAWA); Addison Barden (USGA); Nathan Bradbury (NSWGCSA); Will Brierley (AELTC); Thomas Burridge (Peninsula Kingswood CGC); Con Chronis (PGA Tour); Brenton Clarke (Blackwood GC); Mike Cocking (OCCM); Jimmy Correll (STA ACT); Shaun Cross (Byron Bay GC); Todd Darrington (Cricket ACT); Idris Evans (Western Australian GC); Richard Forsyth (Royal Melbourne GC); Dan Gardner (Swan Hill Lawn Tennis Club); Phil Hill (TGCSA); Tim Hoskinson (Cairns GC); James Lauritz Photography; Gary Lisbon (www.golfphotos.com.au); Paul McLean (GCSAQ); Peter McMaugh (Turfgrass Scientific Services); Terry Muir (epar); John Neylan (SportEng); Ben Payne (Peninsula Kingswood CGC); Matt Plunkett (Turf NSW); Barry Proctor (VGCSA); Albert Sherry (National Turf Education Working Group); Jim Skorulski (USGA); Simone Staples (AGCSA); Glenn Stuart (Peninsula Kingswood CGC); Shane Stuart (Peninsula Kingswood CGC); STA Victoria; Kate Torgersen (Environmental Golf Solutions); Dave Thomson (Bermagui CC); Mark Unwin (AGCSA).
s the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Over the past six years, the golf industry has watched on with intense interest the birth of Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club and the merger of two significant private golfing establishments. At times it has been an emotionally-charged environment down in that little pocket of southeast Melbourne, but at the new club’s official launch in May, it was pretty evident that the more than 800 members and guests in attendance were pinching themselves at what they could see in front of them. I recall clearly sitting in Glenn Stuart’s office when he was course superintendent at Metropolitan Golf Club as the 2014 Australian Masters was underway. Interviewing him at the time about the tournament for ATM, we started discussing what the future had in store. He spoke passionately about the works that were in the pipeline – course improvement plans and a new architect appointment, new irrigation system and maintenance facility. It seemed pretty clear he wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. Then, just five months later, came the announcement that he had been appointed the new ‘director of courses’ at Peninsula Kingswood. There are jobs in life that you simply cannot overlook and for Stuart this was ‘the one’ and as you will read later in this edition it has been career-defining. The rest, as they say, is history and together he and his team, course architects OCCM and the myriad people involved in the redevelopment have created something special. Put simply, the depth and breadth of what has been achieved at Peninsula Kingswood could never be told in just one article. There are so many facets to this project that make for fascinating reading and in this edition we have dedicated 32 pages – comprising five main articles and numerous breakouts – recounting what is one of the biggest golf course redevelopment projects in this country’s history. Where do you start? From a design perspective, what began as a simple discussion about improving conditioning turned into a full blown 36-hole redevelopment where every green, bunker and tee has been redesigned or rebuilt, fairways reshaped and re-grassed, creeks and water bodies added, a state-of-the-art irrigation system installed, cart paths, drainage and vegetation works… the list is endless. From an agronomic perspective there are multiple components – the decision to challenge the concept of USGA greens construction methodology and the science behind engineering a growing medium to mimic the much-lauded native sands of the Melbourne Sandbelt. And to complement that, the research that went into selecting a new generation bentgrass. From an environmental management perspective, the substantial works that have gone into reinvigorating some of the best stands of remnant vegetation in Victoria. And then you have the staff management aspect – from the challenges of merging two clubs, the bringing together of a new team and managing multiple sites in varying stages of maintenance and construction. It has challenged all those involved on so many levels, but the end result has been worth it. Some may scoff and think that what we have presented in this edition is a little over the top, but if you read all the components of what has gone into this project, I think you will agree that the scope of works undertaken more than warrants such coverage. The Peninsula Kingswood project has certainly set a benchmark as far as golf course redevelopments go. Yes, they had the resources to do it to such a high level, resources which are well out of the reach of many clubs, but there are so many valuable lessons, principles and techniques that can be taken out of this project and applied to any course redevelopment. To put together a series of articles like this, much like the redevelopment itself, has been a labour of love and I sincerely thank Glenn, his deputies Ben Payne and Shane Stuart, Mike Cocking and regular ATM columnists John Neylan and Kate Torgersen for their diligence and input. I’m off to Bali to recuperate, so enjoy the read…
Brett Robinson, Editor SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019
5