ARCHIVE PHOTOS COURTESY OF KHGC
from the tee. The green had about 330 millimetres of sand over the entire green except for this back left corner which had up to 400mm. The club wanted to reinstate the pin position and after discussions with the club architect and looking at the previous surveying of the green, it was decided to reduce the severity of the slope from the back of the green to the front in the back left corner. After detailed surveying, it was proven the pin position could be reinstated with no disturbance required to the drainage layer. It was approved by the general committee for this work to be done in November of 2015. Points were marked out on the green where the slope needed to be reduced to be able to have the plateau that was originally there reinstated. About 60 square metres of A1 creeping bentgrass turf was lifted with 60mm of sand/thatch removed in the deepest section tapering back to 20mm. This allowed for a slope of only two per cent from the rear of the green to the front of the plateau, which is a lesser slope than a lot of the available pin positions currently on other greens. The turf was then relayed and some minor bunker work was also completed at the same time. The hole was kept out of play for two weeks. The pin position will be used for the first time in February during Kingston Heath’s club championships. Although it was a simple project for the course staff to do – all up it took just four days to complete – it was a significant decision by the club to carry out this work on such an iconic golf hole. Editor’s Note: If you have any minor project work that you would like featured in ATM Journal, contact editor Brett Robinson on (03) 9548 8600 or email brett@agcsa.com.au
Kingston Heath’s 15th ‘Plateau’ hole. The top photo was taken in 1928 shortly after it was redesigned by Alister MacKenzie. The bottom two photos, from in front and behind the green, were taken 1931
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