Turf Talk December 2023

BY LAWN SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA | DEC 2023

Getting to Know Matthew Oliver GROUNDS MANAGER AT SUNCORP STADIUM ... Read more [PG 50]

Pitch Perfect for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

The Global Turf Community Unites Downunder

The UK Turf Master

... Read more [PG 02]

... Read more [PG 06]

... Read more [PG 22]

N K L EIM

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DR . C HA NDR A

CH ARLI E ALBONE

JASON HODGES

NIGEL R U C K

Welcome to Turf Talk Australia’s most comprehensive turf magazine. Turf Talk is suitable for all turf professionals, from turf growers to landscapers, golf courses and sports ground curators, to government and related industry organisations.

Turf Talk is here to share with you the latest information on the turf industry, the exciting developments in turf research and to keep you up to date with everything you need to know about turf.

Turf Talk is a free magazine, distributed to over 3,000 landscape and turf professionals.

Turf Talk is published by Lawn Solutions Australia.

For any enquiries, submissions or to subscribe to our digital edition please contact us at news@turftalk.org.au Matthew Oliver, Grounds Manager at Suncorp Stadium

Inside this issue PITCH PERFECT FOR THE 2023 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

PG 02

STA VIC CENTREPIECE TAKES STAGE AT THE MCG

PG 38

THE GLOBAL TURF COMMUNITY UNITES DOWNUNDER

PG 06

MY JOB, MY CAREER, MY INDUSTRY

PG 42

DIALLING UP WATER SAVINGS WITH DROUGHT TOLERANT LAWNS PG 10

BUILDING A CAREER ON TURF

PG 46

A NEW ERA IN SUSTAINABLE COMMERCIAL TURF CARE

PG 12

GETTING TO KNOW MATTHEW OLIVER

PG 50

PUTTING THE SCIENCE INTO SPORTS SURFACES

PG 14

FROM PADDOCK TO PITCH

PG 56

LAWN FANATICS UNITE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

PG 18

HOWDY FROM TEXAS

PG 60

THE UK TURF MASTER

PG 22

PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS

PG 64

RECORD CONFERENCE CONVERGES ON CAIRNS

PG 28

TURF WEIGHT EXAMINED

PG 68

ACHIEVING PRIMO GREENS WITH PRIMO ZOYSIA

PG 32

FIREFLY AUTOMATIX’ PATH OF INNOVATION TO THE M100-AV PG 70

GREAT THINGS HAPPEN ON GRASS AT GO TURF

PG 34

AUSGAP: A YEAR IN REVIEW

PG 74

Keith and John from Perry Park, Brisbane

Pitch Perfect for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup KEITH MCAULIFFE, MANAGING DIRECTOR LABOSPORT AUSTRALIA

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia was a resounding success for FIFA and football (soccer). The month-long Tournament was deemed by FIFA’s President, Gianni Infantino, to be the most successful Women’s Tournament yet, with match attendance figures and merchandise figures toppling expectations.

For a Tournament like the Women’s World Cup, there is a requirement for the playing surfaces to be of the highest quality. Visiting teams from around the world now come to expect the surface, both for match-play and training, to be world-class.

This was the task facing Labosport’s Australian staff, who were commissioned

by FIFA’s Pitches Overseer, Alan Ferguson, to ensure top-quality pitches across Australia (the same challenge was faced by Labosport’s New Zealand arm, the NZ Sports Turf Institute with venues in that country).

There were several challenges with this World Cup that would not normally arise, namely: • The Tournament was held across a wide geographic and climate band, from the sub-tropical zone of Queensland to the cool season zones of the southern parts of NZ and Australia. Turf maintenance programs had to be customised for each region, and there was definitely no “one size fits all” approach.

• The Tournament was held in midwinter, unlike most FIFA tournaments to date. This meant having to contend with poor growth/recovery during the Tournament and the greater likelihood of weather interference.

• Most venues were required for club usage in the months leading up to the Tournament, with only a few weeks scheduled for rest and recovery before tournament use.

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• Several venues were multi-use and often subjected to intensive use. This was particularly applicable to the major venues, such as Brisbane and Sydney Football Stadiums.

• Playing surfaces were largely warmseason grass surfaces, which needed to be over-seeded with perennial ryegrass prior to the Tournament.

Our work officially got underway in August 2021, with visits to all potential match and training venues. Approximately 70 venues were inspected and tested in Australia alone. Each venue was thoroughly assessed using Labosport’s Scoreplay system, with the resulting reports highlighting both current performance and any identified risks associated with the venue. This information was then used by the Cup Organising Committee to help derive a short list of training venues.

Contrast between a normal year to WWC year at Perry Park Brisbane (June 2022 and July 2023)

After the initial inspection, Labosport was requested by FIFA to provide periodic visits to each venue to monitor performance and progress and to help derive plans to mitigate any risks associated with the venue.

Poor drainage with resulting waterlogging was an obvious risk with many of the venues, which generally required more frequent deep soil aeration.

Visit frequency was intensified as we got closer to the Tournament, with FIFA requesting monthly visits to all venues in the latter few months. This frequency of visits certainly allowed us to build up a detailed database on the performance of each venue.

From the outset, we derived a set of playing performance targets for the Tournament, and we reported against these targets with each visit. It was rewarding to see the progress made and the interest shown by Turf Managers in the database produced.

Looking at the Tournament overall, and what we felt were determinants of a successful pitch, several key points come to mind.

These are outlined below.

meant clubs had to limit usage throughout the season since any damage done going into winter would be hard to repair in time for the Tournament.

Starting Early to Ensure Optimal Turf Performance by the Start of the (2023) Football Season To ensure the turf cover was dense and robust going into the 2023 season we needed to plan a full 12+ months ahead.

Venues went through a planned and customised 2022 spring renovation. In a couple of cases, this involved re-surfacing and/or drainage work. In other cases, work was confined to more intensive renovation, with soil aeration and a levelling/ topdressing program.

That only a couple of venues needed to returf high-wear zones with instant-play turf was impressive, and clubs must be commended on the usage control strategies employed.

Keeping training out of goal boxes (where possible) and adjusting field widths (where ground dimensions allowed) were two of the more effective strategies used.

Controlling Usage During the Football Season Clubs were requested by FIFA to regulate usage, in particular training, in the lead-up to the Tournament. This was a big ask and

Over-seeding It was a requirement for all venues to be perennial ryegrass for the Tournament.

Some of our venues were ryegrass, to begin with, but most needed to be overseeded. Timing of the over-seeding varied, depending on usage program and climate.

In most cases, over-seeding was done mid-late autumn, with many clubs allowing a decent window to get young ryegrass

PITCH PERFECT FOR THE 2023 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP / 3

Brisbane Turf Managers at Suncorp Stadium after the WWC

strong before re-use. Again, there were exceptions to this, with the likes of Brisbane Stadium and Sydney Football Stadium having no decent break in usage to get ryegrass mature.

Over-seeding was something new at several venues. Furthermore, heavier-than-normal rates of ryegrass were required to get the density of grass desired by FIFA. The challenge now is to transition back to the primary, warm-season grass base. If delayed too long the shading from the ryegrass will have a damaging effect on the warm-season grass, with a carryover into next season.

Transitioning is currently underway at venues in Brisbane and Sydney.

Resourcing and Training Many of the selected venues are traditionally managed throughout the season with limited resources, often using club volunteers. Our initial visits helped identify venues where extra resourcing was required to minimise risk and to help ensure a top-class surface. In several cases experienced local contractors were called on to assist with turf management in the lead-up to the Tournament.

Mention must also be made of the FIFA Pitch Workshops, conducted by FIFA’s Alan Ferguson. These workshops definitely made a difference, in particular by spelling

out the quality expectations required for the Tournament.

Playing Surface Standards and Benchmarking Performance testing was carried out from the outset of venue inspections.

Each venue was performance tested on multiple occasions (monthly as the Tournament neared). This frequent testing enabled tracking or benchmarking of key performance parameters, such as infiltration rate, surface hardness and traction. Turf Managers at each venue could identify how they were tracking against recommended targets, and FIFA management was provided with objective data for assessing and reporting. It was our intention to get all training venues to perform as close to the match venues as possible. Furthermore, we wanted to have venues across all states (and countries) perform similarly.

Tests used and properties measured during visits included: lightweight rotational traction device for surface stability; Clegg impact tester for surface hardness; straight edge for levelness; NDVI for turf health and colour; root zone sampling for rooting depth and soil health; infiltrometer for infiltration rate; floating disk for effective height of cut; Advanced Artificial Athlete for

4 / PITCH PERFECT FOR THE 2023 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

shock absorption and vertical deformation; Inclined plane for ball roll distance and vertical ball drop for ball rebound height.

Each test result was given a score (1-4) based on the international database developed by Labosport, with an overall total score given for the playing surface that reflected the measured quality on the day of testing.

The End Result Most of our venues have never looked and performed as well as they did during the Tournament, which is a tribute to the efforts made by many, in particular the clubs and councils that participated. It will be interesting to see whether the same commitment to achieving a quality playing surface is extended into the next and following seasons.

Working on the Women’s World Cup project, alongside many of our leading Turf Managers and contractors, has been a rewarding experience for Labosport’s Australian staff. The progress made with pitch quality over the past couple of years has been very noticeable, and I feel our industry can be proud of what has been achieved. The quality of the playing surfaces would undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the Tournament.

Simon Hutton of Tillers Turf (UK)

The Global Turf Community Unites Downunder LAWN SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA’S MONUMENTAL CONFERENCE Celebrating Excellence, Innovation, and Camaraderie in the Turf Industry Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) proudly hosted its highly anticipated Global Turf Conference and Awards Dinner in the beautiful Tweed Heads, New South Wales. This year’s conference was truly global, with esteemed guests and speakers from the UK, USA, and Southeast Asia converging to share insights and expertise. As the largest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the conference offered an incredible opportunity for LSA’s national network of accredited turf Members to learn, network, and be inspired by an impressive array of speakers.

The conference kicked off with a warm welcome on Monday, 31st July, with a canapes and drinks welcome function. The event was graced by industry partners, whose support played a pivotal role in making the conference a resounding success. Among LSA’s long-standing Platinum partners, Husqvarna Australia stood tall, renowned for their pioneering gardening and lawn equipment that has been taming the wild since 1689. Similarly, Trimax Mowing Systems left attendees amazed with their innovation in producing industry-leading commercial mowing equipment.

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Industry Partners at the Forefront LSA’s collaboration with a range of industry partners has been vital in advancing the turf sector. Partners such as Greenway Turf Solutions, Finlease, Nuturf, Firefly Automatix, ICL Specialty Fertilizers, Turf Biosolutions, Syngenta, Living Turf, Equipment Solutions, Envu, STRI, AusGAP, and Lawn Lovers contributed significantly to the conference’s success.

Event Overview The two-day conference, held on 31st July and 1st August, was packed with a blend of entertainment, insightful business content,

and thought-provoking sessions from both local and international guests.

The conference featured an esteemed lineup of speakers from around the world.

Keynote Speakers Andrew Daddo was our MC for the event, the celebrated Australian television personality, delivered an engaging opening keynote, sharing his genuine interest in the turf industry and captivating the audience with his own lawn experiences.

Jonathan MacDonald, a strategic changemaker, award-winning author, and keynote speaker, shared valuable insights into change, digital transformation, and mindset. Jonathon provided some bigpicture assessments of what it takes to create success in our businesses but also provided some really direct and tangible advice that could be taken on board and actioned.

Gavin Rogers, Lawn Solutions Australia Director and CEO, reflected on LSA’s achievements, future goals, and the collective impact they aim to achieve in the years to come.

Brandon Eubanks from Patten Seed Co./Super-Sod (USA) highlighted their journey of growing the business to 10 turf

production facilities and over 20 retail stores, providing the supply of turfgrasses across several US states. Super-Sod is arguably the largest turf production company in the US, with production and harvesting capacities unmatched in the US, but quite possibly the entire world.

Dr Ambika Chandra, a leading researcher from Texas A&M University (USA), showcased her role in breeding warmseason turfgrass species for various applications, particularly the ones brought to Australia through LSA’s collaborations.

We were so pleased to have Dr Chandra

THE GLOBAL TURF COMMUNITY UNITES DOWNUNDER / 7

with us here in Australia, with a range of newly developed buffalo grass species from Dr Chandra’s program currently being under assessment here in Australia.

Dr Christian Spring, the Lead Scientist at STRI (UK), revealed the institute’s extensive services, including stadium designs, sports turf R&D, and consultancy, emphasising the quality of sports turf engineering. Dr Spring has an impressive resume as a self-professed “turf geek”, where he gets to be involved in the scientific aspects of preparing and maintaining world-class sports turf surfaces like those featured at facilities like Wimbledon and Wembley Stadium in the UK.

Scott Rowe, the Open Spaces Manager at Shellharbour City Council, shared his passion for creating quality open spaces within budget constraints, with turf playing a pivotal role. New and improved varieties like Sir Grange Zoysia and TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda have provided solutions in his council region that save their teams time and ultimately allow them to allocate their resources more efficiently.

Brad Burgess, the founder of Sports Turf Solutions (STS), presented his journey of setting up successful turf farms and sports field construction businesses in Southeast Asia. Brad has supplied new and improved

8 / THE GLOBAL TURF COMMUNITY UNITES DOWNUNDER

zoysia varieties like Sir Grange Zoysia, to some of the world’s best golf courses in the region and continues to adopt best practices for creating highly sustainable and low-input golf courses.

Simon Hutton, a leading figure in the sports turf industry from Tillers Turf (UK), showcased his vast experience in turf farming, supplying turf and maintenance services to most of the top stadiums and sports across the UK. Referred to as the “UK Turf Master”, Simon started his career at a very young age and continues to grow his impressive resume of projects and innovations within his sector of the UK turf industry.

Dr. Christian Spring of STRI UK

Dr. Ambika Chandra of Texas A&M University (US)

Tommy Dean, the renowned American comedian, provided a light-hearted yet insightful take on the cultural differences between Americans and Australians, bringing laughter to the audience. Tommy has featured at three Lawn Solutions conferences now, with his comprehension and assessment of our industry providing plenty of laughs to everyone in the crowd.

Lawn Solutions Australia invites a range of turf industry guests each year to the conference and this year we invited the very best of those who represent lawns in Australia on social media. In a testament to the growing influence of these lawn

Mr. Brandon Eubanks of Super Sod (US)

enthusiasts, LSA invited top representatives from Australian Lawn Fanatics, Lawn Tips, The Aussie Lawn, and Lawn Care Australia. These “Lawnfluencers” (a term I’m sure many of them are still becoming comfortable with) have significantly contributed to online lawn communities, offering valuable insights and expertise.

The conference culminated with the LSA Awards night, recognising outstanding achievements and dedication of LSA Members and their teams. The awards celebrated excellence in various aspects, setting high standards for the industry across the country.

The Lawn Solutions Australia Global Turf Conference 2023 was an unforgettable event that brought together the global turf community in a spirit of camaraderie, excellence, and innovation. The conference’s impact will undoubtedly resonate within the industry for years to come, as LSA and its Members continue to adopt and seek out innovation, foster collaboration as a network, and continue to set the standard for the turf industry and the future of Australian lawns.

THE GLOBAL TURF COMMUNITY UNITES DOWNUNDER / 9

Dialling Up Water Savings with Drought Tolerant Lawns BRYAN TOLAR, TOLAR CAPITOL PARTNERS, INC.

Thousands of products flood consumer markets each year. Many of these innovations seek to replace those that have come before them. Science and technology stop for no one.

Telephones, for example, have been used across the globe over multiple generations.

They seem simple enough but hand an old rotary phone to young folks and watch their reaction. Likewise, hand a new smartphone to a more “seasoned” generation and you’ll often witness an entertaining response.

Familiarity makes all the difference.

A similar comparison can be made for homeowners caring for their lawns. Years of experience with a home lawn is important, but not always ideal for the new turf cultivars dominating the market. Science is taking a new approach to using fewer resources to achieve even higher results. While new turfgrasses do not require a steep learning

curve, increased familiarity will benefit both the lawn and the end-user.

Reduced water use is among the focal points of some new grasses. Historically, irrigation has been synonymous with caring for a lawn... just like phones, times have changed. “Lawns need 25mm of water per week in the spring and autumn,” is a well-established rule of thumb for many homeowners, but this amounts to wasted water and a needless expense for an increasing number of lawns today.

University research programs have made reduced water use a priority. Decades of turf breeding have ushered in new options that are indeed better than the lawns familiar to most homeowners.

Case in point, TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda Grass is a product of turfgrass science, and it is the leader in landscapes to help conserve our

10 / DIALLING UP WATER SAVINGS WITH DROUGHT TOLERANT LAWNS

water resources. It came from 20 years of research and, when compared to the most commonly used bermudagrass previously, it has a proven record of top aesthetics with less irrigation, maintaining high turf quality under drought stress, and providing outstanding durability for active pets and families. When it comes to bermudagrass, TifTuf is often referred to as the “Alpha Grass” because of such superior performance.

From the University of Georgia’s renowned turf breeding program, TifTuf has shown it can achieve a top-quality lawn with 38% less water use.

This is a great achievement. Having such a product available for homeowners, as well as golf courses, sports fields, parks, and commercial properties, is saving water everywhere bermudagrass thrives.

Product marketing helps to promote the water conservation aspects of this wildly

successful turfgrass, but water savings can be maximised by further engaging end users.

With a focus on water conservation, farms that grow and sell TifTuf in the US in the Atlanta and Georgia areas reached out to customers who planted TifTuf lawns in recent years. The communication served to remind them of the water conservation characteristics of their new landscape turf.

US Turf Producers Buy Sod, NG Turf, and Super Sod voluntarily took this extra step to help homeowners avoid wasting water on their TifTuf lawns while also saving them money through lower water bills.

A letter, coupled with a concise TifTuf Easy Care Guide, was mailed to each resident in this pilot initiative. The guide focused on the characteristics of TifTuf genetics along with tips on achieving the best results for their lawn. It tracked each season, spring

through winter, with pointers on mow height, fertilisation, and weed control, while also encouraging less irrigation. Research findings show that once TifTuf is rooted in and established, its turf genetics dictate it will rarely need irrigation, even during a moderate drought. Homeowners and the environment benefit from this reminder. This is an important message in Australia also, with the very hot and dry conditions experienced so far this season and forecast to continue.

purity. This assurance of quality is provided by each certifying agency with farm inspections of fields where it was grown.

Genetics is the key to the water-saving success of TifTuf, but only if information and education are reaching the ones that control the water spigot. Marketing the benefits of any turfgrass cultivar is essential, but education on important characteristics such as reduced water use is imperative to achieve the best results.

The care guide was developed to be a tool to help these homeowners best manage their new grass in comparison to what they may have been accustomed to in the past… out with the rotary phone and in with the smartphone. New technology needs education.

When it comes to technology, consumers must trust science and be familiar with its benefits to achieve the most reward. For turfgrass, we can reduce water use, achieve better turf quality…and save money.

With smartphones, we have access to information worldwide and countless cat videos…while still receiving phone calls.

Rotary dial not included.

It’s important to note TifTuf is available only as blue tag-certified sod in the US and AusGAP Certified in Australia, which protects genetic

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A New Era in Sustainable Commercial Turf Care HUSQVARNA LAUNCHES THE CEORA™

After a successful introduction to a select number of European markets during 2022, Husqvarna’s ground-breaking robotic solution for commercial turf care management, is finally available in Australia. Husqvarna CEORA™ is expected to revolutionise an industry dominated by heavy, conventional petrol-powered mowers by automating time and resource consuming tasks and, at the same time, helping to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 83 percent during the machine’s life cycle compared to a petrol Husqvarna P 525DX ride-on mower.

Husqvarna is a world leader in robotic mowing solutions, and with CEORA™, a new standard has been set for large-scale robotic commercial turf care. After the introduction on a number of European markets, the reception has been extremely positive, underlining – among many things – the great cutting quality and the consistently good turf quality over time.

“We have seen a rapid acceleration of the use of robotic lawn mowers for commercial turf care in Europe over the past few years and it’s clear that CEORA™ is a solution that

12 / A NEW ERA IN SUSTAINABLE COMMERCIAL TURF CARE

lives up to the expectations and hopes of greenkeepers, golf course and sports fields managers, and we are looking forward to seeing the same acceleration occur here in Australia.” Pauline Nilsson, Vice President at Husqvarna Australia.

Reducing your Carbon Footprint The benefits of choosing CEORA™ are many, especially for professionals caring for large grass areas. Switching from conventional commercial mowers, is estimated to result in cost savings up to 50 per cent, and the electric operation of

autonomous machines, minimises noise and reduces CO2 emissions significantly.

A Wide Range of Benefits The machine is purpose-built to be autonomous and is designed with safety in mind. Future releases will see CEORA™ evolve to have a wide range of accessories to support the various needs of green space professionals.

Healthier Grass with Minimal Maintenance CEORA™ makes the lawn greener and denser thanks to its unique cutting technology, low weight and opportunity to mow more frequently. Instead of

manually operating the mower, green space professionals can simply use their smartphone to control how, when, and where CEORA™ mows. The performance on the lawn is efficient and systematic, mowing in a lane by-lane sequence. Maintenance during the season is limited to changing blades and cleaning.

Availability Husqvarna introduces two models to Australia: Husqvarna CEORA™ 544 EPOS and Husqvarna CEORA™ 546 EPOS, complemented by an existing commercial

robotics range: Husqvarna Automower® 550, Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS and Husqvarna Automower® 535AWD models.

More information on Husqvarna Ceora™, a ground-breaking solution for commercial turf care management can be found on the Husqvarna website via the QR code below:

SC AN FOR MORE IN FO

HUSQVARNA CEORA™

A NEW ERA IN SUSTAINABLE COMMERCIAL TURF CARE / 13

A Stimpmeter being used in turf performance testing

Putting the Science into Sports Surfaces WITH DR. CHRISTIAN SPRING, STRI

Through the work of Dr. Christian Spring, Principal Scientist at STRI Group, we’re going to share some valuable insights on the role of science in sport. To set the scene, STRI is a globally renowned consultancy and research business that services the turf and sports surface industry.

Whilst STRI’s global headquarters can be found nestled in the countryside of Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, it also has a base in Australia, principally working out of Melbourne. The team at STRI works on a wide range of sports and projects in a wide range of sports facilities from planning,

designing, building, and maintaining, with all of this being built on the foundation of science, engineering, and research. Science truly is at the core of STRI’s DNA. As part of the wider STRI Group, it is joined by a host of other companies offering a range of services to both the sports and urban environments. These include The Environmental Protection Group, which specialises in integrated water management, SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems), green infrastructure, contaminated land and ground gas management, as well as building waterproofing. Another key STRI Group

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company is Carrick Sports Construction. As their name suggests, their primary area of operation is taking designs and making them a reality. They are involved with building all types of sports surface, but increasingly getting involved with landscaping and green infrastructure projects.

Now over to Dr. Spring….

So how did I become embedded in the turf and sports surface industry, on a path that has seen me working for STRI for the past 18 years? Well, like any good story, it all starts in childhood. As a boy I was always fascinated

Dr. Christian Spring visiting Australia

with nature, the environment and how the natural world works – I suspect this is the origin story for many scientists around the world! This meant that I had an interest and aptitude for science, which was spotted by teachers who fed this hunger for knowledge and understanding.

Growing up, through school and University, I have always had a passion for natural/ life sciences such as biology, chemistry and physical geography. This culminated in doing a BSc degree in Environmental Science at the University of Stirling in Scotland. During this time, I got bitten by

the bug, that bug being soil science. For some reason, what happens beneath our feet really spoke to my inner curiosity and I was hooked. It also meant I could indulge my natural interest in biology, chemistry and physical geography – all of which are key to understanding the soil ecosystem. Soil science may not be seen by many scientists as sexy, but it is vital for those involved with industries growing crops, be they wheat, potatoes, grazing grass or sports turf.

This passion for what goes on under our feet is what pushed me to postgraduate studies. After completing my degree in

Environmental Science, which gave me a broad understanding of global, regional, and local natural and human-modified environments, I embarked on a Soil Science based PhD, again at the University of Stirling. I have to say, it is a tough call as to my favourite location to live, Scotland is a beautiful place with fantastic people and I spent a very happy nine years immersed in life there. However, just edging it is Yorkshire and in particular, North Yorkshire where I currently live and have done for the past 15 years. However, I am digressing so back to the task at hand, how did I find myself working at STRI?

PUTTING THE SCIENCE INTO SPORTS SURFACES / 15

Theta Moisture Probe

Clegg Impact Hammer

The answer is simple, luck (some may call it fate). After completing my PhD and postdoctoral contract projects, I needed to find a career. I wanted to work in applied science where the outcome of my work could have direct impacts in the field. As it happened, whilst I was scouring the scientific press I saw a job advertised at the Sports Turf Research Institute based in West Yorkshire.

The role was STRI Soil Scientist working in the Soil Physics department. I hadn’t even considered sports surfaces and their need for soil scientists, but the job description intrigued me and I applied. Fortunately for

STRI Trial Plots

me, I had an interview and was lucky to be offered the job, which I did not hesitate to accept. Yorkshire here I come!

Starting at STRI opened my eyes and my imagination to the possibilities of using my scientific skills to help advance the understanding and design of sports surfaces. In my role, I was heavily involved in designing, running, and reporting on research projects that focussed on design and surface performance. This took me on a tour of all the sports surface types that STRI now works on, ranging from football,

16 / PUTTING THE SCIENCE INTO SPORTS SURFACES

rugby, golf, tennis, cricket, horse racing and equestrian surfaces (turf and all weather), greyhound racing, and Gaelic sports. As my knowledge of sports surfaces grew on how they were designed and built and the impact of this on their operation and performance, I wanted to understand the bigger picture of how these surfaces worked agronomically and what might we need to do differently in the future.

This set me on the path of building my understanding of surface management techniques, integrated turf management,

pest/weed/disease issues, turf nutrition, the environmental impact of managing turf surfaces, and how do turf and sport surface managers design, build, and operate our surfaces in the most sustainable way. This entailed running over 100 research projects, and fascinating it was too. This has turned me into the passionate “sand and turf geek” I am today and drives me to understand how and why we do what we do and how can we make it as sustainable as possible.

At the heart of my 18 years at STRI has been the need to link what we do and how we

understand our surfaces with science and research. Science is truth and enlightenment and with this powerful knowledge we can truly understand what we do, why we do it, and the impacts we have. Science allows us to understand the past and the present whilst shaping the future from a position of knowledge and understanding.

And this is where I find myself today, as STRI Group Principal Scientist. This means I help to provide scientific support to all aspects of the business. Looking at what we do now and how can we pull together

the knowledge we have and use it to shape the design, build, and operation of sports surfaces, built environments and green infrastructure in the most sustainable way.

Key to this is bringing together science and knowledge and communicating that among colleagues and with the wider world. Not bad for a kid who liked to play with bugs in the dirt patch in the back garden.

PUTTING THE SCIENCE INTO SPORTS SURFACES / 17

Lawn Fanatics Unite for a Better Tomorrow THE AUSTRALIAN LAWN FANATICS (AUSLF) FACEBOOK GROUP TEAMS UP WITH GOTCHA4LIFE

The Australian Lawn Fanatics Group began in February 2015 as the Southeast Queensland Lawn Fanatics, after a simple conversation between two blokes after renovating a lawn. The concept was to get a small network of like-minded people together to help each other out with the physical job of lawn renovations. That small group took a year to grow to 100, and then as the boundaries of SEQ blurred we took the leap and became the Qld Lawn Fanatics.

The popularity of the fanatics group and lawns on social media saw a rapid increase in membership numbers and blurred the boundaries again, so in 2017 we expanded

to become the Australia-wide group that we are today. We’ve always tried to keep the fanatics true to its original concept of being an independent source of information, a community that helps each other and somewhere you can spend some time ogling incredible lawns.

But with any online environment, unfortunately, there can be negativity and we have experienced individuals who engage in sending harmful messages and generally abusing the community we have created.

We’ve learned over time that it’s not healthy to keep this negativity to ourselves, so we discuss it openly in our private chat group.

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It’s where we go to vent about things, lawnrelated or not and there’s always someone to listen and have a chat with, we have each other’s backs with everything in life.

Recently we discussed what good things we could do to make a difference with using our social media platform which now has almost 100,000 members. I put forward the suggestion of partnering with Gotchya4Life and it was a unanimous decision. For those who haven’t seen what Gotchya4life do, their goal is “Fostering Good Mental Health for a Better Tomorrow.”

In an increasingly fast-paced and demanding world, good mental health is a precious

asset that often goes unnoticed until it’s compromised. Organisations like Gotcha4Life have emerged as beacons of hope, tirelessly working to promote mental wellness and resilience. It’s a grim reality that in Australia seven men and two women who woke up this morning will take their own lives today, that’s every day and that’s a statistic that really shocked us as we researched how we could help. The goal is zero.

One of the most crucial aspects of Gotcha4Life’s mission is destigmatising mental health issues. Historically, discussing mental health problems has been surrounded by shame and secrecy.

However, organisations like Gotcha4Life are breaking down these barriers by encouraging open conversations about mental well-being. This shift is essential because it encourages individuals to seek help when needed, reducing the likelihood of mental health issues worsening over time. Another cornerstone of Gotcha4Life’s work is building a sense of community and connection. We saw this in the Fanatics group, particularly during COVID-19 and the lockdowns most people endured. Our group was a place where people would go to try and mentally escape from the drudgery of being in lockdown.

Education plays a vital role in mental health awareness and Gotcha4Life is dedicated to spreading knowledge. The organisation collaborates with schools, workplaces, and communities to educate people about the importance of mental health and equip them with tools to support themselves and others. By doing so, Gotcha4Life empowers individuals to recognise early signs of mental health issues and take proactive steps to address them.

The link between good mental health and physical health is undeniable, but I also strongly believe that getting outside, getting dirt on your hands, and connecting

LAWN FANATICS UNITE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW / 19

with the earth has enormous benefits.

Gotcha4Life recognises this connection and advocates for holistic well-being.

Physical activities and a healthy lifestyle are promoted as integral components of maintaining good mental health. Through various programs, Gotcha4Life encourages individuals to adopt healthier habits that benefit both body and mind.

Where do the Fanatics and the turf community at large fit into this? We’ve started a campaign to raise awareness and funds for Gotchya4life to hold workshops that take away the stigma and let you examine your mental fitness. We reached out to our friends in the industry and Lawn Solutions Australia was the first to jump in and donate $1,000, that’s what a mental fitness workshop costs to

run. The challenge is to match that generous donation or host a workshop, so that’s what we’re hoping to achieve. To fund as many workshops as we can.

Over the last eight years, we’ve been lucky enough to experience some amazing things. From being a groundsman for a day at the Rugby League State of Origin to attendance at events like the Lawn Solutions Australia Conference and Awards Night.

We’ve met some fantastic people and made some lifelong friends and contacts that have allowed us to help a huge number of people. We’ve partnered with some very generous companies to give away everything from a new lawn to countless mowers, snippers, blowers and even a few irrigation systems along the way.

20 / LAWN FANATICS UNITE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

After answering thousands of “what weed is this” or “how do I do this” questions over the eight years since starting the fanatics back in February 2015, this partnership with Gotchya4life is the thing I’m most proud of.

Those nine Australians who wake up every morning deciding that today is their last day are just too many, the goal is zero, zero suicides. Please check out the Australian Lawn Fanatics Group on Facebook for more information on how you can become involved or visit the Gotchya4life website via the QR Code to donate today.

SC AN FOR MORE IN FO

GOTCHA4LIFE

Australia

Making great sport happen We deliver a plan, design, build and operate solution that enhances pitches, facilities, courses, tournaments and events, all underpinned by world class research.

For more information, visit striaustralia.com.au, or email info@striaustralia.com.au

A young Simon Hutton in an Excavator in 1990

The UK Turf Master SIMON HUTTON, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TILLERS TURF

With extensive experience in the Sports Turf Industry, Simon Hutton dubbed the “UK Turf Master” now has over 2,500 acres of sports turf in production. Simon’s operation supplies most of the turf and pitches for almost all the top stadiums and sports across the UK. Tillers Turf also owns several golf courses and has a strong focus on improving turf products for the industry. Simon’s turf farm and his approach to turf farming is one of the best you will ever see.

We recently caught up with Simon during his recent visit to Australia as a guest speaker for the Lawn Solutions Australia Global Turf Conference.

22 / THE UK TURF MASTER

Simon Hutton – Born in Lincolnshire UK, in 1978 My father was PGA Head Professional Golfer at Sleaford Golf Club, Lincolnshire. His dream was always to build and run his own golf course. In 1986, a small pocket for land came up for sale, eight miles up the road, in a small village called Carlton Scroop. It comprised a farmyard, with 17 acres of pasture land attached. We gang-mowed the field with a Massey Ferguson 135 and a set of Ransomes Gang Mowers. We mowed out six Greens with a Ransomes Certes, cut some holes, bought some cups, pins and

flags, made some tee markers by filling coke cans with concrete and a 6-inch nail, added a couple of coats of paint and we were away. The system Dad implemented was an honesty box at the entrance and the fee was £1 for a full day’s golf… After a successful nine months, Dad was able to leave his Head Pro’s job and dedicate all his time to Carlton Scroop, teaching daily and carrying out course maintenance and development, while converting the stone barn in the farmyard to be the family home.

In 1990, Dad and Mum bought an additional 20 acres adjoining the existing

17 acres and that summer we constructed nine greens, tees, and fairways. This was the start of Sudbrook Moor Golf Club as we know it today. During this construction period at age 11, I helped Dad with the earthworks, ploughing, cultivation, seeding, and the “grow-in.” In the summer of 1992, we opened a new layout of the course, renamed Sudbrook Moor.

My contracting started in 1993, mowing lawns and selling firewood. At age 15 I grew my first field of turf, on one acre approximately 4,000m2. My friends were doing a paper round six mornings a week

for £4, while I was harvesting a pallet of turf with a Ryan Turf Cutter on a Saturday morning for £50.

I left school in 1995, already with loads of construction, turf care, and turf production experience. A member of our golf club approached me, he wanted me to spray his greens at the local RAF base where he volunteered as a greenkeeper. I quoted him £350, won the job and that’s where the outside contracting began. A year later when I was 17, our local Sisis Rep, Jason Briggs, recommended me to Grimsby Town Football Club. It was a very wet winter and

they needed 20 tonnes of sand spreading on the pitch. With our lightweight 16hp Massey Ferguson compact tractor and Sisis Powerspread, we carried out the work and everything went well. I charged £400, realising at this point that, there was probably some mileage in contracting, compared with only earning £55 per week working on the golf course at home.

I printed some flyers and mailed them out to every golf course in Lincolnshire. Within three weeks I had about a 10% response, which was really incredible. I then quickly invested in a Wiedenmann Terra Spike and

THE UK TURF MASTER / 23

Oxford United FC pitch update

an Ifor Williams trailer and expanded the turf production up to 10 acres - 40,000m2.

The contracting was steadily growing through Lincolnshire while expanding further afield. In 1998 we were asked to hollow core and collect the outfield at Lords Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood, London. In 19992003 we were involved in the re-turfing of Manchester United, Old Trafford. Things were now starting to happen. In 2002 the Head Groundsman of Manchester United,

24 / THE UK TURF MASTER

Keith Porter, said to me, “If you buy a Koro Field Topmaker you can Fraize Mow all 18 pitches at Carrington Training Grounds.”

I bought a Koro, and a 120hp Massey Ferguson, and had made two dump trailers by that time. In May 2003, we carried out these works on the 18 pitches. 20 years on, in 2023, we are still working for Manchester United, carrying out 100% of their endof-season renovations and construction projects. This year, at Lords, 25 years on, after multiple projects, we are continuing to

successfully carry out all their end-of-season renovations and, this autumn, we are to reconstruct the Nursery Ground.

In 2005 we created Lakeland Specialist Earthworks, with Wayne Freeman, a well-respected golf course shaper. We started with one 14-tonne excavator and a dumper. With gradual growth, we now have a huge fleet of heavy plant and Lakeland compliments Tillers all over the UK. Lakeland is involved in all the UK contracting

Raynes Park and Roehampton

projects and also in our own home location infrastructure works.

In 2007 Fineturf Machinery Limited was born. We were finding that on our travels there were offers of good quality secondhand equipment for sale. In turn, we also had equipment to sell to our existing and new clients. A huge growth within this business came when the Ministry of Defence changed its Grounds Maintenance Contractor and we bought, refurbished, and

sold over 650 machines. In the golf world, John Deere was becoming very successful in some big fleet deals and we followed them around and bought most of the ex-service Toro Equipment from golf clubs at The Belfry, Woburn, Gleneagles, Wentworth, and many more. This equipment was then refurbished and sent out globally. To this day, we call it “Second Life Equipment”, run by Tom Moor. Globally, we are still prominent in the Second Life market for golf and landscape equipment.

In 2011, I bought Tillers Turf, which was a well-established 300-acre turf production site. It had a great reputation, supplying heavily into the Golf and Landscape market.

In the last 12 years we have grown that business, and we are now in production of 26 different turf products and six mainstream Wildflower Turf Products.

This equates to production of 2,200 acres - 10,000,000m2. Heading up the turf production is Alan Whiteley, celebrating this summer 25 years’ service at Tillers.

THE UK TURF MASTER / 25

Lords wicket renovation

Raynes Park and Roehampton

Alan is supported by our Golf and Technical Manager, Richard Owens, along with a well-oiled and dedicated Golf, Football, Landscape Production, and Harvest Teams.

In the last five years at Tillers, we have developed HTPro our Hybrid Turf System.

We were originally approached by Tottenham Football Club, close to the end of their new stadium construction project, enquiring about producing a Hybrid Turf Pitch for them. With a lot of research and hard work, we established a pitch in one of our fields. We grew it during the spring/

26 / THE UK TURF MASTER

early summer, harvested it and transported it to the stadium at the end of July 2018. The hard work and dedication of the Specialist Football Team at Tillers had paid off, the pitch was a success. Over the past four years, this system has been laid in the Stadia at Swansea, Leeds, MK Dons, Principality, and Oxford. Annually, we now produce for Tottenham, Liverpool, London Stadium, and three per year for Wembley Stadium.

Fineturf, over 20 years, has constructed every UK Cricket Test Wicket and every UK Lawn Tennis Association grass court,

including 29 grass courts for AELTC (Wimbledon). All these projects have been managed by Contracts Manager, Jim Coleman, and his Team. In Golf we have carried out successful construction and specialist maintenance projects at 100’s of Golf Courses. Recently we constructed the new 18th green at The Belfry, four times venue of The Ryder Cup. Also, the Titleist Performance Centre at the world-famous Woburn Golf Club and tee reconstruction at Royal St George’s Golf Club (prior to the 2022 British Open), to name just a few. Football pitch construction and

Old Trafford renovation

Tillers Turf’s Vmow

maintenance have also been a huge part of the growth of the business, carrying out multiple projects up and down the UK for numerous clients, large and small.

Horse Racing contracts have been a lot of fun over the last 29 years, with multiple drainage, levelling, and track reconstruction projects, for the likes of Sandown, Epsom, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Newmarket, Haydock, Nottingham, Market Rasen, Huntingdon, Warwick, Uttoxeter, Southwell, Hereford, Chepstow, Great Yarmouth, and Leicester Racecourses.

The future is exciting across the group of companies. I am well supported by Co-directors Becky Watson and Wayne Billing. At Tillers, we are custom-growing turf for some new Golf Projects in the UK, including the new Trump Course in Aberdeen, Scotland. HTPro will continue to be developed and expand and we will persist in the innovation of new turf systems, complementing our existing range, for a wide range of clients. At Fineturf, we have much to look forward to - the AELTC Wimbledon is just going through planning permission to redevelop the old

Wimbledon Park Golf Club into 29 new construction grass courts. This will include one Show Court and a Community Park, and this project duration is estimated to be nine years.

Manchester United are also in the planning stages, to either move or redevelop its existing training ground, to produce approximately 34 new world-class pitches, over the next seven years.

We have so much to look forward to and plenty of existing projects to keep us busy…

THE UK TURF MASTER / 27

2023 TAB ARMA Conference Dinner saw over 200 in attendance

Record Conference Converges on Cairns AUSTRALIAN RACECOURSE MANAGERS ASSOCIATION (ARMA)

As the sun set over the picturesque Cannon Park Racecourse in Cairns, the 2023 TAB ARMA Conference marked an incredible gathering of racecourse management professionals, sponsors, and industry leaders. Hosted by the Cairns Jockey Club, in their newly unveiled $2.7 million President’s Lounge, this year’s conference was a celebration of collaboration, innovation, and the unwavering spirit of the racing industry.

The 2023 TAB ARMA Conference, a resounding success, brought together a record

number of delegates and sponsors, reaffirming the vitality of such gatherings in fostering camaraderie and professional growth.

Chairman of the Australian Racecourse Managers Association (ARMA), Lindsay Murphy, expressed his gratitude to Tabcorp in their inaugural year as naming rights partner, highlighting the pivotal partnership that recognizes the tireless efforts of Racecourse Managers across the industry. “We are thrilled to have Tabcorp as the naming rights partner for our 2023 Conference. Tabcorp’s support of our

28 / RECORD CONFERENCE CONVERGES ON CAIRNS

Association underscores their commitment to the industry and our members, and we are sincerely appreciative of their efforts in assisting us in delivering an informative and engaging event.

“We see this as an important partnership where we are working together to build better wagering outcomes and recognise the key role that Racecourse Managers play in the preparation of the track, and we know how important tracks are for stimulating wagering on racing. These conferences are

TAB ARMA Conference Scholarship Winners

Anthony Long and Sheldon Simmonds with 2023 Toro Australia Industry Service Award Winner, Lindsay Murphy

so important as we never stop learning in this game, there are always improvements to be made and a better way of doing things” Brett Boyd, Head of Racing Industry Partnerships, Tabcorp.

Lindsay heaped praise on all 36 partners of the Conference “The support from all our partners has been overwhelming as this event doesn’t happen without them.

They have so many wonderful products and services on offer, we really are blessed to have their support.

I’d like to thank Cameron Riches and Simon Morris of the Cairns Jockey Club for hosting the Conference and accommodating all our event requirements. The new facilities of the President’s Lounge are first class, and the service was absolutely magnificent.

I’d also like to thank all those who presented at the Conference, with many of them flying into Cairns just to present for the betterment of our Delegates, especially Chris Stickels from Royal Ascot who has been amazing and very generous with his time.”

A pinnacle of the event was the bustling trade show, boasting an impressive lineup of 26 exhibitors, each showcasing their cutting-edge products and services. This dynamic platform not only allowed industry insiders to explore the latest advancements but also facilitated networking opportunities that drive the industry forward.

The President’s Lounge provided a conducive environment for presentation sessions on both Thursday and Friday, serving as a fitting stage for a range of topics that resonated with the audience, which included:

RECORD CONFERENCE CONVERGES ON CAIRNS / 29

John Fargher, Judy Graetz and Ross Smith calling Mitchell Black to inform him he is the 2023 Steriline Racing Hong Kong Scholarship Winner

• Tabcorp Wagering Trends related to Racecourse Management

• Understanding the Dark World of Soils

• Kick-Up for Racing

• Facilitating Crowd & Equine Safety

• Emergence of Battery-Powered Technology • Utilising Satellite Technology for Racecourse Management • Future of Racecourse Designs • Racing in Tropical Queensland • Major projects updates of Gold Coast Turf Club and Ellerslie Racecourse • Building a Mentally Fit Future

Thursday night unfolded into a spectacle of its own, with 200 attendees converging on the TAB ARMA Conference Dinner. Guests were treated to a sumptuous three-course feast accompanied by lively conversations and spirited camaraderie.

& ARMA Scholarship. “Steriline is delighted to be able to reinstate the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Steriline Racing and ARMA Scholarship this year following the cancellation of the past three years due to travel restrictions. 2023 saw the largest applicant field in the history of this scholarship. The quality of candidates was outstanding, and we are delighted to announce Mitchell Black from the Brisbane Racing Club as the winner.

Among the proceedings of the night, Steriline Racing Director John Fargher, announced the winner of the Steriline Racing

The scholarship will enable Mitchell to undertake work experience at Happy Valley and Sha Tin in Hong Kong as well as a visit to the

• Durable and Safe track Crossings

30 / RECORD CONFERENCE CONVERGES ON CAIRNS

The Trade Shows were bustling with 30 sponsors showcasing their products and services

Brett Boyd, Kiaarn Dickens and Ben Lloyd from Tabcorp presenting on the wagering trends in relation to track ratings

technically advanced HKJC Conghua Training Centre in China.” John informed the crowd.

The resounding highlight of the Conference was the announcement of the Toro Australia Industry Services Award winner for 2023.

The best kept secret in racing was revealed when Sheldon Simmons from Toro Australia had the privilege of presenting the 2023 Toro Australia Industry Services Award to ARMA Chairman Lindsay Murphy which was received by the crowd to a rupture of applause.

Tom Parker with the winning connections of the Elite Sand & Soil / Evergreen Handicap

“Thanks to everyone who listened to me when I said we weren’t presenting this award this year. After 46 years in Racing, I look around this room tonight and it’s still very satisfying. Thanks very much. This means a lot to me. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” Lindsay said.

The 2023 TAB ARMA Conference closed out with over 100 delegates enjoying the ten-race program of Ladies Day from the comfort of the ARMA Marquee, whilst feasting on a sensational array of food and beverages all day.

The announcement that the 2024 ARMA Conference would be hosted on the illustrious Gold Coast ignited anticipation and excitement among attendees. It’s a testament to the conference’s enduring significance that it continues to evolve and inspire, charting the path for racecourse management excellence.

The exact dates and details of the 2024 ARMA Conference will be advertised in the coming months.

RECORD CONFERENCE CONVERGES ON CAIRNS / 31

Achieving Primo Greens with Primo Zoysia LAWN SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA

Golf, often referred to as a sport of precision and technique, thrives on well-manicured and maintained greens. In the Australian golf market, the pursuit of excellence in golf course maintenance has led to the adoption of innovative turf grass varieties.

One such remarkable variety making waves in the Australian golf industry is Primo Zoysia. Primo Zoysia is out of Bladerunner Farms Zoysia breeding program which has brought many well-known zoysia grasses to the international golf industry, including Sir Grange (Zeon), Trinity, Stadium, and now Primo. Bladerunner Farms are specialists when it comes to breeding and fine-tuning fine, short-cut zoysia grasses which are highly suited to the golf and sports turf market, and Primo is no different.

Zoysias are known for their adaptability, low maintenance requirements, low nutrient requirements, shade tolerance, and mowing versatility. Primo Zoysia carries all of these naturally occurring zoysia traits and has the added bonus of being able to tolerate very low-cut heights and produce excellent putting green ball speed. Primo can be maintained as low as 2-3mm and can achieve PGA-level ball speeds. It produces a beautiful surface at green heights but can also be maintained longer for green surrounds, tees, and fairways.

success may be restricted by extended periods of winter dormancy in these areas.

It all depends on the requirements of that particular course however, if they are after low maintenance putting surfaces or other short-cut areas and there is no requirement for green renovation or growth over winter, then Primo may be a suitable product. For those courses in warmer climates, where perhaps TifEagle or other couch grasses are the preferred surface, then Primo Zoysia could offer many benefits over and beyond what couch can.

Being native to Southeast Asia, zoysia grasses thrive in warmer, more humid climates. In the cooler areas of Australia, where bentgrass is the preferred turf type for greens, Primo’s adaptability and

These include;

32 / ACHIEVING PRIMO GREENS WITH PRIMO ZOYSIA

• Improved shade tolerance • Significant disease resistance • Low nutrient requirements

• Mowing versatility (same cultivar on green and surrounds) • Less mowing

Primo has more of a name on the international scale, being the grass of choice for greens, fairways, tees, and surrounds for many major projects including;

Further to the maintenance benefits you will have an excellent putting surface with yearround colour.

• Crooked Creek GC in Georgia, USA has Primo Zoysia greens after converting from bent grass.

Still a relatively new product in the Australian turf industry, the full extent of the possible benefits of Primo is yet to be seen with Australian trials currently underway on a number of courses in different climate zones.

• Thana City Country Club in Thailand has converted all greens to Primo Zoysia.

Some trials in Australia include;

If you are considering using Primo for your project, it is strongly recommended you reach out and source supply for a trial area to see the benefits you can achieve. This can be supplied either as instant turf or from

• Trial green at the Lawn Solutions R&D facility in Berry, NSW • On trial at WA Golf Club, The Lakes Golf Club and Gosford Golf Club

• Featured on City Golf Course in Cambodia.

• Many other courses throughout South East Asia and the United States.

sprig if preferred. Transitioning to a new turf grass variety involves heavy consideration and often in-depth trials and it’s important to understand the qualities of a new grass on course before expansion.

Primo Zoysia presents numerous advantages to both the player and the course manager, and successful implementation through careful planning and management will ensure its success.

Primo Zoysia is available in Australia, but in limited quantities only. If you are interested in more information or to access supply of turf or sprigs, please get in touch with Lawn Solutions Australia at sportsturf@ lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au

ACHIEVING PRIMO GREENS WITH PRIMO ZOYSIA / 33

Great Things Happen on Grass at Go Turf OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE HEILIG FAMILY

Nestled between the bustling streets of Brisbane and the cruisy coastal towns of the Sunshine Coast lies the Go Turf farm.

With a sprawling 130 hectares of top-quality turf in the Glasshouse Mountains region, Go Turf is the largest turf farm on the Sunshine Coast. They proudly supply high-quality drought-tolerant turf to Queensland-based developers, builders, landscapers, and homeowners. The Beerburrum-based farm is owned and operated by the Heilig Family, with four generations of farming expertise under their belts; this is a family endeavour.

From mums and dads to large commercial projects and everyone in between, each turf order that comes their way will see the turf being harvested and delivered on the same day. It’s an early start for the Go Turf team as they harvest and deliver their premium turf in a tight timeframe across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Logan, the Gold Coast, the Fraser Coast, Ipswich, and Toowoomba.

While high-quality turf is their bread and butter now, if you visited the Go Turf farm over 15 years ago, you would have found sugar cane and small crops growing there

34 / GREAT THINGS HAPPEN ON GRASS AT GO TURF

instead. Over the years, spearheaded by Anthony Heilig, the family has come to specialise solely in producing turf and coined the saying, “Great things happen on grass.”

The team knows that great family moments happen on grass, and they love helping Queensland families find the best turf variety for their yards. Priding themselves on their exceptional customer service, the team work hard to help people pick the perfect turf for their outdoor space, prepare, deliver, and install it on-site, and love to provide expert advice on keeping the grass thriving.

All in the hopes that everyone can continue to make those special memories with the ones they love.

Having such a large farm allows the team to grow all of the turf themselves, meaning they don’t have to source it from anywhere else and can keep a close eye on it and attend to it year round. Customers can have peace of mind knowing that their grass has come straight from the Go Turf farm to their yard and nowhere in between.

Meeting their quality assurance and closely overseeing every order from paddock

to yard may sound challenging when managing hundreds of acres of turf, running two offices, preparing yards, and delivering and installing turf across a substantial pocket of southeast Queensland. However, thanks to the business undergoing a digital transformation, the team have accurate information and real-time updates at their fingertips with their fully digital order management system.

From the office to the operations teams, all turf orders, including the delivery and installation requirements, can be placed,

invoiced, paid, harvested, scheduled, delivered, fulfilled, and signed off online through the GoTurf platform. Whether on the GoTurf web app or iPad and iPhone applications, the business operations offer the team a 360 view of the business at any time from one spot. From harvesting quantities to delivery routes, the team can easily verify order information and stay updated with real-time updates from one place. While there’s no denying hard work is involved, it’s all carried out with a smile, a strong sense of pride and gratitude and

GREAT THINGS HAPPEN ON GRASS AT GO TURF / 35

The GoTurf Team

the unified belief that there’s nowhere else they’d rather be than 434 Mekins Rd. While using technology to improve their workflow and processes has been a game-changer, the team understands the importance of consultations and conversations when ordering turf. The Beerburrum farm doors have always been open, with Karlie and Denieka on hand to help with any questions or orders that come through the door, over the phone or online.

Nevertheless, this year marked the opening of their new Brendale office to provide a local service to North Brisbane, where turf is front and centre. The family is hopeful this will give more people a way to see, touch, and learn all about turf whilst benefiting from direct consultation with the preparation team to get the right advice and product.

Turf is the store hero, and the team looks forward to sharing their knowledge of grass near and far to help Brisbane and beyond transform their green spaces.

36 / GREAT THINGS HAPPEN ON GRASS AT GO TURF

Despite expanding down the coast, you’ll still find the same familiar faces on the Beerburrum farm. With the backdrop of the Glasshouse Mountains, the endless sunshine the region promises, and their genuine love for the outdoors, it’s safe to say the GoTurf farm is a great place to be. A visit to 434 Mekins Road will leave you with no doubt that this close-knit team is passionate about what they do and all things grass.

STA VIC Centrepiece Takes Stage at the MCG SPORTS TURF ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA ANNUAL SEMINAR

On Wednesday 12th of July, the Sports Turf Association of Victoria held its annual seminar at the MCG. The event has been the centrepiece of the association for many years. Starting out as the Cricket Wicket Seminar it has morphed into a more inclusive day that caters to all facets of sports turf management. Attendees come from every area of turf management including sports grounds, racetracks, golf courses, public open space, lawn bowls, and turf production. Additionally, there are the support professions and services that include seed companies, chemical suppliers, irrigation specialists, and construction contractors.

The theme for this year’s event was “innovate, educate, and inspire” with the

primary intention of embracing the amazing and diverse industry that we are lucky enough to work in. We were fortunate to have joint major sponsors for the day, Envu and Lilydale Instant Lawn. The committee had a strong desire to highlight the opportunities and experiences the sector has to offer and demonstrate to those who work in the turf industry that there are many variations within the trade that they can pursue throughout their careers. The idea was to showcase some of the people who have led the way with their careers and build a pathway that people can follow, and I feel that the day certainly accomplished this.

While an AGM isn’t usually the most anticipated event, we had a diverse lineup of presenters that we were really

38 / STA VIC CENTREPIECE TAKES STAGE AT THE MCG

excited about. I feel it’s important that the members understand that the committee that organises these events is made up of people just like them who volunteer their time, expertise, and passion to try and improve the industry. The usual call went out for members to step up and experience all of the great opportunities that come with serving on an industry committee.

The first sponsor talk for the day was by Craig Burleigh from Envu. Throughout the day many of our presenters came from a turf management apprenticeship background and Craig is no exception. In 2016 he joined Envu/Bayer where he is currently the National Business Development Manager.

Craig gave an interesting overview of Envu and also introduced us to Tetrino, Envu’s

new diamide insecticide. The technical information delivered by our professional product representatives is excellent and you will always leave an event like this with new knowledge or something to consider that may help you in the future.

After introducing a short video from Mike O’Keefe from Ohio State University, Nathan Turner spoke of his career and experiences working his way up from an apprentice through to joining the Ohio State University Exchange Program. This program gave Nathan a great foundation to go on and become Superintendent at Latrobe Golf Club, as well as the many trials and tribulations along the way.

Kate Torgersen brought a different feel to the meeting with her background as an

apprentice turf manager. Starting out on a golf course Kate has gravitated to become an absolute legend in her field of sustainable plant management encouraging indigenous plantings. Kate shared some of her projects and discussed the amazing opportunities for work in the public open space and sports fields surroundings to adopt more indigenous plantings which will help the biodiversity of these sites.

The highlights and challenges of managing the Adelaide Oval were then described by Damian Hough, Head Curator, including hosting the intense “Gather Round” and handling major concerts, surface replacements, and drop-in wickets. Damian showcased what you can achieve through hard work and good planning as well as

the amazing opportunities of managing a world-class stadium through being a turf management professional.

As joint sponsors for the day, Lilydale Instant Lawn presented their new REAL commitment program, which reserves turf for major projects under an agreed management plan, locks turf down for the project, and provides the client with paddock coordinates so they have control of their turf throughout the project. Jeremy Cutajar from Maroondah Council walked through his experience on a recent project at Town Park, Croydon which was very successfully executed. Both Steve and Jeremy came through the Turf Management apprenticeship program and have had very interesting and diverse careers in turf.

STA VIC CENTREPIECE TAKES STAGE AT THE MCG / 39

Staying on point with our careers in turf, the next speaker, Eden Zanker has gone from managing sports surfaces as an apprentice at Cranbourne Racetrack and now working at AAMI Park to actually playing on them!

Eden was selected by Melbourne Football Club with their first selection of the 2017 AFLW Draft where she has since gone on to become an accomplished professional footballer while holding down a full-time job in Turf Management. Eden’s journey from growing up in a small town where she had to give up football as a teenager due to a lack of opportunities for females to play, to following her dream by moving to Melbourne and finally making it on the big stage, was incredible.

Every seminar needs a good panel discussion and this one was no exception with Damian Hough (Adelaide Oval), Danial Bridges (SGL Grow Lights), Troy Jordan (Marvel Stadium), and Nathan Turner (Latrobe GC). The panel discussed many elements of their careers in turf management that has seen them working all around the world in different ways within the turf industry.

Since the seminar, the Women’s World Cup has been played and won and what an amazing event it was. It smashed records for audience viewing and it showcased Australia’s amazing sports fields to the world. It was truly amazing to see the fields in such awesome condition considering we were in mid-winter and mid-way through

40 / STA VIC CENTREPIECE TAKES STAGE AT THE MCG

our domestic sports seasons. Erik Kinlon took us on a whirlwind tour of what HG Turf accomplished in the lead-up to the tournament from the stitching of existing fields through to multiple full surface replacements. The professionalism and commitment from his team was of the highest level and all of us should be proud to be a part of an industry that was able to put on a show of this calibre. Well done to all who were involved and especially to HG Turf for a job very well done.

The only presenter for the day without a turf qualification was Samantha Lane, however, Samantha brought a journalist’s view to all things Women’s World Cup in a very interesting discussion.

After meeting Daniel (SGL Grow Lights) earlier on the panel, Daniel returned and once again walked us through his career.

Daniel was another professional who started as an apprentice and moved on to the Ohio State University Exchange Program before returning to Australia and moving to Melbourne where he took on the challenge of growing grass in an indoor stadium at Telstra Dome. Daniel has worked in many areas of turf including golf, sports construction, maintenance, and currently as a technical specialist in grow lights which is a relatively new but rapidly evolving sector of turf management.

Gerry O’Callaghan stepped up to the mic next and shared her story so far as one

of the groundbreaking four female Golf Course Superintendents in Australia. Gerry is Superintendent of the Sandringham Golf Links the new home to the Australian Golf Centre. It was great to hear her stories of the challenges and the highlights of her career in turf so far.

Another panel made up our final session for the day, but no turf seminar would be complete without the input of Dr. Phil Ford. There aren’t many turf managers in Australia’s southeast who have not benefited from the knowledge and passion that Phil brings to seminars and every classroom he enters. The final panel featured a wonderful variety of perspectives from three female turf professionals. Jo-Anne Stolz has a Turf Nurse consulting service while also working

at the Dunes GC and helping educate our future turf managers at Holmesglen TAFE. Jayde Robson, who won the Victorian Graduate of the Year in 2020 and has continued to broaden her experiences even recently working at Adelaide Oval and the final member of the panel Bede Collis brought an apprentice’s perspective to the discussion, Bede is currently a secondyear apprentice at Rosanna GC and we look forward to following her career as she progresses through the industry.

By Steve Cole, Lilydale Instant Lawn STA VIC - General Committee Member

STA VIC CENTREPIECE TAKES STAGE AT THE MCG / 41

My Job, My Career, My Industry EMBRACING YOUNG TURF DELEGATES AT NXGEN 2023

The 2023 NxGen conference titled “My Job, My Career, My Industry” was organised by Turf Australia and took place in Melbourne in early September. Over 50 delegates attended the event, featuring influential speakers discussing mentoring, leadership, confidence building, job and career guidance, and the latest sports turf management techniques.

The young delegates from the turf industry provided valuable input, actively engaging in discussions with peers, key speakers, and Turf Australia’s board and staff.

At the conference, delegates and sponsors came together in one central location to exchange their knowledge and services

and establish connections. The speakers were particularly impressed by the young delegates’ camaraderie, laughter, and eagerness to learn. Compared to other industry events, one speaker noted that the participation and humour of the young representatives contributed significantly to the presentation’s success.

Cynthia Mahoney, a key facilitator in agriculture leadership, opened the first day with her mantra inspired by the latest neuroscience research: “Happier people are higher performing.” She explained how she helps leaders and teams achieve this in the workplace. Cynthia also highlighted that many leaders need to be aware of how they are unintentionally causing problems

42 / MY JOB, MY CAREER, MY INDUSTRY

and how their workforce perceives them.

Therefore, self-awareness is critical for outstanding leaders. Our emotions and how others perceive us.

Effective leadership has become even more critical due to the various disruptions caused

by COVID-19, climate change, floods, AI, growing production costs, mental health, and changes in psychological hazard legislation. According to Cynthia, a good leader must build trust and knowledge within their team and ensure they are comfortable with differences. A secure and welcoming work environment is essential, where employees feel safe to be themselves and express their thoughts and concerns.

Leaders must create an environment where

employees feel at ease speaking up when they are unhappy or unsure about something.

Adrian Knapping shared his journey from high school to his current career. Initially uncertain about his career path, he studied agriculture and horticulture. Following this, he took a 12-week placement with STRI Australia as a sports turf consultant. He later applied for a University of Agriculture degree and worked part-time with STRI while studying. Adrian admits that he learned more on the job than at university, but the fundamental tools and background he obtained from his university course were crucial to his future work. He expressed satisfaction with his career choice, as it offers unlimited opportunities and various

turf sectors, making it an excellent industry for peers and colleagues to share research information and studies.

• Joe Rogers from Lawn Solutions Australia

A group of young professionals in the turf industry participated in a panel discussion titled “My Job, My Career, My Industry”. The event was led by Eva Ricci, Executive Officer of Turf Australia, and focused on topics such as what motivated them to join the turf industry, family succession planning, and the industry’s sustainability in the future. The panel consisted of several faces from the next generation of turf professionals:

• Matthew Oliver from Suncorp Stadium.

• Dean Mosch from Syngenta Turf • Alex White from Dubbo Turf

Matthew Oliver and Dean Mosch were responsible for providing entertainment during the night.

• Darcie Pitsikas from Greenacres Turf Group • Penny Boyle from Rosemount Turf • Alira Sellick from the Lawn Doctor

Matt, the Head Curator at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, shared his experience hosting 65 concerts and sports events in 2023. “A tight time frame binds every event to prepare the turf, so timeliness and a great crew are critical for success”.

However, Matt stressed that the job’s perks were the satisfaction of preparing the field

MY JOB, MY CAREER, MY INDUSTRY / 4 3

for some of the world’s best athletes and events, such as the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup. Matt chose to be a curator at one of the busiest stadiums in Australia because he enjoys the challenge and the research into finding an appropriate turf system that can withstand the stadium’s use.

According to Matt, there is often just a two-day window to prepare the stadium for a critical sporting event following a huge three-day concert. They can have 1,500 square meters of turf to lay in that window. Ground preparation begins with challenging logistics trucks moving to replace all the dead turf, and they then relay the stadium with MegAyr Turf supplied

by StrathAyr. Matt explained that MegAyr Turf is a solid and durable turf product that provides an efficient and cost-effective solution for repairing sports fields.

The day’s events ended with Dean Mosch from Syngenta hosting a hilarious teambuilding exercise, Two Lies, One Truth.

Delegates were undoubtedly able to learn many exciting things about each other!

On the second day, the event was facilitated

by Steve Cole from Lilydale Instant Lawn.

He organised field trips to two major sporting field sites. The first site was Casey Fields Regional Athletics Centre. Here, Anthony Kennedy, the Fields Ground Curator, explained the importance of the ovals in hosting many vital sporting events, including being the practice location for the Melbourne AFL Football Club. The field day ended on a high note at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, where Nick Rennison, the curator, showcased the former home of the Australian Open. Rennison explained the vital role of turf selection in managing the site.

Turf Australia extends its sincere appreciation to all the attendees who participated in the event. We thank the panel of young industry professionals who openly shared their educational choices, career pathways, and aspirations.

44 / MY JOB, MY CAREER, MY INDUSTRY

We would also like to thank Cynthia Mahoney for delivering an enlightening and engaging presentation on leadership. Her session was genuinely unique.

We are very grateful to Matthew Oliver, Dean Mosch, and Adrian Knapping for providing excellent, engaging presentations.

Thanks to Steve Cole from Lilydale Instant Lawn for his assistance with the event.

Additionally, we would like to thank the Casey Fields Regional Athletics Centre team for their support.

We thank Nick from Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club for the beautiful, guided tour and for sharing his career experience.

We would also like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Lawn Solutions Australia for their unwavering support as Turf Australia’s NxGen partner and Syngenta for sponsoring our event. Your generosity and invaluable support are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Building a Career on Turf CAINE JAMES, OPERATIONS MANAGER – RECREATION WORKS INFRASTRUCTURE & WORKS | MAITLAND CITY COUNCIL

My interest in the turf industry, particularly golf course maintenance was something I had a passion for from the age of around 10 years old. This is the age I started attending a golf clinic on Sunday mornings at Belmont Golf Club in the Lake Macquarie area south of Newcastle. I remember playing nine holes on a Sunday morning and thinking how good it would be to be a greenkeeper.

When an opportunity came in year 10 whilst attending Swansea High School to complete two weeks of work experience, I wasn’t going anywhere other than Belmont Golf Club to work on the golf course. This experience convinced me that this was the career I wanted.

I received a phone call from the Superintendent in December 1992 to ask if I was interested in a six-week casual position to join the green staff for the preparation of the Lake Macquarie Amateur Open, which at the

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time was the biggest amateur tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. Six weeks turned into two years full-time at Belmont Golf Club, which gave me a great start to my career working with an awesome crew.

Council Apprenticeship I was looking for an opportunity to complete an apprenticeship as I wanted to become a qualified turf tradesperson, which Belmont Golf Club couldn’t offer at the time. I was lucky enough to apply and successfully gain an apprenticeship with Newcastle City Council (City of Newcastle) in 1994.

Newcastle Council owned and maintained an 11-hole public golf course (Beresfield Golf Course) as well as maintaining regional and district-level sports facilities.

My time during my apprenticeship was spent mostly working on the council’s golf course, which consisted of bent/poa

greens, a blend of kikuyu/couch/carpet grass fairways and kikuyu tees.

There was a staff of three consisting of a Superintendent, a groundsman, and an Apprentice (me). When I arrived, greens were being cut with Scott Bonnar petrol walk-behind mowers, tees were cut with an old Jacobsen Tri king, and fairways were cut with an old set of gang mowers.

It was a great opportunity to work in this environment as I was exposed to everything from spraying greens to machinery maintenance and course set-up for weekends from day one. During the three years I worked on the Council golf course we upgraded machinery to introduce a John Deere fairway mower, Toro surrounds mower and a Toro greens mower. These changes in machinery improved the surfaces immediately. Then we started applying fertiliser on fairways, constructing new tee

Caine and Adam, Maitland Regional Sportsground

boxes, reshaping fairways, and extending irrigation. All this work was completed by our team of three which gave me great exposure to all aspects of turf maintenance early in my career.

During my apprenticeship I had the opportunity to spend six months working at Newcastle Councils No.1 and No.2 Sportsgrounds, this gave me exposure to turf wicket preparation, maintenance, and renovation. This experience gave me an insight into turf maintenance from another perspective, especially cricket wicket preparation. This goes against everything you learn about growing healthy turf – grow grass in clay, water it, roll it with moisture in it to compact it, then dry it out, now roll it some more, mow it and it’s ready! Cricket wicket preparation made me open my mind to the turf industry and I realised there is so much to learn in this industry, and I knew I wanted to make a successful career of it.

Once I completed my apprenticeship, I was employed full-time at Newcastle Council as a Senior field worker at Newcastle No.1 Sportsground, working alongside Supervisor Peter Terry, who is still currently in this position. During my six years working at this facility, we prepared surfaces for first-class cricket matches including Sheffield Shield matches, ING One Day Matches and a One Day International Women’s Match Australia v England. I was also lucky enough to prepare the No.2 Sportsground Wicket for the Australia U/19s National Championships in 2008/09, this turned out to be a great tournament with the likes of Shaun Marsh, Cameron White, and Sean Tait to name a few going on to first-class careers. We also hosted numerous AFL Preseason matches featuring the Swans against numerous AFL opponents.

I also had the opportunity to play a significant role in rebuilding the wicket square during the 2000 season. This project was delivered by our team, including the planning, construction and grow in, with the result being a quality first-class wicket.

2007 I was offered the opportunity to move into an office-based role as a Recreation Project Officer at Newcastle Council. Whilst in this position I designed and managed the installation of numerous irrigation projects, the reconstruction of turf wicket squares and the delivery of several playground and floodlight projects.

Nuturf Australia In 2008 I was offered an opportunity to become a Territory Manager at Nuturf Australia, supplying products, services, and agronomic advice to the turf industry.

My territory was the Central Coast, Hunter

BUILDING A CAREER ON TURF / 47

Maitland Regional Sports Complex

Region, Mid North Coast, and New England servicing councils, golf clubs, turf farms and any other turf facility along my travels.

This was my dream job as I got to talk turf all day every day. During my time at Nuturf, I received the best education you could possibly ask for, we had great people in the business who shared the same passion for the turf industry as I have. Nuturf was acquired by C.K.Lifesciences who also owned Amgrow, this provided me with the opportunity to move into the wholesale market managing the sales, custom fertiliser development, and distribution of specialty products into the turf market in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

I worked in the wholesale business for three years before moving back into the retail market with Nuturf. I spent over 14 years in the Nuturf/Amgrow business before moving to TurfCare Australia for an 8-month period as Business Manager.

Maitland City Council In January 2019 I moved back into Local Government to take up the position of

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Operations Manager Recreation at Maitland City Council where I remain today. This is a very diverse role as I manage a department of 60+ staff with four direct reports and 13 Team Leaders, each with a crew of 3-4 staff who maintain trees, gardens, parks, playgrounds, landscape construction, open space, roadside mowing, weeds, and biosecurity. I have a very supportive management team above me who value my knowledge and experience which allows me to provide the resources required to achieve continual improvement in all areas of the recreation space in Maitland LGA. “We are lucky to have such a leader in the turf industry at Maitland City Council.

When Caine joined us nearly five years ago, I believed (noting I am an engineer with absolutely no turf background) we had the makings of a good sports turf management crew, however, Caine has implemented significant change, training, and polish to all of our staff working in this area to ensure we have a great turf management team.

This has resulted in not only significant improvements and outcomes at our regional

facilities, but the improved work practices of our teams are making a huge difference to all our sports turf facilities across the LGA.” Ashley Kavanagh, Works Manager Maitland City Council.

I also have two specialised Turf Management Crews who maintain our sports turf surfaces.

A team of four are full-time at Maitland Regional Sports Complex and a team of six who maintain over 60 hectares of sports grounds, of which 30 hectares are irrigated.

The Regional Sports complex consists of the Regional Sportsground, a 1.6 hectare multi-use facility with a grandstand capacity of 1100 which was rebuilt in 2017. The ground is currently the training base for the Newcastle Jets Men’s A-League team and the Maitland Pickers Rugby League Club.

The surface was initially turfed with Grand Prix Couch in 2017, with sand slit drainage, sand grooving, and irrigation installed.

In 2020 an IAAF standard synthetic athletics track with all supporting athletics infrastructure was constructed on the old outer fields. I was asked to provide input

Maitland Athletics Centre

into the development of the specification for the construction of the 8,000m2 infield.

The profile is 300mm deep local dune sand amended with organics. Irrigation and drainage were installed during construction and the surface has a 1% fall from the centre in an east/west direction. The grass type selected was TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda. The decision was made to use this grass after reviewing the data from several trials, it’s also the only turf variety with the Smart Approved Water Mark.

Turf producer Musturf completed the project for us supplying and installing the turf which was of exceptional quality. The establishment period was amazing with root development greater than 50mm in a four week period.

The surface has performed extremely well over the past three seasons. We have shaved the surface twice to soil surface using a topmaker, with full coverage back again within four weeks. Topdressing happens two weeks after the topmaker and the surface is cut at 12-15mm.

Due to the performance of the TifTuf on the athletics infield, I made the decision to change the turf variety of the regional sportsground from Grand Prix to TifTuf. We were having issues with the lateral growth of Grand Prix couch which was impacting the recovery from wear and transitioning from the ryegrass oversowing program back to the couch. With the support from my Manager Ashley Kavanagh who backed my reasoning for the change in turf species, “Caine’s technical knowledge and ability to demonstrate the reasoning for Council to invest in changing the grass variety that had only been down for five years over to TifTuf was a decision that was well worth the investment. The positive feedback from user groups, our community and most importantly our staff who maintain the facility is amazing.

The results are speaking for themselves.” In October 2022 we sprayed out the surface and then removed 70mm from the surface of the sportsground.

TifTuf vegetive material was supplied, which was spread and grooved rolled and then solid rolled into the surface. 12 weeks

later we had a 100% cover of TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda which looked fantastic. We have oversowed ryegrass into the surface this season and the surface has been rated as one of the best surfaces played on by a number of visiting A League clubs as well as the Newcastle Jets. Adam Nial (Team Leader of the Turf Maintenance crew) is very happy with the amount of TifTuf he is seeing below the rye and in recovering divots.

The feedback from the users of both surfaces has been amazing, with the quality of the surfaces always a topic of conversation amongst them. We have several sports ground projects coming up in the next couple of years and the decision is to replicate the specification of the athletics infield into these new fields including surfacing with TifTuf. I feel blessed to have had the career I’ve had, and I feel privileged that Maitland City Council have given me an opportunity to bring my passion, knowledge, and experience to take their existing fields to the next level and develop new standards in the development of new fields.

BUILDING A CAREER ON TURF / 49

Getting to Know Matthew Oliver GROUNDS MANAGER AT SUNCORP STADIUM

From the golf course to Marvel Stadium, to Papua New Guinea and now the most prestigious sports field in Queensland, Matthew Oliver, the current Suncorp Stadium Grounds Manager has had an incredible turf journey.

We recently caught up with Matthew, to discuss his turf career so far and talk all things turf.

Q: Where did it all start for you when it comes to working in the turf industry?

I started off as an 18 year old cricketer playing in the UK. In my spare time, I

was helping the local groundsman there preparing the wickets, and by the end of the season I was actually looking after the first-team pitches. Which was, I guess, my first foray into sports turf. When I came back to Melbourne after the summer of playing cricket in England, I was looking at an apprenticeship in wicket curating, but unfortunately there wasn’t anything available so I ended up going down the golf course route and spent four years doing an apprenticeship on a golf course in Southeast Melbourne at the Sandhurst Club. I then made my first move to a stadium with Marvel Stadium offering me a role as a qualified turf

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manager straight out of my apprenticeship.

So that was my first move into sports fields.

Q: How did your career in sports turf management develop from there?

My development and experience grew as I was working my way up through different roles. Marvel Stadium was obviously huge in terms of exposure. Exposure to a huge number of events of varying types, and different sports codes, all with specific requirements for each. I was still learning my craft and going from a golf course which there are some similarities, but everything’s

just magnified in terms of the exposure, the expectation, and the pressure.

Q: Where did you go from Marvel?

Where was your career path to where you end up today?

I spent five years in my first stint at Marvel and then decided to look sideways to get some more managerial experience. I went to Melbourne Grammar School where I worked under a man by the name of John Shannon, an industry legend in Victoria.

I spent two years underneath him as the Assistant Grounds Manager at Melbourne Grammar. Essentially there I was the Head

Curator of the wickets, looking after the first team sports fields and just really broadened my skill set not only for cricket wickets, but also people management skills and that side of things. After I had spent two years at Melbourne Grammar, an opportunity from left field came up, which was in Papua New Guinea for a fly-in, fly-out role project managing the new National Football Stadium of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. I spent the best part of twelve months in that role before the contract with the company I was working for expired and unfortunately wasn’t extended. I then returned to Melbourne where I helped

project manage the reconstruction of Ikon Park, Carlton Football Club’s training ground. I spent two years there at Carlton before my wife and I decided we should look at moving somewhere warmer. A role came up at the Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre in Brisbane where I worked for four years as the venues Grounds Manager before I accepted the incredible opportunity to move over as Grounds Manager at Suncorp Stadium.

Q: How is Suncorp Stadium managed and what is a normal week like for you and your team?

GETTING TO KNOW MATTHEW OLIVER / 51

Obviously, 2023 has been a huge year for us here. It’s been an unprecedented year of events. By the end of 2023, we’ll have hosted 65 events on the field, which is huge for any stadium, really, and that’s across the three sporting codes- rugby league, soccer and rugby union, plus concerts and everything else in between. We have also held several training sessions, captains runs and rehearsals for various entertainment acts.

A normal week here is generally a changeover from one event to another. Last Sunday, we had four games of soccer and then we washed out those lines, removed the goals that night and then prepared for the NRL preliminary final. Monday, we mowed the field in the Rugby League pattern and applied a recovery foliar fertiliser spray.

Tuesday we walked the field to repair any divots and indentations and set up for the Broncos training session. After the session, we mowed the field again to clean up any debris.

Wednesday we applied a soil fertiliser spray including wetting agent and gave the field its last water for the week. Thursday we double-mowed the field and applied a foliar fertiliser spray to green the field up further for TV, and Friday we hosted the New Zealand Warriors captains run.

On Saturday (match-day), we mowed the field east-west for TV presentation and double-linemarked the lines to ensure they really stood out. After the lines and logos are completed, its the small jobs like setting up the goal post pads, corner pads, walking the field for divots, filling in sprinkler holes with rubber or grass clippings, and finally turning off the irrigation valve.

Sunday we ran the Amazone through the field in four directions to thin out the ryegrass and to let some light down to the couch below.

Q: What teams play out of Suncorp Stadium?

There are four main tenants- The Brisbane Broncos and the Redcliffe Dolphins, who

52 / GETTING TO KNOW MATTHEW OLIVER

play in the NRL. The Broncos play all their home games here and the Dolphins play the vast majority.

We’ve got the Queensland Reds, who play all seven home games here in the Super Rugby Competition. We’ll also host a handful of their women’s Super Rugby fixtures as well.

The Brisbane Roar have recently moved back to the stadium full-time. We’ll host twelve of their home A-League matches from October 27th.

We also host a Rugby Union tests annually and also soccer internationals- It’s a very busy place here!

Q: What other events are featured at the Stadium?

Up until last year, we were only approved to host six concerts in a calendar year. Last year, the decision was made that we can now host up to twelve.

Our concert season generally runs from October through to March.

This summer we will host Paul McCartney, Motley Crue and Deff Leppard, The Weeknd (x2), Foo Fighters, and Pink (x3).

What’s different about that this year is we’ve got the Roar back full-time for soccer, so we’re going to have to be on our toes to replace the damaged turf under the roadways at the drop of a hat and have a real tight turnaround prior to the Roar having an A-League fixture.

We’re going to replace approximately 6,000-7,000m2 of turf, over four different replacements over the summer. Then, obviously, we hit the ground running in February for the Super Rugby competition with the soccer competition still running right the way through to the end of April.

The NRL competition starts in the first weekend of March. All three codes operate concurrently. February through to May is

going to be very challenging with a fixture congestion, and of course the NRL Magic Round in mid-May. Q: The FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted games at the Stadium this year, what was involved in the preparation for this and fulfilling FIFA requirements?

It was a huge tournament and I’d go as far as saying that the Australia v France Quarter Final was my career highlight to date. An unbelievable event to be a part of a full stadium, essentially all supporting one team.

Obviously, the dramatic penalty shootout at the end was incredible with it being the longest penalty shoot-out in World Cup history.

We hosted eight matches, which was the most of any Australian stadium during the tournament.

One of the requirements for FIFA was we needed to have a hybrid playing surface for the tournament, so it meant that we had to adopt one of their methods. Either a

carpet-based system or a stitched surface.

We opted for the SISGrass stitched surface and that was installed in late May prior to the Broncos and the Knights, followed by State of Origin Game II. This certainly held us in good stead for those matches.

For the Women’s World Cup, we had a stable playing surface that stood up and performed really well. I was extremely proud of my team for going above and beyond for the tournament. The field we were able to produce after the year we have had was certainly a proud moment.

Some of the FIFA requirements we needed to do were daily field testing.

We were testing for hardness, traction, shear strength, and moisture on almost a daily basis throughout the tournament, making sure we’re meeting those parameters. Grass height of cut was set to 24mm.

GETTING TO KNOW MATTHEW OLIVER / 53

The field had to be mown with pedestrian walk behind mowers and obviously line marking to the specific standards that they want. Making sure that there’s no mistakes and the dimensions are 100% correct. The goal line technology can tell you if the lines are out, so we had to make sure we were millimetre perfect!

Q: From your personal point of view, you’ve got to deliver or produce a first-class stadium surface which is a lot of pressure. How do you handle it personally? Your achievements, stress levels, how do you handle it all?

I guess you try not to dwell on things when things aren’t going your way. Certainly at the start of the season, on a brand new playing surface (we re-turfed the entire field after the

Ed Sheeran concert series in late February) in March and April, we were under the pump.

We had a fair bit of media criticism come our way. That was just because we were hosting those three codes on a field that was immature. It hadn’t really had a chance to bed down.

The ryegrass we were overseeding was quite reluctant to establish given the heavy traffic load coupled with high temperatures and high humidity.

We try to produce the best playing surface as possible regardless of the stature of the event. The players taking the field expect the best, so that is what we try to deliver.

I guess from my perspective, it’s trying not to be hard on myself too much. Things are

54 / GETTING TO KNOW MATTHEW OLIVER

never as bad as what they may seem. You try and think of all the positives, that you’re in this position for a reason and you draw on your strengths to get you out of those situations.

I look back now and I go, well, those hard yards in March, April, and May were pretty tough at the time, but we’re now going to sit there on the weekend and look at the field for the NRL Preliminary Final and be extremely pleased with the surface that we were able to produce, which I’d say, is as good as anywhere.

Q: What part of managing turf do you really enjoy the most?

I get a real kick out of seeing professional athletes at the top of their game, playing on our pitch. We often don’t get a lot of feedback from players and clubs when

things are going well. It’s generally only when things aren’t going so well. But to be fair, we’ve had a lot of really positive feedback, particularly from the NRL clubs at the back end of this year and through the Women’s World Cup. That’s not just for myself, but for my team that has been incredibly dedicated and put their best foot forward for the stadium for this year. I’m really proud of everyone’s efforts there.

Q: What do you still want to achieve in your career? Where would you like to be?

If I was being completely honest, I think when I was younger before starting a family, I would often dream of looking after a worldclass Premier League stadium in England or a similar facility across Europe somewhere.

I guess now I am a family man, I am really grateful for where I am right now.

As a younger person, it’s hard not to keep looking at that next opportunity and want to keep climbing that ladder but I’m just really happy being here where I am, and I’ve got a lot of things I want to achieve at Suncorp Stadium.

I don’t really have any ambition to up and leave anytime soon. It’s a great place to work- a fast-paced atmosphere with a supportive environment.

It’s the pinnacle of rectangular stadiums in this part of the world and I am very lucky to work here and hopefully, I’ll be here for a lot longer yet.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you have for anyone looking into the sports turf industry or looking to grow their careers in turf?

Always ask questions of people who are have experience in the industry.

A lot of young people come through our trade and can be quite reserved.

Try to ask questions of your managers, colleagues and counterparts about their experiences and what positives and negatives they have had in the careers.

Become friendly with Sales reps- they are generally really well connected, ask your peers at other venues or golf courses or whatever your facility is, what are they doing in certain situations and what products to use in these situations. You can broaden your skill set that way and don’t be scared to keep an updated CV. Our industry can be quite tight to get into certain roles, sometimes you must bide your time or move sideways. But don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

GETTING TO KNOW MATTHEW OLIVER / 55

The TransportAyr system ready to place a brand new pitch

From Paddock to Pitch THE STRATHAYR PORTABLE PITCH SYSTEM

StrathAyr has a history in cricket wicket development dating from 1977 when the company started producing turf for wickets on a suitable black clay area of its Tasmanian farm.

StrathAyr’s interest in resolving the problems associated with the incompatibility of cricket and football sharing a ground was sparked by the advent of World Series Cricket in the 70’s. The company’s first major venue turfing contract resulted from damage caused to the outfield of Waverley Park, Melbourne, by the movement of the concrete tub wickets to the centre of the ground. This world series innovation inspired StrathAyr’s interest and future developments.

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In 1983 StrathAyr made a technological breakthrough with its patented system of soil-free turf which enables the preparation of wickets from mature couch. From 1986 until 1999 the MCG used this process for the refurbishment of their entire wicket table each year following the Australian Football League final. This process ceased when the permanent wicket table at the MCG was removed in early 2000. Cricket grounds throughout Australia continue to use StrathAyr BAyr Root Turf for wicket refurbishment.

1996 – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Victoria, Australia In 1996 StrathAyr developed its first portable pitch in conjunction with the Melbourne

Cricket Club (MCC). This pitch was installed in two 12.5 metre halves on 3 October 1996.

This concept was designed for seasonal change between football and cricket as some preparation time was required.

1998 – North Sydney Oval, NSW, Australia In 1998 North Sydney Oval commissioned StrathAyr to produce the second version of the StrathAyr portable pitch. Two pitches (25m long) were supplied from the StrathAyr R&D Centre and turf nursery in Seymour, Victoria.

These pitches were designed to facilitate cricket matches immediately following wicket placement. The cost of crane hire caused StrathAyr to develop the TransportAyr concept.

2000 – Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, Australia The full-length wicket TransportAyr was developed in the year 2000. The TransportAyr avoids the need for heavy and expensive cranes and, at some venues, will enable ground staff to carry out the work. Its low flotation design reduces damage to the outfield.

One centre portable pitch and two practice pitches were produced in a hot house during winter at StrathAyr’s R&D centre and turf nursery near Melbourne. The pitches were used for the Super Challenge 2000 series between Australia and South Africa at Docklands Stadium in August 2000.

2001 – Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Five portable wickets and a replacement pitch have been constructed for Eden Park in New Zealand. The Portable Pitches were produced in a special nursery outside the stadium and were easily placed in the centre wicket area with the TransportAyr. Exchange between wicket and sand rootzone trays provides a safe surface for Rugby Union, Rugby League and Cricket.

2001 - Lords Cricket Ground, London, United Kingdom StrathAyr Turf Systems has provided three portable cricket pitch trays to the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s. The trays have been installed by StrathAyr, with pitches

constructed and maintained by MCC as a joint research and development program into the use of this technology under UK conditions. However, to this date, these wickets have not been moved onto the Oval.

2003 - Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia StrathAyr’s portable pitch technology was incorporated into Sydney’s Telstra Olympic Stadium in 2003. The stadium has a 25m centre wicket and two 12.5m practice wickets. When not in use the wickets are kept on the field outside the boundary line.

The portable wickets have been moved into playing position twice since their incorporation into the stadium.

FROM PADDOCK TO PITCH / 57

2005 - Carrisbrook Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand The Otago Cricket Association is utilising the portable pitch technology at Carrisbrook. StrathAyr has supplied two portable cricket pitch trays and one football tray for use at the stadium. The trays are being lifted in two sections with a purposedesigned lifting frame, and crane.

2005 - Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand Westpac Stadium Trust have two portable cricket pitch trays and one football tray which they will interchange at the stadium.

2012 – Adelaide Oval, SA, Australia 10 Wicket trays, 10 Football Trays and a new TransportAyr Wicket lifter installed at Adelaide Oval.

58 / FROM PADDOCK TO PITCH

2016 - North Sydney Oval, NSW, Australia Five Wicket Trays and five Football trays installed at North Sydney Oval.

2017 – Perth Stadium, WA, Australia New TransportAyr wicket lifter supplied to Perth Stadium.

StrathAyr still own a latest model TransportAyr machine that is self-propelled and can be retracted so that it can be moved by an extended semi-trailer. Every year prior to the commencement of the cricket season, StrathAyr uses our TransportAyr machine to move the portable wickets onto the MCG and North Sydney Oval. At the end of the cricket season, we move them out again in preparation for the start of the football season.

A Snapshot of the Works Undertaken at the MCG The MCG is the premiere sporting stadium in Australia and the wicket relocation works are undertaken with an extremely tight deadline in the transition period between football and cricket. Immediately following the AFL Grand Final, the wicket move works are scheduled, which includes a complete night-time road closure on the busy Brunton Road which joins the MCG to the nearby protected nursery site.

The TransportAyr is stored and prepared at the StrathAyr Farm in Seymour and the machine is transported to the MCG on an oversized semi that can accommodate the 35 tonne weight. The TransportAyr can utilise its hydraulic wheel arms to lift

The TransportAyr Team

itself on and off the semi-trailer without any other equipment required. Upon arrival at the MCG nursery site, the TransportAyr is extended to its full length and given a thorough pre-start check and test.

The TransportAyr Team are a highly skilled and experienced team that operates in unison with absolute precision and professionalism. There is an operator for each end of the TransportAyr and they independently control the wheel arm movements for steering and lifting the wickets. A central operator supervises the direction of travel with all team members connected by wireless communications.

Also in attendance are a Safety and Logistics Officer and two operators who attach lifting

hooks and assist throughout the wicket relocation process.

The relocation works are undertaken from 7pm-4am over three successive nights with each wicket taking approximately two hours to be transported from the nursery site to the centre of the MCG. The TransportAyr machine is self-propelled and undertakes the journey between the nursery and the MCG at a steady walking pace, negotiating challenging turns and obstacles along the way. As the nursery site involves a considerable climb on a grassed area, StrathAyr also incorporates a heavy-duty loader as a safeguard against a rain event creating slippery conditions.

The MCC staff prepare each wicket tray in advance by exposing the lifting points that the TransportAyr connects to. The TransporAyr positions itself above each 35 tonne tray and lifts it in one motion after the lifting hooks are attached. The TransportAyr Team then drive the 35 tonne machine with a 35 tonne wicket tray along a half-kilometre journey to the centre of the MCG Stadium.

The wickets are precisely placed in location and the process is then repeated until all the wickets have been moved.

After all the wickets have been moved the TransportAyr is reloaded onto the semitrailer and transported back to the StrathAyr farm in Seymour.

FROM PADDOCK TO PITCH / 59

Dr. Chandra with her husband Dr. Huff, son Aadi and Garry and Denise Lusk of Lilydale Instant Lawn

Howdy from Texas!

DR. AMBIKA CHANDRA, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Here in Texas, we’re getting ready for the autumn season and a much-needed break from the hot and dry summer. Summer 2023 was Texas’ second hottest (after 2011) on record! In Dallas, which is where Texas A&M’s Turfgrass Breeding Program is located, we experienced 47 summer days with over 100 ˚ F (38 ˚ C) temperature and only 1.25 inches (31.75 mm) of rainfall from June to August (driest on record). So, the timing of my trip to Australia to attend the Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) Global Conference in July/August this summer was perfect and a nice escape from the oppressive heat for a couple of weeks!

This summer was like two sides of the same coin; on one hand, these harsh conditions

60 / HOWDY FROM TEXAS!

certainly created a challenge for sod producers and homeowners here in the U.S. with trying to supplement the little rainfall we did receive with irrigation to meet the high evapotranspiration demand and keep the grass alive. On the other hand, it provided a great opportunity for my breeding program to screen breeding lines for heat and drought tolerance, which is a major breeding goal for us to help prepare the industry for water shortages resulting from these recurring droughts.

The two warm-season grasses that we currently focus our breeding efforts on are zoysiagrass and buffalograss (called St. Augustinegrass in the U.S.). Zoysiagrasses are very versatile in their application (home

lawns, golf course roughs, fairways, tees, and even putting greens), and their range of adaptation (42 °N to 42 °S latitude). Being the curator of one of the world’s largest and most diverse germplasm collections of zoysiagrasses (over 650 unique ecotypes), Texas A&M’s breeding program has utilised several different species of zoysiagrass over the past three decades and has developed and commercialised cultivars like “Palisades” (medium-coarse leaf textured for lawns and roughs), “Cavalier” (fine textured for fairways and tees), “Innovation”TM (cold tolerant with intermediate leaf texture for lawns and fairways), and “Diamond” and “Lazer”TM (very fine textured for putting greens). The program continues to make advancements in improving the rate of

Dr. Chandra with Simon Adermann of LSA and Terry and Joe Daley of Daleys Turf

establishment, drought, shade, and disease tolerance with the newer breeding lines in the pipeline.

Our buffalograss germplasm collection, on the other hand, is not as large and diverse and the genetic variation is partitioned between ploidy levels (number of sets of chromosomes) with sterility barriers which makes it a bit more challenging to introgress desirable traits into hybrids. Using embryo rescue technology, we have developed several unique hybrids with drought and disease tolerance from plants belonging to higher ploidy level (called polyploids) and shade, cold tolerance and turfgrass quality characteristics from plants belonging to lower ploidy level (called diploids) to

try to bring the best of both together.

TamStarTM (DALSA 0605 currently under evaluation in Australia) and CobaltTM came from this effort. I’m excited that several elite hybrids, including newer and nextgeneration material, selected after extensive testing here in the U.S. are currently being evaluated in Australia in partnership with LSA and The Turfgrass Group. From what I learned visiting sod (turf) farms, parks and members of LSA during my trip to Australia is that the environmental conditions and management practices in Australia are somewhat different than here in the U.S. For example, most lawns do not have irrigation systems in Australia so the grasses must survive and sustain growth with rainfall only; grasses do not stay dormant as long

in Australia because the temperatures may get low in wintertime but they don’t stay low for very long especially below freezing temperatures. Disease pressure can be severe and constant in Australia just like here in the U.S., especially in coastal regions. For me the most striking contrasting difference is that folks like their lawns mowed at a low height of cut (15 to 25 mm) in Australia even the buffalograsses like Sir Walter DNA certified as compared to 60 to 95 mm height of cut for buffalograsses here in the U.S. This makes it even more important that elite lines brought from the U.S. are tested in Australia with exposure to local stresses and cultural management practices. Based on what I saw in Berry, NSW, some lines had succumbed to the disease pressure and

HOWDY FROM TEXAS! / 61

Dr. Chandra and Michael Sutton of AusGAP

Dr. Chandra with Simon Adermann of LSA and Trent Hobson of Twin View Turf

were not tolerant of the low mowing heights but then there are lines like DALSA 1908, 1910, 1912, 1405, 0605 with promising performance under the same conditions.

Testing of these promising lines in larger plots and diverse locations in Australia will allow us to identify the one with not only good tolerance to environmental stresses but also with good harvestability and broader regional adaption. I’m excited to see how these evaluations proceed as we identify the best genetics behind the commercial release of Stampede buffalograss in Australia.

In closing, I just want to say that I really enjoyed my time in Australia. The LSA conference and tradeshow was at a spectacular venue on the Gold Coast, and enthusiasm and energy among the

62 / HOW DY F RO M TE X AS !

attendees was top class. I particularly enjoyed meeting the attendees of the conference; it was a very engaging experience for me. I was able to meet Brent Redman, the creator of Sir Walter DNA Certified, the grass that started it all! I really appreciate Simon Adermann and his team for taking care of every fine detail of my travel itinerary with lots of opportunities to visit and interact with AusGAP and LSA members including Coolabah Turf, Daleys Turf and Lilydale Instant Lawn but also parklands and stadiums in Brisbane with Trent Hobson of Twin View Turf. The itinerary was such that I was also able to experience and enjoy Australia’s gorgeous scenery and beaches, beautiful weather, and unique wildlife. Sporting events like an AFL match at the MCG and an NRL match in the Gold Coast, were a real treat for my husband and

Dr. Chandra and Gavin Rogers of LSA

son. Australia truly is a magnificent part of the world. There are so many similarities between Australia and the U.S. like language, food, people, that at times I had to remind myself that “hey I’m in Australia”.

But then there are many differences like star constellation, the Southern Cross, and the moon being upside down, Aussie accents and funny sayings (fair dinkum) and animals like koalas and kangaroos. When I would tell people that I was travelling to Australia for a couple of weeks almost everyone would say “oh, that’s on my bucket list”! And now I see why. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience Australia with my husband and my son. I look forward to continuing working with you in our quest to find the best buffalograss for Australia, and I wish you all a happy Summer!

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Untreated

Primo Maxx II 0.4L/ha

Plant Growth Regulators THE TURF INDUSTRY’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?

Around 30 years ago I was a junior playing golf at Cairns GC. Along the left side of the 16th hole in the rough was a roped-off area with a couple of signs that mentioned “Primo” which was sprayed in strips between untreated areas. The difference was amazing and as an apprentice greenkeeper I couldn’t believe you could apply a product to rapidly growing turf and it slows the growth – in FNQ of all places. Usually, if you stand in one spot long enough up there the turf tries to mate with your shoelaces given its growth habit.

Primo®250EC was eventually registered in 1995, followed by Primo® Maxx in 2002 and now by the next generation Primo Maxx® II in 2022. When we consider almost 30 years

64 / PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS

of use in turf situations, and the learnings we are still making today, has the introduction of PGR’s such as Primo Maxx® II been the turf industry’s greatest achievement?

conversion of this pathway, when GA20 converts to the plant available form GA1. By inhibiting this conversion at the final step, vertical growth is minimised.

If I think back to the plots at Cairns GC, it was the reduction in vertical growth that really stood out initially. And that’s the first impression that turf managers have when using a PGR like Primo Maxx® II. Inside the plant, a biosynthesis pathway is converting photosynthate (energy produced in part by photosynthesis) into the growth hormone gibberellic acid (GA) – required by plant cells to elongate. When a plant cell elongates, the leaf grows longer. Primo Maxx® II is targeting the final stage of

But what happens when vertical growth is minimised? Does everything just stop? As time went on, the more we learned about the associated benefits of PGR applications.

One learning was a reduction in internode length, a tightening of the sward and an improvement in colour.

Imagine a football field that has solar panels placed across the surface and in between each panel is a space to move between each row. The total energy output of the panels would be consistent day to day in full sun

Untreated

but would vary in shade. This is consistent with a turf surface without any PGR applied to it. Now imagine that same field where the space between each panel is removed and the panels are side by side. More panels could fit and as a result, more energy is produced. This is consistent with a turf surface with PGR applied to it. The tightening of internode length means more leaf blades per given area. More leaf blades in a given area means more chlorophyll and an associated improvement in colour. More leaf blades and more chlorophyll means more energy is harnessed through photosynthesis.

As vertical growth is minimised, the energy produced is transferred to other parts of

Primo Maxx II 0.4L/ha

the plant. When excess energy is produced by the plant it stores it in the roots and as a result, root mass is increased. This is one of the major growth responses of turf in full sun compared to shade. In shaded environments, turf stands usually can’t produce the required energy as photosynthesis is reduced. As such, the plant draws on stored energy in the roots and the result is a shortening and thinning of the roots in shaded locations. Shaded locations are where light rates of PGR’s are effective. The increase in chlorophyll content means the plant is able to harness more available light, convert to sugars and help drive enzyme processes.

As root growth and mass increases when PGR’s are applied, nutrient uptake is enhanced – further supporting overall plant health. The roots are able to access improved levels of moisture within the profile and when coupled with less transpiration due to less vertical growth, a reduction in water requirement through irrigation is realized. It was one of the main plant performance outcomes I noticed as a Superintendent by being able to move from around three times per week irrigating fairways to two times or less in summer.

When you consider not just the less water applied, but also less power to run pumps, less strain on the irrigation system – there is a case for considerable savings in water alone particularly as we enter the next El Nino phase.

PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS / 65

More research work has been undertaken as to how to time applications of PGR’s to continue and enhance the plant health benefits through repeat applications. This is known as Growing Degree Days (GDD) with GDD a measure of heat accumulation.

Research has shown the optimal value for warm-season turf types treated with Primo Maxx® II to be around 200GDD. Calculators, such as the free version on the www.syngentaturf.com.au website, monitor your minimum and maximum temperatures and then apply a base temperature value to the average – either 10C for warm season grass or 0C for cool season grass, as the temperature above these values initiates growth in each respective group.

move beyond the suppression phase and the PGR wears off, then the plant enters the rebound phase where the flush of energy being transferred to other parts of the plant like the roots, is directed back into leaf cell elongation. The result is a significant amount of top growth and an increase in mowing activity again. This can lead to scalping and incursion of weeds and pathogens in these areas as the turf is weakened or if subjected to a sports field situation, a loss of surface durability and performance.

By working within a 200GDD value, the plant stays with the suppression phase enabling it to enjoy the health benefits and for you to enjoy less cutting. If however you

• Mow less: meaning less labour; less fuel; less R&M

The more we have learnt about PGR’s the more benefits are realized and we will continue to learn more as time goes on.

So, are PGR’s such as Primo Maxx® II the turf industry’s greatest achievement? For adaptability and benefits across a wide range of turf types in a wide range of growing conditions under a wide range of end usage – I firmly believe they are.

• Water less: meaning less labour if manual; less power to run pumps; less R&M on

For more information on Primo®250EC and Primo Maxx® II visit www.syngentaturf.com.au.

66 / PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS

Now is the time to apply to your turf to realise the health benefits and cost savings that are real. From a PGR programme using Primo Maxx® II, you will:

the system; and less water if you are paying per unit • Have a healthier plant: with enhanced uptake of nutrients; higher relative water content of the leaf improving heat stress management; and higher chlorophyll content for improved health in low light situations • Have less overall stress

Scan for more:

Turf Weight Examined WITH STRATHAYR

The Team at StrathAyr explains the importance of understanding turf weight as part of agreements with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and Chain of Responsibility (COR) Law How Heavy is a Slab or Roll of Turf?

It’s a common question, and one that seems quite simple to answer on its surface. Ask anyone in the industry however, and you’ll find out it’s our equivalent of “how long is a piece of string?”. In other words, it depends.

68 / TURF WEIGHT EXAMINED

A single, half-metre slab of turf can weigh anywhere between 7kg and 20kg, based on three main factors; turf variety, soil profile, and – most importantly – moisture content.

If you are harvesting one square metre rolls, this weight would be double.

Depending on the weather conditions at harvest, turf can be carrying significantly more or less weight in absorbed moisture. With weights this variable, it becomes a significant logistical challenge to deliver turf. Full pallets can weigh between 700kg and 2000kg,

greatly affecting the amount that can be safely loaded and transported on a truck.

As part of our daily routine, the StrathAyr team calculate turf weights, create comprehensive load plans, and optimise routes for each truck in our large fleet. We take great care to ensure your turf gets to you quick, easy, and safe.

In recent years, we have invested heavily into an Integrated Logistics Platform that allows us to control the load and weight limits of our turf. Following an isolated incident, StrathAyr entered into an Enforceable Undertaking

Tyler Peacock of StrathAyr

Agreement with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to enhance our transport operations and practices.

Each truck in our fleet is fitted with electronic scales, placed over each axle. These scales feed data through to an iPad in the truck’s cabin, which provides information to a dedicated Systems Logistics Manager. In addition, we upgraded our Order Platform to factor in moisture content, based on turf variety, climatic seasonality and harvest variables. What had been a shock to our team has resulted in a net positive, with

StrathAyr now achieving Mass Management Accreditation, recognising our commitment to safety and legal responsibilities, as well as our operational and training excellence.

potential risks. This accounts for all turf movements, including pick-ups with a trailer, truck, utility vehicle, or any other mode of transportation, safely and legally.

The Chain of Responsibility law ensures that everyone who works with heavy vehicles – from the business employing a driver to the personnel at the delivery location – is accountable for safety. Therefore, we all have a place in the Chain of Responsibility to ensure natural turf can be transported and delivered safely with a strong monitoring system and effective management of

StrathAyr will always be committed to the safe delivery of our product. Our new and improved systems allow us to do exactly that while continuing to optimise our entire distribution network into the future.

For more information relating to your obligations when it comes to the transportation of turf please visit www.nhvr.gov.au.

TURF WEIGHT EXAMINED / 69

The M100-AV Team

FireFly Automatix’ Path of Innovation to the M100-AV ALL-ELECTRIC AUTONOMOUS MOWER

How do you get from automating window blinds to designing robotic lawnmowers?

Programming turf harvesters might not be your first thought, but this was the progression for FireFly Automatix and its founder Steve Aposhian.

At about age nine, Steve was already trying to automate the mundane tasks in his life.

One day, he invited his mother to come see something in his bedroom. At his encouragement, and despite noticing the plastic now covering the carpet, she pushed a doorbell newly affixed to his door frame.

She was surprised to be met with a spray of water, which Steve excitedly explained was a windshield washer hose he had rigged up to the doorbell. Then he invited her inside to

see how he could turn on his light from his bed with a string. Dripping wet, but being the good sport that she was, she came in to see the light switch control. She also saw how he could open and close his window blinds with a controller for an electric toy car, the car’s axle connected to the blind’s wand. His mother’s response? “Steven! How wonderful! You have some of Grandpa’s inventive genius!” This was the beginning of a lifelong pursuit to maximise productivity while minimising labour.

Of course, the need for labour savings reaches beyond that of an innovative child.

The number of temporary farm worker positions in the U.S. increased more than seven-fold over the past 17 years, evidence of

70 / FIREFLY AUTOMATIX’ PATH OF INNOVATION TO THE M100-AV

a shortage of agricultural labour. In Australia, an aging—and therefore retiring—population has given rise to critical labour shortages in agriculture, leaving farmers subject to the political winds of solutions such as the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and the new Agricultural Visa program. A more sustainable solution to staff shortages, automation can stabilize a business while also streamlining its operations.

Agriculture has adapted and progressed technologically to survive throughout time.

The work once done by hand tools was later accomplished through literal horse power.

Further advances brought mechanisation to farming, and now robotics is transforming the industry once again.

Back to our window blind inventor. Steve’s father was a turfgrass farmer, a son of an auto mechanic, with a college degree in botany.

Steve grew up laying sod and plotting to get an education so he wouldn’t have to keep laying sod. He also spent countless hours tinkering with the harvesters on the family farm, trying to keep them running.

When he completed his own university education in Mechanical Engineering, Steve was hired by Honda Power Equipment R&D to design and test lawnmowers. He went on to become an expert in software development and controls design.

At this point, Steve’s brothers, Matt and Dan, were running Aposhian Turf Farm

and wanted his advice on their new automatically-stacking harvester. They were convinced that improvements could be made to make it last longer. Steve invited Will Decker and Eric Aston, two of the smartest engineers—and farm boys—he knew, to collaborate.

At the beginning of 2010, they decided to found a business to sell their improved designs, which were proving to be very successful. FireFly Equipment, known as FireFly Automatix now, started business in the small family farm shop. Their first product was an upgraded depth control system using high performance polymer bearings to decrease maintenance and increase durability. It was received enthusiastically.

After more design improvements succeeded, Steve and his engineering partners decided to take a leap of faith and give FireFly their full-time efforts to develop a completely new harvester. In fact, Dr. Samuel Drake, their professor and mentor from the University of Utah, believed in this endeavor so much, he joined his former students in their humble little shop. With experience like working on the lunar module simulator and running the Advanced Manufacturing Lab at “The U” for 22 years, Sam was invaluable. The four engineers not only designed the reimagined harvester, but at first built most of it too.

Debuting over a decade ago, the FireFly ProSlab harvesters were groundbreaking,

FIREFLY AUTOMATIX’ PATH OF INNOVATION TO THE M100-AV / 71

A FireFly Automatix ProSlab 160

not just in turf production, but across all of agriculture and heavy equipment.

Steve and his team integrated the latest factory technologies, including electric servo motors, with mobile equipment to create a hybrid diesel-electric machine that propelled turf harvesting to a whole new level of automation. While the general appearance may look similar to other turf harvesters, the technology is much more sophisticated, enabling automation in conditions no other harvester had achieved and yielding better reliability, fuel economy, and durability.

The world took notice, and in 2015, the FireFly team found themselves on the National Instruments keynote stage with the likes of Samsung, Texas Instruments, and Jaguar. The tech world exploded with news about a little company called FireFly. FireFly was on the cover of OEM OffHighway magazine. Farm Journal

called FireFly a leader “at the vanguard of agricultural IoT [Internet of Things] application.” Nick Butler, of National Instruments, was quoted as saying: “This is one of the first, if not the first, agricultural IoT application. There’s nothing out there with this level of autonomy.”

Automation World described the ProSlab’s “tight synchronisation” of its “sophisticated control system.”

And Control Design wrote: “Bringing a high-end control system, programming and mechanical design to FireFly’s automated turf harvesting machine proves technology and automation work well in agriculture applications.”

The harvesters’ automation being described by these publications was really a level of autonomy. Autonomy can be described in a continuum of human assistance (see Levels

72 / FIREFLY AUTOMATIX’ PATH OF INNOVATION TO THE M100-AV

of Automation infographic). FireFly’s turf harvesters automate several tasks, such as steering, rolling, stacking, and dropping pallets on-the-fly, landing them at Level 2 of autonomy, perhaps leaning into Level 3.

Recognising the potential for more autonomy, that same year (2015) FireFly engineers began development of a driverless mower. At the time, autonomy technology was expensive. After doing a cost analysis, the team decided a smaller mower would be cost-prohibitive and started moving forward with the design of the M220 for turf farms, which cuts a 22-foot (670-cm) wide swath. They applied their achievements in electric hybrid technology to build a manned version, while they continued to test and develop the mower’s autonomy.

In April of this year, the company released its autonomous version of the M220 (called the M220-AV to signify that it’s an Autonomous

Eric Aston pulling a stacker carriage part off the company’s Plasma Cutter

Engineers Eric Aston, Steve Aposhian, Dr. Drake and Will Decker at TPI Summer 2011

Vehicle). With its “teach-and-repeat” autonomy, the mower leapfrogged FireFly forward to Level 4 autonomy.

Meanwhile, as autonomy technology developed and expanded across industries and applications, the cost of components dropped significantly. The numbers began to make sense for a smaller autonomous mower.

FireFly conducted a market study to evaluate the viability of a 100-inch (254 cm) mower, surveying turf farms, sports fields, and golf courses. They found compelling potential.

Another decision would significantly alter the machine’s design. Concerned with fuel costs and carbon footprints, the organisations surveyed were highly interested in an autonomous mower that is fully electric.

There were more arguments for going all electric. The team at FireFly recognized that traditional combustion machines present challenges to achieve full autonomy in

mowing. With their engine radiators and hydraulic heat exchangers that can get clogged with grass clippings, not to mention oil that can leak, traditional machines are harder to leave fully unsupervised.

On the other hand, a fully electric mower is mechanically simpler and well suited to unsupervised operation. It is also easier to monitor the health of all the systems of electric machines. But FireFly has never needed convincing of the benefits of electric. They have proven the value of electric mechanisms for over a decade. They have shown with their harvesters that electric is faster, more reliable and energy efficient, and creates a higher quality product.

With years of expertise in electric systems, FireFly was uniquely prepared to design and build an all-electric autonomous mower. After two years in development, they released the new M100-AV this July. This 100-inch (254 cm) lightweight mower is capable of operating

without human input or supervision, attaining the highest level of autonomy.

FireFly’s development of their turf harvesters and manned M220 was in fact the perfect pathway of innovation to a robotic mower that is poised to revolutionise mowing, not only for turfgrass producers, but also for sports fields, golf courses, and municipalities.

By eliminating the need for an operator, the M100-AV is projected to alleviate labour pressures and reduce mowing labour costs by 90% and cut overall mowing costs roughly in half. It promises to maximise efficiency, durability, and performance like no other mower in the world.

And the little boy that dreamed up window blind inventions? Steve said: “Our purpose has always been to improve people’s lives.

The M100-AV is the culmination of all our team’s experience in one high performance machine that will save customers a huge amount of operational costs.”

FIREFLY AUTOMATIX’ PATH OF INNOVATION TO THE M100-AV / 73

AusGAP: A Year in Review THE AUSTRALIAN GENETIC ASSURANCE PROGRAM

AusGAP is Australia’s leading turfgrass certification program. The program oversees the production of certified turf by conducting biannual inspection of certified paddocks whilst also ensuring business practices are up to AusGAP’s stringent set of standards. Over the last 12 months AusGAP has been busy conducting biannual inspections, attending and hosting industry events, conducting international inspections, and more.

First Quarter During the first three months of the year AusGAP commenced their first biannual inspection for the year along the eastern states of Australia. During this time AusGAP

74 / AUSGAP: A YEAR IN REVIEW

visited its clients in New South Wales’s Sydney, Hunter, and northern regions.

Finishing the quarter inspecting clients in southeast Queensland, and a round trip of Victoria visiting all clients.

Second Quarter During the second quarter of the year AusGAP was engaged by ITGAP - the International Turfgrass Genetic Assurance Program – to act as consultants and undertake turf certification inspections on their behalf at turf farms in China, Thailand, and Vietnam. During this time AusGAP gained a wealth of knowledge and experiences inspecting many

ITGAP protected turfgrasses, upholding international standards and supporting the growth of the turfgrass industry worldwide.

During our time in China our AusGAP inspector audited 30,000m2 of TifTuf, 40,000m2 of Zeon, and 43,000m2 of Tahoma 31. While in Thailand AusGAP inspected 2,500m2 of TifEagle Bermuda grass in one field, seven fields of Zeon Zoysia totalling 117,100m2 and one field of 21,000m2 that contains Stadium Zoysia.

And finally in Vietnam AusGAP inspected 107,000m2 of Zeon Zoysia in three fields, 9,300m2 of Primo Zoysia in three fields, a 3,000m2 field of Trinity Zoysia, 2,200m2 field

of TifEagle Bermuda grass and finished with a 19,000m2 of TifTuf Bermuda grass field.

Third Quarter After conducting AusGAP Certified Representative webinars for the last few years with great success it was fantastic to be able to hold AusGAP’s first National Meeting in June. AusGAP held its first National ACR Meeting with speakers Dr Ambika Chandra a turf breeder from Texas A&M who shared valuable insight into her work as a turf breeder and how turf certification plays a role in her work as a turfgrass researcher and breeder. As well as Ben Gibson from The Toolbox Team who discussed the role

of safety culture in a workplace and his industry insights. It was a great success with everyone gaining important information valuable to their role as AusGAP Certified Representative for their business.

• The University of NSW professors Nano Bubble Technology trial work,

In August AusGAP conducted visits to Tyagarah Turf who had begun their first planting on farm, as well as Yarramalong Turf, Agland Turf, and Earl’s Turf in NSW.

• Accor Stadium/CommBank Stadium Curator Graeme Logan on the trials and tribulations of hosting a FIFA Women World Cup tournament,

AusGAP was also able to attend the NSW Turf Industry Seminar and Field Day. The day hosted over 100 attendees and had multiple speakers: • AusGAP discussed the benefits of AusGAP certified Eureka PBR over other kikuyu varieties,

• Lynwood Golf Club General Manager Matt Bailey on the reinvention of the Golf Club following the floods,

• NSW Blues Coach Brad “Freddy” Fittler on his rugby league playing and coaching career, • And on farm machinery demonstrations by event sponsors.

To close out the quarter AusGAP conducted inspections throughout Victoria and

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throughout the Sydney region. Timing these inspection with the beginning of spring is essential to ensuring AusGAP certified turf stock remains genetically pure and true to type. During this time our clients are in the busiest part of the year working hard to ensure stock is clean for harvest and delivery.

Fourth Quarter For the final quarter of the year AusGAP travelled to almost every state in Australia.

Final Sydney inspections for the year were completed in October, as well as a trip out west to our Western Australian clients.

of maintaining genetic purity of certified turf varieties to NSW TAFE students in Moss Vale. We took this time to discuss the AusGAP program and how we work to stop substitution, maintain genetic purity of certified varieties, and how our standards are improving the production of turfgrass.

We also took this opportunity to teach about morphological traits of different turfgrass species and how to identify off-types and mutations. It was a great day for all involved and we look forward to teaching the next generation of turfgrass professionals about the benefits of AusGAP Certified turf.

Throughout October, AusGAP were fortunate enough to teach the importance

To close out a successful year AusGAP completed their final inspections in

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November travelling to Victoria, South Australia, and regional New South Wales.

This year has showcased exceptional turfgrass quality especially after the recent weather events most states in Australia experienced this year and last year. We would like to thank our clients for the hard work they have put in over the last 12 months, attending regular AusGAP training, submitting reports, accompanying biannual inspections, and much more work they have put in. We look forward to the next 12 months ahead, certifying more turf and teaching the industry about how essential AusGAP certified turf is to the future of the turfgrass industry.

Tired of Inconsistent Turf Quality?

Choose AusGAP Certified Turf.

Your turfgrass purity assurance.

Australia’s Leading Turf Accreditation Program

To find suppliers of AusGAP Certified Turf near you visit ausgap.com.au or call 1300 287 599

LESS WORK MORE PLAY

Proven drought tolerance, speedy recovery and toughness TifTuf is the smart grass

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