The Cut - The AGCSA's Weekly E-Newsletter - 5 Feb '10

Welcome to this edition of The Cut, the AGCSA’s weekly e-newsletter. This weekend marks a year since the Black Saturday fires and many around Victoria will be quietly reflecting on the shocking events of Australia’s worst natural disaster. In this instalment of The Cut we catch up with Marysville Community Golf and Bowls Club superintendent Rob Christie as well as touch base with Kyle Wilson who is in tournament mode down at Moonah Links. Enjoy the read.

Quiet reflection one year on from Black Saturday

This weekend marks a year since the devastating Black Saturday fires ripped through parts of rural Victoria and for two AGCSA superintendent members – Rob Christie (Marysville Community Golf and Bowls Club) and Tim Warren (Horsham) – it will be a time of quiet reflection after what can only be described as a tumultuous past 12 months. ATM editor Brett Robinson visited Marysville last week to catch up with Christie and his team of Kellan Fiske (apprentice), Wayne Bissett (groundsman) and Bob Emblin (volunteer) and despite a few setbacks along the road to recovery the course was looking in very good condition.

“We’re slowly getting back to some sort of normality,” Christie says. “It’s amazing to look back over the past 12 months and to see where we are at now and where we have come from. The help we have had to get the course back has been nothing short of tremendous and we are probably in a better position now that before the fires. The greens which were returfed have come up really well, although we had an outbreak of Fusarium on some of them which caught us a little unawares. We will shortly start reconstructing the 11th green which we had earmarked to do prior to the fires and we are working through some irrigation teething problems which has prevented us reconnecting to recycled water.

“Getting 18 holes open was a big milestone for us and we are starting to get golfers back which is good to see. Certainly the scenic value of the course has changed dramatically which is a shame and so has the strategic nature of the course with so many large trees needing to be removed.

“Obviously (this) weekend will be tough for all and we’re all hoping it will be pretty low key. We just want to be able to reflect quietly and console each other and hopefully the media will respect that and not make too big a thing of it.” The March-April edition of Australian Turfgrass Management (Volume 12.2) will feature a full story on the Marysville and Horsham courses one year on from Black Saturday.

Classic opening round creates Moonah history

The $700,000 Moonah Classic teed off on the Open Course at Moonah Links yesterday with little known American Jim Herman stunning the field by shooting a course record 10-under 62. For Moonah course superintendent and AGCSA member Kyle Wilson and his team it has been a hectic time in the lead-up to the event and not only have they had to get the Open Course up to tournament standard but the Legends Course as well. Running simultaneously to the Nationwide Tour event is the Moonah Amateur Classic which finishes on Saturday.

If getting both courses up for the week has been difficult enough, especially when the facility has experienced 1000 rounds per week across both courses for much of January, irrigation dramas have also conspired to make the job all that more difficult. Shortly after New Year one of the facility’s two bores packed it in and although eventually being just a cabling issue, the works to ascertain the problem have seen the bore out of commission for a month. Despite the irrigation headaches, Wilson says both courses have come through well and the feedback from players and officials has been very positive.

“It has been pretty busy and sometimes stressful leading up to the tournament but the course has come up well,” says Wilson. “We had a double shotgun start for the Wednesday Pro-Am which meant we couldn’t start our first round preparations until 6.15pm. We were bracing ourselves for a bit of bunker work with the rains forecast last night but we only ended up getting only 5mm.

“The greens are a lot more receptive than usual thanks to the rain and they are running about 10 feet at the moment which is just a fraction slower than last year. We had northerlies yesterday, today it’s coming from the south-south west and by the end of the tournament it’s supposed to around to the east. One day they’re hitting four irons into the greens, the next they’re taking sand irons, so they’re getting a good test.” The AGCSA wishes Kyle and his crew all the best for the remainder of the tournament.

AGCSA Action member newsletter distribution changes

The first 2010 edition of the AGCSA member newsletter AGCSA Action will be distributed in the coming week. This edition (February 2010) marks the start of a switch to electronic distribution of the newsletter and the phasing out of printing and posting a hardcopy newsletter bimonthly. Such a change will not only improve delivery time, but is also far more economical and environmentally friendly.

All current AGCSA members who have an email will therefore receive the February edition via email early next week, while those who don’t have an email will receive this edition in a hardcopy version for the final time. After this time you will need to supply the AGCSA with an email address or alternatively you can view the newsletter through the members section of the website (all past issues of AGCSA Action can be viewed here as well). To update you contact details, simply contact Lyndel at the AGCSA on (03) 9548 8600 or email info@agcsa.com.au. If you have any queries or concerns about these changes please contact the AGCSA.

New Registered and Licensed Clubs Award now in effect

As of January 1, 2010, the Federal Government’s Award Modernisation came into effect. The key objective of award modernisation is to reduce the number of awards in the system, by creating awards with national coverage across industry and occupational lines. For the golf industry, this has seen greenkeepers covered under three awards, the most relevant being the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award. The Gardening Services Award and the Amusement, Events and Recreation Award also cover some sectors of our industry. The HR and Best practice section in the members area of the AGCSA website now has all these updated Awards available for download. If you are a member and don’t have access to the members section, contact Lyndel at the AGCSA who can set up a user name and password for you.
Click here to log into the members area of the AGCSA website.

Syngenta lends support to Environmental Initiative

The Australian Golf Environmental Initiative has received a further boost with the announcement that Syngenta has signed on as a principal sponsor, joining existing principal partners e-par, Bayer Environmental Science and Toro Australia to back the AGCSA-led programme.

“Syngenta is proud to be a principle partner in the Australian Golf Environmental Initiative,” says Sam Hole, Syngenta business unit manger – lawn and turf. “Environmental sustainability and stewardship are core values within Syngenta and we are a leader in the industry in promoting responsible environmental management. I personally believe that Australian golf course superintendents are leaders on the world stage when it comes to managing golf courses through environmental stewardship. Our greatest challenge is sharing our stories and showing others that managing environmental challenges is just another part of a superintendent’s responsibilities.”

AGCSA general manager John Neylan was delighted to welcome Syngenta as a principal partner of the Australian Golf Environmental Initiative and looked forward to working together in promoting the environmental values of Australian golf courses and the excellent work of industry practitioners.

Turfgrass conference online registration NOW OPEN

Online registration for the 26th Australian Turfgrass Conference and Trade Exhibition is NOW OPEN. Those wishing to register for the conference, which will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 21-25 June 2010, can now do so online by simply clicking the link below or through the registration page on the AGCSA website. Delegates can also download a hardcopy of the registration form through the AGCSA website (click here) and either post or fax to the AGCSA.

As mentioned in previous editions of The Cut, the Early Bird registration rate will be available until 28 March 2010. Early Bird member registration prices have been set at a rate approximately 8 per cent lower than the 2008 fee to reward and encourage membership. Registration costs for 2010 are as follows:

Early Bird Member $770 (AGCSA and TGAA/STA members)
Early Bird Non-member $990
Full Registration Member $990 (AGCSA and TGAA/STA members)
Full Registration Non Member $1100

AGCSA events and education manager Simone Staples is currently finalising the conference delegate brochure and this will be available in early February. Until then the AGCSA advises that delegates keep an eye on the conference section of the AGCSA website and The Cut for updates on speakers and events when they are confirmed. If you have any enquiries about the conference or registration, please contact Simone on 03 9548 8600 or email simone@agcsa.com.au

Click here to register online for the 26th Australian Turfgrass Conference.

Click here to download a pdf of the registration form for the 26th Australian Turfgrass Conference.

Click here to view a draft programme for the 26th Australian Turfgrass Conference.