Australian Turfgrass Management Journal - Volume 23.1

CELEBRATING THE EFFORTS OF AUSTRALIA’S SPORTS TURF MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS

ISSN 1442-2697

www.agcsa.com.au

VOLUME 23.1 JAN-FEB 2021

Stepping up to the crease Manuka Oval becomes a Big Bash beacon

Premier performance ICC Academy pitches in to rescue 2020 Indian Premier League

Community asset Fully fledged Maleny GC making its mark

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JOURNAL

Published by the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) Editorial Brett Robinson Office: (03) 9548 8600 Mobile: 0434 144 779 Email: brett@agcsa.com.au Advertising Pam Irvine Office: (03) 9548 8600 Mobile: 0402 069 489 Email: pam@agcsa.com.au Art Direction & Design Jo Corne Printed By Southern Colour Pty Ltd

PREMIUM PARTNERS The Australian Sports Turf Managers Association is indebted to the support of the following premium partner companies

PREMIUM PREMIUM PARTNERS PARTNERS PLATINUM

The Australian The Sports Australian Turf Managers Sports Turf Association ManagersisAssociation indebted toisthe indebted to the support of thesupport following of the premium following partner premium companies partner companies

PLATINUM PLATINUM Suite 1, Monash Corporate Centre 752 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC 3168 P: (03) 9548 8600 F: (03) 9548 8622 E: admin@agcsa.com.au W: www.agcsa.com.au ABN 96 053 205 888 ASTMA Board Peter Lonergan (president), Chris Burgess (treasurer), David Thomson, Ben Tilley and Damian Hough Chief Executive Officer Mark Unwin Office: (03) 9548 8600 Mobile: 0438 320 919 E: mark@agcsa.com.au Membership Allison Jenkins E: admin@agcsa.com.au Accounts Philip Horsburgh E: philip@agcsa.com.au

GOLD GOLD GOLD

SILVER SILVERSILVER

Events and Education Simone Staples E: simone@agcsa.com.au Pam Irvine E: pam@agcsa.com.au AGCSATech Bruce Macphee (Senior Agronomist) E: bruce@agcsa.com.au Tim Fankhauser (Agronomist) E: tim@agcsa.com.au

BRONZE

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Social Media Keally Nankervis E: keally@agcsa.com.au www.facebook.com/TheASTMA www.linkedin.com www.instagram.com/the_astma @TheASTMA Copyright © 2021 The ASTMA believes that material sourced and produced for Australian Turfgrass Management is accurate, but gives no warranty in relation thereto, and disclaims liability for all claims against the ASTMA, its subsidiary companies, its employees, agents or any other person which may arise from any person acting on the materials contained within. No portion, in whole or part, may be reproduced without the written permission of the ASTMA

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JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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CONTENTS

8 COVER STORY

MANUKA’S BIG SUMMER

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When the draw for the tenth season of the Big Bash League was released last November, Manuka Oval in Canberra was slated to host six games in the opening three weeks of the competition. By the time the 61-match tournament had come to a close, it had hosted a total of 13 fixtures, in addition to two international white-ball games between Australia and India. Thanks to COVID-19 outbreaks and subsequent border closures, Manuka Oval would end up being the go-to venue for Cricket Australia to keep the BBL10 season alive. ATM catches up with Cricket ACT head curator Brad van Dam to reflect on a very unique summer in the nation’s capital.

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Cover: Manuka Oval during the Australia v India day-night ODI on 2 December 2020.

Photo: Getty Images/Cameron Spencer - CA

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FEATURES ALSO IN THIS EDITION… Foreword Thinking Picture perfect posts – NEW Regional Profile – Nambucca Heads, NSW Around the Trade Association Reports 2

4 6 62 68 70

Premier performance – 2020 IPL Maleny GC makes its mark Double delight – Twin Ovals Golf course mapping AGCSATech trials update

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

16 24 30 34 50

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Tournament heartbeat

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46 COLUMNS JOHN NEYLAN PETER MCMAUGH AM JOHN FORREST BEN GIBSON – NEW KATE TORGERSEN

40 46 52 56 60

56 Contributors to Australian Turfgrass Management Journal Volume 23.1 (January-February 2021): Shane Baker (CSTM, GCSAWA); Nathan Bennett (CSTM, SAGCSA); Nathan Bradbury (CSTM, NSWGCSA); James Di Saia (Kingborough Council/Twin Ovals); Idris Evans (Western Australian GC); Tim Fankhauser (CSTM, AGCSATech); John Forrest (Forrest and Forrest Horticultural Consultancy Services); Ben Gibson (The Toolbox Team); Shane Greenhill (VGCSA); Greg Jager (Nambucca Heads Island GC); Toby Lumsden (International Cricket Council Academy, UAE); Bruce Macphee (CSTM, AGCSATech); Brad Marsh (Kingborough Council/Twin Ovals); Mick McCombe (Maleny GC); Peter McMaugh AM (Turfgrass Scientific Services); Adam Moeller (USGA Green Section); Keally Nankervis (ASTMA); John Neylan (SportEng); Cameron Spencer (Getty Images/CA); STA Victoria; Kate Torgersen (Environmental Golf Solutions); Mark Unwin (ASTMA); Brad van Dam (Cricket ACT/Manuka Oval); Venues Canberra; George Waters (USGA Green Section).

’m penning this just as Devon Conway has bludgeoned a stupendous unbeaten 99 off 59 balls for the Black Caps in the opening match of the T20 series against Australia across the Ditch. I’m texting my son at the same time, revelling in one of those very rare and fleeting moments when a Kiwi can gloat about getting one up over the Aussies. I’m giving it both barrels too just quietly and the teenager isn’t taking it very well!

While I am an unabashed Test cricket devotee, the fast-paced smash and bash of T20 cricket has captured a new generation of fans (like my son) over the past decade, while for cricket curators the shortened form of the game has added yet another dimension to the way they manage their wickets. Preparing a T20 deck compared to a red ball one has its subtle differences and ultimately it’s about producing a track that can yield somewhere in the vicinity of 350 runs and double-digit wickets all in the space of a frenzied 40-over, three-hour assault.

The many T20 tournaments that have spawned around the globe have become huge entities and you only have to look at the staggering amounts of money splashed around at the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction to see that. TV viewing rights and sponsorship deals are injecting some serious money into the game, but with all that comes the pressure on curators and their crews to have grounds and pitches looking and performing at their best.

No more was that on show than during the recent IPL and Big Bash League (BBL) tournaments, which had the added complexity of both being significantly impacted by COVID19. For the BBL it meant a constantly evolving fixture in response to outbreaks and subsequent state border closures, while in the case of the IPL the entire tournament was moved to a different country, a massive logistical undertaking.

In this edition we look at the key roles that two venues half a world apart played in ensuring the successful completion of both tournaments. Our cover story details how Manuka Oval in Canberra became Cricket Australia’s ‘go-to’ venue to keep the BBL10 season alive when it was forced to make multiple last-minute changes to the schedule. Curator Brad van Dam and his small crew ended up hosting 13 BBL games, including three finals, in addition to two Internationals. To put that into perspective, Manuka had only hosted six BBL games in the previous six years.

Following the Manuka Oval article, ICC Academy and Dubai International Stadium head curator Toby Lumsden (CSTM) recounts the amazing logistics that went into hosting the IPL in the United Arab Emirates late last year. Toby and his team hosted 26 IPL matches in 52 days, as well as being a hub for six of the teams. The numbers he details in regards to training alone are staggering – 212 sessions, over 550 hours of usage and 166 pitches prepared over 76 days!

As both articles amply demonstrate, and as Lumsden notes towards the end of his, curators and their crews are the “unrecognised heartbeat” of such tournaments. Indeed, in both cases curator and crew went above and beyond to ensure the successful hosting of these events and often to their own detriment. Lumsden worked some ridiculous overtime and ended up falling ill, while van Dam had to forgo a family holiday and admits he and his team were running on fumes by the end of summer. It was little surprise therefore that when the announcement of van Dam’s impending departure from Manuka was announced just as this edition was being finalised, that he cited as one of his main reasons for doing so was to spend more time with his family.

And finally, speaking of departures, recently there have been some major announcements by a number of long-serving superintendents. Prior to Christmas, Royal Hobart Golf Club’s Steve Lewis announced that he is finishing up after a remarkable 42 years at the one club, including 35 as superintendent. Also bowing out after a similar tenure is South Australian stalwart Ivan Swinstead (Tea Tree Gully GC), while Avondale Golf Club’s David Warwick departed in late February after nearly 25 years. Three finer gentlemen you are unlikely to meet and their work ethic, skill and passion for what they do has shone throughout their celebrated careers. Above all, though, and true to the turfie mould, they are just bloody fine human beings. Enjoy the read...

Brett Robinson, Editor JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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FOREWORD THINKING WITH MARK UNWIN, CEO

ASTMA focuses on revising member engagement, activities in 2021

H

happy New Year to all members from the team at the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA). On behalf of the association, I want start off the year by passing on a note of thanks, to all members of the turf industry, for the incredible support provided to each other throughout 2020, a truly unprecedented year.

The commitment, support and flexibility turf managers, associations and partners have provided has enabled continued growth of the industry. It also ensured that anyone who found themselves in a difficult position throughout 2020, with its wide-ranging challenges, always had support and peers to turn to for any advice or assistance needed.

After a broadly disrupted 2020 with much of our activities required to change toward industry advocacy work, members support and lobbying, our regular activities of education and development programmes were placed on hold. Following recent easing of restrictions in most parts of the country, our focus has been on revising member engagement and activities throughout 2021, albeit with a slightly different look and feel.

Chief among those activities is the annual conference and this year the Australian Sports Turf Management Conference and Trade Exhibition returns to Broadbeach, Queensland for the first time since 2014, with the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) playing host from 21-24 June. Early Bird registration is now open and details of the education sessions and programme, industry awards and networking events are available on the ASTMA website.

With a busy February and March schedule of conferences and events at the GCCEC, the ASTMA is working with the convention

centre team to develop an exciting range of interactive and engaging opportunities for delegates and exhibitors during the week.

As active COVID cases reduce right across the country, restrictions ease and border closures are lifted, the ASTMA Board and convention centre team are dedicated to delivering the event safely, with an approach to continue the tradition of quality education for the turf industry. As was the case with the 2020 conference, in the event that the 2021 conference is cancelled due to restrictions imposed, all delegates will be entitled to a full refund.

The full programme will be available in the coming weeks, with ASTMA events manager Simone Staples working with a range of turf managers to organise a programme that includes local industry experts, turf practitioners and keynote speakers covering topics such as business management and health and wellbeing. The ASTMA is working with State Governments in relation to international travel and international counterparts to investigate virtual sessions so as to still bring delegates the latest overseas research and updates.

We continue to work through the early stages of longer-term programmes around

areas such as environmental management and sustainability, water management and the Golf Course 2030 programme and have also started work with various State Governments on addressing emerging issues for the industry, among them education and training, seasonal staffing needs, greenspace access and availability, biosecurity and increasing challenges presented through managing or prevention of damage from wildlife.

A steering committee is being formed to develop the sustainability framework for developing Golf Course 2030. Representatives from the ASTMA and each state association are working through issues, concerns and opportunities for each state in the development of a National Golf Course 2030 program for Australia, for presentation to The R&A in the second half of the year.

As has been noted previously by members, the important work of ensuring continuous research and development for the industry is progressing well. Our technical division AGCSATech embarked on four separate research programmes in 2020 and initiatives are underway to launch an additional four during 2021. More information and regular updates on this research will be made available to members via Australian Turfgrass Management Journal, the ASTMA website and various presentations at the 2021 conference.

Much of the feedback and lessons learnt from the 2020 ASTMA Member Survey will shape our approach to the year ahead and continuing to deliver on our strategic priorities to work for, and maintain our support of, the industry. It doesn’t mean we will get everything right all the time, but we are committed to improving the recognition of our industry, members, state associations and supporting the profession.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: DON’T IGNORE THE WARNING SIGNS Dear Editor, The ASTMA and its wonderful, hard-working staff have done a great job over the years reminding us members about mental health and protection against Australia’s relentless sun, but I thought it timely that members were reminded about heart related concerns as well. I had a scare early January brought about by stress and know that sports turf managers are under a lot of stress due to the very nature of their roles.

My story started with my beautiful mum having a health issue that had her in hospital for the last 10 weeks of 2020. During that time 4

my three brothers and I had to take over from mum who looked after our dad’s dementia issues. Just as we were able to organise mum moving from hospital to an aged care facility, dad had a turn and passed away on Christmas Eve. We then, of course, had to organise a New Year’s funeral.

I thought that between my brothers, grandchildren and a wonderful funeral director we had everything covered. But on the eve of dad’s funeral I had this uncomfortable feeling in my chest like a pulled muscle and hot/cold flushes. I sat up all night and had convinced myself that I had

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

somehow contracted COVID-19! Thankfully, my younger brother immediately took me to the local hospital where I underwent a barrage of tests. Twelve hours later I was given the all clear, with my only issue being an inflammation around the heart sack brought on by stress.

The main point that I learnt from the experience is to maintain your weight and lead a healthy lifestyle, but if you ever have chest pains please do not ignore them and go seek professional help.

Jeff Gambin ASTMA Past President (2004-2007)

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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What an amazing week @rosebudccgolf for the inaugural #ThePlayersSeries. A huge thank you to course super Ian Todd and the incredible grounds staff at @rosebudccgolf for giving our players an incredible course to play on. Also a special thank you to the staff & volunteers

@WPGATOUR What a golf course @rosebudccgolf is! Thank you Ian and all your amazing team for presenting the course in immaculate condition! #theplayersseries

Starting this edition, Australian Turfgrass Management Journal features some of the best social media photos snapped by our many talented turf managers and industry professionals in recent months. Whether it’s a stunning sunrise or sunset, an everyday practice, a major event or something a little bit out of left field, ATM wants to showcase your photos. Make sure to follow the ASTMA on social media and tag us in when posting. Happy snapping!

TIM HOSKINSON (CAIRNS GC) HG TURF GROUP HG Turf Group recently completed the project to rehabilitate and resurface Eden Park, New Zealand with our #HEROHybridGrass - Eden Park Edition.

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

The fairways are purple!! It’s hard to miss, but some of our fairways are a noticeably different colour at the moment. Nearly 12 months ago we received an off label permit through the APVMA to apply Fusilade to our blue couch fairways to eradicate carpet grass and paspalum. We are slowly but surely cleaning up the unwanted grass species.

@JEFPOW63 Sunrise over Ballarat Golf Club, 4th hole

@IDRIS_EVANS (WAGC) Ladies Christmas golf day, course set up was just a little different today...

MATT EDDY (EUROA GC) Second day of the lockdown without any golfers on the course and the cockatoos have moved in!!

@IDRIS_EVANS (WAGC) Making good progress on our fairway renovations

@ISLANDGOLFCLUB After all the recent rain it’s fair to say that the ground staff at Nambucca Heads Island GC are getting a bit of grass off the fairways!

@DEAN.HARDMAN.79 A great time of the day to mow fairways @indooroopillygolfclub

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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BBL It was a long and ever-changing summer for Brad van Dam and his crew at Manuka Oval in Canberra. After hosting two Australia v India internationals in early December (pictured is the strip used for both games), the ground would become Cricket Australia’s go-to venue to help rescue a COVID-impacted tournament

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

Manuka Oval’s

BIG summer

While the matches against India in early December didn’t go the way of the home side, the Manuka Oval wicket and outfield received excellent ratings from the players and umpires

When the draw for the tenth season of the Big Bash League was released last November, Manuka Oval in Canberra was slated to host six games in the opening three weeks of the competition. By the time the 61-match tournament had concluded, it had hosted 13, including three finals. ATM editor Brett Robinson talks to head

PHOTOS: BRAD VAN DAM AND VENUES CANBERRA

I

curator Brad van Dam to look back on a very unique summer in the nation’s capital.

n a way, it was a portent of things to come for Brad van Dam and his team at Manuka Oval. Just after midday on 20 January 2020, as they were going about their usual mid-summer duties, a severe storm descended on the nation’s capital. It lasted just 15 minutes, but ended up blanketing the wicket block and outfield with hailstones up to the size of snooker balls, leaving widespread indentations on the surface.

It was yet another bizarre happening in an already weird and not so wonderful summer.

Thick smoke from the devastating NSW bushfires raging at the time had smothered Canberra throughout December, resulting in the abandonment of the Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers Big Bash League (BBL) clash three days before Christmas. Dust storms also choked the region, while shortly after New Year Canberra roasted through its hottest day on record (44oC). Then, just for good measure, a few days after the hailstorm, strong winds felled a tree just behind the Manuka Oval scoreboard, taking out the venue’s AFL goal posts housed upright next to it.

All that, however, was just a warm-up for the main event of 2020 – COVID-19 – and what would turn out to be a 2020/2021 cricket season in which van Dam and his team, and Canberra as a whole, would unwittingly step up to play a starring role in.

UNCERTAIN TIMES Just as they had always done, come the end of last summer van Dam and his crew were gearing up the oval for the approaching football season. Cricket finals were on and Manuka had been freshly renovated in preparation for its usual allotment of AFL games – AFLW, a preseason series warmup match followed by a couple of Giants Premiership games. The renovation went off without a hitch, just like every other year. The oval was double/triple scarified and hollow tined to prepare a seedbed for 500kg/ha of Striker Gold ryegrass oversown in two tranches of 250kg/ha.

Then on the day that the crew were about to bolt in the AFL goal posts for the season ahead, everything changed. The nation was

plunged into a COVID-enforced lockdown and like everywhere else all sport in Canberra ground to a halt. It meant no AFL and also the cancellation of the much-anticipated return of Super Rugby to Manuka after a 25-year hiatus.

Manuka was due to host the ACT Brumbies v Sharks Super Rugby clash on 6 May. It was indeed a strange and uncertain time.

While Manuka had been renovated and was ready to go, the other ground that van Dam and his team oversee – EPC Solar Park (Phillip Oval), located about 10km away in the suburb of Woden – was still hosting cricket finals. They had to be called off and there was conjecture over what to do with the ground as it hadn’t been renovated or oversown. In order to keep costs down and because at that stage no one had any idea of how long the lockdown would endure, it was decided not to oversow.

That state of limbo would continue right through until July. For van Dam that period was spent doing the usual winter maintenance jobs as well as having regular conversations and meetings with Cricket ACT and the ACT Government. Those discussions centred JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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BBL

Manuka Oval 2IC Todd Darrington rolls the wicket ahead of the ODI between Australia and India

around what the rest of the year could look like in terms of fixtures for the upcoming cricket season, how best to manage the grounds through the lockdown and what would be required to get them back up to optimum condition should games return.

Along with senior management, van Dam painstakingly poured over budgets, coming up with best and worst case scenarios. Thankfully none of his young crew had to be stood down and they continued to keep the oval ticking over during that time. Like most other major facilities impacted by COVID, Manuka was put into a holding pattern, with Primo applied to reduce growth and the need for other inputs.

LINE IN THE SAND While the sports industry watched on with intense interest last winter as the AFL was forced to uproot its entire 2020 season and head interstate, behind the scenes at Cricket Australia (CA) an equal amount of work was

being done to formulate an international and domestic cricket season for the approaching 2020/2021 summer. Come 28 October, it made what would be the first of numerous announcements, with a revised Indian Tour confirmed for the start of December comprising three One Day Internationals (ODIs), three T20s and a four-Test series.

Up until two weeks before that announcement it was still uncertain whether Manuka Oval would have any of those games.

Pre-COVID they had one India Tour game slated, but that now seemed out the window.

A week before the official Tour announcement, however, Manuka got the nod for two games, the third ODI on 2 December and the first T20 game on 4 December.

Despite all the uncertainty, the ground itself was ready and rearing to go. At the start of spring, van Dam and his team had prepared the oval as if the cricket season was going ahead as planned. The ryegrass had been

sprayed out, the outfield and wicket block had been freshly renovated and the ground was looking the best it had ever been for that time of year.

“Our couch coverage coming out of winter was phenomenally good because we’d had no wear and tear on the ground,” explains van Dam, who has been Manuka curator since 2008. “The Santa Ana couchgrass that was below the ryegrass was still green, even after our Canberra winter! I have never seen it like that before in my 13 years here, especially the condition of it through the centre corridor. We had perfectly green couch around the fence lines where it gets the winter sun – it was like it never went into dormancy. That was the flip side to everything that was going on, how well the ground came out of winter, which put us in a good spot for whatever was to come.

“We started our renovations in the first week of September which gave us a good 6-7 weeks before those first two India Tour games.

Our spring renovation was a lot more intensive than normal. Because we didn’t have the wear and tear that footy causes, which naturally helps to thin the ground out, the surface was extremely thick.

“So we scarified at least three times, mowed it right down as low as we could and cored in couple of directions. We made the core spacings a lot tighter as well so we could get a lot more of the dead grass out. The machines certainly sounded like they were working a lot harder than they normally do!

The ground came out of those renovations well and we were extremely confident it would be perfect for those first two games.”

A week after the India Tour confirmation, on 5 November CA announced the first revised draw for the tenth season of the BBL. In what Alistair Dobson, CA’s head of Big Bash Leagues, described as “without doubt the most complex fixturing task ever undertaken by the League”, only the first 21 games to be held in December were confirmed, such was the ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 situation.

A week before the fixture release, van Dam thought they would be having three BBL games, but by the time the announcement came out that had increased to six. Canberra, along with Tasmania, would be a primary hub for the initial three weeks of the tournament, with Manuka hosting six games in 19 days alongside Hobart’s Blundstone Arena (six games in 11 days) and Launceston’s UTAS Stadium (two games back-to-back). From 23 December, Queensland and South Australia venues would come online, with matches at the Gabba (three), Metricon Stadium (two) and Adelaide Oval (two) all before the New Year.

In between each block of BBL games, the crew would put the Phantom Core over the outfield to ensure good aeration and drainage

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

BBL

After hosting just six BBL games in the previous six years, the BBL10 season would see Manuka Oval host 13 matches, including three finals. Pictured is the third game between the Thunder and Heat, one of six matches the venue would host in the first three weeks of the competition

Those six games scheduled for Manuka effectively doubled the ground’s tally of BBL games, having hosted just six BBL clashes over the six year period prior. Canberra hosted its first game back in BBL04 then had to wait three more years (BBL07) before hosting its next. It then hosted two matches in each of the BBL08 and BBL09 seasons. Of those last four games, three were rain affected and had to be decided by the Duckworth-Lewis System, while the other was that abandoned match.

CA released the remainder of the BBL10 draw on 23 November with matches confirmed for Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Along with Optus Stadium in Perth (five games) and the MCG and Marvel Stadium in Melbourne (11 games in total), the SCG and Sydney Showgrounds were to host a total of eight, four each.

The draw also had additional matches confirmed for the Adelaide Oval (three), the Gabba (two), Metricon Stadium (four) and Blundstone Arena (two) in early January, but nothing further for Manuka. That, however, would be blown out of the water shortly after New Year, but more on that later.

DECEMBER D-DAY With eight games in the space of 28 days in December (from the 2 December ODI to the sixth BBL game on 29 December), van Dam came up with different scenarios for wicket rotations. Manuka has a seven-deck Legend couchgrass wicket block, with the middle three pitches chosen to host all games – one pitch for the two internationals which were 12

two days apart, a fresh pitch for the 11, 12 and 14 December BBL games and a third for the 22, 26 and 29 December games. At that stage they had only worked out rotations for those matches because as far as they were concerned the 29th would signal the end of Manuka’s involvement.

While preferring not to have three games on the same pitch over a five day period, van Dam knew the wickets had come out of winter exceptionally well and with a good week-long break in between each block of games the pitches would perform well. As it is with T20 pitches anyway, they generally get harder, faster and flatter and thus perform better the more games they have on them.

TABLE 1: MATCHES AND VENUES Ground BBL101 BBL091 Manuka Oval 13 (3) 2 Adelaide Oval 10 8 (1) Blundstone Arena 8 5 (1) The Gabba 6 (1) 5 MCG 6 7 (2) Metricon Stadium 6 3 Optus Stadium 5 7 Marvel Stadium 4 5 UTAS Stadium 2 2 SCG 1 (1*) 7 (1*) Sydney Showgrounds - 5 GMHBA Stadium - 2 Traeger Park - 1 Ted Summerton Oval - 1 Coffs Int’l Stadium - 1 Venues used 10 15 Key: Number in brackets indicates finals; * BBL grand final; 1 61-game seasons

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

The tight schedule did necessitate the tweaking of van Dam’s outfield practices.

The Phantom Core was called upon a couple of occasions in between matches to take out smaller cores to ensure the surface was adequately aerated and was draining correctly, while solid tines were punched when required and plant growth regulators and liquid fertilisers applied depending on the conditions.

The big issue for van Dam, however, centred on the wear and tear of the practice wickets, both at Manuka (which boasts 14 Santa Ana wickets) and EPC Solar Park (13 wickets). A total of seven were used across the two venues (four at Manuka, three at EPC Solar Park) and they were hammered with the increased number of training sessions. The number of hours cutting and rolling quickly mounted up for van Dam and his small team, but the product that they would present every time on match day was top class.

“We were very happy with the pitches we produced in December,” states van Dam. “The pitch for the two India games wasn’t quite as fast and bouncy as they were later in the season, but that was because it was still quite cool in Canberra at that time, moisture levels were a lot higher in the wickets and the roots weren’t as deep. The scores were good, although Australia didn’t play their best, but from my perspective the pitches were great.

“The decks got better as they had more games on them and there were lots of runs and wickets. The two games on the 26th and 29th had first innings scores of 209 and 219, with 18 and 17 wickets respectively.”

SIX BECOMES 10…

By the time Sydney Thunder had amassed their fourth win of the competition at Manuka, a 75-run thumping of the Melbourne Stars on 29 December, as far as van Dam was concerned they were done. With no games coming up, the pitches were flooded, covered and put to bed, while over the next few days the LED screens were bumped out in preparation for the next phase of the tournament which was centred around eight matches in Sydney.

Such was the changing nature of things already, in the back of his mind van Dam had an inkling that things could alter and it therefore came as no surprise when he received a call from his CEO on New Year’s Day. A COVID outbreak in the Northern Beaches of Sydney had resulted in border closures, causing a fixturing crisis for those games in Sydney. Manuka quickly came into the reckoning as CA’s ‘go-to’ option to solve the problem.

A week after alerting Manuka that they were back in the game, on 8 January CA made the announcement that three matches to be held at the SCG and Sydney Showgrounds on 13, 16 and 18 January were to be relocated to Canberra. Stated Dobson at the time: “The logistical complexities of the KFC BBL, with multiple movements of multiple groups across multiple state borders, means moving these games gives us the best possible chance of executing a full season.”

And that wasn’t the end of it either. Three days later Dobson was announcing further changes, this time to seven games – five in Sydney and two in Melbourne. While Adelaide Oval would end up hosting five of those, Manuka landed an extra game – the 14 January clash between the Heat and Renegades – meaning four games in six days.

Manuka was more than ready of course.

Over the New Year break van Dam had kept things ticking over, even forgoing a family holiday to Tasmania on the off chance that Manuka would be called upon again. That included spraying the oval with fungicides and starting to prepare a fresh set of training decks.

His crew, which had taken some well-deserved leave for a few days, started coming back and preparations started to ramp up again.

The outfield was solid tined, with fertiliser and amendments applied, while the three pitches that had already been used were lightly topdressed to repair any wear and tear before also being given a feed.

For the next four games, van Dam would use the pitch that had hosted the initial two India games. That pitch was quite hard and in the month since a nice even coverage of Legend had returned, so it didn’t need too much work to get back up. With a solid base already there, all they had to do was cut and

the Sixers’ win over the Scorchers and Ben McDermott’s thunderous 96 off 56 which included what van Dam reckons is the biggest six he has ever seen struck at the ground. That particular shot carried at least 130m before landing on the road outside.

10 BECOMES 13

Post-BBL10 softening of the Manuka Oval wicket block in readiness for the 2021 AFL season

roll to get that characteristic shiny white T20 surface. As the deck was hard, immediately after each game had finished (with the exception of the 13th as they had a game the very next day), van Dam would put some moisture back into the wicket to freshen it up, before popping the hessian covers back on overnight.

Those four games featured some of the more memorable moments of the competition, among them Josh Phillipe’s 84 off 52 balls in

Scarifying the Santa Ana outfield after the cricket season to prepare a seedbed for ryegrass oversowing

Even with no more games scheduled after the 18th, by this stage van Dam wasn’t discounting anything. The season had fluctuated so much already and as the home and away season neared completion there was plenty of discussion behind the scenes as to how the five-game finals series would transpire. With the two Sydney sides well in the finals hunt, Manuka was certainly in the mix, but it wasn’t a phone from his CEO that would ultimately give van Dam his strongest hint that something was in the pipeline.

After that game on the 18th van Dam was expecting the LED screens to be bumped out of the ground, just as they had been back on 29 December. However, they along with all the camera cables remained at the ground and it gave van Dam a pretty good indication that there was more in store.

Sure enough on Australia Day, CA announced that two of the three matches in the first week of the finals would be held in Canberra after both the Sixers and Thunder (who finished first and third after the home and away season respectively) had nominated Manuka as their preferred venue. Manuka would host ‘The Qualifier’ on 30 January between the Sixers and Scorchers, followed the next day by ‘The Knockout’ between the Thunder and Heat.

Then, just to put an exclamation mark on an already crazy summer, in the second week of the finals Manuka was called upon one last time to host The Challenger (between the Scorchers and Heat) after Perth was plunged into a five-day lockdown due to a hotel quarantine outbreak.

“It was just one of those seasons,” laughs van Dam looking back. “It really was like flying by the seat of your pants. Everything changed so quickly. Before the internationals we had one, then none, then a week later two. At the start of the BBL we thought we had three, which became six and eventually 13, including three finals.

“The ground handled everything that was thrown at it and we got very good ratings for the pitches and outfield. All teams were happy with the pitches, which got better as the games went on. Out of the 15 games, we only lost 10 overs to rain delays. The ground drains really well and that’s a testament to the investment the ACT Government has made over the past decade to make sure that it is a world class, ICC-standard surface.”

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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BBL

Due to additional wear and tear and player load over the summer, eight of the 14 Manuka Oval practice wickets had to be re-stolonised stump to stump with Santa Ana sprigs harvested from the main oval outfield

SEASON SAVIOURS The efforts of van Dam and his crew, in fact all at Cricket ACT and Venues Canberra, certainly wasn’t lost on Cricket Australia. On the eve of the Sixers v Scorchers final, which was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground – its one and only BBL game for the season – BBL chief Dobson thanked the people of Canberra for “their extraordinary contribution to the success of the KFC BBL10 season”.

“The commitment of everyone in Canberra, led by the ACT Government and Cricket ACT, ensured that 13 of the 60 KFC BBL10 matches played to date could be delivered safely and

successfully at Manuka Oval,” stated Dobson.

“Canberra became a home away from home for the Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers and their fans in particular, while also hosting three finals series matches.

“Special mention must go to the Cricket ACT curators, led by Brad van Dam, who worked tirelessly to ensure Manuka Oval and all training facilities were presented to a world class standard, as well as our accommodation providers who allowed us to maintain the BBL hub throughout the tournament. On multiple occasions, Team Canberra also stepped up at short notice to make Manuka Oval and

AT A GLANCE – BBL10 – MANUKA OVAL, CANBERRA Curator: Brad van Dam Crew: 2IC Todd Darrington, apprentices James McKenzie, Nick Pinkas and Jasper Haskins. Match day casuals Rob McPherson and Damien Easton. Throughout the early part of 2020, when COVID first hit, Matt Sandery was van Dam’s 2IC. In September he left to take on the head curator role with NT Cricket.

Darrington, who had taken leave without pay earlier in the year to work a season at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) in London, returned to take over the 2IC role.

Turf: Seven-deck Legend couchgrass wicket block, Santa Ana couchgrass outfield BBL10 games: 13 (incl. three finals) Average first innings score: 171 Average total runs/game: 320 Average total wickets/game: 12 Highest run total: 219 (Thunder) Most wickets in one match: 18 Highest score: 98* (James Vince) Best bowling: 4/10 (Nathan Coulter-Nile) Most wins: Sydney Thunder (4) 14

Wear and tear: While the centre wicket block got a good working over hosting 15 games, it was Manuka’s practice wickets that copped the full brunt of the increased fixture and training load. So much so that by the end of the season eight of the 14 practice wickets had to be re-stolonised, stump to stump, with Santa Ana couch scarifyings from the Manuka outfield.

Out of left field: Throughout the summer, the Manuka crew had to adhere to strict COVID protocols, including regular venue sign-ins, temperature checks and wearing PPE such as masks and gloves. Just how much PPE they would need, however, took Brad van Dam a little by surprise: “At the beginning of the India games we were given 150 single-use face masks and the same number of gloves,” says van Dam. “I just laughed and said why do we need that many?! I thought we’d need about five each for the whole summer, but by the time the BBL finals came around we had gone through them all and needed another 100!”

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

their support staff available to the League to ensure we could deliver a full season without interruption. This commitment was again on display… when the rapidly evolving situation in WA meant we needed to find a new venue for The Challenger at short notice.”

While being singled out by Dobson was more than deserving for van Dam, he is quick to point out that it was a whole of team effort, from his crew through to Cricket ACT and the ACT Government. Most of all, however, he was immensely proud of his young crew who really stepped up to the crease when it mattered.

“It was an amazing experience,” reflects van Dam. “We were very proud to be a part of it and I guess in a way we effectively helped save the tournament. Fifteen games in 64 days – I think everyone was happy. Cricket Australia had the BBL tournament finished and the ACT Government did a great job assisting them to host the games at such short notice.

“It’s not easy to get a whole venue up and going straight away and the work that went on behind the scenes by everyone was amazing.

Cricket is now alive and well back in the nation’s capital after all the games we’ve had and it has been a major talking point.

“For myself and my guys we are very proud of what we achieved. Whenever I told them we had another game to prepare for, straight away they were up and about and ready to go. We delivered and overdelivered many times during those months, but that is what we are paid to do and I like to think we do our jobs very well. They stepped up really well and showed that little ole Canberra can produce on the big stage just as good as the big boys can.”

Editor’s Note: As this edition was going to print, Brad van Dam announced that after 13 years as Manuka Oval head curator he would be departing this April. In making the announcement van Dam noted: “It was a very hard decision to make, however, it was made easier due to the reason behind my decision. It is a lifestyle choice and wanting to spend more time with my family. I feel I have achieved what I dreamt about as a curator and more during my time here.

“What I feel most proud about is the work colleagues and friends I have made along the way. I am grateful to all the staff that I have helped develop over the years and who have gone on to bigger and brighter things. To my current team, you are extremely hard-working and passionate which I will miss.”

ATM congratulates van Dam on a fantastic tenure and wishes him all the very best for the future. In many ways the past summer proved a fitting finale, one in which van Dam again demonstrated the skill and class which has seen him rise to the top echelon of his profession.

ASTMA CERTIFICATION PROGRAM Formally recognising the professionalism of sports turf managers and encouraging their investment in continual education and professional development The ASTMA congratulates the following sports turf managers who have achieved certification and can proudly use the ‘Certified Sports Turf Manager’ (CSTM) designation after their names…

Tim Allen The National Golf, Belgium Dean Bailey Rosanna GC, Vic Shane Baker Mosman Park GC, WA Brett Balloch Anglesea GC, Vic Ed Barraclough Cardinia Beaconhills GC, Vic Mark Bateman Kooringal GC, Vic Tim Bayard Evergreen Turf, Vic Nathan Bennett The Royal Adelaide GC, SA Paul Bevan GTS, Qld Andrew Boyle GTS, Vic Justin Bradbury Camden GC, NSW Nathan Bradbury Eastlake GC, NSW Harry Brennan Dubbo City Council, NSW Mark Brooks Riversdale GC, Vic Fraser Brown Lake Karrinyup CC, WA Ben Bruzgulis Cronulla GC, NSW Chris Burgess Yarrawonga Mulwala GC, Vic Greg Burgess Northern GC, Vic Jacob Burridge Victoria GC, Vic Jason Bushell Rowes Bay GC, Qld Aaron Cachia Bayer, NSW Patrick Casey Kalgoorlie GC, WA David Cassidy The Cut, WA Brian Cattell Wagga Wagga CC, NSW Peter Cawsey Eastwood GC, Vic Paul Chalmers St Aloysius College, NSW Brenton Clarke Kooyonga GC, SA Dan Cook Elanora CC, NSW Lincoln Coombes RACV Royal Pines, Qld Phillip Cooper GTS, NSW Dion Cope Redland Bay GC, Qld Joshua Cunningham All Outside, NSW Kevin Davis St Margaret’s-Berwick GS, Vic Nicholas Douglas Spring Valley GC, Vic Cameron Dunn Woolooware GC, NSW Peter Dunn Federal GC, ACT Ben Evans Ryde TAFE, NSW Tim Fankhauser ASTMA, Vic Peter Fitzgerald Toronto CC, NSW Aaron Fluke NSWGC, NSW Jason Foster Riverway Stadium, Qld Jason Foulis StrathAyr Group, Vic Patrick Fraser Landscape Solutions, NSW

Peter Fraser Hervey Bay G&CC, Qld Adam Fry Kooyonga GC, SA Ryan Fury Killara GC, NSW Jake Gibbs Royal Canberra GC, ACT Danny Hack Wellington Shire, Vic Cameron Hall Kew GC, Vic Gareth Hammond Terrey Hills GC, NSW Mitch Hayes Brisbane GC, Qld Luke Helm Meadowbrook GC, Qld Tony Hemming Optus Stadium, WA Kirsty Herring Katherine CC, NT Tim Hoskinson Cairns GC, Qld Ian Howell, Bonnie Doon GC, NSW Jay Infanti Eastern GC, Vic Nick Jeffrey Racing Queensland, Qld Steven Johnson Al Mouj Golf, Oman Nick Kinley Hartfield CC, WA Dylan Knight Axedale GC, Vic Blaine Knox Beenleigh RSL & GC, Qld Lance Knox Busselton GC, WA Steve Lalor Natadola Bay GC, Fiji Kane Latham Elanora CC, NSW Nick Launer Metropolitan GC, Vic Ben Lavender Newington College, NSW Jason Lavender Riverlakes GC, Qld Dean Lenertz St Michael’s GC, NSW Dean Lewis Thurgoona CC, NSW Josh Leyland Box Hill GC, Vic Nathan Lindsay Hamilton Island GC, Qld Peter Lonergan Coolangatta-Tweed Heads GC, NSW Ben Lucas Tocumwal GC, NSW Toby Lumsden ICC Academy, UAE Bruce Macphee ASTMA, Vic Dave Mason Metropolitan GC, Vic Garry McClymont Twin Waters GC, Qld Tony McFadyean Nedlands GC, WA Paul McLean Sanctuary Cove G&CC, Qld Michael McMahon GTS, Qld Peter McNamara Brisbane GC, Qld Keith McPhee Maitland City Council, NSW Brett Merrell Ras Al Hamra GC, Oman Jack Micans Manly GC, NSW

Braydan Millar Rowes Bay GC, Qld Ben Mills Hawks Nest GC, NSW Craig Molloy Cypress Lakes Resort, NSW Colin Morrison Flinders GC, Vic Damien Murrell Easts Leisure & GC, NSW John Nelson Grafton District GC, NSW Kelvin Nicholson Palmer Coolum Resort, Qld Matthew Oliver QSAC, Qld Shaun Page Southern GC, Vic Luke Partridge Manly GC, NSW Mick Pascoe Sports Turf Solutions, Vietnam Ben Payne Peninsula-Kingswood CGC, Vic Michael Pearce RACV Torquay GC, Vic Keegan Powell The Sands Torquay, Vic Shaun Pritchard PEGS, Vic Justin Rankin Kooindah Waters GC, NSW Marc Raymond Patterson River GC, Vic Scott Reid Launceston GC, Tas Brett Saggus BRG Legend Hill, Vietnam Wesley Saunders Dunblane New GC, UK Robert Savedra Wesley College, Vic Travis Scott Riversdale GC, Vic Bill Shuck Evergreen Turf, Vic Cameron Smith Bonnie Doon GC, NSW Gary Smith Commercial Albury GC, NSW Thomas Smith Waterford Valley GC, Vic Mathew Soles The Australian GC, NSW Clinton Southorn Abu Dhabi GC, UAE John Spraggs Royal Wellington GC, NZ Daniel Stack Windaroo Lakes GC, Qld Lee Strutt Les Bordes International, France Lee Sutherland St Michael’s GC, NSW Aaron Taylor The Lakes GC, NSW Shaun Taylor Southern GC, Vic David Thomson Bermagui CC, NSW Ben Tilley Headland GC, Qld Steve Tuckett ASTMA, Vic Lee Veal Mt Derrimut G&CC, Vic Earl Warmington Newcastle GC, NSW Rob Weiks Hoiana Shores GC, Vietnam George Widdowson Geelong GC, Vic Darren Wilson Wembley GC, WA Tim Wright K&B Adams, Vic

“Earning and retaining the CSTM designation proves to my employer and the rest of the industry a high level of commitment to our profession. I am honoured to share this designation with my fellow colleagues.”

– Luke Partridge, CSTM (Manly Golf Club, NSW) For more information on the ASTMA Certification Program visit www.agcsa.com.au

PHOTOS: TOBY LUMSDEN

IPL

Premier performance Being head curator of the International Cricket Council Academy and Dubai International Stadium brings with it its own challenges, especially maintaining wickets in the climatic extremes of the United Arab Emirates. However, as Toby Lumsden (CSTM) writes, when cricket’s most lucrative tournament, the Indian Premier League, lands on your

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doorstep due to a global pandemic, a whole new set of unique challenges is presented.

020 was a year that all of us will long remember. COVID-19’s global impact touched everyone and for those of us in the sports turf industry we had to face many challenges that none of us have had to contend with.

It was certainly the most unique year in my career and in my time at Dubai Sports City (DSC) where I am the head curator of the International Cricket Council Academy and Dubai International Stadium.

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DSC, located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was founded in 2004 and is a masterdeveloped community with a mix of residential, commercial, retail and sports facilities. It is home to the International Cricket Council Academy (ICCA), the first and only cricket academy licensed by the International Cricket Council, which is also based in the community.

The ICCA has been operating for over 10 years as the world’s leading cricket development, performance and education institution. Over

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

40 international teams have used the facilities during this time.

I oversee the ICCA and the stadium which comprises of three ovals and a large practice wicket facility. Pitches are made from imported clay from Pakistan, the Gabba, WACA and English loam. We have a total of 60 pitches to manage, including three ‘hybrids’. Also, at our venue I oversee two turf football (soccer) pitches, two synthetic football pitches, two turf rugby fields and the athletics track, which is

Opposite page: The pitch used for the Indian Premier League final last November. It was the 26th game hosted at the Dubai International Stadium in a 52-day period after the tournament was moved from India to the UAE because of COVID-19. Inset: ICCA head curator Toby Lumsden

run by Inspiratus under the brand name ‘La Liga’. This is my second stint at DSC, as I was employed here between 2008 and 2011 under the watchful eye of Tony Hemming. I have now just completed four years here after returning in 2017.

COVID IMPACTS 2020 was an interesting year for us here in Dubai, with numerous challenges cropping up due to COVID lockdowns, living and working in bubbles and then trying to put on the world’s biggest cricket event for the year, the Indian Premier League (IPL).

My challenges started way back in February/March just as the first wave of COVID-19 was gripping the globe. At that time I was in Pakistan consulting for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its T20 tournament (Pakistan Super League) when the call was made to cancel the event just prior to the finals. As the tournament was progressing, cases of COVID were rising and for all the international players fears were rising that they would be locked out of their home countries, especially the UK. In the best interests of teams and players, the PCB decided to put the finals on hold and after hastily rearranging flights I was able to get back to Dubai before it inevitably went into lockdown.

By late March Dubai was in full lockdown with only essential services allowed to work.

All sport was cancelled, schools and malls were closed and permits were required to move or travel outside. Due to the nature of our work, we were permitted to continue, but only allowed to have a 30 per cent attendance to carry out necessary maintenance on all our turf fields. Staff were placed on rosters, using annual leave where possible and working in shifts for only six hours a day. One shift would run from 6am until midday and then another from midday until 6pm. This continued for about six weeks.

Still unsure about the prospect of any sports resuming, and with renovations soon approaching, some decisions had to be made. Do we renovate early and close for a couple of months, then open early when it is allowed and safe to do so, or just keep waiting with the hope the government will loosen the restrictions and let sport begin again?

This was the crucial factor in having our grounds ready and in pristine condition for the eventual arrival of the IPL (more on that later).

We made the decision to close and complete our renovations and doing so then (early April)

Before the IPL arrived, Oval 1, one of the main practice facilities used for the tournament, had a 2m deep x 5m wide trench cut through it to house large pipes that supplied chilled water to nearby buildings

made a huge difference in the quality of the grounds. Temperatures were in the mid-30’s and the turf responds really well when we renovate early.

We normally renovate May/June when temperatures are pushing 40oC and the turf responds a lot slower afterwards. The pitches struggle to be thick enough come August, which is when our cricket season starts, as the period over summer is very stressful on the turf. Soil temperatures push over 40oC, water temperatures can reach 40oC and the average summer high is 45oC. The cricket season runs 10 months from August to June.

A normal renovation consists of scarification 4-6 times over all the wicket blocks, depending on which clay type we

are renovating. We topdress and level, apply fertilisers to correct any imbalances in nutrients and flush unwanted elements, mainly salts.

This is carried out over all our turf wickets.

During these renovation works, our ICCA Oval 1 was going to have a large trench dug through it. The 2m deep x 5m wide trench was required to accommodate two large 500mm diameter pipes that supplied chilled water to service our buildings. They had a timeline of about eight weeks to complete the 250m trench through our oval and academy. They needed to be on time and hand over the completed trench so that I could then re-turf it and have it ready for cricket. It was a very tight timeframe.

At this time staff were still working the same six-hour shifts and we were still at 30 per cent operating capacity. This made the renovations that little bit more difficult, trying to complete all the work as quickly as we could.

The team worked diligently and patiently to ensure no shortcuts were taken and the same desired outcome was achieved. By this time, we still had no idea about any sport resuming in Dubai and certainly no indication that the IPL would be knocking on our door in the coming months.

DISCUSSIONS BEGIN With the beginning of our summer timings (when we start at 5am and work until 1pm, from 15 July to 15 September), the restrictions were lifted for our staff and normal procedures returned. During summer, none or very little sport is played outside as it is simply too hot.

Normal maintenance began again for our team and some planning and talking about the possibility of cricket resuming also started occurring.

COVID-19 cases in Dubai before and during summer were ranging from 300-700 per day. Shops and malls were now being

Pre-tournament thinning out of the nine-wicket, Pakistan clay block inside Dubai International Stadium

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IPL and aware of the detrimental impact of what playing cricket in 45oC degrees can do to our pitches. Local games started on Oval 2 on 4 July for six weeks. We would then rotate onto Oval 1 as that was still recovering and growing in from the trenching works mentioned earlier.

A total of 20 days were played on the ovals prior to the IPL being officially announced.

IPL TO THE UAE

Preparing the wickets on Oval 1 which was one of five training hubs for IPL teams stationed at the ICCA

re-opened, with some restrictions in place such as temperature checks, mask wearing, social distancing and only 30 per cent capacity. While Dubai was managing the COVID-19 cases at a stable level for many months, the cases in India were beginning to rise sharply, obviously with a much bigger population and density compared to the UAE. Now into June, all pitches/ovals were closed due to renovations and the closure of all sports facilities was still in place due to COVID restrictions. Staff were working full eight-hour days, taking all the necessary precautions as guided by the government. It was by this time that noises were being made about the possibility of the IPL coming to Dubai, which certainly put a buzz throughout the entire team at such an exciting prospect.

June passed as expected with no cricket and turf maintenance at a minimum. We had five of our staff stuck in India and Pakistan, after being furloughed by the company during the lockdown, with the remaining staff using up annual leave where possible.

Come July and we started to get very strong signals that the IPL was potentially coming our way. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) was in serious discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about hosting the IPL in the UAE from September to November. There was also the possibility of teams arriving 3-4 weeks prior to the IPL for intensive training camps.

Further discussions and negotiations continued with the three venues here in UAE – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. These three venues have all hosted multiple international

games and tournaments, so hosting the IPL was certainly achievable. The only difficulty was going to be abiding by strict COVID-19 protocols and keeping all staff, players and officials safe. Regular COVID-19 screening tests and living in bubbles would soon become the norm for us all.

With COVID cases down to about 300 per day, Dubai opened again for some sport and cricket was one of them. With all our renovations carried out in April, the pitches and grounds were in good condition and ready for cricket to resume when we got the green light.

We normally do not have cricket in July as it is too hot and the pitches are recovering from renovation. But with revenue down and still with tournaments and games to complete from March/April, these games were played at the ICCA on both ovals.

The IPL still had not been officially signed to UAE, but we continued with regular maintenance in the anticipation that it would be coming. With the IPL on our minds and local cricket resuming, we were very protective

The ICCA practice nets facility. Each of the five zones had three practice nets set up and an outfield to use for warming up and fielding

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

On Friday 24 July, the BCCI announced to the world that the 2020 IPL would now be hosted in the UAE, with all the world’s cricketing eyes set to watch us manage and execute it. Some 2000 players, staff, officials and broadcast crews would be flying in from around the world, which was a massive logistical undertaking considering COVID-19 protocols and bubbles.

While it was great to hear the news that IPL was coming to Dubai, it would still be a while until we saw a match schedule. A total of 60 matches needed to be played at the three UAE venues over a 52-day period, a large undertaking for all venues. Dubai would host six teams for training and Abu Dhabi two.

Initially, some IPL teams wanted to come over early for their own training camps, prior to the approved IPL timeline. The BCCI agreed that all teams could start training on 27 August after they had completed the required quarantine period in their hotel and returned three negative COVID-19 tests over seven days.

All my staff involved in the IPL were now under the watchful eye of the BCCI. All were required to undergo regular COVID-19 tests and any positive cases would be isolated quickly along with any close contacts. As it eventuated, during the tournament I would be tested 26 times! Close contacts would be determined by small tracking devices that we were all given and had to wear. This would track our movements and would be able to trace where a positive case had moved to and who should isolate. A close contact was deemed as anybody within 2m for over 15 minutes.

IPL

Clegg readings were taken regularly and averaged 228 across the tournament

continual usage without a rest over this period, while the practice wickets managed a few days’ rest.

PITCH PERFECT

Early pitch preparation at Dubai International Stadium. Lumsden and his team only received the match schedule 10 days out from the IPL tournament starting

JUGGLING ACT With dates confirmed for IPL but still no match schedule, it was imperative that I had my full team back from furlough and start working towards where, how and how many pitches would be required to host six teams for 76 days.

With each team in their own bubble and requiring their own practice facility, we designated five separate hubs/zones within the ICCA. We would set up Oval 1, Oval 2, Practice Area 1, Practice Area 2 and the indoor facility as the five different zones. Each zone would have three practice nets set up and an outfield to use for warming up and fielding. For the first 26 days we would be required to have 12 practice nets available for the six teams that were training. Once the tournament began, this commitment would be reduced to eight.

The first training session was held on 27 August in 42oC heat! Coming off a 6-9 month rest for some, this extreme heat was a brutal reality check for the players. Not only were the

cricket skills a little rusty, but fitness was a real concern in the oppressive heat. Luckily most of the games would end up being night fixtures, starting at 6pm local time in order to make ‘prime time’ TV in India at 7.30pm.

All my staff would eventually return from furlough, meaning we had a full team of 13 cricket groundstaff available to assist with all IPL preparations and set up. We were still working 5am-1pm, with an evening shift starting at 3.30pm and running through until midnight. We were working in bubbles with no contact between the teams. All set up and preparations had to be done prior to a team’s arrival. A lot of communication was required to make sure each team had the appropriate set up they required for that session. Any late requests could not be attended to once they had arrived.

All up, we would have 212 training sessions, over 550 hours of usage and 166 pitches prepared just at the ICCA for training over a 76-day period. Oval 1 and 2 had

Dubai International Stadium outfield rolling and set up ahead of its first IPL fixture on 20 September

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

To manage the centre wicket blocks on Ovals 1 and 2, which both have 10 pitches, we divided them into 2m wide pitches (instead of the normal 3m wide) so we could increase the number of pitches for practice and help with rotation and usage. Each pitch would be used for four days, before moving on to a new set for four days which could become a constant cycle for the duration of the IPL. Ten days prior to the start of the tournament we were finally given a match schedule. Dubai would host 26 games, Abu Dhabi 22 and Sharjah 12 over 52 days with weekend double-headers. I already had thought that each venue would have 20 games each, so we were all prepared for this when the schedule finally dropped. I would have five middle pitches to use, suitable for TV and boundary size large enough. Each pitch would have five games on them with one having six games. It was going to be a tough gig to pull off, given the number of games, little rest in between and the extreme heat, not to forget all the COVID-19 restrictions placed on top.

I needed to think this through, to ensure the pitches remained consistent, provided a good surface for each game, was entertaining and would last for seven weeks. I did not want great pitches for the first games, then

All up there were 212 training sessions, over 550 hours of usage and 166 pitches prepared at the ICCA for training alone over a 76-day period

deteriorate and become hard to bat on later in the tournament. I needed to be conservative with the grass coverage and leave quite a bit on, as it would naturally thin out as the tournament progressed. My main concern was keeping the moisture levels up in all match pitches as I would not be able to get enough water back into the pitches between games, with only short breaks of 1-2 days. With soil and water temperatures both pushing over 40oC, it was a tough schedule to manage.

Prior to our first match on 20 September, a lot of work was done on the nine-wicket block in Dubai International Stadium which is built from Pakistan clay. It had been rested since March, with a major renovation (scarified four times, swept, vacuumed, topdressed and levelled) in April. To ensure the grass coverage was consistent and even, three minor renovations occurred in July and August. This consisted of a light scarify and a light topdress/ dust to maintain the clean clay contact with the grass and to enhance the leaf growth of the Princess 77 couchgrass.

Come preparation of each match pitch, another light groom was required to thin out the canopy which was done with the Infinicut

mower with the front grooming attachment set at 2mm. This would only be required for the first initial use of the pitch and after that it would only need cutting and rolling. Looking back over our records, the initial first use of each pitch would require 8-11 hours of rolling with the heavy roller (1.5-tonne Mentay).

After that initial use, the base was hard and consolidated and would only require 5-7 hours of rolling to get it ready again.

Each game day we would go through the same process. Staff would start at different times to ensure our duties were covered between 7am until about midnight. Staff were not allowed to work over 12 hours in a day.

Unfortunately that did not apply to me as my new normal was now 15-17 hours a day!

First duty of the day was to spray the outfield with a dew control chemical. Not only did this help keep the dew at bay during the

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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IPL Teams and officials were aware of our positive case and thus why working in bubbles helped to stop the spread of COVID-19 during the tournament.

Pushing on for the rest of the tournament was draining, both mentally and physically.

With about 200 million viewers watching each game, pitch reports and expert commentators analysing everything you do, it does take its toll. Criticism I can handle, but I was worn out.

A lack of sleep after 70 days straight and 400 hours of overtime, it was no surprise that I became ill and had to miss three days of work and one match day. The things we do!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Advertising signage on the ground caused extensive damage, especially where black or dark paint was used

night games, but also removed the dew in the morning and helped it dry quicker. The outfield would then be cut at 9mm a bit later when dry.

A single cut was only required each morning as Primo had been applied, then a roll over the outfield to sharpen up the pattern.

Pitch preparation would be intense each morning, not only on the match pitch but also the pitch for the next game. We had to work around camera crews, stump cams, Hawkeye, Spidercam, logo painters, boundary advertisements, pitch reports and player warmups, all while trying to keep to our bubble and out of other bubbles.

About three weeks into the tournament, one of my staff members tested positive for COVID which threw a major spanner in the works. He was required to quarantine for two weeks and all close contacts needed to be in isolation for seven days as per BCCI medical guidelines. We had four close contacts after looking back through the history of the tracking devices we were wearing.

So, we had lost five staff from my stadium team, leaving just myself and my mechanic from our normal matchday set-up crew. He does not cut or roll but is very critical in all other things on matchday, so I had to hastily relocate two staff from the ICCA and bring to the stadium to assist with all the work.

That left me and three staff on match day to get everything ready. Those three staff really stepped up to the plate and were immense.

While it is never pleasing to see anybody with COVID-19, what it did show me was that our team can deliver under extreme pressure and conditions, without missing a beat.

My complete team were the unrecognised heartbeat for the tournament, as are all curators and their staff.

All close contacts of that single case were tested and all returned a negative test and thankfully resumed work again after seven days. The positive case remained in quarantine with very slight symptoms and returned to work after 14 days. He has had a full recovery.

After 26 matches, including the 10 November final between eventual champions Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, the IPL had come to an end with the tournament attracting the highest viewership of any previous IPL. Contributing to its success were; l Three Super Overs and one double Super Over; l An average first innings score of 172 runs; l KL Rahul’s knock of 132 (highest score by an Indian player); l Fastest ball bowled – 156.2kph (by Anrich Nortje); l Fastest 50 – Nicholas Pooran (off 17 balls); l Best bowling – Jasprit Bumrah (4/14 off four overs); l Highest Power Play – 0/77 (Sunrisers Hyderabad); l Largest win batting second – 181 (Chennai Super Kings); l Average Clegg readings of 228!

I am extremely grateful for the support of all my team, which puts in day and night to ensure our facility remains at the highest echelon in world cricket. Also to the BCCI for entrusting the UAE and the ECB to facilitate this world class event. If we need to do it again in 2021 we are ready and waiting!

Left: Dubai International Stadium the afternoon of the IPL final. Captain Rohit Sharma would hit 68 off 51 to lead the Mumbai Indians to a five wicket win over the Delhi Capitals Below: Between hosting a multitude of training sessions as well as IPL matches, it was a monumental effort by Lumsden and his 13-strong team to logistically pull off hosting the tournament

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COURSES

Maleny makes

its mark

In 2016, Mick McCombe and the Maleny Golf Club won the ASTMA’s Excellence in Golf Course Management Award. In the years since the Sunshine Coast hinterland course has expanded to a full 18-hole layout and is quickly making a name for itself, not only for the course but the role that the community has played in its

I

development and ongoing management.

n 1995 the Sunshine Coast Council, along with a small group of like-minded individuals, had a vision and purchased the land on which the Maleny Golf Course now resides. In 2000 the Maleny Golf Club was incorporated, however, it wasn’t until 2008 that the council fully endorsed a master plan for the Maleny Sport and Recreation precinct. Finally, in June 2014, dirt was moved and construction began on the first nine holes of the Graham Papworth-designed course.

A few months into the construction, current day superintendent Mick McCombe was appointed and oversaw the remaining construction, grow-in and opening of the first nine. For his efforts, and those of the 24

many volunteers at the club who pitched in, McCombe and the club were bestowed the 2016 ASTMA Excellence in Golf Course Management Award, with the subsequent article ‘Paddocks to Pars’, which appeared in ATM Volume 18.4, chronicling the initial phase of the course’s development.

Since the official opening of the initial nine holes in June 2015, the final nine holes, along with an upgraded irrigation system and new maintenance facility, have been completed. A full 18-hole layout had always been planned for the site, however, there was never a timeline in which this would be achieved as it was all subject to funding. Council committed $450,000 towards the completion of the back

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

nine, but substantial irrigation upgrades were needed and thus further funding was required.

Former club president and now vice president Dr. Max Whitten was instrumental in securing further grants which would see this project fast-tracked. The club secured a Sports Australia grant of $200,000 as well as a ‘Get in the Game’ grant of $100,000. This was a fantastic boon for the club, however, it brought with it challenging construction deadlines in order to secure the funding.

With deadlines looming, the realisation came that the mainline irrigation system installed on the first nine holes would not be adequate to service the additional nine holes, so the club engaged David Hanby to design

Maleny Golf Club has been operating a full 18-hole layout for over a year now and the small communitybased club is thriving, with golfing numbers the strongest they have ever been. This photo of the 11th hole certainly explains why

PHOTOS: MICK MCCOMBE/MALENY GC

People power. A band of Maleny volunteers plants the 4th green with Tifdwarf stolons which were harvested during front nine greens renovations

a new mainline irrigation system. A new, more suitable location for the pump shed was agreed on and a new Rain Bird IC system with a Stratus II controller was also commissioned.

FROM 9 TO 12 In early 2017 the club decided to push ahead and complete three additional holes, to

make a 12-hole format, after a parcel of land adjacent to the course became available.

June 2017 saw the welcome addition of an additional greenkeeper to complement the club’s apprentice and comprehensive team of volunteers which allowed McCombe to concentrate on construction. The shape of the additional parcel of land provided design constraints which Papworth integrated seamlessly into the overall plan by way of two par fours and a par three.

The project of installing a new 150mm PVC mainline and repositioning the pump shed was then undertaken by McCombe and his loyal band of volunteers. They were able to install almost 300 metres per day of rubber O-ringed pipe and maxi cable. The pump shed and two effluent water holding tanks were then moved to the new position, connected to the mainline and the club’s volunteer electrician, the late Stan Toleman, connected the three-phase power.

Time was of the essence as the original nine would be without water until the new pumps were operational and while it turned out to be a logistical nightmare, after a few

sleepless nights the course made it through without turf health being compromised.

With the new maintenance facility still in the planning stages at this point, the Rain Bird controller had to be installed in a temporary shipping container near the new shed site, which involved installing power and running maxi cable to the container.

After construction of the first nine holes, McCombe championed the decision made by the management committee to contract David Burrup and his team to oversee the shaping and construction of the additional three holes, which started in June 2017. A band of Maleny volunteers, under the supervision of Burrup and McCombe, helped with the drainage and irrigation installation, which was instrumental in keeping the cost of this project down.

Contracting professional shapers was a huge step forward in realising Papworth’s designs.

Major differences in the construction methods of these three holes was the use of topsoil, professional shaping and choice of drainage. The top 300mm of topsoil was removed and stockpiled and later used as capping over the final shape to ensure the

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COURSES Due to Maleny’s high annual rainfall, it was decided that trenching the drainage, as opposed to installing flat pipe which had been used on the front nine greens, would be more suitable for the new greens

Burrup’s team shaped the bunkers and eventually Maleny volunteers would construct the revetted walls to fit in with the links style designed by Papworth. Long-term greens director and now life member Rob Bailo sourced an extensive supply of second-hand synthetic tennis court material which he and fellow volunteers cut into 300 x 300mm squares and tirelessly layered them along bunker walls to create the revetted bunkers which create a huge point of difference for the club. The revetted bunkers are low maintenance and the sand stays in place during rain events, thus reducing the need to push up bunkers and subsequently saving on labour.

DREAM DIGS kikuyu aprons and surrounds would be at their best. Shaping of the new holes utilised natural stormwater channels and tied seamlessly into the existing landscape.

A tough decision was made by McCombe and the Greens committee to move away from the flat pipe drainage system used on the initial nine holes. Due to Maleny’s high annual rainfall (2000mm), it was decided that the trenching method would be more suitable for the high and prolonged rainfall periods in order to maintain turf health.

With the mainline complete, the new three holes shaped and rubber-stamped by Papworth, a 100mm layer of 5-7mm drainage aggregate was placed, followed by 150mm of an approved construction sand and 150mm of an amended growing medium. All holes utilised the same amended growing blend which comprised of four per cent granular humic acid, two per cent composted organics,

one per cent Gyp Sand, 7.5 per cent zeolite with the remainder construction sand. This blend has proven to perform really well under Maleny’s conditions and has been providing firm healthy playing surfaces. After another visit from Papworth to approve green contours, the club was then able to commence planting.

During renovations of the first nine holes, Tifdwarf stolons were harvested which gave the volunteers ample product to uniformly cover the three new greens. As there was no rush to get the three new holes into play, it was decided not to use hessian to cover the stolons. Retrospectively, this was a poor decision as a lot more water was needed in order to keep the stolons damp in windy conditions. Light rolling was performed several times before hand mowing started.

The outcome the club wanted was achieved, however, proved to be more challenging than it needed to be.

The official opening of the three new holes in January 2018 came around the same time as construction was to start on the new maintenance facility, a project that would challenge McCombe in new ways. The new maintenance facility was to service the club’s existing infrastructure along with any future growth.

With a blank canvas, the opportunity to build a dream maintenance shed was an exciting prospect, with McCombe and the Greens committee visiting surrounding golf courses and conversing with other superintendents to determine what worked and, more importantly, what didn’t.

A conceptual drawing was drafted with epar commissioned to design the maintenance facility in accordance with relevant environmental legislation and council planning schemes. This subsequently expedited the council approval process and once plans were approved, the club engaged a local builder to construct the main shed, undercover washdown area and chemical and irrigation storage sheds.

In April 2018 the external shell of the maintenance shed was completed and handed over for internal fit out by McCombe and his team of dedicated volunteers. Re-routing of power, the maxi cable and irrigation computer from the temporary shipping container to the new maintenance facility was first to be completed. The shed finally had power and internal fit out of the office, lunch room, toilet and shower began in earnest.

To reduce costs, all tasks were performed by volunteers which comprised builders, plumbers, electricians, tilers and painters.

Club life member Rob Bailo sourced second-hand synthetic tennis court material which was used to revet the Maleny bunkers

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By August 2018 the bulk of the maintenance shed project was complete and the old shed dismantled. In July 2020, fuel bowsers were installed and council kindly arranged for the access road and surrounds of the maintenance shed to be sealed.

“The new maintenance facility has improved our operations immensely,” says McCombe. “We are now able to store machinery inside and work on equipment when it is raining. All of our tools and equipment have their own pride of place and we take good care in keeping everything neat and tidy. We are now able to purchase and safely store more fertiliser and chemicals so what we need is always on hand.”

FROM 12 TO 18 In January 2019 Papworth began to finalise the design of the remaining six holes, which proved to be quite a challenge as they needed to weave into the existing 12 holes. Additional land was acquired, however, the terrain proved quite challenging and it was decided that the majority of the initial nine holes would comprise the back nine.

Due to existing commitments, David Burrup was unavailable to construct the remaining six holes, however, he assisted the club in securing Nathan Bradbury, owner of Spectrum Golf. Bradbury came with a wealth of experience and the right equipment to bring the final new holes to life. He was also willing to work closely with McCombe and his volunteers to complete the work inside the allocated budget.

In June 2019, construction of the new 1st hole started on challenging and steep terrain (see photo this page of the finished product).

Dry stone rock walls behind the tees and on the left-hand side of the green, as well as a 12m timber bridge, were required all of which was completed by volunteers. Simultaneously, another band of volunteers were installing an additional 2.5km of 150mm mainline pipe around the southern wetland to irrigate the remaining holes.

Maleny’s par three 1st, the first hole of the final six constructed in 2019 and opened in early 2020

Bradbury and his team arrived in May 2019 and quickly started shaping the final six holes.

Everything was going well until they struck rock cutting into the bank on the first green.

Due to budget and time constraints, shaping around the rocks was decided rather than removal. Papworth had scheduled visits for each phase of green construction and given Bradbury had previously performed shaping for him he understood his requirements.

With shaping of just greens and tees needed, the project moved quite fast.

McCombe and his volunteers all knew what they had to do, thus installation of drainage and ring main irrigation all happened when and as required. The final shaping of the greens was completed in September in preparation for the October course renovations. Stolons were collected from the 12 holes already in play and this time hessian covers were used to protect the transplanted stolons. In February 2020 the 18-hole format was officially opened

and after a year of play McCombe says the club, together with Papworth, have created something quite special and unique.

“The new greens have settled in well and there are only a few remaining bare patches left in the roughs, so the course is really taking shape,” says McCombe. “We are endeavouring to even out playing surfaces during renovations by scarifying the new greens in four directions in order to build up a small thatch layer, compared to six or eight directions on the older greens. In addition, the newer greens are rolled less frequently as they are still quite firm and fast.

“Now that the 18 holes are complete our focus has shifted from construction to ongoing maintenance. Last January we welcomed assistant superintendent Nik Smith from Pelican Waters. Nik’s passion and experience at top tier golf courses has contributed immensely to the continual improvement of our playing surfaces and afforded me the ability to

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COURSES

Keeping the Maleny surfaces in trim are volunteers (from right) Chris Pottinger, Rob Bailo, Ron Smith, Barry Retchlag and Don Lemmon. Fellow mowing crew member Richard Clayton is absent

take some much-needed holidays. Apprentice Sam Treloar and groundsman Geoff Warwick, along with countless volunteers, help us to keep the course in pristine condition.”

FINE-TUNING AND MOVING FORWARD The Maleny Golf Course development is very much a community-driven one, with McCombe relying heavily on a hard-working team of volunteers which is very rewarding but does come with its challenges. Communication is key as is keeping an eye on their work.

Communication needs to be adapted for each volunteer to ensure instructions are received clearly, with any room for interpretation by a volunteer causing confusion or frustration when a job is not completed as required. McCombe and his staff work hand in hand with the volunteers and all agree that the course wouldn’t be where it is today without them and are thus always adjusting and refining practices.

“The biggest change in the maintenance of our course has been the increase in inputs on greens due to budget increases,” says

McCombe. “Previously the budget would define our inputs, which were always lean, whereas now it is under our control and we can increase our inputs as required. Dollar spot control is our main issue and we have had to embark on a preventative programme year round as it an ongoing issue in our climate. A few of our greens are affected by ERI, however, it is not a major issue.”

To cater for the new holes, the club invested in a machinery package from Toro to increase the ability to produce quality surfaces. The purchase of a new spray unit, 5010H fairway unit, 4500-D rough mower, 3400 greens mower, HDX utility vehicle, Pro Core and Pro Force blower has resulted in greater efficiencies and less downtime on old machinery.

To show off that improved level of presentation, to date the club has been fortunate to hold three Pro Ams with the quality of the Maleny greens and course highly praised. The first two Pro Ams were on the original nine holes, while the third was a 12-hole format which was very well received by the professional golfers.

Perhaps the biggest impact to Maleny Golf Club since opening was Adam Scott’s visit in 2020. Scott came up for a social round with Maleny club professional, former touring pro and friend Wayne Perske, and thoroughly enjoyed the course. He and Wayne decided to livestream on Instagram ‘Nine holes with a mate’ which went on to have over 100,000 views. During the round Scott chatted about the course and its development as well as provided an insight into his game and life on the PGA Tour.

Scott then returned with his dad and kindly introduced himself to a number of the club’s loyal volunteers and chatted about the course and the works undertaken. Scott was very vocal on the impressive quality of the course and it was a real feather in the cap to see him taking photos as he played. Since his visit the club has seen a significant increase in social groups and competition play.

Moving forward, at the time of writing, construction of a new larger practice putting green, to accommodate more golfers, is underway. Five new tees are also being constructed to cater for increased traffic, with one of the new tees turning the par four 9th into a par five, bringing the course up to a par 69. A new golf cart storage shed will also start construction shortly on the site of the old practice green.

A business proposition is being presented to Unity Water to secure fairway irrigation funding in addition to current negotiations for an ongoing water supply to fill the southern wetland and diversify the course’s water storage. A new clubhouse is still on the wish list as well.

“Personally, after everything that we have been through here at Maleny, the most rewarding aspect of this journey is seeing golfers (and non-golfers) from near and far enjoying our course and returning time and time again,” says McCombe. “The sense of community is unlike anywhere I have experienced and I would like to say a special thanks to everyone involved, particularly my beautiful partner Sarah.”

Adam Scott has developed an affinity for the course and its story, live streaming a round of golf with Maleny club pro Wayne Perske last year. Here he is pictured with volunteers inspecting the newly turfed 2nd tee

Hessian was used to cover the newly-stolonised greens to help protect them during establishment

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Double delight Tasmania has a knack of punching well above its weight in terms of exceptional sporting facilities. The Twin Ovals complex, or simply ‘the Twins’ as it known by the locals, just south of Hobart is a prime example. Team leader

T

Brad Marsh provides an insight into the facility and their management practices.

he Twin Ovals complex was a concept born in the early 2000s to have two high class sporting ovals in the one location to cater for both AFL and cricket in the growing municipality of Kingborough. The construction of a new shopping centre nearby provided the necessary fill to level the sloping site of the proposed ovals and construction started in 2009 and was completed in late 2010.

The grounds are situated 15 minutes south of Hobart with views of the Derwent River and Mt. Wellington providing a picturesque backdrop for the complex. They were officially opened in 2011 and have hosted several 30

high-level competitions including A-League soccer, AFL preseason cup matches, WNCL and Futures League cricket as well as being a training facility for Big Bash League cricket teams, AFL preseason camps and two teams for the 2015 World Cup cricket tournament.

The capacity for the AFL ground is 7500 with seating for 1200 patrons, while the cricket ground has a 300-seat grandstand which sits high above the ground giving an excellent view to spectators. The pavilion sits between the two grounds and offers views of both ovals.

The ovals play host to the two local sporting teams being the Kingborough Tigers AFL side, who play in the Tasmanian State

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

League (TSL), and the Kingborough Knights who play in the Tasmanian Premier League cricket competition. The demands on the two ovals are very different, with the AFL ground hosting training nightly during the season and matches most weekends which can be difficult to manage in the winter months when growth is at a minimum.

The cricket oval boasts a 10-wicket turf block measuring 30m x 30m as well as a 12-wicket turf practice facility. The Kingborough Knights have six teams that play on turf pitches and there are matches every Saturday and Sunday from October through to March.

Training is on most weeknights with the

PHOTOS: JAMES DI SAIA/BRAD MARSH

GROUNDS

Opposite page and left: Marsh and his team take great pride in the presentation and appearance of the Twin Ovals complex and the elaborate mowing patterns certainly attest to the level of detail they go to

turf nets available to the club on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We often get requests to host national underage cricket carnivals as well as State teams for training.

PRIDE IN PRESENTATION Both ovals are 1.8 hectares in size and have a sand-based profile of 300mm which was sourced from a nearby quarry. The pH sits at around 8 which is not ideal but manageable. The AFL ground has StaLok fibres incorporated into the top 100mm. They were sown with SR4600 perennial ryegrass and have been continually oversown with this over their lifetime.

The climate at the complex is like that of Hobart 15 kilometres away but tends to get more rainfall and significantly stronger westerly winds during spring. Annual rainfall is 640mm with August and September being the wettest months which can provide some difficulties as this is when we are starting our renovations for cricket.

The ovals drain exceptionally well thanks to their sand profile and 65mm sub-soil drains at 4m centres. These drain directly into a 150mm PVC collector main which is situated outside the boundary fence on each oval and continues into five 23,000L storage tanks to be used as a supplement to potable water which

is the primary irrigation source for the ovals.

We use a fully automatic irrigation system with Galcon GSI as the control component of the system. This provides a very user-friendly interface via an app on our smart devices and a more detailed control system and reporting on the PC. We use Hunter 2” valves which run 5-6 Hunter I40 heads with opposing nozzles. We can run two stations at a time without losing pressure to the heads. The ovals require a significant amount of water during the irrigation season due to the exposed location and the constant winds.

I try to make the ovals accessible to the users as much as possible as everyone in a sporting team in the municipality wants to train or play at the ‘Twins’. This can put some pressure on the team to keep the ovals in top condition year-round, while trying to fit in our renovation and maintenance practices.

In addition to the two main ovals for AFL and cricket, Marsh and his crew of seven oversee the entire Twin Ovals precinct which covers over 40 hectares and includes three soccer pitches, a grass athletics track and a synthetic cricket oval

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COURSES The ovals receive regular nutrition by the way of a prill application every 8-10 weeks supplemented with liquids in between. I also have found using microbial inoculants regularly has been extremely beneficial for the strength and health of the plant. We do get some disease pressure mainly being pythium which we have had a few outbreaks of over the recent Christmas period. I have employed a strong preventative fungicide programme over this period which has worked well this past season.

HARD-WORKING TEAM

The mowing patterns on the ovals are usually decided by Twin Ovals 2IC Geoff Rawnsley who has an eye for detail and a good imagination for what looks good from the main viewing areas

We mow the cricket ground at 12mm during the season and raise it to 26mm during the winter when some junior AFL matches are played on it. The AFL ground stays at 26mm all year round which gives a consistent surface while aiding recovery from the rigors of training and games. The cricket oval can be mowed up to five times a week during the season to keep the speed consistent and the clip rate down as we do not catch clippings on either oval.

We take great pride in the presentation and appearance of the ovals and our mowing patterns certainly give a nod to that. The mowing patterns on the ovals are usually decided by my 2IC Geoff Rawnsley who has an eye for detail and a good imagination for what will look good from the main viewing areas. We usually change the patterns regularly so as to not lay the grass over too long in the same direction.

RENOVATIONS We try to core and topdress the ovals at least twice a year, but this is becoming increasingly difficult with the amount of use and the

demand to get them back in play as soon as possible. We use 22mm side-eject tines in our Toro Pro Core at a depth of 90-100mm and then use a core harvester to pick them up. I try to spike or Verti-Drain monthly to keep the profile as aerated as possible.

We do a heavy scarify in the spring with our HD Turf scarifier followed by a few light ones during the year with the Amazone Turf Tidy to remove the thatch and encourage upright growth. Our turf wicket block gets a light renovation straight after the season as there is only a 3-4 week gap before AFL training resumes on the ground. In late August we do our major renovation and topdressing of the wicket square and usually use around 3-4 cubic metres of clay which is lasered levelled by a contractor.

Our curator James Di Saia does a terrific job maintaining the square in top condition all year round. We mow our wickets at 5mm for matches which produces a pitch with a good coverage of grass and aids in the recovery after matches. The rest of the wicket block is mowed at 14mm.

The cricket oval boasts a 10-wicket turf block measuring 30m x 30m as well as a 12-wicket practice facility

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We have a crew of seven staff that work out of the Twins complex that looks after the entire precinct which covers over 40 hectares and also includes three soccer pitches, a grass athletics track and a synthetic cricket oval.

We also maintain the gardens and surrounds of the netball centre, State gymnastics centre and the Kingborough indoor sports centre which boasts basketball, squash, table tennis and indoor cricket facilities. We also maintain another 10 sporting ovals scattered around the municipality catering for a variety of sports throughout the year.

It is a very hard-working team that prides itself on the quality of work they do in maintaining the turf surfaces to a high level for the end users. We do most of our machinery maintenance in house and have some very capable members of the team that can problem solve quickly to get a piece of machinery back in use. My role as supervisor is made much easier because of the boys’ attitudes towards their roles and constantly striving to have the ovals looking their best.

The team really looks forward to hosting major events at the Twins as it is a chance to show others the quality of the surfaces they produce and to really make the grounds shine.

Preparation can start anywhere up to three months out depending on what the event is.

The Marsh Community Series AFL games are the most enjoyable to prepare for as the whole team is involved in the pre-game maintenance works and we all get a great sense of satisfaction seeing the players, crowd and TV audience appreciating the work that has gone into producing the ovals to their best. The last preseason fixture was North MelbourneSydney last March.

COVID-19 has meant that we have not been able to host some major events that were scheduled for last year and 2021. We were to host a team for the T20 World Cup in February as well as a Futures League and national under-19 cricket carnivals, but these have been cancelled. We will host two WNCL matches in February and the start of the TSL season is fast approaching in early April.

We were lucky as a team that we did not have to make too many changes due

to COVID-19 as Tasmania has had very few cases and no state-wide lockdowns. There was a delayed start to winter sports last year, but most associations got a full season in.

The window for spring renovations was much smaller and this did put some pressure on the team to turn the grounds around from winter to summer sports.

With the finals of the cricket season now upon us, we are looking forward to a more normal season of winter sports this year.

Hopefully we will also be able to secure a few major events in the future to again show the Twin Ovals at their best for the local sporting community.

Twin Ovals hosted last season’s AFL Marsh Community Series match between North Melbourne and Sydney

The SR4600 perennial ryegrass ovals (pictured is the AFL ground) receive regular nutrition by the way of a prill application every 8-10 weeks supplemented with liquids in between and microbial inoculants

Left and above: Being based 15km south of Hobart, it can get a little frosty at the Twins during the winter months

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COURSES

Mapping the

past, present and A

ll golf courses change over time. Whether that change is slow and subtle or fast and dramatic, it is inevitable. Tree growth, shifting mowing lines and continual bunker edging are good examples of processes that have gradual, but significant impacts on golf courses. Change can also happen quickly through renovation or redesign, land sales, or even the intrusion of roads and highways. Whatever the drivers of change are, the fact remains that golf courses begin changing from the day they open and continue to do so throughout their existence.

Along with the evolution that every individual golf course experiences, we also see changes in how new golf courses are built. A golf course opening in 1925 would look different in many ways from a new course opening in 2021. Changes in golf course development are driven by fashions and preferences in design, changing expectations for what a golf facility should provide and changes in how the game is played – including increased hitting distance.

To better understand how golf courses have evolved, the USGA undertook an extensive study of golf course aerial photos as part of the Distance Insights Project. We 34

To better understand how golf courses have evolved, the USGA undertook an extensive study of golf course aerial photos from courses that opened in the 1920s to the present. As Adam Moeller and George Waters write, the study, which included a number of Australian courses, has identified important trends in how courses change over time and raised interesting questions about the

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

future.

looked at courses that opened from the 1920s to the present, mapping aerial images from various points in their history using digital mapping software. Through that research we sought to learn more about how individual courses change over time, how courses from different decades differ from one another and how golf courses may evolve going forward.

While the primary motivation for this research was to better understand how golf courses have been affected by increased hitting distance, we also learned a lot about the basic physical features of golf courses, how older courses differ from newer ones and some of the trends that drive golf course change along with hitting distance. This article provides an overview of the research and covers some of the key findings and questions that emerged. The full report, titled ‘How Golf Courses Change’ is available on USGA.org for those interested in delving deeper into this extensive study.

COURSES STUDIED The project included two key samples for study, an 80-course random sample of US golf courses and a 15-course selection of courses that have recently hosted men’s professional golf events. Among those championship

All golf courses change over time, even the most famous ones. Understanding those changes and what drives them can help us make choices that will shape the future of golf. Pictured left is Pebble Beach’s iconic par three 7th in 1972 and, right, in 2018

future courses were the likes of Muirfield Village, Merion, Oakmont, Quail Hollow, Shinnecock, Liberty National and Royal St Georges.

In addition, non-randomised and limited samples of nine Japanese and nine Australian golf courses were included to provide an international context. The Australian courses, all based in Victoria, included Bendigo, Green Acres, Heidelberg, Kew, Kingston Heath, Latrobe, Riversdale, Victoria and Warragul.

The National Golf Foundation course list was used to develop the 80-course random sample with an even distribution of public and private courses, courses from different regions and courses that opened in different decades from the 1920s through to the 2010s. We chose this sampling approach in an effort to include courses with a wide range of budgets, customer groups, natural environments and adjacent land uses – essentially to better understand the ‘average’ golf course.

A carefully selected case study of courses that had recently hosted men’s professional golf events was also included in the research because we recognised that these facilities face unique pressures with regard to hitting distance, and because these facilities typically have resources above and beyond what is available to most golf courses, so their patterns

of change were likely to be different. The championship courses selected had a variety of opening dates and architects and came from different regions.

For a course to be included in this research, there had to be aerial images of sufficient quality available within about 20 years of the course’s opening date and then on an interval of no longer than one image every 25 years through the 2010s. No more than one image per decade was analysed, except in circumstances where a noteworthy change would have been missed otherwise.

METHODS AutoCAD was used to map and measure the images from each course. The work was performed by six mapping technicians, all with an extensive background in golf course architecture and expertise in CAD mapping.

The key variables studied included: l Golf course footprint (acres); l Back tee yardage and footprint; l Total fairway area (acres); l Size of practice areas (acres); l Distance to the end of the practice range (yards); l Practice area impact on footprint; l Total putting green area (square feet);

Number and total area of teeing grounds (square feet); l The number and total area of bunkers (square feet); l Turn point – i.e.: average distance from back tee to landing area hazards (yards); l Distance added by new tees or moved greens (yards); l The average distance between centrelines of holes (yards); l The shortest distance from a turn point to a course boundary (yards).

Obtaining exact measurements from aerial imagery is limited by factors such as image distortion, image resolution and challenges identifying features through shadows or trees.

While measurements down to the square foot cannot be made with certainty, analysis of aerial images provides an excellent objective estimate of feature sizes and a reliable picture of how a golf course changes over time.

In an effort to limit issues related to image quality, the mapping of each course began with the most recent image because the quality was typically the best. We then worked backward through the decades with the baseline of the newest image as a guide for feature locations and sizes where image quality was more challenging on older images. l

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COURSES courses. The average total footprint of courses in the Australian course case study (129.7 acres – 52.5ha) was smaller than what was found in both the 80-course sample of US golf courses (174.1 acres – 70.5ha) and the championship course case study (231.5 acres – 93.7ha). Even Kingston Heath and Victoria, which have both recently hosted international men’s professional golf events, have a smaller total footprint than the average from our 80-course sample of US courses.

2. AVERAGE AREA OF SURFACES DECREASED OVER TIME

Aerial images from various points in each course’s history were mapped and measured to better understand how golf courses change over time

Sample size is also a limitation when analysing the 15-course championship case study and the Australian and Japanese course case studies. In the Australian course case study, it is important to note that all the courses included are from the state of Victoria and seven of the nine are located in greater Melbourne, including two of the famous Sandbelt courses. Only very clear findings from these courses are discussed in this article and it would be impossible to draw conclusions about Australian courses as a whole from this limited sample. Similarly, trends within the championship course case study are only discussed when there is a high level of confidence in the findings based on the expertise of the USGA Green Section staff.

KEY FINDINGS 1. MODERN COURSES HAVE LARGER FOOTPRINTS For the purposes of this study, footprint is defined as all playing areas of the golf course, all practice facilities, all native areas that are likely to require some maintenance, ponds and lakes, roads and paths, the maintenance facility, the clubhouse and any dumping or staging areas that can clearly be attributed to the golf facility. Where a course had woodland borders, an approximation within the perimeter of the tree line was made to account for maintenance that likely occurs along and within the woodland margins.

In the 80-course sample, courses built during the three most recent decades had an average total footprint of 216.3 acres (87.5 hectares). Courses from the earliest three decades – the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s – had an average footprint of 152.3 acres (61.6ha), a difference of 64 acres (26ha). This pattern was also observed in the championship course case study, where the five most-recently opened courses had an average footprint 47 36

acres (19ha) larger than the five oldest courses – 260 acres (105ha) versus 213 acres (86ha).

This trend can be partly attributed to increased hitting distance. Courses that opened most recently in both the 80-course sample and the championship course case study were longer and had larger footprints on average. In both the 80-course sample and the combined set of the 80-course sample and the championship course case study, there was a statistically significant correlation between longer back tee yardages and larger footprints.

Of the 25 courses in the 80-course sample that had back tee yardages of 7000 yards (6400 metres) or more, the average footprint was 211.2 acres (85ha). Of the 53 courses that had back tee yardages less than 7000 yards, the average footprint was 157.7 acres (64ha), a difference of 53.5 acres (nearly 22ha).

Along with distance, there are other likely contributors to the larger footprints of modern courses. Many modern courses were built far from population centres, where space is at less of a premium. There is also the influence of more-extensive practice facilities, maintenance facilities and other infrastructure that would be included in a modern construction.

Interestingly, total footprint appeared to be a fundamental difference between the Australian courses we studied and the US

The average fairway area in the 80-course sample decreased by more than nine acres (3.6ha) from the earliest map year to the most recent map year. Courses in the championship course case study experienced an average reduction in fairway area of 6.1 acres (2.5ha) from the earliest to most recent map year.

In the Australian course case study, the average decrease in fairway area was 5.8 acres (2.3ha), but this result was influenced by fairway restoration efforts at Kingston Heath and Victoria which were atypical among the courses in this study. Removing those two courses from the calculation yields an average decrease for the remaining Australian courses of 8.3 acres (3.4ha), which matches closely with the 80-course US sample.

The observed reductions in fairway area are likely the result of several factors including irrigation coverage, maintenance and fuel costs, equipment innovation and the proximity of trees. Overall maintenance cost is clearly a driving factor as expectations for fairway quality have increased significantly over time. While fairway area decreased over time at most of the courses studied, it is important to note that longer courses are generally built with more fairway area at the outset. However, adding distance to existing courses did not lead to increases in fairway area on average.

The average total area of greens and bunkers also decreased over time. In the 80-course sample, the average total putting green area was 109,077 square feet (1.01ha) for the earliest map year and 101,197 square feet (0.94ha) for the last map year. The average

TABLE 1. BACK TEE YARDAGE, FOOTPRINT AND FAIRWAY AREA* Back Tee Yardage Number of Courses

<6000 (5486m) 2

6000 - 6499 13 (5486m - 5943m)

6500 - 6999 38 (5944m - 6399m) 7000 - 7499 23 (6400m - 6857m) >7500 (6858m) 2 * From the 80-course sample

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

Average Footprint Average Fairway Area (acres) (acres) 112.7 (45.6ha) 18.2 (7.4ha) 134.9 (54.6ha) 20.9 (8.5ha) 167.8 (67.9ha)

23.6 (9.6ha)

210.7 (85.3ha)

27.7 (11.2ha)

217.1 (87.9ha)

35.2 (14.2ha)

In the championship course case study, a more pronounced version of this pattern arises, with 92.9 per cent of all distance added since 1990. This suggests that these courses have faced more pressure in recent years to accommodate increased hitting distance than in decades past. In the Australian course case study, 35 per cent of the total distance added occurred from 1990 to the present.

4. COURSES THAT HOST PRO EVENTS ARE DIFFERENT

Studying aerial images allowed the identification of key trends in how golf courses change and differences between older and newer courses. Pictured is Glendora CC, California in 2017 (top) and 1965 (bottom)

total putting green area for the championship courses decreased from 125,642 square feet (1.17ha) in the earliest map year to 115,755 square feet (1.08ha) in the last map year.

The average area of bunkers in the 80-course sample decreased from 82,573 square feet (0.76ha) to 76,823 square feet (0.7ha). In the championship course case study, the decrease was even more pronounced, with a drop from an average of 243,971 square feet (2.26ha) of bunker area in the earliest map year to 156,033 square feet (1.45ha) in the most recent map year.

much more significant distance impacts than courses in the 80-course sample. They experienced a greater increase in total number of tees, turn point, distance added by new tees or moved greens, and distance to the end of the driving range, all of which are directly related to increases in hitting distance.

For example, championship courses averaged more than double the amount of distance added through new tees or moved greens than courses in the 80-course sample (300 yards of increase versus 126.1 yards – 274m v 115m) and almost five times the distance added by public courses within the 80-course sample (300 yards of increase versus 63.3 yards of increase – 274m v 58m).

In both the 80-course sample and the championship course case study, alterations to golf courses with a clear distance component have increased from 1990 onward. In the 80-course sample, 79 per cent of the total distance added through new tees or moved greens occurred from 1990 to the present.

There were clear distance impacts on how courses evolve and those impacts have become more pronounced in recent decades.

Measurements such as turn point distance and total distance added by new tees or moved greens increased on average in both the 80-course sample and the championship course case study.

Courses in the 80-course sample averaged 126.1 yards (115m) of distance added by new tees or moved greens from the first map year to the last. Courses in the championship course case study averaged 300 yards (274m) in distance added and the Australian courses averaged an increase of 288.1 yards (263m).

Large distance increases at several Australian courses as they matured from their initial designs swayed the results from the relatively small sample – as did the inclusion of Kingston Heath and Victoria, which would both face distance pressures similar to the courses in the championship course case study. All but one of the Australian courses was also built before 1950 and we saw in the 80-course sample that older courses tended to add more distance.

On average, golf courses within the championship course case study experienced

PHOTO: AIRSWING MEDIA

3. DISTANCE IMPACTS MORE PRONOUNCED IN RECENT TIMES

Courses in the championship course case study showed clear differences from those in the 80-course sample in almost every measurement. For example, championship courses averaged a larger footprint (231.5 acres v 174.1 acres – 93.7ha v 70.5ha), a longer back tee yardage (7397 yards v 6774 yards – 6764m v 6194m), more area devoted to practice (13.6 acres v nine acres – 5.5ha v 3.6ha), longer practice ranges (340.3 yards v 291.1 yards – 311m v 266m), more tees and more bunkers.

Kingston Heath and Victoria also had longer practice ranges, more fairway and putting green area and more than five times the average bunker area than the other courses in the Australian course case study.

Kingston Heath also had the largest overall footprint and most area devoted to practice.

These results can be partly explained by the unique architecture and features of Sandbelt courses, but they also mirror the trends we observed in US championship courses.

These findings are not surprising given the additional resources available at championship facilities and the pressures they face as hosts of men’s professional golf events. While the trends observed in the championship course case study often matched the trends in the 80-course sample, they tended to be more extreme versions. These observations are

The Australian courses in the USGA study (pictured is Kingston Heath) had significantly smaller footprints than the US courses, even with comparably-sized playing areas

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COURSES Distance impacts were most pronounced on championship courses and private courses. Does this suggest that public courses are less affected by distance pressures or less able to adjust? If courses cannot make distance adjustments due to space or resource constraints, do they risk losing their customers and negatively impacting their viability? l Modern courses are generally longer, larger and farther removed from population centres. What does this mean for the future stock of new golf courses? We found a direct connection between back tee yardage, footprint and fairway area – does that mean developers must look for larger and larger sites if hitting distance continues to increase? If those sites can only be found in remote locations, will that prevent most golfers from accessing new courses? l

This image from Oakmont in 1938 shows how much maintenance standards have changed. Rising costs have led many courses to reduce the size of bunkers, greens and fairways

important because championship courses receive more media attention and golfer focus than the average course, but the ability to draw conclusions about how average golf courses have changed, or will change in the future, from what is observed on championship courses can be problematic because of the fundamental differences.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE The trends we observed in the evolution of golf courses have an impact on how we experience the game, what it costs to play, golf’s footprint in our broader society and the long-term viability of the sport. Several key questions emerged from this research: l As rising maintenance costs motivate existing courses to reduce the size of fairways, greens and bunkers, is the golf experience negatively affected? Are higher expectations for course conditioning making key components of strategy and enjoyable play less available to a broad range of courses? l Has the low-hanging fruit been picked when it comes to adjusting for increased hitting distance? Have most of the practical design changes already been used in

Higher expectations for conditioning have been a motivating factor for courses to shrink the size of high-cost playing surfaces like greens, fairways and bunkers

keeping up to this point? Courses showed limited ability to expand their footprint in our research, so will future efforts to add distance become increasingly expensive, awkward or detrimental to the golf experience? Will we see architecture and safety compromised as courses implement less-practical solutions?

Our research doesn’t provide the answers to these questions, but they will be important considerations moving forward. The trends observed in this study and their impact on golf’s future are driven largely by our choices, preferences and expectations.

While there are certainly external forces involved in the evolution of golf courses, such as adjacent land values, there is no question that our desires have a significant impact on the courses we play. Thinking about what is truly important in a golf experience can help guide the choices we make today and shape the golf courses of tomorrow.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PHOTO: AIRSWING MEDIA

ATM thanks the USGA Green Section for allowing publication of this article. The original article ‘Mapping the past, present and future of golf courses’ appeared in Vol 59, Issue 2 (5 Feb 2021) of the Green Section Record.

On average, new courses are being built with larger footprints and longer back tee yardages, but most existing courses cannot expand their boundaries to increase distance. Pictured is Victoria Golf Club

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/toroaus

/toroaus

/toroaus

/toroaustralia

JOHN NEYL AN On the green pictured, the etiolation effect created the appearance of an uncut surface. It required daily double-cutting to maintain a playable surface, with the symptoms returning the next day

Wilting away Leading agronomist John Neylan looks at the phenomenon of bacterial wilt in Poa annua/bentgrass greens and provides some timely strategies to get warm-season municipal sportsfields in optimum condition prior to

I

the winter code onslaught.

n the summer of 2018/19 I was asked by a golf course superintendent to come and inspect his greens. It was mid-summer and the weather conditions had been very hot and dry – ideal disease weather. As a turfgrass agronomist it was an interesting set of symptoms to observe and to try and make some sense of as they were totally new to me. The greens were Poa annua/bentgrass and the leaves were etiolated and yellow. The etiolation effect was creating the appearance 40

of an uncut surface and required daily double cutting to maintain a playable surface, with the symptoms returning the next day.

At the time the symptoms occurred there were several factors worth noting: l In December 2018 daytime and night-time temperatures were warmer than average, with overnight temperatures the highest on record. l December 2018 was wetter than average with 98mm received over two days.

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

The maximum temperature for January 2019 was 2oC above the long-term average. The minimum temperature for January 2019 was 1oC above the long-term average. l Rainfall for the month of January 2019 was less than 5mm and in the driest 10 per cent on record. l Greens were renovated in August (with topdressing) followed by additional sand dustings. l

Trinexapac-ethyl was used monthly through until December. l The greens were dethatched and dusted in January 2019.

The conditions were highly stressful and ideal for disease organisms to affect the turf.

But what was it? The immediate action was to take samples for disease and nematode diagnosis. Both tests came back as negative and were eliminated as the causal agents.

The fungicide and nutrition programme was reviewed with no obvious factors being apparent. The question still remained as to what was happening?

At the time, Dr. John Kaminski (Penn State University) was making a visit to Australia and he suggested that it could be ‘bacterial wilt’. From my perspective this was certainly new to Australia and had not been previously diagnosed. The weather had been ideal for this ‘disease organism’ and it was very alarming when reviewing the literature on ‘bacterial wilt’ as to the potential damage that it could cause. l

BACTERIAL WILT A search of the TGIF database for ‘bacterial wilt’ returned about 180 references of which a select few were reviewed to better understand this disease. In Vargas and Turgeon (2003), bacterial wilt is described as being caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas campestris and is the only known bacterial disease of Poa annua.

It is also stated that it can be very damaging when it occurs in the spring. Bacterial wilt was described as being easily recognised by the elongated chlorotic (i.e. etiolated) shoots that extend above the rest of the turfgrass canopy and in the worst case the disease results in severe melting out of the turf.

The most important management factor in limiting the development of bacterial wilt following etiolation observations is the reduction of stress on the plant

There is another related ‘disease’ that exhibits similar symptoms and is caused

by Acidovorax avenae, another bacterium that causes elongation of stems and leaves that develop rapidly overnight (Roberts and Giodano, 2016). With this disease it is stimulated by wet weather and rarely results in turf loss. On the golf course in question, the disease did not progress to the degree described for the Xanthomonas sp. organism and the symptoms were more in keeping with Acidovorax sp. being the cause.

It is estimated that one gram of soil can contain up to a billion bacteria (Roberts and Giordano, 2016) of which most are benign or beneficial. Bacterial pathogens are rare and like many disease organisms they occur widely in the environment and are associated with soils and organic matter. Xanthomonas

sp. and Acidovorax sp. overwinter in infected plants and in the soil. The disease organisms build up in the soil during the spring and early summer and then following summer rainfall, plants growing in these soils may become infected with the bacteria.

The bacteria enter healthy plants through wounds caused by mowing and sand topdressing. Once the bacteria enter the plant it then moves to the roots and crown of the plant. They multiply quickly, plugging up the xylem vessels and reducing the movement of water and nutrients, eventually plugging up enough xylem cells to cause the plants to wilt (Vargus and Giordano, 2011). This results in a gradual deterioration of the turf and in the worst case there can be rapid deterioration and melting out of the turf when the plants are already under heat and drought stress.

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PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS

JOHN NEYL AN

A white ‘cloud’ or stream of Xanthomonas sp. bacteria can be seen oozing from the cut leaf surface

DIAGNOSTICS The diagnostic technique in the laboratory is to take a recently infected and freshly cut leaf or stem and to examine it in a drop of water under a light microscope (at about 100x) where a white ‘cloud’ of bacteria can be seen oozing from the cut surface within a few seconds. The AGCSATech agronomist team tried this technique and weren’t able to detect the bacterial ooze.

Samples were then sent to a plant bacterial diseases expert at the University of Queensland where an ooze test was conducted on a number of leaves. He noted that the samples were in very good condition and while many bacterial pathogens will exhibit oozing, these samples were all negative. He then took multiple leaves, sterilised them and plated them out. This technique only detected non-specific yeasts. Problem not yet solved!

In reviewing the literature, it again highlights that the microbiological environment is very complex while we are often looking for a single cause or a simple answer. The whole area of bacterial diseases of turf is complex and there is still a lot to understand.

In the research of Roberts et. al. (2017) it was noted that while etiolation was reported in bentgrass turf, there were few cases where Xanthomonas sp. and Acidovorax sp. were isolated. Where samples were collected and tested, it was observed that there was a diversity of bacteria isolated, with only 26 per cent of samples having Xanthomonas translucens and Acidovorax avenae. They concluded that there are probably multiple bacteria associated with bacterial disease.

These results further reinforced the complexity of the turfgrass/soil biome and why we were unsuccessful in getting definitive determination with our samples.

etiolation and overnight growth, they initially found the symptoms difficult to explain. One of the first relationships noted was that the symptoms were more intense in areas where biostimulants and plant growth regulators (PGRs) were used in greens management.

However, research trials testing several biostimulants did not find that any of them caused the etiolation effect.

In the USA, trinexapac-ethyl had been postulated as a cause of etiolation symptoms on Poa annua. Roberts and Giordiano (2016) tested this theory and found that where bacterial etiolation was caused by Xanthomonas sp., the trinexapac-ethyl reduced the severity of the symptoms.

Where Acidovorax sp. was causing etiolation there was greater etiolation where trinexapac-ethyl was applied at 7- and 14-day intervals. Interestingly, the researchers determined that irrespective of the bacterium causing etiolation, the trinexapac-ethyl treated plots had better turf quality compared to the untreated control, providing there was daily mowing of the infected surface.

CONTROL The most important management factor in limiting the development of bacterial decline following etiolation observations is the reduction of stress. In all instances where significant turf loss has been observed, the turf was subjected to extreme conditions, including constant low mowing, extended high temperatures and drought. This is certainly a common theme with diseases – greater stress, weaker plants and greater susceptibility to plant pathogens.

The literature is quite definite that there is no quick knock down of a rapidly developing bacterial population and that immediate curative control is rarely achieved. Bacterial wilt is not easy to control and in research trials oxytetracycline, which is a tetracycline

OTHER FACTORS In research undertaken by Roberts and Giordiano (2016) to explore the reasons for this From basic observations, the main stimuli for bacterial wilt appears to be leaf damage sustained from sand topdressing during renovations and then weather conditions that favour the disease

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antibiotic, was the most effective chemical control method (Vargas et. al. 2014). In the same research a significant reduction in etiolation was observed in plots treated with chlorothalonil+acibenzolar (Daconil Action).

(Note: Daconil Action is not registered in Australia.)

There are some cultural methods that can be employed including: l Mowing turf only when it is dry may slow the progression of the disease. l Increase mowing height and reduce mowing frequency to every other day. This is not particularly helpful when the growth is very prominent and affecting the putting quality of the surface. l When the disease is limited to one or a few greens, a dedicated mower should be used to prevent disease spread. l Grooming, aerification and topdressing should be avoided when the disease is active. This is to minimise damage to the leaf which provides a point of infection. l Provide adequate nutrients. Avoid ammonium sulphate fertilisers which are associated with increased etiolation.

OUTCOME Back to the golf course in question, and with some trepidation the disease was monitored through the remainder of the summer of 2019 with no ill effects. Regular cutting was the key to managing the effects. Trinexapac-ethyl was also removed from the greens management programme. Basically it disappeared by its own accord as the weather moderated in the early autumn.

In the spring of 2019, the first signs of etiolation were noted following renovations and subsequent sand dustings. The summer of 2019/20 was warm and dry with the third warmest January on record and as in the previous year would appear to be a stimulus for the disease.

With the summer of 2020/21 there was some etiolation noted on the higher cut collars of greens and very little in the putting surface.

Looking at the weather it was cooler and wetter with no clear pattern as to a possible stimulus.

SO WHAT NOW? Was this bacterial etiolation a passing mystery or something that is more prominent but not widely reported? Like any new turf infliction it takes rigorous analysis to be able to come up with a firm conclusion as to the cause. From our basic observations the main stimuli for the disease would appear to be the leaf damage from sand topdressing during renovations and then the weather conditions that favour the disease. PGRs were often in the programme and may have also had some effect depending on the bacterial species.

If you see any of these odd symptoms the first step is to take samples for analysis and send them off for testing. In addition, note details of the use of PGRs, sulphate-based fertilisers, sand dusting and other renovation techniques and, of course, the weather. We would be most interested in hearing from you if you have seen these symptoms.

REFERENCES

Roberts, J. A.; Ma, Bangya; Tredway, L. P.; Ritchie, D. F.; Kerns, J. P. 2018. Identification and pathogenicity of bacteria associated with etiolation

Bacterial wilt is easily recognisable by the etiolated shoots that extend above the turfgrass canopy and decline of creeping bentgrass golf course putting greens. Phytopathology. January. 108(1): p. 23-30.

Roberts, J. A.; Giordano, P.R. 2016. Managing the unexpected: What we know about bacterial diseases of turfgrasses. Golfdom. June. 72(6): p. 30-34.

Roberts, J. A.; Kerns, J. P.; Ritchie, D. F. 2015.

Bacterial etiolation of creeping bentgrass as influenced by biostimulants and trinexapac-ethyl.

Crop Protection 72: p. 119-126.

Vargas, J. M. and Giordano, P. R. Winter 2011/12.

The History of Bacterial Diseases of Turfgrasses.

Quarterly Publication of the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association.

Vargas, Joseph Jr.; Giordano, Paul; Detweiler, Ron; Dykema, Nancy. 2014. Occurrence and identification of an emerging bacterial pathogen of creeping bentgrass. USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Online. March/April. 13(2): p. 24-26.

Vargas, J. M. Jr. and Turgeon, A.J. 2003. Poa Annua: Physiology, Culture, and Control of Annual Bluegrass.

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JOHN NEYL AN

WINTER MANAGEMENT OF SPORTS FIELDS: PLANNING AHEAD

C

OVID-19 provided significant respite for many sportsfields during last winter and possibly we have forgotten the effects of what a wet and cold winter can have on poorly prepared sportsfields. While we are struggling to get through another summer, we need to be thinking about how we are going to prepare our sportsfields for the winter months. The effects of a hot and dry summer can weaken the turf sward, even where warm-season grasses are used, resulting in a turf that is less able to survive the ravages of a wet and cold winter.

The winter months coincide with the major football codes of rugby, rugby league, soccer and Australian Rules and each of these sports impose a high level of wear and turf damage at a time when grass growth is slow. The popularity of the football codes are such that most municipal sportsfields are used most days of the week for a combination of training and matches. The work load on winter fields is usually far greater than for summer sports and consequently there is greater turf damage.

Traffic and wet soils can cause a dramatic deterioration in the quality of the turf surface.

As soils become wet there is a redistribution of the silt and clay particles which clog the larger pore spaces which in turn reduces the infiltration rate and aeration porosity. When the soils become saturated and muddy the turfgrasses become coated with soil and partially buried and irreparable damage to the turf can be caused in a very short time period.

How can wear and the damage it causes be managed at a time when growth is slow and soils are wet? Based on recent sportsfield audits some of the key factors identified that minimised turf damage involved a combination of relatively simple factors including;

Managing municipal sportsfields is a challenge due to high use and limited budgets, but preventative programmes that set up the field for the rigours of winter will pay dividends

minimising the effects of root diseases such as spring dead spot in warm-season grasses. Soil tests should be taken in late summer and the phosphorus and potassium levels adjusted as required.

as possible. The aim is to produce a dense turf with maximum biomass. Checking there is good soil moisture is also important in ensuring the warm-season grass can get maximum benefit from the fertiliser.

Good weed control: Controlling winter weeds, particularly Poa annua, is an often poorly understood management practice. Where warm-season grasses are maintained it is important to apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the late summer and then to follow up with repeat applications.

Scouting for insects: Check for scarab larvae activity in the summer. Areas of stressed turf could be due to insects. Have a dig and get them identified.

Having a strong turf sward going into winter: The strength, density and health of the turf sward will go a long way to ensuring the surface gets through the rigours of winter.

On warm-season grasses, fertilise late in the summer and lift the cutting height as early

Ensuring there is good soil permeability and drainage: In the late summer and early autumn, deep aeration is essential for relieving compaction and providing for improved infiltration and drainage.

Correct fertilisation: The majority of the fertiliser should be applied in the summer when the couch/kikuyu is actively growing.

The purpose is to build up a strong and healthy turf mat with the aim of this biomass providing improved wear tolerance over the winter months. A fertiliser application high in phosphorus and potassium and moderate in nitrogen in early autumn will provide improved root, stolon and rhizome strength before going into dormancy. The P and K plays a role in Fertiliser applications should be made in the summer to build up a strong and healthy turf mat which will provide improved wear tolerance over winter

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Regular aeration: A programme of regular aeration throughout the winter will greatly assist in minimising the rate of turf damage.

When there is a dry spell of weather and machinery can be used without damaging the surface, punch some holes!

Controlling use: This is almost the impossible dream, however, managing sportsfields requires a great deal of coordination among administrators, coaches and turf managers.

The first step in controlling traffic on a sportsfield is to educate the facility users about the advantages of distributing wear rather than concentrating it – especially in late autumn and early winter when turfgrass growth is reduced. As noted by Neylan and Nickson (2019), up to 30 hours per week is possible on a well-drained, sand-based field that is well maintained. It is also noted that on a poorlydrained field the effective use of the field while maintaining a satisfactory surface can be as low as five hours a week.

Managing municipal sportsfields is a challenge due to high use and limited budgets.

However, preventative programmes that set up the field for the rigours of winter will pay for themselves with better and safer surfaces and less repair in the spring.

– John Neylan

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PETER McMAUGH AM Whatever you do don’t let your curiosity die. It will work better than anything else to keep you alive and go a long way to helping prolong your career

The

joy of learning 46

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

Education is the cornerstone of any thriving and progressive industry.

Peter McMaugh ruminates on the current state of education, the importance of making learning experiences joyful and how maintaining a healthy level of curiosity may just help to keep you in your job.

M

ost of us don’t give much thought to the way we have grown in our educational development as we become adults. Our education doesn’t stop there, even if we are doing formal tertiary courses, and we are still learning a lot of other things about life on the side. Most of the learning is de facto learning on the job. We learn courting skills, we learn parenting skills – isn’t that a big one; we go on learning all our lives if we aren’t dead and want to survive.

We can be both dead and alive (not as in Schrodinger’s Cat and quantum states), alive physically but mentally dead. You become mentally dead when you take up entrenched positions which say ‘I don’t want to go there’.

You don’t have to be an adult for that to happen. It happens to lots of children far too early in life when they are taken out of their comfort zone and left to metaphorically drown.

How often do you hear things said such as ‘I can’t do maths’. What is really being said is ‘I don’t want to do maths’. Why? Because it isn’t fun and what’s more every time I try to do it I fail.

There is a very old adage in teaching which is ‘success leads to success’. Do you see the pure joy on the face of a toddler when they succeed at a task? The look of great concentration followed by the explosion of joy? That joy in the learning experience never leaves us. There is something primitive in our intelligent brain that triggers this euphoria and the endorphin rush which accompanies it.

This was put quite incisively by an incredible lady, pioneer astrophysicist Celia Payne-Gaposchkin who noted: “The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrill of being the first person in the world to see something or understand something. Nothing can compare with that experience. The reward for the old scientist is the sense of having seen a vague sketch grow into a masterly landscape.” It is shared experience for the

Just as the players on our courses and playing fields come to use them for a pleasurable experience, so too should your learning environment be, both at work and at TAFE

child and the teacher who both get a real thrill out of it and it is what makes teachers continually come back.

It is making a learning experience joyful that has to be the key to successful learning.

This doesn’t mean that you can avoid any more learning and learning by rote to make something second nature when you need to.

This is especially true of some of the more boring things you have to be constantly aware of, such as EPA regulations and other safety concerns around chemicals. It is like learning to drive a car; no one likes putting in the hours of practice that you need to get your licence, but as you gain skill and confidence the lessons become less of a drag until, finally, success.

support is a very sad scene on the big canvas of life experience. The appalling idea that you can pack the experience of learning into a set of ticked boxes is just so fundamentally wrong, that it is hard to comprehend how someone could have dreamed it up.

I have often described the job of golf course superintendent as daily doing a jigsaw puzzle. That analogy is very real, but the jigsaw has the added dimension that the pieces are ‘alive’ and changing and interacting all the time.

This malaise has also affected our universities. Where once there were faculties of Agriculture and other similar ones where the learning of the true science behind the practices was integrated with the practical

}I have often described the job of golf course superintendent as daily doing a jigsaw puzzle. That analogy is very real, but the jigsaw has the added dimension that the pieces are alive and changing and interacting all the time.~- Peter McMaugh When we look at the status of education worldwide, we see a very sad state of affairs as to where Australia lies on the quality list.

The top and leader by a mile is Finland, with the other Nordic countries closing in. This is because their early development learning is based on hands-on experience with less time in formal classroom sessions. It is very easy to teach fundamental numeracy while you are doing cooking. It is far easier to do fundamental biology out in the field rather than with dead specimens in a classroom.

When I look at the turf industry and the history of educational learning I see an appalling mess. This is not only a mess in content but also in delivery. The appalling gutting of the TAFE systems worldwide to satisfy a political ideology and to see it now trying to rebuild itself with minimal government

experience right through a four year course, there is now a Science faculty which is an umbrella to lots of science disciplines in the belief that you can learn the integration in a one year course after graduating with a B.Sc. While this is going on at the basic level, Masters degrees are today going down the USA route of being done by literature studies rather than the hands-on approach of the past.

The brilliant basic work done by Dr Alan Smith for his Masters in 1979 on spring dead spot, is a very good case for proving a point.

The work he did for his Masters would have given him a doctorate in the USA at that time.

This is a very good example of what I saw when I first went to the USA and if anything today it is worse with elementary botanical naming rules not being understood or applied in much USA literature.

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PETER McMAUGH AM

Making learning experiences joyful is the key to successful and meaningful learning

Most science graduates will never do ‘blue sky research’. Most need to have the skills to think critically about the problem you see.

You need to define it properly before you can plan anything further. To do the critical thinking that you need to plan either a treatment programme or a research programme, you need some very well-established building blocks in basic science. You need the tools of basic mathematics, chemistry and physics to really understand how biology puts things and systems together. Above all, you need observational skills so that you can define the problem. This is the most fundamental of all the skills you need to carry out your profession successfully for a long time.

One of the real problems that we have in our education system is that when we put children into formal schooling we dismiss the wonderful observational power of children and we try to teach them to see everything through the eyes of the teacher. Fortunately you can’t take that power away from young children because in their innocence they often make observations that make adults squirm.

When you take children away from the sterile suburban environment and especially on school holiday periods if you can take them to the seaside or into the bush, their joy in discovery comes back very quickly. It is this joy in discovery that is at the heart of the education systems in the Nordic countries.

The formal skeleton of goals to be met is still there, but the methods of achieving it are different and on the whole totally successful, but in an enormously more enjoyable way.

When the various governments across Australia abrogated their responsibilities for education and handed the tertiary trades sector over to the rape and pillage mentality of private enterprise, we fell disgustingly into a ‘tick a box’ mentality about successful 48

completion of trade competency. The results by and large is a generation of non-connected workers who have no real love for their skills and can’t wait to get to retirement.

I have long been appalled that the majority of my fellow graduates from University have lost their curiosity and the joys which come from it. The real calling for teachers is to stimulate this natural curiosity and build the joy of learning to think, to define the puzzle and to solve it. The evidence that we have failed is writ by and large in the behaviour of a percentage of superintendents and grounds managers that use chemical supply companies to set up and run their programmes. The message that this sends to the employer is ‘why do we need you?’ You have given us the key to a cheaper way to run our organisation and unwittingly put yourself into the crosshairs for redundancy.

The driving force that you have to have is the power of observation. The need is for the everyday look at the many micro climates on your course which you can’t do from the cab of a ute or the seat of a tractor. Whenever I go onto a course the first thing I say to the superintendent is ‘Tell me what you see, not what you think’. We will often go through a small learning exercise in learning to ‘look’ and ‘see’. It is wonderful what you can achieve once you have ‘seen’.

If you are a superintendent, then part of your role in that is to develop the skills of your assistants and staff to see properly and report back to you what they see. A very good example of this was a couple of years ago when two TAFE students brought some mite-damaged couch from their bunker faces to their TAFE teacher. The best part of this was that the teacher then alerted Dr Don Loch and myself to the presence of the red mite Dolichotetranychus australianis in Melbourne.

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

Up until then we only had suspicions that it was there but we lacked evidence. Given that it is the most destructive mite on couch, this was an important find. This speaks volumes for both the teacher and the pupils.

What I am driving at is that you can’t be a successful teacher without being right across the subject you are teaching and doing it with the joy of utilising the curiosity that you have to stimulate the curiosity of your pupils or staff.

I have no intimate knowledge of the current syllabus in TAFE other than to know that it is piece by piece currently under review and that we have clawed back some of the lost hours cut because of the pressure of previous demands from industry. The seriously wholehearted commitment of the committee members from TAFE (headed by Albert Sherry), from the industry (headed by Simone Staples at the ASTMA) and the National Turf Education Working Group, who work tirelessly under difficult circumstances to bring about a better learning environment for greenkeeping students, has to be loudly applauded.

Their biggest problem is that the syllabus as a whole never comes under review at any one time. This means you can only improve things by bits and pieces as modules come up for review. It is also to be hoped that the relatively new tertiary degree course guided

by Dr Phil Ford manages to survive long-term.

One of the big changes in TAFE syllabuses since I had anything to do with it is the move to a national curriculum. This is a wise and desirable move into the real world.

Just as the players on our courses and playing fields come to use them for a pleasurable experience, so too should your learning environment be, both at work and at TAFE. Whatever you do don’t let your curiosity die. It will work better than anything else to keep you alive.

RESEARCH The transitional plots as part of the ANTEP 5 trial, with half of each plot removed using selective herbicide and the other half being assessed for natural transition

New trial

I

takes root

n ATM Volume 22.5 it was announced that AGCSATech was embarking on a new vegetative couchgrass trial at Sorrento Golf Club on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Since planting in late 2020, the trial site has been progressing well despite what has been a cooler than average summer for Victoria.

With much of January up to six degrees below average for Melbourne and December also below average, initial establishment of the couchgrass plots was slow. The bulk of the entries were planted in mid-November with a couple of late arrivals going in just prior to Christmas. All entries have now taken well and are starting to fill in quickly despite the cooler temperatures.

Observations so far have highlighted the variation in growth habit between varieties, with some exhibiting strong spreading and stolon development and others a more compact habit. There is some variation in shoot density and leaf texture, showing there are varieties with potential for a wide range of turf applications within the trial.

The rate of establishment will continue to be assessed along with presence of insect pests, disease, colour, quality and density. As the trial progresses into the cooler months observations will be made on when specific varieties begin dormancy, colour retention and any winter activity.

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Senior agronomist Bruce Macphee (CSTM) provides an update on the number of trials currently being overseen by AGCSATech.

As the weather warms in spring, each variety will be assessed for spring green up and wear will begin to be applied to assess wear tolerance and recovery between the various varieties. Towards the end of summer, irrigation will be turned off to assess drought tolerance and then recovery from drought.

This trial should provide turf managers with some vital information on how each of these varieties perform within Melbourne’s climate and which variety may be most suited to their particular application.

Along with the couchgrasses on trial, which include the varieties Tahoma 31, Santa Ana, TifTuf, Grand Prix, Legend and several new varieties from both Peter McMaugh and Don Loch, nine varieties of zoysia grass have

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

been planted in single observation plots at the site. These range from fine-textured zoysia matrellas to medium-textured zoysia japonicas.

While not traditionally grown in the cooler regions of Australia, these varieties will be observed to gauge how zoysia performs in the cooler climate of Melbourne. These grasses were kindly supplied by Lawn Solutions and Don Loch.

Initial observations have seen the slow development of the finer-textured varieties, which has not been helped by the cooler summer. All entries have started to develop, with some varieties showing strong stolon and rhizome growth. These plots will continue to be observed closely as they fill in prior to the onset of cooler weather.

STA TRANSITIONAL TRIAL The ryegrass trial being conducted on behalf of STA Victoria has concluded, with the results and final report currently being written. The trial ran throughout 2020 with a ryegrass blend having been oversown into a Santa Ana couchgrass base, a similar process which occurs on many sportsfields utilised for both summer and winter sport throughout Victoria.

The trial site was then treated with various products available for the selective removal of perennial ryegrass when growing within a couchgrass surface. The timing of the treatments was split into early and late spring

applications to see if there was any variation in the efficacy of the various products and if the timing of these has any effect on the couchgrass as it was coming out of dormancy.

Wear was also applied to half of each plot throughout the duration of the trial to see if wear also had any influence on the success, or otherwise, of the various treatments and the re-establishment of a couchgrass surface. The full results of the trial will be presented to STA Victoria in the coming weeks.

ANTEP 5 TRIAL

The Sorrento GC trial site is assessing a number of new couchgrass varieties in replicated plots along with nine varieties of zoysia in single observation plots

The ANTEP (Australian National Turf Evaluation Program) ryegrass trial continues out at the Evergreen Turf farm in Pakenham with the trial currently experiencing its first summer.

As mentioned in previous ATM articles (Volumes 22.5 and 22.3), the trial consists of a permanent section and an oversown section with approximately 36 entries in each part of the trial.

The oversown section of the trial consists of all replicates being oversown into a Santa Ana couchgrass base, with wear being applied to the trial throughout the winter months to gauge wear tolerance and recovery of each variety. During spring, half of each plot within the oversown section was removed with a selective herbicide, with the other half allowed

to transition out naturally throughout the summer (see main photo opposite).

While not all varieties within this section of the trail are transitional type ryegrasses, several entries are annual or transitional types and have shown good promise at transitioning out as the weather warms up without the need for selective herbicide treatment.

As the trial moves into its second year, wear will continue to be applied to gauge the wear tolerance and recovery potential of each variety along with continued assessment of colour, quality, density and disease incidence.

Next summer the trial will also be assessed during a dry down period to see how each variety copes with drought stress.

Results of the early spring applications in the STA Victoria transitional ryegrass trial which has now concluded

Results from the above trials will be presented at education days throughout the year, as well as at the 2021 Australian Sports Turf Management Conference on the Gold Coast in June. For more information on the trials contact AGCSATech senior agronomist Bruce Macphee on (03) 9548 8600.

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JOHN FORREST

Summer

stresses ATM columnist John Forrest reflects on another tough summer for Perth turf managers.

T

he summer of 2020/2021 in Western Australia has been challenging and hopefully not a precursor for future weather conditions. As I write this article in early February, welcome rain is finally falling (33mm in the rain gauge so far) from the remnants of a tropical low that has dumped huge amounts of water in the north, flooding large sections of country.

Rain in the southwest has greatly assisted in controlling a number of bushfires that broke out in Perth’s outer north east which have been burning for many days. The fires have been fanned by continually strong winds coming predominately from an east and east south easterly direction. Not only are these winds coming across the hot land, but they have been consistently strong, averaging 26kph and gusting up to 70kph regularly during the night near the hills.

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Rainfall recorded for January at most sites was less than 5mm, with a couple recording 10mm from isolated thunderstorms. The December total from the Perth and Perth Airport weather stations was just 4.4mm. For the first two months of summer (December and January) about 10mm of rain has fallen, combined with just over 710mm of evaporation occurring during the same period. With a deficit of 700mm, it is not surprising that the landscape is dry and susceptible to fire.

Temperatures and wind speeds varied during December and January (depending on locations) with the following an overview of the averages from the Bureau of Meteorology daily weather observations site (www.bom.gov. au) for Perth. l December: Temperature – max 33.6oC, min 18.6oC; wind speed (at 3pm) 24kph; humidity 29 per cent.

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

l

January: Temperature – max 32.4oC, min 16.4oC; wind speed (at 3pm) 26kph, humidity 26 per cent.

GREENS Golf greens in Perth are predominately different varieties of Agrostis stolonifera and after the above-described weather conditions it is no surprise that a number are showing signs of stress. Greens are managed exceptionally well through high maintenance procedures, but in real terms they are on life support, growing or surviving well outside their optimum growing environment. Through this article we look at the reasons why bentgrasses are under pressure and outline the causes and effects that magnify the problem.

In general, cool-season grasses such as bentgrass are subjected to heat stress once soil and air temperatures exceed 30oC, the

Above: Water that causes a saturated profile on or just below the surface can create a scalding effect

PHOTOS: JOHN FORREST

Left: What can start out as dry patch can quickly escalate to significant problems if conditions are favourable. On this bentgrass green, fairy ring added to the primary issue of dry patch, eventually leading to scalding, turf loss and algae formation

point where root and shoot growth decreases.

Above 30oC, root growth can stop and roots lose their ability to function. Once this phase occurs, wear reduces the turf coverage further, worsening the stress the plant is under.

It is often argued that low nitrogen is best for summer in hot climates for bentgrass, however, for a plant to recover from wear it requires carbohydrates that are supplied by photosynthesis to produce growth. Low nitrogen can be as problematic as high nitrogen.

In conditions such as WA where the severe weather may last for the whole of the summer period, a thinning surface will see soil profile temperatures increase. A thinner turf canopy allows increased compaction as protection from a thatch layer is reduced.

Identifying moisture stress early assists in its management with moisture sensors a great

tool in dry patch management. Teaching the staff to spot an issue early is key, with the likes of foot-printing or a slight blue tinge among the early symptoms to keep an eye out for. Footprinting is the first stage of wilting when the plant loses its turgidity. Turgidity is water inside the plant cell exerting pressure on the cell wall to keep its structure. Wilt occurs when transpiration of water within the plant exceeds the absorption rate of the roots.

Reduction in the length of the root system in hot weather is accentuated by factors such as compaction, nematodes and disease.

Samples show disease pathogens present but in these conditions disease is not the primary cause of root loss.

Turf takes up water through a ‘water potential’ where water moves along a gradient from an area of higher water potential, lower solute concentration and higher osmotic potential to an area of lower water potential, higher solute concentration and lower osmotic potential through a semi-permeable membrane. Simply put, water will move from an area with low solutes to an area of high solutes. The more solutes on the outside of the roots the slower the water uptake.

Water vapour exits through stomata that open during daylight and close at night, creating a water gradient that draws water in through the roots. If a plant is under water stress or deficit the stomata close to preserve water.

Another important impact of water movement through a plant is that it has a cooling effect. If the plant has a water deficit and the stomata close, which may happen around midday or at the hottest part of the day, then important cooling does not occur.

HAND WATERING/SYRINGING Syringing is a light application of water across the leaf surface to cool the plant, not to be confused with hand-watering to reduce the impact of a dry patch. It is important to establish what is to be achieved by the watering process. On a bentgrass green on a very hot day, too much water in the profile can be deadly to the turf. If water sits on the surface, soil temperatures can rise slowly and once temperatures are elevated they stay high for longer.

SCALD Water that creates a saturated profile on or just below the surface can create a scalding effect in a short period of time. Thatch and mat layers retain moisture and impede drainage and can be deadly on hot days. Not only is the saturated surface exposed to scalding,

Greens with short root systems are particularly susceptible to scalding in hot conditions

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JOHN FORREST

The varying stages of surface deterioration (from left) initial dry patch through to scalding and eventual turf loss

it encourages pythium, algae formation and reduces oxygen to the roots.

Greens with short root systems are exposed and a cycle can start where if water is not added then the plant wilts, but too much water creates a scalding environment.

Surface temperatures rise in the surface to damaging levels due to the moisture retention.

Skilled application of water is needed with a determination of whether it is to cool the plant or wet up a dry patch.

WET WILT Wet wilt is a condition where there is enough water in the soil profile but the plant cannot access a sufficient amount and the plant wilts, despite moisture sensors showing adequate soil moisture. Salt levels in the soil can slow the uptake of water and care when applying nutrients (salts) is required. An interesting exercise is to measure the EC of the mix that is to be applied. Selection of lower salt index products can assist.

BOUNDARY LAYER

it increases humidity in the boundary layer.

When there is low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures the water loss from the plant is increased. A dense turf cover increases the humidity above the turf, slowing ET.

MANAGEMENT PRACTISES THAT CAN HELP Some management practises that can assist in reducing the development of such conditions mentioned above include; l Mini-tining to create gas exchange and water infiltration. l Sanding of greens to minimise organic layers and algae formation. l Ensuring turf cover to protect the surface and minimise soil temperatures. l Pre-emergent applications of fungicides. l Reducing mowing and lifting the height of cut, increasing photosynthesis and increasing carbohydrates to assist turf growth and recovery.

GETTING THROUGH THE SUMMER

end of summer. A week after the rain, Perth temperatures were in the high 20s with an increase to the low 30s the following week.

At the same time as this, Perth was forced into a five day COVID-19 lockdown which in many ways was a godsend for golf courses, with no golfers for five days. Mowing frequencies were able to be reduced and heights lifted. Sanding and the use of needle tines to knock holes in the greens to get some water movement and oxygen (air flow) has been brilliant. Winds are changing to a southwesterly direction, a wind affectionally known as the Fremantle Doctor, which are much cooler than the east southeasterlies that have been blowing every night in the middle of the watering window.

Talking to local superintendents they have had to replace very little turf during the summer, showing the high degree of water management that has developed.

REFERENCES Beard, James B. 1973. Turfgrass: Science and Culture. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.

Dernoeden, P.H. (2006). Understanding Wet Wilt: Shedding some light on an unfamiliar subject USGA Green Section Record. 44(2) March-April, 7 - 9.

Hull, Richard J. 1996. Turfgrass TRENDS. October.

5(10): p. 1-9.

Surrounding the leaf is a layer of air called the boundary layer. The thicker the layer the greater the reduction in ET (evapotranspiration) because when water vapour exits the stomata

Low humidity, high wind speeds, high soil and air temperatures are increasing the stress on bentgrass greens here in WA and superintendents and their staff are looking forward to the cooler temperatures at the

Mini-tining to improve gas exchange and water infiltration will create a healthier root system

Syringing is a light application of water across the leaf surface to cool the plant, not to be confused with handwatering to reduce the impact of a dry patch

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

100% Australian Owned And Bloody Proud of it

MANAGEMENT

Building

resilience

Starting this edition, ATM welcomes NSW-based management and leadership expert Ben Gibson to our panel of

PHOTO: IDRIS EVANS

regular columnists. In his opening article, The Toolbox Team principal discusses the concept of resilience.

The ‘lone cypress’ at Pebble Beach couldn’t be more symbolic of the concept of resilience. Believed to be 250 years old, it has prevailed in a harsh environment over which it has little to no control over

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

T

he last few years in the Australian sports turf industry have presented a range of unique and demanding challenges that very few could have foreseen. Bushfires, smoke, course closures, flooding up north and COVID19, it certainly has been an unheralded test of team systems, resilience and their capacity to adapt and continue.

Resilience has been defined as ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2021). Turf managers are some of the most resourceful and resilient individuals I have ever met, but the weather, COVID-19 and economic challenges have definitely tested the mettle of even the hardiest industry veterans.

WHAT IS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL We have had countless conversations with turf managers across Australia and New Zealand over the last decade and when discussions have turned to stress, anxiety and worry at work, the resounding themes have been around facing challenges beyond their control.

Many have had sleepless nights and stress connected with staff layoffs or stand-downs, weather, turf conditions, club and course closures, COVID-19 restrictions… the list goes on, but all these are beyond their control.

Understanding what is inside and outside of our personal, family and professional control is an important step to ensuring we are focusing our energy, preparation and concern in the right areas of our lives. When we worry constantly about aspects that we have little control or influence over, we are setting ourselves up for an unfair personal assessment of our performance.

In 1954, behavioural psychologist Julian Rotter identified a concept known as our locus of control (see Figure 1 next page) – ‘the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control over the outcome of events in their lives’ (Psychological Monographs, 1966).

Rotter’s ideas highlighted that the more we judge ourselves by results from areas of our lives beyond or external to our control, we will find it difficult to truly relax or ‘switch off’ when at home. We will continue to be our own harshest critic and toughest judge. We continue to work harder and harder and worry more to try and influence the outcomes, often for little benefit or improved results.

Going through the simple exercise of identifying what is in (our team, work programmes, what we eat) and out (COVID19, the weather, public opinion of our turf) of our control is a very powerful step in understanding how we can build resilience in these areas.

Inside our control (internal): If we can control it – then do it! Plan, communicate, delegate, empower, support and execute!

The most effective way to not worry about something is to get it done! l Outside our control (external): Understand and research the issue, consult with peers and your team, develop systems to prepare for and mitigate potential scenarios and communicate!

“Life as a golf course superintendent is extremely challenging with such high expectations of course conditioning,” comments experienced Western Australian Golf Club superintendent Idris Evans. “Often factors beyond our control, such as player traffic, weather conditions, budget constraints and regular changing of committees or boards, further impact the role. However, in my 22 years as superintendent I have found having good staff, and managing to retain them, the most important factor in being able to produce a high quality course. Without a well-trained, reliable and skilled crew that understand these elements (in and out of our control), maintaining a high quality course would not be possible.” l

INFLUENCING THE MINDSET Once we have prepared thoroughly, understanding we cannot make it rain, but knowing we have done all in our power

to mitigate the impacts of the worst-case scenario, can have a big impact on our mindset when not at work.

As leaders, it is not up to us to pretend that everything is alright all the time (although it feels that way). As we have all experienced over the last 12 months, it has been pretty tough to provide our staff with a clear future of our work environment. With so many rapid changes, it may have felt difficult to be certain about any aspect of work!

What we can do, though, is be clear with our staff about what we can and cannot control and how we can best prepare for both elements. By sharing these plans with your team, you reduce uncertainty, concern and scuttlebutt that can be damaging to team culture and effectiveness.

The Harvard Business Review highlights how ‘anxiety can be contagious’ and that ‘thanks to social media, you don’t need to be in physical contact with someone to catch an emotional infection’ (Anxiety is Contagious, 2020). Our leadership during this time carries great responsibility as we have a significant ability to influence the mindset, health and well-being of those in our team.

“I think every turf manager’s resilience has been tested more than ever in the last 12 months,” notes Kooringal Golf Club superintendent Tay Wilson. “It definitely called all my skills, emotional control and experience

INTRODUCING BEN GIBSON…

A

ustralian Turfgrass Management Journal is delighted to welcome leadership and management expert Ben Gibson as a regular contributor starting from this edition. Ben is well known throughout the Australian turf industry as owner and managing director of The Toolbox Team and the Australia/New Zealand Sports Turf Leadership Forum Series (https:// theleadershipforum.com.au).

Ben has run training sessions for hundreds of turf managers and their staff across Australia and New Zealand and spoken at turf industry events in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the United States.

The Toolbox Team helps golf course maintenance teams and their clubs build safe and engaged cultures through interactive onsite sessions, safety and environmental compliance resources and software (https:// thetoolboxteam.com.au).

Towards the end of last year, the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association cemented its partnership with Ben and his company, with association members now eligible for a 30 per cent discount off registration for attending the Leadership Forums. The forums are practical and engaging one or two-day sessions using

real industry examples, case studies and interactive team exercises to improve communication and culture in teams and help develop current and future leaders.

In coming editions, Ben will be sharing his special insight on a range of management and leadership issues. If you have any specific topics or questions that you would like Ben to address in these pages, please contact ATM editor Brett Robinson on 0434 144 779 or email brett@agcsa.com.au.

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MANAGEMENT

Left: Figure 1. Behavioural psychologist Julian Rotter’s ‘locus of control’; Right: Figure 2. Being prepared and having systems in place can aid a team’s ability to return to a state of improved performance following adversity or challenge

into play. On top of COVID-19, my family experienced health issues last year and we had major challenges with the golf course. It definitely felt all-consuming.

“One of my biggest concerns was for my team. At one stage we had to stand all staff down (apart from myself) so I really focussed on keeping them engaged and connected, even when remote through WhatsApp or Zoom. As a team we actually read and completed the Resilience Project Journal (by Hugh van Cuylenburg) which had a significant impact, with staff later mentioning how much it had helped them during that time.

“I am a big proponent of developing your leadership. Over the last 15 years I have completed a number of courses and taken any chance I could to learn from others. You don’t realise at the time, but all that development really comes into play when we are faced with the big challenges life throws our way. I am so grateful I had worked on those skills.”

RESILIENCE AND ELASTICITY

influencing factors in the surrounding environment and the structure we have put in place to manage these occurrences. We can invest in the elasticity of our teams and work environment by implementing physical systems to provide clarity and structure to operations in challenging and uncertain times.

Equally as powerful are the cultural norms, level of consultation and support that exists amongst your team. Investing in relationships, communicating openly and fairly, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and empowering your work group has a major impact on their ability to operate clearly and decisively under pressure.

Cameron Smith, superintendent of Bonnie Doon Golf Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has faced his fair share of challenges over the last few years, but saw his team come together to get over each hurdle at a time.

“I think the team has built their resilience over the recent challenges just making sure that we are all in this together. Not one person is weaker than the other,” reflects Smith.

“Keeping communication lines very clear and open helped massively as well.

“We have three current casuals on staff and (similar to many courses) we looked like having to let our casuals go to keep the costs down. Without my knowledge, the crew spoke between themselves and the full-time members actually offered to take their annual leave so that the casuals could stay on.

“That sign of the crew collectively looking out for one another in extremely uncertain times just showed me that the entire team helped to build everyone’s resilience. I could not have been prouder of them.”

Giving your team the confidence and your support to function cohesively in challenging times is the ultimate form of delegation.

This means giving them the support and encouragement to try their own ideas, not berate them if they try and fail but support their innovation and growing independence.

They win from the personal satisfaction of accomplishment and independent achievement. And guess what? You win too!

Elasticity is a great way of referring to a team’s ability to return to a state of improved performance following adversity or challenge (Figure 2). This concept is universally applicable to turf surfaces, environmental sustainability, financial performance, physical health and more as it tests the preparation and systems in place prior to the impacting event.

Our level of elasticity is tied directly to our situational awareness, review of potential

Above: Through regular meetings and open communication, Bonnie Doon Golf Club’s maintenance crew built their resilience despite the testing times brought about by COVID-19 Left: Superintendents (from left) Idris Evans, Cameron Smith and Tay Wilson know only too well the challenges that can confront them and their teams on a daily basis

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

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ENVIRONMENT

Redcliffe floats

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a new fix

f you have a body of water at your golf or turf facility you may want to read on.

I often get asked what can be done about reducing algae, filter run off and, in general, gaining better water quality?

Late last year I was told about a ‘floating wetland’ that was being used as an effective and sustainable technology to improve water conditions. Instantly I knew this product would be a great fit for the turf industry and after some further research I found out that Redcliffe Golf Club, just north of Brisbane, had recently installed a system in their irrigation dam.

Floating wetlands are a low-cost and environmentally-friendly system designed to vegetate waterbodies to assist with either aesthetics, create safe habitats for local fauna or to reduce pollutants in the water. The treatment process is completely biological, with no electricity or chemicals needed.

Recently appointed Redcliffe course superintendent Mark Stanley suggested the floating wetlands as a way of improving the 60

ATM environmental columnist Kate Torgersen looks at how floating wetland systems can help solve water quality issues in irrigation dams while also providing additional habitat for flora and fauna.

water quality and provide more habitat for local fauna. Prior to his starting at Redcliffe, Stanley had come across Melbourne-based company Fytogreen, that supplied such wetlands, through LinkedIn. Acting Redcliffe superintendent at the time, Jai Rochfort, was instrumental at getting the project actioned by the committee, with the club also successful in obtaining a local government grant to fund

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

the project. That enabled them to install the floating wetlands as well as conduct some weed control around the course.

After initial consultations, Fytogreen managing director Geoff Heard and his botanist supplied a site-specific plan for the Redcliffe irrigation dam which stores about 13 megalitres. The wetlands use the concept of phytoremediation to act upon the water, which as an umbrella concept includes a diverse range of separate methods of treatment which work on very specific processes to deal with nutrients and heavy metals.

Through plant species selection and growth, the objective is to seek a mixture of the following treatments; l Rhizosphere biodegradation – refers to the enhanced breakdown of a contaminant by increasing the bioactivity using the plant rhizosphere environment to stimulate microbial populations. l Phytodegradation – involves the degradation of organic contaminants

Left: Floating wetlands are a low-cost and environmentally-friendly system designed to vegetate waterbodies to assist with aesthetics, create safe habitats for local fauna or to reduce pollutants.

Pictured is an installation in Melbourne

Redcliffe Golf Club, north of Brisbane, has installed two floating wetland systems in its 13ML irrigation dam to help improve water quality. The floating wetlands are 2.25m x 2.25m in size and each contain 36 plants of differing varieties

directly through the release of enzymes from roots or through metabolic activities within plant tissues. l Phytovolatilisation – involves the uptake of contaminants by plant roots, its conversion to a gaseous state and release into the atmosphere. l Phytoextraction – uses the ability of plants to accumulate contaminants in the aboveground, harvestable biomass.

(Source: www.nature.com) Redcliffe has installed two floating wetlands which each measure 2.25m x 2.25m.

Each wetland structure comprises two cells in which there are 18 plants each (a total of 36 per floating wetland – see photo and diagram, right). Plant selection is site-specific and is determined by the task required of them. In Redcliffe’s case, the plant varieties selected are designed to assist with nutrient levels and provide habitat and include; l Bacopa monnieri; l Baumea juncea; l Disphyma crassifolium; l Ficinia nodosa; l Juncus krausii; l Selliera radicans; and l Sporobolus virginicus.

I visited Redcliffe in February to see the floating wetlands in action and I was amazed at how quickly the plants had established after being in for less than three months. Mark and his team said the process was easy and cost effective and they put together the netting to cover the wetland structures by guidance from Fytogreen.

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They act as a native wildlife refuge, providing a safe nesting site away from predators such as foxes and cats; l Plants remove excessive nutrients directly from the water (i.e. reducing algal blooms).

Other benefits of such systems include; l Cost savings (low cost to install – a typical system, without plants, starts at under $1000 – and requires no electricity); l Minimal to no maintenance needed. Every now and then when some weeds appear they will need to be removed. The wetland can be easily brought to the dam edge. l Odour reduction; l Aesthetically pleasing; l Assists in controlling aquatic weeds; and l Can be easily installed by ground staff.

The system like the one at Redcliffe is hydroponic, thereby plants receive all nutrition directly from the water column. This ensures plants direct all their potential to absorb nutrients, including pollutants and heavy metals, directly from the water they are growing in, rather than organics held within their rooting substrate.

This is a highly efficient means of utilising vegetation to condition a site, aiding in rehabilitation and remediation towards healthier conditions and habitats.

The floating wetlands used at Redcliffe are modular, allowing for versatile configurations to fulfil many functions. They can be used to moderate water flow, slowing currents thereby controlling silt deposition in targeted locations.

The systems are easily installed by ground staff and can be anchored.

So how do the floating wetlands improve water quality? l Reduces solar inputs into the water, with the resultant shading reducing algal growth and moderating water temperatures to reduce overheating; l Plants remove heavy metals directly from the water column;

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JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

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REGIONAL PROFILE

Nambucca Heads Island GC, NSW After eight years at RACV Royal Pines, including seven Australian PGA Championships, Greg Jager departed the Gold Coast last year and headed south to take over as superintendent at Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club.

There would be few courses more idyllic that Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club just south of Coffs Harbour, NSW. The course is located on an island in the middle of the Nambucca River. Pictured is the 13th green

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

Superintendent: Greg Jager (50 years young).

Family: Partner Kylie, three kids Madison (14), Hudson (12) and Judah (7).

Social media: On Facebook, @Namgolf on Facebook.

Period as a superintendent: Nine months.

Association involvement: ASTMA and NSWGCSA. Turf management career: 33 years.

Qualifications: Cert lll Horticulture.

Major hobbies/past-times/claims to fame: Golf, camping and the beach. Combining the three makes for a great release. I did a Toohey’s beer commercial many years ago which was pretty cool.

Where in Australia is Nambucca Heads Island GC and what is the club/township famous/known for? Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club is located on the Mid North Coast, half an hour south of Coffs Harbour and pretty much halfway between Brisbane and Sydney.

Nambucca Heads has one of the oldest surf lifesaving clubs in Australia and invented junior surf lifesaving known as Nippers. Nambucca Heads GC is the original ‘island golf club’ and I think there is only Hamilton Island to this day with just a golf course and no residential dwellings on the island. Nambucca Heads is a beautiful place to live and a great holiday destination. The town and surrounding areas accommodate for all hobbies and needs – fishing, surfing, golf, bush trails and plenty of places for a cold beer, dinning and a punt.

Tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be at Nambucca Heads?

As a kid I was a keen sportsman and like most kids played a summer and winter sport.

My dad was the volunteer curator for the club I played for, so going with him to mark out soccer fields and to the golf course with him was my initiation into being around sports facilities. I started my career as an apprentice at Hudson Park Golf Club, a small council course near Strathfield in Sydney, with minimal machinery and three staff members including me. The stature of the course didn’t mean anything to me, I was just glad to have an apprenticeship as a greenkeeper.

I left golf for about 10 years and moved to bowling greens and cricket wickets. At the time I thought it would be an easy transition mainly because of the size of area to prepare and maintain. How wrong I was and this was a bit of a ‘light bulb’ moment that all aspects of greenkeeping have their own preparation skills and if you get it wrong the surface can be deemed unplayable.

I eventually returned to golf but in construction which again was an amazing experience. I recommend that all young greenkeepers have a go at some form of construction and get an appreciation of the planning, shaping, irrigation installation and grow-in of a playing surface. From here I got the opportunity to work overseas and again realise how lucky I am to be in a trade that I love and where it can take you.

Upon returning to Australia I ended up on the Gold Coast and was given an opportunity

by Lincoln Coombes at RACV Royal Pines Resort. This is where I spent the next eight years as Lincoln’s assistant and had a great relationship feeding of each other with similar work ethics and achieving the results needed.

When I saw the position for Nambucca Heads advertised it was a no-brainer for me to apply.

I knew the course and area and saw this as a chance to further my career and put my own signature on an already beautiful course.

The process for applying happened during the early stages of COVID-19 which I thought would affect the timing of the interview process, but the club management and Board were determined to stay proactive during these uncertain times and make sure that the club kept moving forward. Luckily for me, I was given the opportunity and I’m very grateful as everyone involved from management, committee and members have a love for their course and club and only see it moving in a positive direction.

You arrived at Nambucca after playing a major role in one of the most talked about course redevelopments in Australia at RACV Royal Pines and hosting several Australian PGA Championships. How did your time there set you up for your current

role? I had eight years at Royal Pines and was lucky that in that time the course went through a full 18-hole redevelopment and held one of Australia’s major golf tournaments, the Australian PGA Championship, for seven consecutive years. The redevelopment was exciting for all staff members involved at the time to see the course change from a resort course to a championship course.

With my construction background it was good to play a major role in overseeing the new Graham Marsh design take shape and Lincoln allowing me to have my input. The PGA was the first time that I had been involved in preparation of a tournament of such scale.

It was certainly a positive learning experience for me, dealing with the scheduling of the preparation leading up to the tournament, increased staff numbers and PGA officials.

I gained a lot out of it and it taught me a lot about planning for club tournaments and presenting the course for the members, guests and sponsors at its best. Planning and coordinating the plan is huge.

Nambucca is your first superintendent posting. How big a step up has it been from being an assistant? I haven’t found the step up in role to be too much of a transition from an assistant given that I was quite involved with most facets of a superintendent’s position at Royal Pines. The main change that I’ve had to adjust to is coming from a large team to a smaller one. The guys at Nambucca are good, with qualified greenkeeper Jed Kennedy helping with his knowledge of the course and the two apprentices, Jake and Riley, willing to learn and do what’s needed. You must be a lot more involved with day-to-day maintenance and repairs of the course/machinery and it makes you more alert about your role.

The Nambucca Heads Island GC crew from left Bruce Kelsey (recently retired), superintendent Greg Jager, Jed Kennedy, Graeme Weary, Jake Saunders, Riley Mylrea and Peter Miller

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REGIONAL PROFILE Talk us through your turf management operations there – any special considerations due to its location/climate?

The operation of the course is still like most courses with the main challenge being the focus on the bentgrass greens. It’s almost a tropical environment with high humidity, so the main practice is hand watering and scheduling water programmes to avoid fungal outbreaks.

The course in general isn’t easy or hard to manage if all staff are on the same page.

Instilling in them that our greens are our main surface has been a focus.

Nambucca Heads Island GC boasts bentgrass/Poa greens, Wintergreen couch fairways and tees and kikuyu roughs

What advice would you give an assistant looking to take the step up into a super’s role? I truly feel that when making the step up that it’s important the location/golf club suits your personality. Be specific in what roles you apply for as it’s a big step for you and your family.

some of the golfers’ language echo through the fairways! The course is tough to manage your way around as a golfer and usually the common comment about it is how beautiful it is and ‘It’s not that easy but, wow, I had fun!”

It’s such a natural environment which is why the members have so much pride in it.

Give us an overview of Nambucca Heads Island GC. Obviously it’s a very unique course/layout being located on an island.

It is amazing. Having the surroundings of the pristine blue waters of the Nambucca River would make most greenkeepers jealous.

Starting the day with a beautiful sunrise while watching the sea life – dolphins, stingrays, turtles and various fish species – greet you is pretty idyllic. To have the native bird life as the only noise heard around the 18-hole layout is nice, although occasionally you do hear

What are some of the challenges that come with the course being on an island, whether turf related or logistical? Logistically, being a small town if I need anything it usually means a minimum hour’s drive or more. As far as the turf goes, the course only sits about one metre above sea level so on high tides it’s not uncommon for the drainage network to be fully charged. We combat this with non-return valves which work most of the time. The salt from the sea breeze doesn’t seem to have any detrimental effect on the turf.

With any change in superintendent comes changes in the way of approaching things.

What changes have you implemented since arriving? The main change in staff management has been the retirement of a key greenkeeper/mechanic who has been replaced by two first year apprentices. This obviously involves more supervision and training which is time consuming, so day-to-day job allocation has changed. With turf management, I haven’t altered much yet. I’ve changed cut lines to fairways and surrounds solely for time frames and machine preservation. Being a tree-lined course a lot of the fairways have tree roots encroaching into them.

Has COVID-19 impacted your operations? In general, COVID-19 hasn’t had a lot of impact on course operations. Precautionary measures have been undertaken like most courses, with no rakes in bunkers, noodles on flag sticks, washing sand buckets etc… Overall the club has surged forward and still is. Club management and the Board have made sure that members and guests follow all protocols that have been put in place by government departments and enforce health and safety measures implemented by the club.

Any special environmental considerations that you have to incorporate into the management of the course, especially given its island location? The main one would be chemical control, being aware of run off and leaching. Tree management surrounding the island (mainly mangroves) is also managed.

Outline any major course improvement works recently completed or coming up. The main project that the team and volunteers have done in my short time here is making changes

With a near-tropical climate to contend with, managing the bentgrass/Poa greens requires a good fungicide programme to stay on top of disease outbreaks

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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

The course only sits 1m above sea level, so even when there’s a high tide it’s not uncommon for the drains to be fully charged

to the 18th hole. It’s a beautiful little par three finishing hole, but when you stood on the tee looking at the green the cart path was directly in your eyesight and play, running the length of the hole. It has a water crossing about 50m off the tee and the bridge was, in my view, unsafe and needed replacing. This was the catalyst for building a new bridge and re-routing the cart path.

Once the plan was put to the committee they agreed and some funds become available allowing me to also reshape the right side of the hole. Nothing major was needed, just soften the slopes around the green and make it more playable for all grades and mowerfriendly. When we drafted up a plan everyone was in agreement and the focus was safety for the golfers and taking the cart path out of view.

The bridge had to be surveyed as it was tidal.

When the infrastructure was in place, the volunteers took over and built a rock face on both sides making it a showpiece. While they were doing that, the team and I continued with the routing of the cart path and the reshaping of the fairway and surrounds. With the help of a local excavator operator we ended up adding about 50 tonnes of fill, shaping and stolonising with Wintergreen couch from the fairways. The end result looks fantastic and is now more aesthetic to the eye and player friendly.

Water is obviously a critical issue for any golf course. How does your course fare in the water management stakes? With our only source being town water, we need to manage it quiet stringently. Water comprises a third of my budget.

The weather and climate is always a great leveller for a course superintendent. How has Mother Nature treated the course in recent times? The climate here is almost tropical with good rainfall and high humidity.

This requires a good fungicide programme just to stay on top of disease. In December 2020 Nambucca Heads and surrounding areas were flooded after just over 500mm of rain fell in a six-day span. This might not seem excessive but with king tides and being on an island which isn’t much above sea level, it didn’t take much for the course to be inundated.

The last major course flood occurred six years ago and after hearing stories from members and locals I was expecting a huge clean up. In previous floods, silt from the river has covered most of the fairways four inches

deep! The worst part of the whole experience was not being able to access the course as the causeway leading to the course was a metre under water with a strong current flowing over.

We put a drone up and could see that it was completely inundated.

When we could access the site, we found we had dodged a bullet. There was no silt, just debris from downstream and wash outs throughout the course (bunkers, cart paths, tee markers, rakes, valve lids). The clean up only took a week with the crew and a band of volunteers all getting in and having a go. The generosity of the community was overwhelming with people contacting me offering their services, from tree loppers and machine operators to the locals who just love the course and wanted to help. I would also like to send out a special thanks to Aaron Cachia (Bayer) and Chris Neal (Nuturf) who kindly donated $1500 worth of product which was very much appreciated.

The one product I couldn’t manage my course/facility without is... Like most superintendents it must be Primo. Having a small crew and a small fleet, Primo is a must.

What are some pros and cons of being a regional superintendent? The pros would be that most people in the town use the facility and are very appreciative of the work you put in and happy to thank you. The lifestyle is also much more relaxed. Still yet to find any negatives…

Are expectations of course presentation and conditioning any less than that placed on your metropolitan counterparts? Not at all. I set standards and goals for myself and the team and this is based on having pride in your job and presenting the best product we can with the resources available. If anything, I feel that when members from metropolitan courses visit and see the standard of course we are producing with staffing numbers and low budgets, they are blown away.

Do you use volunteers to assist with the management of the course and how important are they to a club like yours? I do use volunteers and couldn’t do without them.

The volunteers are great at doing tasks from snipping to basic jobs you can’t always find the time for, like pulling runners from greens, divotting, pitch mark repairs and minor tree work. Volunteer Peter Miller does the bulk of our rough cutting and the time that he donates is incredible. If anything, he can make me look bad when I get a phone call on the weekend and he wants me to open the shed so he can do some work! All the club needs to do to keep him coming back is make sure the coffee machine is working and there’s a ready supply of Tim Tams.

If you could change one thing about your job as a regional superintendent what would it be and why? I think regional superintendents don’t need change. They are 500mm of rain over a six-day period last December saw the course inundated by the Nambucca River.

Pictured is the 16th hole well under

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REGIONAL PROFILE The crew and course volunteers spent a week restoring the course after last December’s flood

lifestyle I’m living now and my partner and kids are really happy with the change.

Best advice you have received about being a superintendent/greenkeeper and who gave it to you… Greenkeeping is not splitting the atom, keep it simple – Neil Gardner, then construction manager with Turnpoint.

happy to see the club/course move forward at the pace that suits them. And Nambucca Heads Island GC is certainly moving forward.

How important are the relationships you

Groundmaster 360 Quad-Steer, Sand Pro bunker rake, HDX utility with spray attachment, two MDX Workman utilities, a small tractor and we have just taken delivery of a ProCore.

The favourite piece of machinery would

have with other course supers/trade reps as well as the local community? Very important.

In the short time that I’ve been here I’ve formed some good networking and friendships with both reps and local supers in surrounding areas. The local community is also very important to be a part of.

have to be the spray rig. Just before I arrived they were using a boom on the back of the tractor which was so unreliable and impossible to calibrate for different products. Confidence in your sprayer relieves a lot of stress. On the wish list at the moment is a turbine blower and another 3250 for tees and collars.

What have you got in your shed? The shed is mainly Toro and we have a Greensmaster 3250, Groundsmaster 5510, Reelmaster 3100,

Do you think regional superintendents have a better work-life balance than their metro counterparts? I feel a lot more relaxed with the

What have you worked on personally in recent years to improve your skills as a superintendent/greenkeeper?

Communication skills – being able to communicate in a professional manner helps build respect among your peers.

What gives you the most job satisfaction?

Seeing members and guests challenge themselves against the product you and your team have prepared. You know they will always have stages of joy and anger which I see as a test of character and strangely enough I find that enjoyable.

Most pleasing/rewarding moment during your time at Nambucca Heads to date?

Having the members tell me that they are enjoying what I’m doing around the course and looking forward to where it’s going.

Course specs: Par 69, 5281m, 20 hectares of maintained turf. Greens 1ha bentgrass/ Poa annua, fairways 12ha Wintergreen couch, tees Wintergreen/kikuyu and rough 7ha kikuyu.

Members/rounds: 350/30,000.

Major tournaments/events: Once a month we hold a sponsor’s day which is the Haval Challenge. Your best five cards over the year are collected and the winner gets a weekend ‘stay and play’ at Royal Pines Resort. Other events include MNCDGA Championships, week-long veterans tournament and the Island Classic.

Annual course budget: $80,000.

Staff structure: Jed Kennedy (qualified greenkeeper), Jake Saunders and Riley Mylrea (1st year apprentices), Graeme Weary (casual groundsman), Bruce Kelsey (recently retired) that I still call on for advice and fill in on weekends, Peter Miller (volunteer, two days/week cutting rough) plus 10 volunteers once a month.

Climate/rainfall: Warm and temperate/1450mm.

Terrain: Very flat, not a long course.

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PHOTO: NEARMAP

AT A GLANCE – NAMBUCCA HEADS ISLAND GOLF CLUB, NSW

Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club’s unique location in the middle of the Nambucca River

Soil types: Greens are washed sand and fairways vary from sand to clay.

Water sources: Potable water.

Irrigation system: Greens are Rain Bird control panel with Hunter I-35 heads run off solenoids.

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

Cutting heights/regimes: Current heights are greens 3mm, tees/fairways 12mm, rough 2.25 inches (57mm).

Renovations: Being my first renovations since starting at Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club late last year, we kept it simple. We double groomed the greens at -4mm followed with an 8mm hollow tine at a depth of 75mm.

Then applied Dolomite mini (5kg/100m2) and Nutri DG (2kg/100m2). Topdressed with a local river sand then applied a slow release with high K (17-1-13). Fairways and tees just got a scalp and fertilised with Sportstar (281-8) at 5kg/100m2. Looking at doing another mini reno in April now that we have taken delivery of a new Pro Core.

Major disease pressures: Mainly dollar spot and brown patch. Currently dealing with pythium root rot as well. The dollar spot and brown patch is under control through my fungicide programme. The pythium I’m treating as curative, Banol (propamocarb) and Segway (cyazofamid).

Nutrition management: On a fortnightly rotation I spoon feed with N, Mg and Fe and soil treatment with MLR8 and Calsap.

AUSTRALIAN SPORTS TURF MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE & TRADE EXHIBITION

June 21 - 2 4 , 2 0 2 1

Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre Registration now open at: www.agcsa.com.au 2021 CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS l l l l l l

Leading industry presenters Motivational keynote addresses A variety of seminars, presentations and interactive workshops Over 60 exhibitors showcasing new releases in turf equipment and products Education streams featuring: Golf, SF&G, management and sustainability National Turf Industry Awards Dinner

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AUSTRALIAN SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

AROUND THE TRADE

JACOBSEN’S ELITE-LEVEL ECLIPSE 360 GOES THE DISTANCE The new Jacobsen E360 ELiTE can cut 50-plus large greens on a single charge

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he new Eclipse 360 ELiTE from ASTMA Gold Partner Jacobsen has been designed to combine the next generation of ELiTE lithium-ion batteries with a signature cut that has been trusted for a century. ELiTE batteries have powered E-ZGO vehicles for over 15 million hours, and the E360 ELiTE has adopted that technology to make a mower that can cut 50-plus large greens on a single charge.

Noise during operation is reduced to virtual silence, meaning the machine can cut anywhere early in the morning without disruption. The significant reduction in noise pollution is combined with zero air pollution with the all-electric model, while fuel consumption is reduced when cutting with the diesel/petrol hybrid.

Jacobsen has a decade’s worth of experience with the Eclipse range and that has been reflected in the features of the new machine. The patented frequency of clip control ensures a consistent cut every time by linking the reel speed to the forward speed.

By having the reels turning in time with the wheels, turf managers are able to keep a consistent frequency of cut regardless of who is mowing but still have the option to increase it without reducing the mowing speed. This control is taken further with individual unit control that can adapt the cutting configuration to vary wheel runs and eliminate triplex ring.

Attention has also been paid to the access and maintenance aspects of the machine.

The unique swing-out centre cutting unit has been retained for quick and easy cleaning, maintenance or swapping the unit. No tools are required to swing the unit out, with the 68

Turf Culture was also recently granted by the APVMA changes to the Impala fungicide label, with fairy ring (Basidiomycetes spp.) now added to the many diseases it controls. Turf managers wishing to use the latest registered claims (for fairy ring control) with Impala they removal of a lynchpin that is then used to hold the unit in the swung-out position all that is needed. All of these changes were made following a 360-durability review that has also included the addition of new brushless lift actuators that have 10 times the lifespan of the previous option.

Seven, nine, 11 or 15-blade reels are available for the E360 ELiTE to allow for varied applications of the machine from golf greens and tees to sports fields and gardens. For further information contact your Jacobsen distributor or visit www.jacobsen.com.

TURF CULTURE LAUNCHES SPARTAN HERBICIDE, LABEL CHANGES FOR IMPALA

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STMA Bronze Partner Turf Culture has recently launched Spartan herbicide into the Australian turf market. Spartan herbicide (APVMA approval No. 88727) is a suspension concentrate of 480g/L prodiamine and gives pre-emergent control of weeds in established turf. Major turf weeds controlled include barnyard grass, crab grass, Parramatta grass, rat’s tail fescue, summer grass, crowsfoot Grass, paspalum and winter grass.

Spartan is available in 10L packs. Visit www. turfculture.com.au to download and view the Spartan herbicide label, SDS and technical sheet.

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

already have in stock, can simply print the leaflet from the Turf Culture website. Users must attach and keep the latest leaflet with their existing Impala bottles.

LEEMCO TEAMS UP WITH LIVING TURF

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S-based Leemco Piping Solutions has appointed ASTMA Bronze Partner Living Turf as its national distribution partner in Australia. Based out of California, Leemco offers a full line of high strength, corrosion-resistant, ductile iron fittings, joint restraints, saddles, valves, HDPE plastic products and stainless-steel products for golf, commercial and municipal piping systems.

Leemco is committed to providing irrigation innovations, service and support throughout the United States and international markets. Many of the fittings offer unique features that provide long-term reliability, save installation time and are underpinned with long-term warranties. To date, Leemco fittings have not been distributed in Australia, but they have been used on two golf courses in NSW and the ACT (Harden Country Club and Fairbairn Golf Club).

“We’re really excited to have Living Turf as our distribution partner given their nationwide sales force, their focus on irrigation and warehousing capability,” says Leemco Piping Systems president Nunzio DiChristopher.

“With our local Leemco representative, Pat O’Shannessy, supporting the sales and marketing efforts, we feel the turf industry in Australia will be extremely well serviced.”

Elsewhere, Living Turf has also introduced easy open packaging for its MATCHPlay granular fertiliser range. In recent times

the industry standard for fertiliser bags has always been poly woven bags that are sown shut, which can often be a challenge to open and pour from. The new MATCHPlay bags feature a one-time easy tear tag at the top of the bag. Once pulled, the sewn thread comes away clean, leaving a bag that can be resealed, reused and repurposed. From a safety perspective, no more Stanley knives are needed, while from a convenience perspective less spillage and a clean opening makes for a cleaner and faster job.

FOLEY COMPANY NAMES SUSTAINABLE MACHINERY AS AIR2G2 DISTRIBUTOR

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oley Company has announced the assignment of NSW-based Sustainable Machinery P/L as the distributor of Air2G2, a product group acquired by the Foley Company in November 2020. Air2G2 is a decompaction machine that has won two Innovation of the Year Awards, one with the US-based Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) in 2015 and the other with the HSBC Golf Business Forum in 2016.

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS MCLEOD STARTS WITH LIVING TURF ASTMA Silver Partner Living Turf has appointed former golf course superintendent Matt McLeod (pictured) as a sales agronomist.

McLeod, who started his new role on 15 January 2021, is the former superintendent at Cobram Barooga Golf Club and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience along with a strong network of professional contacts in the region, where he has trained and worked his entire turf career.

McLeod will work with Living Turf’s Melbourne-based business unit and will be tasked with representing the company’s product and service offering in the north of Victoria along the Murray River, allowing the metropolitan based team, including Mark Prosser, Tim Bilston and Adam Bell, to concentrate on serving the greater Melbourne metro area.

“I have watched the growth of Living Turf and have established relationships with all of the Living Turf Victorian team,” says McLeod.

“I believe this is a natural fit and a great opportunity, and I am eager to commence this new chapter in my career.” McLeod can be contacted on 0400 661 166 or email mmcleod@livingturf.com.

Sustainable Machinery is now the distributor of Air2G2 in Australia

New to the industry in 2012, years of development and testing proved that laterally injecting air pressure up to six and 12-inches beneath the soil surface not only relieved compaction, increased porosity and enhanced respiration, but it did so immediately with minimal disruption to the turf surface or to the root systems below. Since its introduction into the Australasian turf industry, the Air2G2 has gained traction delivering the truest form of

TRACEY JOINS ASTC TEAM Brisbane-based Australian Sports Turf Consultants (ASTC) has welcomed Ryan Tracey (pictured) to its team. Tracey is a qualified superintendent and comes to ASTC with over 12 years’ experience in sports turf management, including cricket, golf and lawn bowls and extensive experience in elite stadia and turf research and development.

Tracey, who holds a Certificate IV in Turf Management and Certificate III in Horticulture, can be contacted on 0473 000 886 or email rtracey@astcs.com.au.

QUALI-TY GET FOR ADAMA Adama Australia has announced some new appointments to their noncrop team with Matt Holmes (pictured) having recently started in the role of turf and ornamental commercial manager. Holmes has over 14 years’ experience in the turf market and returns to the chemicals game after a three-year stint with leading EHS consultancy firm epar. Prior to this, Holmes was a senior territory manager with Syngenta and an industry development manager for the Turf Growers Association.

compatible “aerate and play technology” to all sports codes, globally.

For enquiries regarding the AIR2G2 technology visit www.sustainablemachinery. com.au, email info@sustainablemachinery. com.au or call (02) 4651 1512. Sustainable Machinery will also be exhibiting at the Australian Sports Turf Management Conference and Trade Exhibition – Booth 56 – on the Gold Coast in June.

Holmes takes over a role formerly occupied by Cameron Stuart, who has now moved into the position of general manager, non-crop. This expansion of the non-crop team also includes other appointments in the fields of forestry and specialty ag, pest control and aquatics.

Holmes started his new role on 4 February and can be contacted on 0418 710 129 or email matt.holmes@adama.com.

DAVID GOLF APPOINTS ETHERIDGE David Golf has added Alister Etheridge (pictured) to its sales team following the departure of Jake Bushell who has decided to move onto the real estate industry.

Servicing the Queensland region, Etheridge arrives at David Golf with extensive golf operations experience at private club and municipal course level, along with a strong sales executive acumen built during his time in the sports and medical devises sectors. Etheridge is also tertiary qualified with Bachelor degrees in Health Science and Business. Keen to meet the extensive David Golf and David Turf customer bases within Queensland, Etheridge can be contacted on 0448 444 300 or email alistere@davidgolf. com.au.

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GCSAWA

PHOTO: PATRICK CASEY

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t has been a long and tough summer for superintendents in Perth. Going from the wettest November on record, we then went about 70 days without a drop of rain! On top of that there were constant high temperatures in the mid to high 30s, while strong winds blowing in from the east for days on end really dried out surfaces and made a mess with the amount of tree debris. Some supers were recording Pan numbers up around 17mm a day at the peak!

Then one week in early February changed everything, for both the good and bad. A tropical storm made its way down the coast from the Kimberly all the way to the south coast, causing flooding inland from Carnarvon, which is the state’s main source of vegetables and tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes, grapes and watermelon. Kalgoorlie received over 100mm, its best rainfall in over two years, while Perth broke its summer drought with close to 50mm over a three-day period.

Those rains around Perth were not just a relief for superintendents but more importantly for firefighters and residents in Perth’s north east where a massive fire was burning. Over 11,000 hectares were burnt and 86 homes lost.

The Vines Resort and surrounding suburbs

Kalgoorlie Golf Course received its best rainfall in two years following a 99mm event in early February, but it made a mess of the Graham Marsh-designed layout

were evacuated but luckily no further damage was caused.

From there we went into a five-day lockdown due to COVID. It was the first such instance since March 2020. Last year social golf was still permitted, but this time all courses were closed for the week with staff allowed to keep working. Thanks to the ASTMA’s Mark Unwin for the communication and clarity on restrictions and continuously vouching for the importance of the industry in regards to being essential workers. Many courses took advantage of no golfers and took the

opportunity to undertake fairway renovations and bunker works.

The 2021 WA Golf Industry Awards Night is to be held on 26 March. Over 400 attendees will gather to help honour the 17 different award winners. The social and event calendar for the coming year is just getting the final touches where we aim to host an event each month of the non-peak season (MarchNovember).

SHANE BAKER PRESIDENT, GCSAWA

SAGCSA

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espite COVID-19, the SA golf industry is managing to operate under substantially pre-COVID-19 regimes, with the exception of limited or no interstate or overseas visitors utilising our courses and facilities. Whether this situation continues is uncertain and subject to rapid change given emerging mutant COVID virus strains.

Since our last report, SA has recorded a couple of 40oC days interspersed with mild but windy conditions. Late January saw many parts of the state record greater than 25mm of rain, a welcome albeit rather concentrated event.

COVID-19 notwithstanding, the SAGCSA committee will formulate the members’ events programme for 2021 at its February meeting and look forward to being able to offer a full and varied offering in the near future.

The SAGCSA would like acknowledge our esteemed colleague Ivan Swinstead, course superintendent at the Tea Tree Gully Golf Club, who after 44 years in the industry has decided to retire. Ivan left the Riverland family fruit block and commenced his greenkeeping 70

After 44 years in the industry, including 35 years as Tea Tree Gully Golf Club superintendent, Ivan Swinstead is set to retire later this year

career at Berri Golf Club in 1978. He then left for ‘the big smoke’ and The Grange Golf Club in 1981 before joining Tea Tree Gully Golf Club

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

as leading hand in 1985, being promoted to superintendent in 1986.

Throughout his career Ivan has gained the respect of his peers and staff, his club’s board and members for his approachable and friendly personality which he seamlessly integrated with a dedicated, adaptable and professional approach to all facets of the ever-evolving expectations, demands and challenges presented to superintendents over his 35 year tenure.

Ivan will start accrued leave on 26 March and officially ‘put the cue in the rack’ on 28 October 2021. We wish Ivan and Leanne all the best in their mutual retirements and look forward to remaining in contact with him socially or at any SAGCSA events he may wish to attend.

We trust all superintendents, their staff and clubs nationally will be able to return to a nonCOVID interrupted ‘new normal’ in the near future.

NATHAN BENNETT PRESIDENT, SAGCSA

VGCSA

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hope everyone has had an enjoyable and successful summer season. The VGCSA has been methodically finetuning the 2021 meeting calendar in recent months to ensure we can maximise member attendance while complying with COVID restrictions. We are quietly confident that we can enjoy group meetings throughout the year, albeit with some possible restrictions.

With this is mind, we are also exploring further prospects of educational and training content throughout 2021 outside the programme at hand. We plan to announce these events in due course. Early February marked our first face to face committee meeting for a long while, with the majority of meetings being conducted by Zoom across 2020. It was a worthwhile and productive session, not to mention terrific to catch up with the VGCSA team again in person.

Even with COVID conditions influencing the operations of clubs throughout Victoria, it would appear that golf is more popular than ever with the number of rounds being played.

Summer weather has been quite mild, with perfect weather to get outside and enjoy the

VGCSA Graduate of the Year Thomas Lyons (Ballarat GC)

game. With international borders potentially being closed for the whole of 2021 and state travel potentially being interrupted by border closures, it shapes as another extremely busy year on the course for many clubs across Victoria.

First off the rank for the year is our March education meeting at Portarlington Golf Club and Lonsdale Links. In compliance with venue restrictions, we have needed to cap the event at 100. Regardless of this, I can confidently

claim it will be a popular and informative day and great start to the VGCSA calendar of events.

Nominations for the Superintendent and Trade Recognition Awards will be open to VGCSA members in early March, while later that month committee nominations open in the lead up the 94th Annual General Meeting at Woodlands Golf Club in May. We also must congratulate our Apprentice of the Year winner Thomas Lyons. Thomas, a well-deserved winner, was nominated by The Gordon TAFE and is employed by Ballarat Golf Club under the supervision of superintendent Jeff Powell. We wish him all the best as a state finalist for the 2021 ASTMA Graduate of the Year Award, presented in partnership with Toro Australia.

Finally, let’s hope that 2021 runs smoothly to a new ‘COVID normal’ and we can enjoy the freedom of life that went missing in 2020. I look forward to catching up with industry colleagues in person over the year.

SHANE GREENHILL PRESIDENT, VGCSA

STA VIC

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urrently with the ever-changing landscape, especially in Victoria, it is a little difficult to plan and book events going forward. What appears a clear path today can be shattered tomorrow. With this fickleness of the COVID-19 pandemic we all deserve a pat on the back for our collective achievements during 2020 and early 2021.

However, the STA Victoria committee has decided it is time for positivity in events going forward for our members and is enthusiastic to confirm the following events are planned;

Wednesday 21 April: Regional Seminar at Mars Stadium, Ballarat (sponsored by Mentay); l Wednesday 28 July: Sports Turf Seminar at the MCG (sponsored by Bayer); l September: Pitch Preparation Day (date to be confirmed); Also in the pipeline is a field day with research results from the transition trial at Pakenham, as well as an Innovation & Technology Field Day (dates and venues to be confirmed). l

Sports Turf Graduate of the Year nominations have been called for from the RTOs. Our Victorian winner will then participate in final judging for the Sports Turf Association Toro National Graduate of the Year being held on the Gold Coast, on Sunday 20 June. STA Victoria will again sponsor a Graduate Diploma student. Please note that the new email for the Victorian office is vic@staaus.com.au with Jan Fenton contactable on 0439 089 005.

COMMITTEE, STA VICTORIA

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NSWGCSA

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he NSWGCSA was lucky enough to finally hold the 2020 Elite Sand and Soil Rube Walkerden Trophy Event on 15 February at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney.

The course was in tournament like condition with green speeds high and the wind playing havoc. Well done to superintendent Anthony Mills and fellow crew members Simon Blagg, Jackson Nicholls and Jack Lewis on presenting the course the way it was.

The day saw 124 golfers meet at 8.30am for breakfast and registration before a 10am shotgun start, followed by 135 attending lunch and presentation in the clubhouse at 3pm. It was great to see everyone enjoying a laugh after what has been a real battle over the past 12 months.

Special thanks needs to go to Elite Sand and Soil, Bayer, Dad & Dave’s Turf, Greenway Turf Solutions and Augusta Golf Cars EZGO for their sponsorship. Without this support a venue like The Lakes would be out of the question. I must say it was very refreshing to see the support from The Lakes Golf Club management team of Andrew Kirkman (general manager) and David Scott (assistant general manager) who went above and beyond to support the day and industry.

Winners on the day were… l Rube Walkerden Trophy: Dominic Yates (Oatlands Golf Club) with 34 points; l Presidents Trophy (scratch): Scott Harris (Narooma Golf Club) with 27 points; l Peter Ingram Trophy (Trade): Stephen Foster (LandHQ) with 36 points; l GTS Cup (2BB): Dane Thatcher and Matt Shuttleworth; l NTP 7th ($1000 Floratine Products from Turfcare): Nick Willkie; l NTP 9th ($1000 Visa card from Australian Turf Analysis): Luke Diserens;

ON THE MOVE...

CHRIS ADAMES: From Victoria GC, Vic to foreman Riversdale GC, Vic. BRAD CAREY: From foreman to assistant superintendent Riversdale GC, Vic. JARROD CASTLE: After eight years as assistant superintendent and a total of 15 years at Kingston Heath GC, Castle has taken over as superintendent at Rich River GC, NSW. NICHOLAS FIDDELAERS: The former VGCSA Graduate of the Year has moved from Huntingdale GC, Vic to be one of two new 72

Outstanding Performance and Dedication Award (sponsored by Waterwise Consulting): Kurt Schulenburg (Long Reef GC); l Outstanding Achievement Award (sponsored by Living Turf): Mark Spraggs (Foster Tuncurry GC); and l Superintendent of the Year Award (sponsored by Australian Turf Projects): Craig Molloy (Cypress Lakes Golf & Country Club).

Craig, Mark and Kurt have all won an education trip to the GIS conference in America or equivalent once travel is back to some sort of a normality.

The NSWGCSA also officially presented Mal Harris from Northbridge Golf Club life membership of the association. Mal has served over 30 years at Northbridge GC and was also a NSWGCSA Board member for nine years in the education portfolio before stepping down in 2019. Very well-deserved Mal. l

NSWGCSA Superintendent of the Year Award recipient Craig Molloy (right) being congratulated by president Nathan Bradbury

NTP 15th ($1000 Foliamax products from Nuturf): Dominic Yates; l NTP 18th ($1000 Hydrolink products from Globe Australia): Jackson Nicholls; l Longest drive 11th hole ($1000 products from Living Turf): Justin Bradbury; and l Lucky Door Prize ($2000 worth of sand or soil mix from Elite Sand & Soil): Brad Huender.

The 2020 NSWGCSA annual awards were also presented at the lunch with the following winners honoured in front of their peers: l Vince Church Award – Apprentice of the Year (sponsored by JT Turf): Kurt Peters (Newcastle GC); l

foremen appointed at Riversdale GC, Vic. TIM HAMILTON: From foreman to assistant superintendent Kingston Heath GC, Vic. SAM LANGFORD: The Yarra Yarra Golf Club assistant superintendent has been appointed the new superintendent at Heidelberg Golf Club, the former home of his Yarra Yarra boss Clint Raven.

STEVE LEWIS: Announced his impending retirement from Royal Hobart Golf Club just prior to Christmas. Lewis, who has been at the club for over 42 years, 35 as superintendent, will finish up on 5 April.

AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 23.1

POTABLE WATER SURVEY The NSWGCSA is currently completing a survey across the state on potable water use. This has been supported by Golf NSW with our intention to find out how many clubs rely on potable water and to what amount.

With this information the Board will complete a document to present to the Minister for Water, Property and Housing, hoping to get some fair and decent guidelines around water restrictions put in place. The initial meeting at Parliament House was very encouraging and hopefully clubs can support by completing the short survey.

NATHAN BRADBURY PRESIDENT, NSWGCSA BEN NORTON-SMITH: The former Longyard Golf Club superintendent has been appointed as superintendent of the Forster course at Forster Tuncurry GC, NSW. BRETT SKINNER: From assistant superintendent Howlong Golf Resort, NSW to superintendent Corowa GC, NSW. MARK STANLEY: After spending the previous three years as superintendent at the new Soma Bay course in Egypt, Stanley has returned home to take on the role of superintendent at Redcliffe GC, Qld where he has spent two previous stints during his career.

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