May 2008

Cronulla Golf Club was officially opened on 15th December, 1923 by Sir William Vicars.

Water Conservations design criteria had to encompass the ability to put at least 2 products into the ground to a depth of 100 mm and leave the playing surface in a usable state with minimum recovery time so fields were not out of action for any lengthy periods.

Wesley College are currently installing a combined bore water desalination and storm water harvesting and storage system at their Glen Waverly campus.

What effect does autumn fertilising have on winter colour and spring green up? Slow release versus a chemical fertiliser? Does Spring fertilising help? What about mowing height?

Australia’s largest women’s amateur teams golfing event, the Peugeot Women’s Classic 2008 was launched at the Melbourne International Motor Show, Melbourne Exhibition Centre on March 5th, 2008.

Paspalum is a group of rather recently introduced varieties of turfgrass suitable for golf turf use. Paspalum is the most salt-tolerant of the modern golf turfgrasses.

March

Set to be held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on May 20 – 22, the Irrigation Australia Exhibition 2008 is the largest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and is expected to attract up to 3,000 visitors over the three days, along with 500 Australian and overseas delegates expected to gather for the concurrent Irrigation Australia Conference.

Having been focused on the golf market for more than 50 years, Turfco Manufacturing Co., a family-run company, have made it their priority and are well-known within the industry for producing quality turf maintenance equipment. Furthermore, adhering to their positive reputation in 1961, Turfco, in conjunction with golf course superintendents, introduced the first mechanized topdresser. Since then, Turfco says they have been ‘driven by a passion for helping golf course professionals improve the health and playability of their turf.’

The City of Glen Eira, situated in the inner South East of Melbourne, has installed a network of 32 x Aquaflex soil moisture sensors plus 8 x meteorological stations across the Municipality. The sensors have been integrated into the existing radio based Motorola Irrigation Control system. All data, real time and historical, is readily accessed at the base control computer.

It is usually a crisis that creates the stimulus to re-evaluate practices, perhaps our thoughts, and the opportunity to consider changing the way we do things. Ongoing drought conditions, increased scrutiny of water use and, demand for greater water use efficiency are all good stimuli for considering change in irrigation methods, and equipment.

Davey Water Products has materially expanded its in-house project skills for major commercial pumping installations, principally for those of more than three individual pumps, associated control systems and pipe flow manifolds.

By Steve Capeness, Regional Industry Development Officer, QTPA

January

Orica Watercare’s Remediation business was awarded the prestigious Technology and Innovation Award for the Landguard™ technology at the annual Agribusiness Awards for Excellence, held on October 31 in Melbourne.

JH Williams & Sons is an Australian family owned and managed company. Managing director Bruce Williams is the grandson of James Henry Williams who founded the company when he acquired an agricultural supply business in Murwillumbah, New South Wales on 1 April 1935.

Water conservation has become a priority in Victoria, as it is clear water restrictions are her to stay! Subsequently, this has led to an increase in demand for more efficient ‘Sub-surface Drip Irrigation’ systems.

Defined as using resources to purchase an item, then paying it back in a set period of time, on a weekly or monthly basis, financing is a good option when purchasing items for your small business.

Good agronomic practices necessitate aerification of the soil profile to maintain a high level of macro-pores in the root zone. A well-aerated soil is cooler in the summer since air is a better insulator to heat than water. In contrast however, water is an excellent conductor of heat.

Established in 1931 Located in the northern suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand, North Shore Golf Club features a picturesque course with 27 tree-lined holes. Layne Young has been a Superintendent at North Shore since 1993 and says having 27 holes is one of the best parts of the club.

November

Due to the seemingly endless drought Australia is suffering under, Victorian turf managers have started to examine other options, such as installing warm season grasses where cool season used to dominate. However, this process can be quite costly and initially use quite a bit of water. Robert Sundblom of the City of Monash speaks to Golf and Sports Turf Magazine about his experience in making warm season grasses work in cooler climates….

Super Evaporation Control (SEC) uses the latest in environmental polymer technology. SEC forms an invisible membrane over the entire plant/tree or grassed area which causes a deceleration in the effect of the exterior environment. SEC reduced evaporations by a predetermined percentage of 65%. This process has no effect on the normal breathing of the plant, nor any effect on the photosynthesis of the plant. The SEC transparent film is well ventilated and protects the plant or grassed area during extreme cold or intense heat.

A new peak body for the irrigation industry in Australia has been formed Irrigation Australia Limited (IAL).

With over 14 years of experience Course Manager Gary Bass had dealt with everything from course preparation for tournament play to working with a limited budget.

The scene is being set for a very busy and productive IRRIGATION AUSTRALIA 2008 exhibition as the industry gears up for the outcomes of the National Water Initiative.

In a previous article for Golf and Sports Turf Magazine, I wrote about the value of using special events as a core part of organizational marketing efforts. If properly targeted and planned, events can reap many rewards in enhanced customer relationships, increased visibility, and sales.

September

Water usage, especially on sportsfields and irrigated open spaces is under increasing scrutiny. The urban irrigation industry is a large user of water and must respond to public perceptions of wastage.

Unfortunately, SE QLD is not looking any closer to finding relief from these harsh drought conditions, and many parts of the state are truly suffering. The Queensland Turf Producers Association are still running their two IDO's to help growers improve their on farm irrigation efficiency. Both Dan and Steve have been doing excellent work and Steve has been covering some distance as he calls on growers further north in the state.

By Dr Richard Gibbs,Vice President, International Turfgrass Society The Board of Directors of the International Turfgrass Society (ITS) recently convened in Chile for their inter-conference business meeting. In July 2009, Chile is slated to be the venue of the 11th International Turfgrass Research Conference (ITRC). It will be the first time that the conference has been held in Latin America. Held once every four years, the ITRC is the premier international meeting for turfgrass scientists, advisors and researchers to share and discuss the latest developments and technology in turfgrass management.

A whole range of incentives are available to assist small businesses but owners are often unaware of what is out there…

As turf managers, our responsibility is to develop practices unique to each location to improve plant health. Turfgrass diseases are difficult to understand as the pathogens exist in a dormant state and do not attack active and healthy plants. Diseases occur when conditions are favourable for pathogen populations to increase around the weakness of the plant. The focus of this article is on Best Management Practice which can be adopted for improving turfgrass health, as the most important aspect of disease management is to understand where we may intervene.

Wellington City treated 600 delegates attending the 2007 NZ Turf Conference and Trade Show to a great week of fine weather and warm hospitality. Held at The Westpac Stadium (aka the cake tin) in Wellington, the choice of venue was first rate. There was a large concourse area, transformed by the colourful and busy Trade Show, and plenty of space in the various corporate lounges for presentations, workshops, and a conference dinner with industry awards. A large patch of high quality turf was also available right on the doorstep!

July

When managing people, keeping the approach simple pays dividends. Wal Beattie explains…

Bowling Green construction generally uses a modified USGA profile with a clay base shaped to a rooftop or multi-rooftop design, then sand over a gravel layer to create a perched water table. The technique works quite well, but the challenges of construction costs, competition with synthetics and the lack of water means that we need to improve construction technique.

In their quest for perfect playing services the Melbourne Cricket Club has purchased a new Lawless Turf Grader and the latest in laser levelling technology from Lawless Lasers, Shepparton Vic.

Torquay is home to some of Australia's greatest surf beaches and - according to golf course designer and golfing legend Stuart Appleby - it is also home to one of the most challenging golf courses on the Surf Coast.

Sustainability is an approach to planning a lifestyle development taking into consideration environmental, social and economic factors. Golf courses are now seen as the catalyst for rehabilitating degraded land and creating recycled water systems. Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett are sole partners in a business entity that specialises in these sorts of projects.

This bio-degradable sod and turf staple is a brand new easy to use system which is both labour saving and environmentally friendly. With Turf Tacs you can instantly lay down turfgrass divots, erosion control netting, grass and flower mats effortlessly and economically.

May

The Golf Industry Show is an innovative show designed for owners/operators of golf facilities, and professional members of the golf course and club management industries. Featuring its signature interactive solution centers, as well as the largest exhibits floor in the industry, the event combines education, networking and solutions for golf course superintendents, owners/operators, general managers, chief operating officers, architects and builders.

It doesn't matter if you are a superintendent, curator, landscaper, or trying to sell turf in the domestic market, the current lack of rainfall over most of the continent is making it hard to achieve the results we need – lush green grass.

The internet and information technology is playing an increasingly important role in the management and marketing of the turf industry. Turf management today involves many different people working in different positions including managers & employees in multiple offices, ground crews, and a variety of vendors.

With greater demands and the pressure of the constant pursuit of excellence in our industry, Turf Mangers looking to save time and money will find the need to incorporate tools such as Information Technology (I.T.) into their daily work.

With water quickly becoming the new liquid gold, it makes economic sense to recycle as much of it as possible, not to mention the added benefits in minimising the damage to the environment. In mid 2003, Barwon Water advertised interest in exploring the options with recycled water and a business case was eventually developed clarifying the economic feasibility of supplying recycled water to the Bannockburn Golf Club.

Irrigators will soon have access to an Automatic Weather Station Monitoring Network that will potentially save large quantities of River Murray water by increasing the efficiency of their water use and aid improved irrigation scheduling.

Jacks Point is one of the newest golf course developments in New Zealand. It has been designed and planned by Darby Partners Ltd, the same company responsible for the Clearwater Resort in Christchurch (home of the PGA Championship) and the Michael Hills Golf Course in Arrowtown. The par 72, 6367 m course is located 15 minutes' drive from Queenstown in 1200 hectares of unique private residential estate with spectacular views of the Remarkables mountain range and Lake Wakatipu.

March/April

With over 500 delegates and 15 countries represented-from America to South Africa and everywhere in-between - the TPI's Midwinter Conference 2007 was fantastic way to learn about the turf industry and turf issues on a global scale.

The potential for large scale job losses is very real, the only unknown is how many jobs will be lost and that question is linked directly to how long these restrictions are enforced for. The losses to date are after only one month, what will happen if this situation remains for six months?

Wile at the Turf Producers International Conference held on the Gold Coast this February, I had the opportunity to talk to many American turf farmers, only to discover that they experience the same problems with regards to the turf industry as us. In fact, in most cases the US experiences them before we do.

Adopting a management strategy that reduces the stress imposed on turf will go a long way towards improving its ability to tolerate heat. The key is to encourage a deep rooting, healthy turf. However, apart from traditional actions such as fertilising with organic fertilisers prior to the onset of summer, increasing the height of cut to reduce stress and encouraging deeper rooting, what other options are available?

Cricket season is upon us. Now that the Ashes have finished, what's next to look forward to? Well the Cricket World Cup in Barbados of course! With a newly redesigned ground, there is nowhere more exciting to be right now than Barbados. Golf and Sports Turf has nabbed an exclusive interview with the owner of Gregori International – the designers of the grounds - to find out what went into making such a superb sports venue.

It's the race that stops a nation. The Melbourne Cup is one of the most important three minutes in Australia every year. With more than one million people tuned to their TV sets, the prospect of the race not running is unimaginable. It's therefore lucky the upgrade of the Course Proper at Flemington, which includes design and project management, is in safe hands with Cardno Young!

January 2007

Happy New Year! New years and resolutions seem to go hand in hand don't they? The unfortunate thing about resolutions is that they fade away almost as quickly as the excitement of a new year. The pressure of having to change a habit overnight is too much for many to handle and most people, including myself, end up letting their resolutions fall by the wayside to be forgotten until another new year.

A fully planned community, with world class education and recreation facilities, natural bushland, manicured parklands and sparkling lakes, Caroline Springs, located 22kms west of Melbourne, is the largest urban land development in Victoria.

The Toro Groundmaster® range of mowers is considered by many municipal and contractor customers as without peer. That high opinion will be enhanced by the availability of new state of the art air conditioned cabins, suited for the 6 foot, 11 foot and 16 foot Toro out front rotary mowers. Jim Brown, Regional Sales Manager for Toro's ‘Commercial Grounds' division commented, “I think we can safely say that with these innovations, we are well ahead of the pack.”

“The end user should always be looking for quality over price when purchasing replacement spare parts,” says Mark Stephens, formerly national service manager at Jacobsen Australia.

“At John Deere we recognise that when a customer invests in John Deere equipment, they not only invest in a quality, technologically advanced machine, they also invest in a support system that will see them through for the life of the machine. The Australian & New Zealand Distribution Centre (ANZDC) is the heart of that support system. And guess what? It's just doubled in size!” said Tony Paltridge, Parts and Distribution Manager, John Deere Limited.

Water is a precious resource which needs to be conserved. It's a fact we have always known, but have not been forced to put in practice until just recently. The good news however, is that Australians appear to be doing a excellent job at putting these new practices into action. According to information recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, water consumption in Australia decreased by nearly 3,000 Gigalitres (GL) or 14%, in 2000-01 and 2004-05.

November 2006

Problem based learning is an innovative teaching approach where students are educated through experience and not lectures or textbooks. How can this program work for you? John Mason, Principal ACS Distance Education reports….

By David Aldous

The World Golf Championships - Mission Hills World Cup, will be held November 19-25, 2007, at the Olazabal Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in China, located just 30 minutes from the Hong Kong border, and will mark the first time the World Golf Championships have visited China.

This year's Open celebrates Australian golf and the unprecedented success of Australian golfers on the world stage. With 13 Aussies in the top 100, a record number of wins by Australians on the PGA Tour, Adam Scott's number 4 ranking in the world (a feat not achieved since the legendary Shark ruled golf) and Ogilvy winning the coveted US Open, the greens at Royal Sydney are set to sizzle.

Promote your product to a large international turf audience. The Turf Producers Australia Field Day in conjunction with the TPI Convention in Qld, will be held at Jimboomba Turf Friday 9th February, 07.

STEPPING UP Managing the water supply at Waverley Golf Club is just part and parcel of Troy Cashman's new role as superintendent……

PEDOCARE® ULTIMER A NEW GENERATION OF SOIL CONDITIONER Pedocare® Ultimer is a patented formulation of linear polyacrilamide, offering the same effectiveness as Pedocare® coupled with increased ease of use and reduced application rate.

A HANDS-ON APPROACH TO TRAINING Providing young people with meaningful work place opportunities, AFL SportsReady has facilitated employment traineeships and training for over 4,000 school leavers in a wide range of sporting organizations.

September/October 2006

At some stage in their careers Turf Managers will be involved in some form of new construction or reconstruction of a current facility.

The 2006 Ryder Cup will be heading to Ireland this September with the eyes of the golfing world focusing on The K Club's Palmer Course – one of Europe's finest golf courses, equipped with Toro's irrigation systems and turf equipment technologies.

John Deere ProGator™ Utility Vehicles are heavy-duty and versatile, designed with a large cargo box that can be easily removed to install other attachments that make maintaining golf courses and other grounds easy and efficient.

Thomson Perrett & Lobb, the international golf course architecture practice founded by five times Open Champion Peter Thomson, with partners Ross Perrett and Tim Lobb, has won the contract...

The place to be seen at the Australian Turfgrass Exhibition this July was Toro's adopted pub – The Plough Inn at Southbank.

Peter Howat looks at ClearUp 700 Bio-Dri Herbicide which contains the active ingredient Glyphosate. Glyphosate accounts for nearly a quarter of all herbicide sales in the world…

Although only six years old, Advanced Seed has a long history in the turf industry in Australia. A recent exciting development – the addition of native grasses – is set to take the business even further…

July/August 2006

The golf scene in Japan has undergone considerable changes over the last ten years. Trevor Clarke reports from Windsor Park Golf and Country Club…

It might not have been top of mind for the billions of football fans watching the World Cup matches in Germany, but those who noticed would have agreed – the pitches came up a treat.

Soil conditioning product, TerraCottem®, is now accredited by the Smart Approved Watermark scheme.

Several weeks ago, four greens at the picturesque Bairnsdale Golf Club on the Gippsland Lakes at Paynesville (Vic) were sprayed with Glyphosphate, in an act of vandalism that will cost the club close to $65,000.

Toro has announced that it will now distribute products from the American company, Tycrop. Richard Walne, Managing Director of Toro, advised that the addition of ‘Tycrop' products would complement the Toro turf equipment range.

The James Bond production company chose New Holland, to supply a total of 11 machines, including two W190 wheel loaders (not offered in Australia), to support the making of the latest blockbuster, Casino Royale.

Golf is booming in China with an influx of investment to construct golf courses and residential developments. These lifestyle projects are marketed to Chinese nationals and foreigners taking up residence.

Thorsten Petri, the greenkeeper at the Veltins Arena (Auf Schalke) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, lets us in on a few secrets on caring for heavily used sportsgrounds...

The new Multi Tine (MT) series AERA-vator is a complete management tool for all sports surfaces and can be used in many applications…

AHI Jensen is a leader in the Australian landscape industry and is now expanding overseas. Mark Harding reports…

Grant Reuther travelled to Alice Springs on a working holiday in 1986. Twenty years later he's still there and Super of the Alice Springs Golf Club. Mark Harding reports…

May/June 2006

How do you drive a 125 hp, five tonne tractor across a lawn without doing any damage? And why would you need a tractor that big for lawn duties anyway?

Tony Cross from Caboolture Turf and Southern Pacific Turf recently participated in the 2006 Young Rural Leaders Course...

The AGCSA has announced a world-first initiative to have Australian golf clubs develop environmental management systems.

McMahons Construction has just commenced work on an 18-hole golf course in the goldfields near Kalgoorlie in WA.

Preparing playing fields for major competitions has been a lifelong challenge for Mick O'Shannessy.

A new $190 million soccer and rugby league stadium will be built in Melbourne's Olympic Park precinct by 2009.

Australia's $1.3 billion turf industry has voted for the introduction of a Research/Development and Marketing levy for their industry.

Melbourne and Chinese sister city Tianjin have reached agreement to contest an annual golf match following a proposal from Peter Thomson AO, a five-time British Open champion.

The Vortex Insect Trap is an apparatus that attracts and eradicates insect pests, and disrupts the breeding cycles of entire populations…

Global turf nutrition manufacturer, Floratine Products Group, has been involved in the Australian turf industry for only 18 months – but they are already making significant inroads...

Ben Marshall's environmental practices at Club Pelican near Caloundra (Qld) have earned him a swag of awards. Mark Harding reports…

March/April 2006

Centenary Park in Frankston (Vic) is set to make golf history with the first synthetic green in Australia to be part of an 18-hole layout.

David Dickson has exchanged his seat in the Clearmake headquarters in Noosaville, for an office in Brisbane.

Melbourne-based company, Pacific Coast Design, is kicking major goals overseas with projects in China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Club4Golf Pty Ltd is the appointed Australian agent for the Japan Golf Fair and was responsible for the development of the first Australian Pavilion at the 2006 Japan Golf Fair.

Within the USA there are four main racing events – the Preakness Stakes, The Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders Cup.

The Landscape Australia Expo and Conference, being held on July 26-28, 2006, at Sydney Olympic Park, is attracting a growing list of exhibitors.

Minister for Sport, Tom Barton, has announced that the Gold Coast Stadium is heading towards construction kick-off in mid-2006.

Brookwater, a joint venture between Medallist and Springfield Land Corporation, has been honoured by the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), winning the national award for Best Residential Subdivision.

The TERRA SPIKE® XF is bound to turn a few heads with its faster performance and exclusive damping systems – designed to prevent wear on tear on both man and machine…

For over 20 years, Turf & Irrigation (T&I) has been providing a comprehensive range of competitively priced, high quality turf and irrigation products throughout Australia…

St Michael's Golf Club, situated at Little Bay on the northern headland of Botany Bay, between Sydney Airport and Maroubra beach, has a fascinating history dating back to 1938. Pauline Hoogen reports…