The Lakes

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The Lakes: Laurence Gale travelled to Australia and persuaded an ex-pat greenkeeper to write about his experiences greenkeeping on the other side of the world.

A recent family trip to Sydney to see my daughter, afforded me the opportunity to visit some local sporting venues, I was particularly interested in visiting the Lakes GC, knowing that Simon Blagg, a British Greenkeeper, was working there.

After a few phone calls I managed to contact Simon who is now the Assistant Superintendent at the Lakes Golf club. We arranged a date for me to visit the course and duly met up some days later. Upon arrival at the club I was introduced to the Courses Superintendent and head mechanic, followed by a whistle stop tour of the course and facilities.

I was fascinated to find out more about the course and how Simon had adapted his skills to work in a quite challenging climate. I would like to thank him for his time and taking the time to put pen to paper to produce this fascinating in-depth article.

Growing Turf Down Under – Simon Blagg

From growing up in my home town of Madeley, Cheshire in the UK, to working at The Lakes Golf club in Sydney, Australia; the past fourteen years of my turf career have been an amazing experience to date.

I completed my turf qualifications at Reaseheath College and while there, I worked at Keele golf course which has now unfortunately closed down, before spending two great summers under John Turner at Leek Golf Club, who taught me a significant amount about sustainability in the turf industry. At the same time I was working as groundsman of Maer Cricket Club.

In 2008 I set my sights on the Ohio State Turfgrass internship program, where I worked at Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin, and then onto the Doral Golf Resort, in Florida.

Working on the Blue Monster course, I got to experience my first golf tournament when Doral hosted the annual World Golf Championship event.

After I returned to the UK I worked two seasons at Loch Lomond Golf Club. The club hosted the Scottish Open a week before The Open. In between the first and second season at Loch Lomond I secured a summer casual position for six months at New South Wales Golf club in Sydney. This was when I got my first taste of life in Australia. I met my now wife, within the first week of being in Australia.

New South Wales hosted the 2009 Australian Open. I had gained valuable experience from my from my time at New South that summer. I returned to Loch Lomond in 2010 to assist with the preparation for what would be the club’s final Scottish Open. I can’t thank Dave Cole, at Loch Lomond, enough for what he taught me during that time, including his attention to detail and how to keep incredibly high standards.

After the home summer of 2010, I was lucky enough to secure a sponsorship at Roseville Golf Club in Sydney. I worked my way up the rank and eventually became Mark O’Sullivan’s assistant in 2013. I remained at the club for another two years and after a total of five years, and an Australian citizenship achieved, I decided to apply for the Assistant Superintendent position at the Lakes Golf Club in Sydney. After a successful interview, I started at the Lakes in early January 2016.

The Lakes is on the southern side of the city, roughly around 15 minutes from Sydney’s central business district. The area is a popular golfing destination, with the Lakes backing on to both Eastlakes and Bonnie Doon Golf Club and The Australian within a 5km radius. The club is within the Botany Wetlands, a series of interconnected ponds forming an open space wetland corridor stretching to 226 hectares.

Over the years the course design has been altered, in particular in 1950s when the state government put plans together to build a six lane express-way right through the middle of the course.

The club then employed American Robert Von Hagge who agreed to redesign the course. Von Hagge’s redesign was constructed and completed by June 1970. During the 70s and 80s, the Lakes was renowned for its fast true greens. However, by 1994 the greens were beginning to show their age and the winter grass population was too much. The club then decided to resurface all of the greens with SR1020 Bent grass.

By 2006 the greens were again over populated with Poa Annua and did not meet specifications. The board approached Mike Clayton to conduct a course master plan.

The club decided to rebuild both the 1st and 18th greens first. After the members’ approval of the two new greens, Clayton was commissioned to rebuild the remaining 16 greens and two lady’s greens.

The redesign included rebuilding the whole golf course as well as upgrading the Irrigation system. The greens were seeded with A4 bent grass. Tees Santa Ana couch and the fairways that were altered were returfed with common Kikuyu. Roughs and dunes were over seeded with Fescue. The course was re-opened in July 2009. The current course measures 6286 metres.

In 2010 the club hosted The Australian Open, which was the first tournament since the 2002 ANZ Championship. The club was asked again to host the tournament for both the 2011 and 2012 Australian Opens. The 2011 tournament was a successful, hosting pros of the likes of Tiger Woods. It was seen as good preparation for the 2011 Presidents Cup. In November 2018 the club will host its seventh Australian Open.

Anthony Mills has been Superintendent since 2012 and Aaron Taylor and I have been Anthony’s assistants since January 2016. We currently operate with a full team of 19 that includes two casuals and mechanic. An additional four casuals will be added to the team to assist with preparation for the Australian Open.

I’m a strong believer in getting overseas talent to come over and work for six months. We try and take the casuals on from September through to the end of February. For those coming from the UK, this often works well with the end of the UK summer and then heading into our summer period. On a working holiday visa, it allows you to work with two employers for two six month blocks. It gives young greenkeepers a fantastic opportunity to come and work in Australia and learn about managing warm season grasses in different climates.

Projects leading into Australian Open 2018

In November this year the club will host its seventh Australian Open. Over the last 18 months we have been very busy with construction projects. These have included rebuilding tees and resurfacing cart paths and extending sandy waste areas. In April 2017, we commenced our biggest project of all; the upgrade of the practice precinct area. The old practice facilities were beginning to look a little fatigued. The greens had a large percentage of Poa Annua and did not compliment the greens out on the course with very little undulations. Safety was also a big factor in the redesign. We were seeing a small percentage of golf balls leave the driving range and land on the 10th and 11th holes. The upgrade of the practice facility involved the following:

– Rebuilding both practice putting and chipping greens.

– Rebuilding and lowering the height of the range tee by 500mm.

– Installing a Tee line driving range mat for use in winter.

– Installing target greens on the range fairway to replicate shots played out on course.

– Installing further mounding on both sides of the range to protect golfers on the 10th and 11th holes.

– Installing mounding around the teaching facility.

– Rebuilding a new chipping green with suitable practice bunkers.

– Rebuilding the 10th Championship men’s and lady’s tees.

– Rebuilding the 1st gold tee.

– Installing a new concrete pathway to both the 1st and 10th tee.

The new putting green was seeded back in May 2017 and was opened in late September. All of the major earth works and turfing was completed by November 2017. The new turf driving tee was recently re opened and we are hoping to have the chipping green re opened by the end of March.

With all major projects complete we are now concentrating on fine tuning the golf course heading into the winter months and November will be here in no time at all. Planning and preparation is essential when preparing for a tournament of this size.

Finally, I wanted to say how great it was to catch up with Laurence Gale back in December and I’d like to thank Turf Matters magazine for allowing me to contribute this article.

 

Outstanding opportunities for greenkeepers – down under

Simon is always on the lookout for keen, enthusiastic greenkeepers from the UK who are interested in travelling to Australia to work the summer season. For further information about working in Australia in 2019, please email Simon at Asstsuper@thelakesgolfclub.com.au

2018 World Cup in Russia

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2018 World Cup in Russia: Laurence Gale takes a look behind the scenes at the venue for the World Cup final to be held in Moscow in July.

With the FIFA World Cup less than two months away, many of the stadium venues will be focusing on ensuring their playing surfaces are fit for purpose and one venue in the spotlight will be the Luzhniki Stadium selected by the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup committee as the venue for the final, which will be held on 15 July 2018.

The original stadium was demolished in 2013 to give a way for the construction of a new stadium. The self-supported cover was retained. The facade wall was retained as well, due to its architectural value and later was reconnected to a new building. During the construction a brand new DessoGrass Master pitch was installed in 2015.

GrassMaster is an ideal hybrid grass system for top-level tournaments, multifunctional sports pitches, venues with a busy schedule and state-of-the-art training facilities. A total of 20 million in-house produced High Performance Fibres (HPF) deliver a reinforced natural grass playing surface that is proven to last for up to 15 years or more.

The job of looking after the pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium is down to Head Groundsman Vladislav Lysenko who has been employed at the club for 15 years, 12 in the role of Head Groundsman and, since 2014, in the role of consultant and a member of the RFPL commission for assessing the quality of football fields in Russia.

The number of ground staff employed at the stadium varies between four and nine depending on the fixtures and quite often the weather conditions. Seasonal renovations are usually carried out during the winter break of fixtures in December, the success of the renovation work will go a long way to retaining a healthy tight sward going into the new year for the resumption of the championship and European cup fixtures.

With over 30 games played at the stadium the use of their MDM Lighting rigs plays an important part in retaining grass cover particularly during the winter months.

Maintenance of the pitch is centred on keeping the sward heathy by mowing at a height of between 23-28mm, mowing two to three times a week depending on conditions using a fleet of Dennis G860’s mowers. An ongoing programme of aeration, fertilising ,overseeding along with a good post game repair strategy of divoting, brushing and cleaning up with rotary mowers helps keep the pitch in good health.

Feeding regimes are centred on providing a balance of liquid and granular feeding products such as COMPO, Florovit, ICL, YARA Mila.

Vladisav has a comprehensive range of equipment supplied by iGo, Dennis, Toro, A.Carraro, SISIS, Redexim and Caiman which he uses as part of his maintenance programme.

I am sure Vladislav Lysenko and his staff are going to be kept very busy in the coming weeks to ensure the Luzhniki Stadium pitch can cope with onslaught of this year’s FIFA World Cup matches and having the opportunity to produce the playing surface for this year’s World Cup Final being held at the Stadium.

 

The four year World Cup cycle has once again come full circle and we can look forward to drama, spectacular entertainment, controversy and debate which is guaranteed every time.

Such is the global nature of the World Cup, 2018 will be completely different from eight years ago when we were introduced to the Vuvuzelas, which characterised, some would say blighted, the South African World Cup, and the Sambas and Copacabana joie de vivre of Brazil’s World Cup four years ago.

This time around it is Russia with 12 stadiums spread over 1,800 miles in a country which is truly massive, offering a full range of climates, local characteristics and weather. The stadiums themselves are superb. Venue for the final itself is in Moscow and has been totally revamped with work only being completed this year. Now known as the Luzhniki Stadium, with a capacity of 80,000, it will become only the fifth stadium to have hosted a World Cup Final, a Champions League Final and an Olympic Games. Other stadiums are either brand new or have been completed in the last four or five years.

While the contrast between South Africa, Brazil and Russia can scarcely be more stark one constant between the three countries, three continents and three World Cups is Dennis Mowers who have supplied some of their industry leading mowers to each.

The Dennis G860 cylinder mower is the one chosen for the task of preparing pitches for the world’s greatest football players when the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks-off in June 2018.

Virtually every one of the stadiums will have their pitches maintained by the G860 and that includes the venues selected for the latter stages of the tournament.

Dennis’ involvement has not been a short-term or recent success however. For the past ten years Russian clubs have been using turf maintenance equipment from Dennis and 70% of the Russian Premier League teams have either a G860 or Dennis Premier mower.

Many of the groundsmen know the quality and robustness – they know that they can use them for a diverse range of maintenance tasks without ever having any issues, even in the Russian weather!

The Dennis man with the collection of air miles which would make Alan Whicker envious is Sales Manager Toby Clarke, who has worked extremely closely with Queens Grass, the company’s Russian dealership, to ensure whichever country lifts the World Cup on Sunday, July 15, Dennis will also be celebrating another significant victory for the company.

 

Turf Matters caught up with Toby, during one of his few days at home!

How long have you been working with FIFA or the individual Russian stadiums?

Our dealer, Queens Grass, has been working with Russian stadiums since 2001, while in 2008 we set up the machinery business in Russia together with Dennis and later on with SISIS Machinery.

How many stadiums will we see with Dennis Machines this June?

During the tournament at least seven of the 11 stadiums will use the Dennis mower, 70% of the training camps will be using Dennis as well.

How many machines will you have at the World Cup?

Around 88 Dennis mowers will be used throughout the tournament for key maintenance tasks as well as presentation preparation before games.

Do you have a package which you’re offer to the stadiums or is each one completely different?

Every offer is made specially for the stadium or training complex for their individual needs and was tendered by the Russian Government

How has the work involved with Dennis and the Brazil World Cup differed from that in Russia?

Russia is whole different ball game, in Russia you really need to work with local companies like Queens Grass which have been serving football stadiums for many years. Russian clients like to know they can have reliable machinery and spares back-up with local companies that supply European machinery.

Are there added complications dealing with an eastern bloc country?

Let’s say the customs and borders in Russia are an interesting challenge!

From a technical perspective does the different climactic conditions in South America and Eastern Europe mean that machines are set up differently?

Yes, the mowing height of cut will be different along with the pitch construction. We ensure that when we deliver machines to each stadium or training complex that the groundsmen and/or contractors using the machines receive all of the relevant training required.

Once you’ve supplied the machines is your work done or will you be on hand to ensure smooth runnings?

The machines are delivered and ready to use. We supply kit for the first round of maintenance so the clients are ready to work directly after they receive their new Dennis mowers.

What do you believe being so heavily involved in the Greatest Show on Earth does for Dennis?

It is not easy but great at the same time to work in such a tournament, the quality of play depends on the pitches quality as they will be watched by millions around the world, so presentation is key. It is a nice challenge to have!

From a personal perspective, do you get a kick out of being involved in an event like the World Cup or is it just another contract?

It is impressive to be in all these new stadiums and training camps, it is not just another contract; it is a responsibility and is something that we are all very proud to be a part of.

 

A Q&A with Mark Harrod of MH Goals..

What are your predictions for the World Cup?

I’m going for a Brazil – Germany final with Brazil avenging the 7-1 in 2014!

England are reigning World Champions at U17 and U20 level, why do you think youth football in this country is so strong at the moment?

Over the last few years there has been a lot of focus on improving the game for children. It wasn’t that long ago they were just shoved onto an adult sized-pitch with a ball that they could barely kick, let alone play with. Now they play mini-soccer and 9v9 first, only moving onto the full-sized pitches when they are big enough. We are making and selling more and more goals for these variations, so it’s obviously an approach that is taking hold across the country, and one that allows children to develop their skills earlier, with visible results.

How do you see the health of the grassroots game at the moment?

We’ve always been keen supporters of grassroots football, sponsoring dozens of leagues and cup competitions across the country, and it honestly seems to be as popular as ever, despite the doomsayers who are convinced the nation is glued to their smartphones.

If you go to a park or community pitch on a Saturday morning you’ll see clubs running coaching for children as young as three. The women’s game is more popular that it has ever been too, with over 3 million registered players in the UK.  Plus you now have walking football too, which has allowed a generation to start playing again, so yes, things are very healthy at grassroots level.

How has the Football Foundation made a difference?

Grants from the Football Foundation are making a massive impact. Clubs and schools can apply for funds to replace old, unsafe equipment, build new facilities, even improve pitches and buildings. It’s a great scheme and it helps reinvigorate communities. We will be supplying Football Foundation funded projects across the country this summer and we’re also at the heart of the Beacon of Light Centre – Sunderland’s new innovative sports and education facility and the first of its kind in the UK.

You’re well known throughout the industry as a safety expert, what changes have you seen over your career?

When I first started football goals had wooden sockets, metal hooks and hand painted frames. Safety standards were unheard of back in those days! As time went on it was becoming clear that a standard was required to improve the safety of the equipment being produced. I was involved in the first ever standard, BS EN 748, which implemented formal testing on full-sized goals, including stability and strength testing and basic finger and head entrapment standards. The banning of metal hooks from crossbars and uprights was also major step forward as these had caused a number of nasty injuries over the years.

What can you tell us about the new BS EN regulation coming into force this June?

BS EN 16579 is something I’ve been advising the BSI and CEN for several years and in July it will become the new safety standard that all new goalposts under 24x8ft will have to conform to. It’s a Europe wide standard which replaces BS 8462:2012 and makes several improvements, such as reduced width of net hook channels to reduce the chance of finger entrapment, more stringent stress testing and the introduction of new medium and light weight goals.

It’s also the first ever safety standard to regulate rugby posts, covering socket installation, goal strength and maintenance.

I’m really pleased with the changes we’re bringing in with this new standard as they’ll address a number of issues and make the game safer for everyone.

What should people look for when they’re buying goalposts to ensure they are safe?

Obviously that they conform to BS EN 16579! Go for goals with a solid crossbar and avoid mitred corners as these have a habit of coming apart and exposing sharp dangerous edges. Use a Football Foundation approved supplier as this ensures that the goals are up to standard. It’s also important to check what anchors are being supplied, for example goals with U peg anchors aren’t going to be any good on a synthetic pitch.

You acquired Pressure Jet Markers just over a year ago, what was the thinking behind this decision?

Pressure Jet Markers has been about for more than 60 years and is an iconic name– there aren’t many people in the industry who haven’t dealt with them over the years – so when we heard that the owners were looking to retire we knew this was an opportunity we couldn’t miss. After all, this is a company that was always ahead of its time; creating the first line marker to use a high-pressure jet to spray paint directly onto the grass, the first power driven line marker, and numerous other firsts.

It was a company that matched innovation with consistently high standards, a perfect match for our own values. We now continue to manufacture the class-leading transfer wheel machines – The Linesman, The Prince and The Dimple – and use our own modern manufacturing techniques to improve durability and ease of use.

The Beast On The East

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The Beast On The East: Scott MacCallum takes his life in his hands and heads to Carnoustie ahead of this year’s Open Championship.

Carnoustie has always been one of the iconic Open venues… IT IS revered within the game. For one thing it has a role of honour which contains the name Ben Hogan – the only Open venue to do so. Hogan played in one Open, at Carnoustie in 1953, and won. His austere manner  matched that of the town to a t and the locals took the Wee Ice Man to their hearts.

Driving to Carnoustie to meet Head Greenkeeper, Craig Boath, I noticed something that was a little strange. The east coast of Scotland is not known for its balmy temperatures but I was coming out in a bit of a cold sweat.

Carnoustie – Championship Course

Now it may be that a few world famous golfers will experience exactly the same when they arrive for this July’s Open Championship. Last year’s Masters Champion, Sergio Garcia, could certainly be forgiven for doing so. As the rising superstar in the game in 1999 he managed to negotiate the 18 holes of the first round in 89 – out in 44 back in 45. Admittedly that was five shots better than I scored the last time I played the course, but I know that would have been of little consolation to Sergio.

He did redeem himself at the last Carnoustie Open in 2007, however, but, having led for three rounds dropped a shot on the 72nd hole and lost the play-off to Padraig Harrington. More memories he’d like to drop.

No, the reason for my cold sweat was nothing to do with my prowess or lack of it on the course but two incidents, one at each of the aforementioned Opens, which might have seriously scarred a lesser man.

In 1999 I was in the privileged position of being inside the ropes on the 18th hole as Jean Van de Velde was heading for a well deserved, and fairly, uneventful victory. His meltdown has been well documented and the footage of Jean, with rolled up trousers standing in the burn short of the green, is one of the most memorable in sport.

Jean’s chances had gone up in smoke when his approach to the green ricocheted off a bracket on a stand which was sitting at 45 degrees to the rest of the structure and bounced all the way back over the burn and into deep rough. From there he had hacked it into the burn.

Well, that second shot missed my head by a matter of inches. Had it struck me I would have had a very sore head, my picture in the papers and Jean would have been Open Champion and not local hero, Paul Lawrie. Indeed, had the ball not hit that little bracket flush and bounced 40 yards backwards Jean would have been over the water, able to get a free drop and had sufficient shots in hand to lift the Claret Jug.

My second piece of trauma occurred a couple of days before the 2007 Open. I was driving a minibus containing a group of greenkeepers, who were part of the Open Greenkeeping Support Team, to the golf course to familiarise themselves with what they would be doing that week.

I was delighted to see many of the spectators waving to us and thought it was a wonderfully friendly start to the Championship.

Smack!

The low bridge which gave conventionally sized vehicles access to the course wasn’t quite tall enough to take my minibus.  On the upside for the rest of the week it as always easy to spot our unintentionally modified mini bus amid the dozens of others, but on the downside it led to a very interesting conversation with the hire company when we got back home.

So, with things happening in threes, I am a tad concerned about what might happen at the 147th Open.

But I digress. Carnoustie has always been one of the iconic Open venues. The town itself isn’t much to look at but the name, Carnoustie, is revered within the game. For one thing it has a role of honour which contains the name Ben Hogan – the only Open venue to do so. Hogan played in one Open, at Carnoustie in 1953, and won. His austere manner, matched that of the town to a T and the locals took the Wee Ice Man to their hearts. A lasting tribute to him is the 6th hole, known as Hogan’s Alley because he threaded his tee shot between the bunkers and out-of-bounds on each of the four rounds.

Tom Watson won the first of his five Opens at Carnoustie – beating Australian Jack Newton in a play-off – and the honours’ board also includes Henry Cotton and Gary Player.

Carnoustie – Championship Course

But Craig Boath, along with the Links Superintendent Sandy Reid, and the rest of the 33 strong Carnoustie Links greenkeeping staff – they maintain three superb golf courses – are looking forward not back. And judging by the condition of the golf course they can look forward with confidence.

“We want to have the best golf course possible every day of the week and want the visitors who come to Carnoustie to experience the same conditions as the professional golfer gets,” explained Craig, who was on the team in ’99 Deputy Head Greenkeeper on the Championship course in ’07 and became Head Greenkeeper in 2012, when legendary greenkeeping man John Philp retired and Sandy moved up from Head Greenkeeper to Links Superintendent.

“We started thinking about this Open as soon as we’d finished in 2007, so in one way we’re always preparing for an Open. But as we get closer we’ve been working much more with the R&A – Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive; Grant Moir, Director of Rules, and Clive Brown, Chairman of the Championship Committee – and have a very good relationship with them.”

Fairway widths remain the same as from the last Open, while greens should be around the 10 mark on the stimp. The team has also been working on their rough for the past four or five years.

“We’ve been trying to eradicate the poorer grasses and encourage the finer grasses in the rough and feel that rather than having defined semi to main we can have a semi rough and feather it into the main rough,” explained Craig, who comes from a long tradition of Carnoustie men who strive for finer grasses and firmer surfaces.

Carnoustie does possess a fearsome reputation and I asked Craig that, if the sun shone and the wind didn’t make an appearance, whether he’d be disappointed if the winning score was 15 or 16 under.

“I would be a little bit. But I don’t think it will. I know people talk about Tommy Fleetwood shooting a course record 63 in the Dunhill Links last October, but the pin positions in the Dunhill are set up for the amateurs – same with the tees, while the rough is on the wane, and the course a little softer, when the Dunhill Links is played.

“Obviously if the wind blows and it would be nice to get a range of winds from different directions  – it might happen it might not – it will make it interesting, but Carnoustie is not so dependant on the wind for protection as other links courses.”

In what is probably a first in modern Open history the course facing the 156 players this year will be shorter than the 2007 version. Generally speaking every last inch is squeezed out of the Open rota courses to combat the modern day superfit athletes who can power a golf ball well over 300 yards but, while it’s only 20 yards, Carnoustie has given up some distance.

“The 1st is shorter to enable a stand to go in behind the tee and the 3rd is a little shorter too, with more options available for the players. Carnoustie has always lived up to the test of time, so there is no need to lengthen it. Going back to when James Braid designed it in the 1920s it was 7200 yards.”

Hence its reputation for being a monster and one of the toughest golf courses in the world.

What has been noticeable in recent years has been the sheer scale of the Open circus when it comes to town with more and more television companies covering the Championship and all the ancillary paraphernalia which accompanies it. Indeed Carnoustie is benefiting from the installation of permanent fibre optic cabling for the last Open.

“I can’t remember too much about 1999 but I know it was much bigger in 2007, with the need for a much bigger contractors area. But now it has doubled from 2007. I really have noticed the difference in scale,” said Craig, whose passion for the links is shared with Sandy – who sadly was tied up in a meeting during my visit – ensures that no stone is left unturned in creating a magnificently maintained golf course.

With a number of tournaments under his belt Craig also knows what it takes to prepare a course on a daily basis and cutting will start around 4.30am each morning.

“With the R&A and the STRI out doing testing on the greens we may have to do a bit of leap frogging at times but I’m not too worried about that.”

And not worrying is a quality which will carry Craig through the next few months. When we spoke, growth was around three weeks behind but a bit of heat in the air and it will kick on. And let’s face it  you can’t worry about something you have no control over!

Asked about whether the week itself will offer trepidation or excitement Craig’s laid back spirit comes to the fore again.

“Once we get to the week before, and I know everything has been done, I know we’ll be ok. We’re just waiting for that wee bit of growth.”

So while I will be approaching this year’s Open waiting to see what fate is in store for me Craig, Sandy and the guys will have everything under control.

Exploring The Lakes

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Exploring The Lakes: A recent family trip to Sydney to see my daughter, afforded me the opportunity to visit some local sporting venues, I was particularly interested in visiting the Lakes GC , knowing that Simon Blagg, a British Greenkeeper, was working there.

After a few phone calls I managed to contact Simon who is now the Assistant Superintendent at the Lakes Golf club. We arranged a date for me to visit the course and duly met up some days later. Upon arrival at the club I was introduced to the Courses Superintendent and head mechanic, followed by a whistle stop tour of the course and facilities.

Exploring The Lakes

I was fascinated to find out more about the course and how Simon had adapted his skills to work in a quite challenging climate.  I would like to thank him for his time and taking the time to put pen to paper to produce this fascinating in depth article.

Growing Turf Down Under – Simon Blagg

From growing up in my home town of Madeley, Cheshire in the UK, to working at The Lakes Golf club in Sydney, Australia; the past fourteen years of my turf career have been an amazing experience to date.

I completed my turf qualifications at Reaseheath College. While there, I worked at Keele golf course which has now unfortunately closed down, before working two great summers under John Turner at Leek Golf Club, who taught me a significant amount about sustainability in the turf industry. At the same time I working as groundsman of Maer Cricket Club.

In 2008 I set my sights on the Ohio state Turfgrass internship program where I worked at Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin, and then onto the Doral Golf Resort, in Florida. Working on the Blue Monster course, I got to experience my first golf tournament when Doral hosted the annual World Golf Championship event.

After I returned to the UK I worked two seasons at Loch Lomond Golf Club. The club hosted the Scottish Open a week before The Open. In between the first and second season at Loch Lomond I secured a summer casual position for six months at New South Wales Golf club in Sydney. This was when I got my first taste of life in Australia. I met my now wife, within the first week of being in Australia.

New South Wales hosted the 2009 Australian Open. I had gained valuable experience from my from my time at New South that summer. I returned to Loch Lomond in 2010 to assist with the preparation for what would be the club’s final Scottish Open. I can’t thank Dave Cole, at Loch Lomond, enough for what he taught me during that time, including his attention to detail and how to keep incredibly high standards.

After the home summer of 2010, I was lucky enough to secure a sponsorship at Roseville Golf Club in Sydney, Australia. I worked my way up the rank and eventually became Mark O’Sullivan’s assistant in 2013. I remained at the club for another two years and after a total of five years, and an Australian citizenship achieved, I decided to apply for the Assistant Superintendent position at the Lakes Golf club in Sydney.  After a successful interview, I started at the Lakes in early January 2016.

The Lakes is on the southern side of the city, roughly around 15 minutes from Sydney’s central business district. The area is a popular golfing destination, with the Lakes backing on to both Eastlakes and Bonnie Doon Golf Club and The Australian within a 5km radius.  The golf club is situated within the Botany Wetlands  a series of interconnected ponds forming an open space wetland corridor stretching to 226 hectares.

Exploring The Lakes

Over the years the course design has been altered, in particular in 1950s when the state government put plans together to build a six lane express-way right through the middle of the course. This road is the current Southern Cross Drive.

The club then employed American Robert Von Hagge who agreed to redesign the course. Von Hagge’s redesign was constructed and completed by June 1970. During the 70s and 80s, the Lakes was renowned for its fast true greens. However, by 1994 the greens were begging to show their age and the winter grass population was too much. The club then decided to resurface all of the greens with SR1020 Bent grass.

By 2006 the greens were again over populated with Poa Annua and did not meet specifications.  The board approached Mike Clayton to conduct a course master plan.

The club decided to rebuild both the 1st and 18th greens first. After the members’ approval of the two new greens, Clayton was commissioned to rebuild the remaining 16 greens and two lady’s greens. The redesign included rebuilding the whole golf course as well as upgrading the Irrigation system. The greens were seeded with A4 bent grass. Tees Santa Ana couch and the fairways that were altered were returfed with common Kikuyu.  Roughs and dunes were over seeded with Fescue. The course was re-opened in July 2009. The current course measures 6286 metres and is a par 72. In 2010 the club hosted The Australian Open, which was the first tournament since the 2002 ANZ Championship. The club was asked again to host the tournament for both the 2011 and 2012 Australian Opens.  The 2011 tournament was a successful event, hosting pros to the likes of Tiger Woods. It was seen as good preparation for the 2011 Presidents cup. In November 2018 the club will host its’ seventh Australian Open. The club has around 1200 members and for the first time in 15 years there is now a waiting list for new members. The golf course averages around 45,000 rounds of golf per year.

Anthony Mills has been Superintendent of the Lakes golf club since 2012. Myself and Aaron Taylor have been Anthony’s assistants since January 2016. We currently operate with a full team of 19 that includes two casuals and mechanic. An additional four casuals will be added to the team to assist with preparation for the Australian Open. I’m a strong believer in getting overseas talent to come over and work for six months. We try and take the casuals on from September through to the end of February. For those coming from the UK, this often works well with the end of the UK summer and then heading into our summer period. On a working holiday visa, it allows you to work with two employers for two six month blocks. It gives young greenkeepers a fantastic opportunity to come and work in Australia and learn about managing warm season grasses in different climates.

Bunkers – 72

Sandy Waste

Total Area 10 Hectares

A unique feature of the Lakes is its Sandy Waste areas. Where some course has thick rough to edges of fairways the lakes has large areas of exposed sandy waste. These are carved into the landscape to make them look like they have been there for hundreds of years. These areas are raked twice a week with two sand pros. The sandy waste requires a lot of maintenance. Mainly weed control. We ap Turf grass Species

Greens –A4 Bent grass/ (Cool Season) HOC- 3mm

Total Area- Two Hectares

Over the past three summers we have operated a poa eradication program on greens. This is a selective herbicide program which I will talk more about later in the article. During autumn and winter we apply separate applications of Paclobutrazol and Epethon. This is designed to supress the Poa annua grass and stop it from establishing a seed head. We renovate the greens twice a year. In spring we scarify the greens at a depth of 10mm and follow this up with hollow tine aeration with 5/8 tines. In autumn we only use 1/2inch tines. After both practices we use a USGA construction sand to fill back in the holes. During summer we use a combination of 8mm and 5mm pencil tines to relive surface tension and aid oxygen flow. We mainly use Toro Triplex mowers to cut the greens. We try and cut the greens with walk mowers once a week to improve presentation. Moving forward and increasing staff numbers we will look to using walk behind greens more often.

Exploring The Lakes

We have recently commenced using a growing degree day program on our greens. After an application of growth regulator, I record the growing degree day figure. This is worked out by adding the average high temperature with the average low temperature and dividing it by 2. With the daily GDD figure obtained you add it up every day and when the number equals 200 you are due to apply the growth regulator again. This program is a great way of avoiding bounce out before the growth regulator runs out.

Tees- Santa Anna Couch (Warm Season) HOC 10mm

Total Area- Two Hectares

Santa Anna couch is a warm season grass that requires a very aggressive renovation in spring. This is because Santa Anna spreads through stolons. These stolon break down over time and add to the thatch layer. We scarify the tees to depth of around 25mm to remove large amounts of organic matter. The tees are then shaved down at 8mm to remove excessive grain. Grain forms when the turf is cut in the same direction all the time. Grain creates an uneven surface and often scalps when cut. By shaving back the couch, we are removing the grain and chopping through surface stolons and encouraging it to produce new shoots. Couch is a very hungry turf species and requires plenty of nitrogen to keep it in good condition. With it being a warm season grass it requires 30-degree air temperatures to get it moving out of winter dormancy. A hot summer is great for couch, but a cold spring and cooler summer can result in a poor quality surface. Regular applications of growth regulator are essential to ensure the grass doesn’t get to elongated and thatchy

Fairways– Common Kikuyu (Warm Season) 10mm

Total Area 25 Hectares

Common Kikuyu is another warm season grass. It is very course grass that has a larger leaf blade than that of couch grass. Like couch, Kikuyu requires aggressive renovation practices in spring with deep scarification and hollow tine aeration. Again due to its stoloniferas growing pattern, organic matter can build up quickly if not managed properly. Primo is the most important resource we use of the kikuyu during the summer season. Without growth regulation the heat and humidity the kikuyu is exposed to causes it to literally grow in front of your eyes. If you don’t have any regulation in the plant the quality of cut is massively affected as too much grass is being cut by the mower. We apply primo every three weeks during summer. Starting off with low rates of 1 litre a Hecate in spring and leading up to sometimes 2.5L/ Hectare in the heart of summer. We apply a 15% Nitrogen + Iron and Manganese fertiliser with the primo to assist with turf health and improve colour.

Rough– Common Kikuyu 50mm

Deep Rough and Bunker Surrounds- Red Fescue HOC 150mm

Fescue and Australian climate are not a great combination. The blend of Chewings, Red, and Hard fescues in the deep rough are cut at 150mm a couple of times a year. We would normally like to leave these areas to grow up however to many balls were being lost and slowing up play so it was decided to keep it managble at the 150mm height. The fescue around bunker surround is cut with strimmer’s every three weeks, apart from control weeds in these areas, they receive a small amount of fertiliser in spring if required. Other than that we keep it well irrigated.

ply pre-emergent herbicide to the edges of the waste land and islands. We have had better results by doing this, but it doesn’t stop all of the weeds. Often we have to get additional labour hire in to help pull out weeds.

Challenges of the site

Poa Eradication Program

In 2015 the board made the decision to eradicate winter grass from the greens. At the time, rebuilding the greens was not an option the board wanted to take, so therefore chemical treatment was decided to both eradicate and stop the poa from completely taking over from the original bent grass greens. The past three summers we have been on an aggressive Nominee herbicide program. Nominee is selective herbicide that contains Bispyribac-sodium. The chemical applications start in November and usually finish up in early January. We have trialled the product at different rates every season. Anything from half rates at 500mls/H every three weeks to quarter rates every fortnight. We aim to try and apply around 2L of Nominee in around a three-month period.  The night before a nominee application we increase our irrigation on greens as we can’t water them for 24 hours after the nominee has been applied. Cutting of the greens is avoided on application days. The dew is removed with dew brooms and additional hand watering is undertaken depending on the weather forecast. The herbicide is then sprayed and no water is to be applied until the following morning after the greens have been cut.  Once all applications were finished, we started a two week plugging program where we plugged the winter grass scars out of the greens. The overall herbicide program has reduced the poa in the greens by around 30% in the three years. They say you can get around four years use out of the chemical before resistency builds up within the plant. Options going forward look like rebuilding all of the greens after the Australian open.

Exploring The Lakes

Climate/ disease pressures

Sydney is not the hottest city in Australia, but it certainly can turn the heat up at times. Last year we had the hottest summer in 150 years with the average temp being around 33 for around 40 days in a row. This was coupled with extreme humidity and night time temperatures that were not decreasing. This put the Pythium stress potential through the roof. Both Pythium blight and root rot can cause a severe amount of damage to greens. Prolonged leaf wetness through nigh time irrigation and high humidity are a recipe for disaster.

Pythium Preventative

During summer we spray every three weeks for both Pythium root rot and Pythium blight. An application of Propamocarb for root rot is sprayed at 6.5L/Hectare and is irrigated with six minutes of Irrigation.

Fosetyle aluminium and thiram are applied the following week to control Pythium blight and brown patch. These products are left on the leaf. Sometimes we will include another contact fungicide to prevent dollar spot.

During the winter months in Sydney we are rather fortunate that its doesn’t really get that cold. Out in western Sydney they do get frosts and all warm season turf goes dormant. Being so close to the ocean at the Lakes we very rarely get any frosts at all. Our average rainfall in Sydney is around 1200mm per year, however this last year has been below average with very little rainfall.

Nematodes

One of our biggest challenges at the Lakes golf club is managing nematodes. We have a very high population of sting nematodes throughout all of the playing surfaces. A standard threshold for sting nematode is 20 per 200g of soil. We have numbers up at around the 700 per 200g of soil in greens. To put it lightly the roots are being eaten alive. On greens we operate a strong nematicide program that involves applications of abamectin (Agador) and (Thumper) when necessary. The label restricts how many applications you can apply per year. With the nematicide we also apply a product called turf clear. This is penertrant wetting agent that contains SiQuat molecules that when come into contact with the nematode its ruptures the cells of the nematode resulting in immediate death. We have had some better results in recent times when using turf clear. We don’t treat nematodes in the fairways and tees purely because of the size of the property. However, we apply wetting agents every four weeks to the tees and fairways and fertilise more in the specific weaker areas.

Sandy soil profile and Irrigation

The entire course is built on a sand dune. This certainly has its advantages with very free draining soil after heavy rain and no drainage required in bunkers and greens. However, it also has its disadvantages as the sand has very little water holding capacity and it leaches nutrients. Coupled with the nematode issues this make retaining moisture in the fairways a big challenge. Every four weeks during summer we apply a retaining wetting agent to aid moisture retention. We also have to ensure that we top op hot spots on fairways using the irrigation system in the morning and afternoon as well as running a specific hot spot program in the night time irrigation program.  The Lakes is a very exposed sight this means that the course is very susceptible to high winds. High winds results in turf surfaces drying out. All of this is taken into consideration and extras water is applied to the specific hot spots to ensure that they don’t dry out. Our average total of water applied to the course per year is 350 Mega litres of water per year. We are very fortunate as we are allowed to use as much water as we like as we pump out of one the large Lakes on site. During summer we have a hand watering program that works very well to ensure the greens remain healthy and drought free during extreme heat. We use the TDR moisture sensors to measure moisture percentage to ensure that greens don’t dry out.

Projects leading into Australian Open 2018

In November this year the club will host its seventh Australian Open. Over the last 18 months we have been very busy with construction projects. These have included rebuilding tees and resurfacing cart paths and extending sandy waste areas. In April 2017, we commenced our biggest project of all; the upgrade of the practice precinct area.  The old practice facilities were beginning to look a little fatigued. The greens had a large percentage of Poa Annua and did not compliment the greens out on the course with very little undulations. Safety was also a big factor in the redesign. We were seeing a small percentage of golf balls leave the driving range and land on the 10th and 11th holes. The upgrade of the practice facility involved the following:

  • Rebuilding both practice putting and chipping greens.
  • Rebuilding and lowering the height of the range tee by 500mm.
  • Installing a Tee line driving range mat for use in winter.
  • Installing target greens on the range fairway to replicate shots played out on course.
  • Installing further mounding on both sides of the range to protect golfers on the 10th and 11th
  • Installing mounding around the teaching facility.
  • Rebuilding a new chipping green with suitable practice bunkers.
  • Rebuilding the 10th Championship men’s and lady’s tees.
  • Rebuilding the 1st gold tee.
  • Installing a new concrete pathway to both the 1st and 10th

The new putting green was seeded back in May 2017 and was opened in late September. All of the major earth works and turfing was completed by November 2017. The new turf driving tee was recently re opened and we are hoping to have the chipping green re opened by the end of March.

With all major projects complete we are now concentrating on fine tuning the golf course heading into the winter months. November will be here in no time at all. Planning and preparation is essential when preparing for a tournament of this size.

I would like to thank Laurence Gale from Turf matters magazine for allowing me to contribute this article. It was great to catch up with Laurence back in December when he was in Sydney visiting his daughter.

I am always on the lookout for keen, enthusiastic greenkeepers from the UK who are interested in travelling to Australia to work the summer season. Anyone interested in coming to work in Australia in 2019 I can be contacted at the below email address.

Simon Blagg

Asstsuper@thelakesgolfclub.com.au

Stars of The Big Top

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Stars of the big top: Laurence Gale pops into Edgbaston to see how marquees are providing additional preparation time for both grounds’ team and players.

A recent visit to Warwickshire CCC enabled me the opportunity to catch up with Head Groundsman Gary Barwell, who now starts his seventh season at the club. He like the rest of the county groundsmen are busy getting their practice net facilities ready for the onslaught of as new playing season, which year on year seems to be starting earlier.

Warwickshire, like many of the other county clubs, have invested in the use of outdoor tented/marquee structures in recent seasons to cover their net areas, with the aim of creating a natural grass wicket practice facility that allows the club the opportunity to practice four to six weeks earlier.

As the years have passed the sharing of knowledge and the development of these facilities has moved forward at such a pace we now have utilised a number of innovations to create the perfect indoor greenhouse environment using de-humidifiers, heaters and lighting rigs to control and manage both soil and air conditions in the marquee/tent thus allowing the staff to prepare and produce decent, natural grass wickets for practice in late February early March.

Gary was keen to show me their system, a huge 20metre by 18metre marquee that is able to cover nine, six foot wide wickets. These wickets where covered with flat sheets in December to protect them prior to the erection of the marquee on January 8. It took four days to erect and a day to set up the humidifiers, heaters and lighting rigs.

Some pre-season rolling, around five hours was done to the area using their blotter and auto roller, followed by a 14 day prep for the two first practice wickets. Everything is going well, however, they have had a couple of real cold nights -4 -6 degrees which has meant a lot more heat required to maintain their target of keeping an even 6 degrees inside the marquee at night. The de-humidifiers  are there to prevent any condensation forming and dripping onto the wickets and bowlers run ups.

Gary was able to maintain a comfortable 18 degrees during the day which is ideal for what he wanted to achieve. Everything was on schedule for when the team arrive for their first practice on the February 15 with the aim of providing six weeks of practice time for the team taking them through to April when they hope that their outdoor nets will then be ready for use.

I am sure like many of the other county groundsmen the provision of early training facilities brings with it many challenges and additional work loads, but like most they revel in learning new skills and testing their abilities to produce the best playing surfaces they can for their clubs.

balanced crank shaft on the XF that fires the tine into the ground so quickly that makes the difference. It does not seem to hang on to the tines when they come out so you don’t get ‘lift’. Everything is clean and precise and tidy. That’s what makes it fantastic.

“On the majority of quality cricket squares a 10mm tine with a 75mm x 50mm hole pattern is what we aim for. You can do a job with 8mm tines when the square is very hard and very tender layered because you won’t get disruption but 12mm is just too big.”

Indeed Wiedenmann UK credits Keith with pointing them towards introducing the 10 mm tine for cricket applications.

“Keith has been a long-time advocate of the 10mm tine. He was the first to suggest and indeed the most vocal, that we were missing a trick by not having it, said Chas Ayres, Wiedenmann UK’s Sales Manager.

During the cricketing aeration window usually Keith will in the main spike to a depth of 175mm or 200mm with 75 x 50 centres.

“I will speed up or slow down to make holes wider or narrower.

“If the square is a bit tender then we’ll go to a 75 x 75 pattern, giving fewer holes but less opportunity for disruption. This season many cricket squares have been very dry, and without the correct moisture levels cricket squares are more liable to ‘pluck out’ so it’s down to judgement on the day and the forward speed I think suits.”

With so many cricket grounds to get through in a relative short amount of time Keith has to plan ahead to serve his clients, tending to allocate a week to 10 days for each county and basing himself in the centre of a cricketing area.

“I work with the cricket groundsmen’s associations so if the club grounds are all within 10 miles of each other, six sites in a day is achievable but if they are a bit further apart then maybe just three or four.”

Keith Exton’s affinity for turf excellence transfers to other sporting codes throughout the year but he and Perfect Pitches are best known within the cricketing world.  “He’s the top authority,” said Chas.

“I call him ‘Mr Cricket Wicket’ because he’s absolutely intuitive about aeration. For him it’s like a sixth sense. His operator skills make him at one with his machine so he’s really an artisan craftsman.”