QUEENSLAND FLOOD UPDATE - TUESDAY 18 JANUARY
Tuesday 18 January: The clean up continues for Brisbane superintendents and many clubs have held working bees over the past couple of days to get their courses cleaned up. Today's update includes more photos from McLeod Golf Club superintendent Peter Daly and news from Wolston Park that they are hoping to have 10 holes open tomorrow! Also see below for some stunning before and after images from Nearmap.com showing just how devastating the floodwaters were. - Brett Robinson
Queensland golf course superintendents and turf managers have had what can only be described as the week from hell, watching helplessly as their facilities were inundated by the incredible floodwaters which tore down the length of the Brisbane River. Last Friday AGCSA editor Brett Robinson contacted a number of superintendents and turf managers along the river and can fortunately report that of those contacted, they and their staff and families are safe, although some have had their homes severely damaged by floodwaters.
Their golf courses and turf facilities on the other hand have, in most cases, been completely devastated after the Brisbane River peaked at 4.46m at 4am last Thursday (13 January). Fortunately river levels have now receded but with it comes the reality of having to face weeks, if not months, of clean-up and repair work to get these facilities back in a playable condition.
Due to difficulties with telecommunications at present in some parts of Brisbane, the AGCSA was unable to get in contact with all superintendents and turf managers before Friday's edition of The Cut was sent out. The AGCSA will keep updating the situation in coming editions of The Cut and on the AGCSA website, including photos, while the March-April edition of Australian Turfgrass Management Journal will carry a full wrap of the incredible events that have left the Sunshine State reeling. Here is a brief snapshot of some of the damage which has occurred in the past couple of days:
UPDATE 17 Jan: City Golf Club, Toowoomba (superintendent John Halter)
Toowoomba was one of the inland cities to cop a hammering by the floods and for City Golf Club superintendent John Halter and his staff they could do little as the course became a raging torrent last Monday. Halter watched on as a car swept in by the floodwaters became wedged underneath one of the footbridges that traverses the creek which flows through the course. The pressure that built up was enough to rip the 20m footbridge from its foundations, sweeping it downstream before eventually wiping out another footbridge.
Halter, a 17 year veteran of the club, says he has seen flash flooding on the course before but nothing quite the extent of what he witnessed last Monday (see photo above of the torrent washing across the 18th fairway). The footbridges also acted as a conduit for the irrigation system and Halter is waiting on contractors to come in today and assess the damage to wiring. According to Halter’s records the course copped 26 inches (660mm) in 28 days from 14 December (to compare, in 2009 the course had an annual total of 680mm) – “Mate, it’s been that wet here, if you spit on the ground it starts to run!”
Suncorp Stadium (curator Malcolm Caddies)
One of the most stunning images to emerge over the past week was the aerial photo depicting the entire Suncorp Stadium pitch submerged by floodwater. Located a few blocks away from the river, flood waters started entering the ground through the drainage system around 3am on Tuesday and by midday the whole surface was submerged. Water levels eventually peaked at the fifth row of seating (or chest-height on curator Mal Caddies) and finally receded by 9pm Thursday.
Ironically Caddies, who was supposed to be on holiday this week, and his crew had only resurfaced the entire field a few days before Xmas and is facing the prospect of having to do the same again in the near future. For the interim, however, Caddies says he will try and renovate the surface which currently has a 10mm layer of silt across it.
Indooroopilly Golf Club (superintendent Charlie Giffard)
Ninety-five per cent of Indooroopilly’s West Course has been affected by floodwaters with just one hole – the 6th on the Red Course – remaining dry. Located right on a bend of the Brisbane River, Indooroopilly’s lower West Course basically merged with the river as levels peaked early Thursday morning. Despite seeing his machinery shed and pump station go under, Giffard was able to get all major machinery to higher ground and even called on the services of his daughter to help move machines late on Tuesday night. The higher East Course isn’t as badly affected, with five holes water logged, and as the clean-up begins Giffard will need to juggle keeping those holes maintained as well.
“It’s a life-changing event that’s for sure, but now that the levels are going down I just want to get stuck in and start to reclaim some areas and get the course back up as soon as possible," says Giffard. "We still can’t get to the maintenance shed and we are waiting for clearance from electricians before going back in. For now we are rallying the forces and trying to figure out where to go from here. It has been really heartening to hear the offers of help especially from those other guys not far away who have also been impacted.”
Images Source: PhotoMaps by nearmap.com - Top image taken 21 August 2010, bottom image taken Friday 14 January 2011
UPDATE (17 Jan): Brisbane Golf Club (superintendent Ben Cavanagh)
Brisbane Golf Club course superintendent Ben Cavanagh has been in contact with the AGCSA and as the above image shows the course has been severly inundated. More information will follow, but Ben was able to pass on the following brief information:
"We are in the same boat as Charlie at Indooroopilly where our maintenance facility and pump station have all gone under. There were only four greens on the entire course above water and in some areas water was between 10m and 15m above green and fairway surfaces."
McLeod Country Golf Club (superintendent Peter Daly)
“Have you got a hole I can jump in?” That was the candid response from superintendent Peter Daly after being asked of the situation at McLeod Country Golf Club (pictured below on Monday). Just three weeks shy of his 10 year anniversary at the club, Daly was today contemplating the massive clean-up task ahead of him and the crew. All except three greens, the clubhouse and, most fortunately, the machinery shed, went under yesterday and with levels receding the crew were finally able to start getting rid of the mountains of mud and silt which now smother the club’s playing surfaces.
“You just can’t fathom what’s happened here,” says Daly. “We’ve taken some photos but they don’t do it justice. It’s like a disaster zone here, but you only have to drive 10 minutes and everything is normal. It’s unbelievable. We’ve got out of it relatively okay. We knew it was coming and we have markers on the course from the 1974 floods so we knew what to expect. We have lost our pump station unfortunately, while our apprentice Jake Jensen saw his family home behind the ladies 12th tee go fully under. 2IC Phil Boag also had floodwaters lapping at his backyard and we went to help him move stuff to higher ground."
Update 18 Jan: Click here to view more photos from McLeod Country Golf Club.
Oxley Golf Club (superintendent Shane McDonald)
Shane McDonald swapped his work utility for a row boat yesterday as he surveyed the damage floodwaters had caused at Oxley Golf Club. In the 19 years he has been at the club McDonald says he has never seen anything like the floodwaters which inundated both the course and the surrounding suburbs. Fortunately for the club, all machinery was saved and flood levels peaked about a metre short of the maintenance shed and half a metre from the pump station.
“We rowed across the 1st and 10th greens yesterday,” says McDonald. “We’re pretty bad but certainly not as bad as some. About 35 per cent of the course was under yesterday. Four greens went under and we still have one under now. At the lowest point on the course the water level would have been about 4m. Several tees were also under, half the bunkers are trashed and there is rubbish all over the course like you wouldn’t believe – tyres, 44 gallon drums and even a 1000-litre fuel tank on the 6th fairway.
“We’ve got a working bee going at the moment and the greens which appeared this morning we have blasted the silt off with high pressure hoses. There were earthworms on the greens like you wouldn’t believe! We’ll follow up with some fungicides and fertilisers but the course will be closed for at least a week if not longer.”
Wolston Park Golf Club (superintendent Warren Langlands)
Warren Langlands only saw his course for the first time this morning after flood waters had cut off access from his home in Ipswich on Tuesday. What is normally a 20 minute trip to work took almost an hour as he navigated back roads to the course and the sight that greeted him when he arrived wasn’t pretty. While floodwaters had receded – the 12th remained under – a three-inch layer of silt was spread across much of the course with a total of nine greens going under. Floodwaters reached the guttering of the course maintenance facility, but fortunately all major machinery items had been moved to a nearby hospital car park on Tuesday. The clubhouse, pictured below, has suffered extensive structural damage, while the shed is seemingly okay although Langlands has lost all his files and records.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking,” says Langlands. “I’ve been here 16 years and it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this. I opened the door of my office and quickly closed it. The big task is now getting all the silt off the greens and all we have are shovels. It’s going to be a long road ahead.”
UPDATE 17 Jan: Click here to view photos from Wolston Park Golf CLub taken on Sunday 16 January and Wednesday 12 January
Update 18 Jan: The following notice appeared on the Wolston Park website late yesterday (17 January):
"We will be open for golf on Wednesday! A composite 10 hole course will be open at 8am on Wednesday 19th January 2011. Free for members and $13 green fees for social players. Competitions will start soon. Contrary to rumours, Wolston Park Golf Club is not closing, rather the opposite - we are working together to reopen and resume trading as soon as possible. Again we thank all volunteers for their dedication to WPGC and we look forward to see you playing the course again soon."
Royal Queensland Golf Club (superintendent Marcus Price)
Downstream at Royal Queensland Golf Club, superintendent Marcus Price and his crew are pinching themselves after remarkably escaping any major flood damage. Despite being situated right on the river beneath the Gateway Bridge, the course suffered no worse than what would normally occur during a king tide.
“We’re dumbfounded,” says Price. “Where we are the river straightens and widens out a lot and the water was moving that fast it seemingly didn’t have time to get over the top of us. We are very thankful as we thought we would be well and truly under. We were planning for the worst and on Tuesday and Wednesday we shifted everything up to our members practice tee. I stayed at the maintenance shed for three nights and was down at the river regularly checking the levels just in case we had to move anything else, but fortunately we escaped any major damage.”
Jindalee Golf Club, St Lucia Golf Links, University of Queensland grounds
The Cut has second-hand reports that the nine-hole Jindalee Golf Club, downstream from McLeod Country Golf Club, has been completely swamped with all machinery lost. Similarly, the Brisbane City Council maintained St Lucia Golf Links (superintendent Darren Turner) which neighbours Indooroopilly has suffered major damage and loss of equipment, while the University of Queensland campus just downstream from St Lucia has also been hit hard.
If you have any photos or stories to emerge from the floods and recent extreme weather in Queensland, please contact AGCSA editor Brett Robinson on (03) 9548 8600 or 0434 144 779 or email brett@agcsa.com.au
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Dint Golf operations manager Craig Bartlett contacted the AGCSA late last weekto inform members and the industry that it will donating 5 per cent of all sales from 12-31 January to the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal. For more information about the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and how to make a donation click here.
2010 ranks as Queensland's wettest year on record
The devastating floods to hit Queensland come after what was the state’s wettest year on record according to Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) statistics. In its Annual Climate Statement released in the first week of January, BOM said “exceptional” weather saw the state’s average rainfall nearly double that of a normal year. Queensland also had its wettest spring on record, as well as wettest September and December, while every month from August through to December ranked in their respective top 10s. Average rainfall across the state in 2010 was 1109.73mm, exceeding the previous record of 1103.77mm in 1950. Here are some rainfall stats from golf courses and weather stations around the state:
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Cairns Golf Club course superintendent and AGCSA member Brendan Clark says the course recorded a remarkable 3147mm in 2010 with September and October the wettest on record.
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Peter Smith at Tewantin Noosa Golf Club is looking forward to some drier and sunny weather after recording 641mm for December and 624mm for the first 11 days of January (a combined total of 1265mm).
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Mark Hauff at Colonial Golf Club on the Gold Coast reports the club has been inundated with water three times over the past six weeks. Just around the corner and Ben Baumann at The Glades has notched 644mm from 1 December 2010 to 12 January 2011.
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Mackay (1306mm – November and December 2010) - BOM
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Nambour (1300mm – 1 December 2010 – 1 January 2011) - BOM
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Maroochydoore (1048mm – 1 December 2010 – 12 January 2011) - BOM
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Gympie (944mm – 1 December 2010 – 12 January 2011) - BOM
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Toowoomba (739mm – 1 December 2010 – 12 January 2011) - BOM
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Maryborough (667mm – 1 December 2010 – 12 January 2011) - BOM
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Rockhampton (518mm – December 2010) - BOM
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Bundaberg (573mm – December 2010) - BOM
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