AGCSA AWARDS AGCSA AWARDS
Class acts ATM profiles 2016 AGCSA and STA Australia Graduate of the Year Award recipients William Koopmans and Kurt Dillon. It was Koopmans’ love of golf that got him into turf management
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hey may have embarked on their turf management careers in different states and in different sectors of the industry, but 2016 Graduate of the Year winners William Koopmans and Kurt Dillon share a heap in common. It was their love for sport – golf in the case of Koopmans’ and rugby league in Dillon’s – that kindled their interest in turf and with a few years in the trade now under their belts that passion has only intensified. At the 32nd Australian Turfgrass Conference in Melbourne, Koopmans and Dillon respectively collected the AGCSA and STA Graduate of the Year awards, presented in partnership with long-standing sponsor Toro Australia. In both instances they beat home an extremely strong field of fellow state finalists, with Koopmans becoming the third VGCSA representative to win the AGCSA award in the past six years. Likewise, Dillon became the second NSW representative to win the STA award which was inaugurated back in 2011. In collecting their awards both Koopmans and Dillon were quick to congratulate their fellow finalists and were in little doubt as to what the award would mean to each of them as they progress through their careers. Indeed, the awards have quickly opened up further opportunities, Koopmans in particular, and both will journey to the US in 2017 as part of the prize for winning the awards courtesy of Toro.
OPENING DOORS For Koopmans, golf has been an integral part of his life since primary school. It was during these formative years that he managed to collect his first tournament win at Mt Xavier Golf Club which 44
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 18.5
sparked a desire to one day work on a golf course and prepare playing surfaces. He didn’t have to wait too long for that opportunity to come about in the form of an apprenticeship at Ballarat Golf Club which was advertised in the local newspaper. Duly taken on by course superintendent Jeff Powell, Koopmans’ skill and ability as a young apprentice quickly shone through and he became a key member of the crew. Part of a small maintenance crew and joining the club shortly after it relocated to a newly constructed course, Koopmans was immersed in a huge variety of course maintenance practices during his apprenticeship – cutting, spraying chemicals, renovating playing surfaces, bunker maintenance as well as changing holes and setting markers. As with any maturing golf course, Koopmans was also exposed to a raft of ongoing remedial works including installing two kilometres of fairway drainage, bunker improvements (drainage, replacing sand and making improvements to lips and faces) as well as enhancing the course’s fledgling landscape areas. He also helped prepare the course for two PGA Futures Championships. In addition to his on the course training, Koopmans completed his schooling through The Gordon Institute of TAFE and since finishing his apprenticeship has continued on to do his Diploma. “I love everything about golf, both the playing and course maintenance side of it,” says Koopmans who qualified for the AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award after being named the VGCSA Graduate of the Year in May. “Being a keen golfer outside of work has made me a much more passionate turf manager