QUEENSLAND FLOOD UPDATE – TUESDAY 25 JANUARY

AGCSA board member Pat Pauli and AGCSA editor Brett Robinson visited a number of the flood-affected courses along the Brisbane River last Friday. To say it was an eye-opening and sobering experience would be an understatement and the sheer enormity of the task that superintendents, course maintenance staff and clubs face to reinstate the courses is quite overwhelming.  Courses visited included Indooroopilly Golf Club (superintendent Charlie Giffard), St Lucia Golf Links (superintendent Darren Turner), Brisbane Golf Club (superintendent Ben Cavanagh), McLeod Country Golf Club (superintendent Peter Daly), Jindalee Golf Club (superintendent Tony Richards) and Wolston Park Golf Club (superintendent Warren Langlands).

AGCSA editor Brett Robinson has uploaded a number of photos taken last Friday onto the AGCSA’s recently created Flickr photostream page showing the damage to some of the above courses and their maintenance facilities. These can be viewed through the following link http://www.flickr.com/photos/agcsa

While the clean-up continues unabated, superintendents are also contending with a raft of issues outside of just removing silt and debris from their courses. Major concerns now include the disposal of silt and sludge which in some instances is toxic, the disposal of damaged chemical containers and containers which have had their labels washed off, as well as ensuring that staff and volunteers are managed appropriately to ensure their health and safety. The AGCSA has received the following link from Dean Scullion at e-par which contains information from the Queensland Government website on workplace health and safety for repairs after flood damage. http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/subjects/floods/index.htm#chemical

While some courses have received excellent assistance from members of the turf industry to help in the clean up, there is still plenty of work to be done and if any clubs can spare a member of staff (mechanics included) or machinery they would be most welcome. One of the hardest hit is Jindalee Golf Club which was completely submerged (maintenance facility, machinery/equipment and chemical/fertiliser storage included) and superintendent Tony Richards would be most appreciative of any assistance whether in the form of  machinery or labour to help get the course back up on its feet. If you are in a position to help out, please contact the respective course superintendents. Contacts are:

Jindalee Golf Club – Tony Richards 0424 049 155
Indooroopilly Golf Club – Charlie Giffard 0438 602 689
St Lucia Golf Links – Darren Turner 0428 759 439
Brisbane Golf Club – Ben Cavanagh 0412 665 404
McLeod Country Golf Club – Peter Daly 0416 022 640
Wolston Park Golf Club – Warren Langlands 0418 785 422
Oxley Golf Club – Shane McDonald – 0410 545 345  

Here is a brief update on the situation at some of these clubs as well as other news of flood damage to other turf facilities around the state.

Jindalee Golf Club
The AGCSA was able to stop by Jindalee Golf Club and catch up with course superintendent Tony Richards and assistant Scott Fletcher to survey the damage to the course. The nine-hole Jindalee complex faces an uphill battle after the entire course was submerged, including maintenance facility, pumps shed and clubhouse. Unfortunately all machinery, equipment and chemicals/fertilisers contained within the maintenance facility have been severely damaged which is hampering the recovery effort. As mentioned above, Tony is seeking any assistance from the industry and he can be contacted on 0424 049 155.

Indooroopilly Golf Club
Superintendent Charlie Giffard had a fleet of 11 posi-tracks (bobcat with tracks) working overtime late last week clearing off silt and mud from fairways. Immediate focus is to try and reinstate the couple of holes on the East Course which were inundated so as to get some revenue coming back into the club. The West Course, which went 95 per cent under, is still a way off and Giffard has earmarked the start of March for possible re-opening. A number of Indooroopilly’s lady members spent much of last week mucking out the maintenance facility which was completely submerged.

Brisbane Golf Club
One end of the Brisbane Golf Club car park resembles a tip at the moment as Ben Cavanagh and his crew continue with the clean-up. Likewise the clubhouse and pro shop have become a makeshift staging ground for the club’s course maintenance machinery that was saved from flood waters, while staff continue to fish out pieces of equipment that floated away to far reaches of the course during the height of the flood. The maintenance facility still remains off limits as the club waits for insurance assessors to inspect the damage. 

McLeod Country Golf Club
Superintendent Peter Daly was enjoying a well-deserved cigar last Friday after what can only be described as rollercoaster of a week. Much of the course is still inaccessible due to being waterlogged, but all greens and tees have been cleaned off and Peter is hopeful of having some holes in play within the next week or two. 

Wolston Park Golf Club
A skip just outside what was once superintendent Warren Langland’s office is piled high with over 15 years’ worth of course maintenance records. The maintenance shed has been cleaned out and machinery that had been moved to higher ground when the floods hit has been rehoused. There are still vast areas of silt covering the 1st, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th fairways, however, the club reopened 10 holes last Wednesday.

Other Queensland flood news:

Works begin to reinstate Rockhampton’s Callaghan Park
This time last year the Rockhampton Jockey Club was unveiling its new $6 million turf track at Callaghan Park. Following the recent floods, however, the club is facing the prospect of a million dollar damage bill to the track and amenities.  Click here to read last Friday’s Brisbane Courier Mail story on Callaghan Park and subsequent update today from Racing Queensland’s facilities maintenance manager Warren Williams on the works to reinstate the track.

Bowls Queensland flood relief appeal
Bowls Queensland has launched a major disaster relief fund to help Queensland bowling clubs devastated by recent flooding get back on their feet. As reported in earlier updates on the AGCSA website, Jindalee Bowls Club, which is next door to Jindalee Golf Club, was one of the hardest hit along with Goodna and Esk bowling clubs. According to the Bowls Queensland website a number of other clubs were also badly affected including Oxley, Toowong, Chinchilla, Dayboro, East Bundaberg, Dalby, Tantitha, Windsor and Tenterfield. Click here to read more about the Bowls Queensland flood disaster relief fund. 

AFL Queensland HQ and grounds swamped
AFL Queensland’s new training and administration centre in Brisbane was also badly inundated by the recent floodwaters barely three months after it was opened. The ground level of the three-story building had water right through while nearby grounds, storage sheds, amenities buildings and the old Yeronga FC clubhouse all went under. Twelve senior and junior clubs state-wide were also hit by the record-breaking floods including Brisbane, Pine Rivers, Rockhampton, Darling Downs, Dalby, Gympie, Maryborough, Warwick, Nambour and Lockyer Valley. Click here to visit the AFL Queensland website.