Following the success of last year’s history-making combined tournament format on the Melbourne Sandbelt, the 2023 ISPS Handa Australian Open makes a welcome return to Sydney in late November at The Australian and The Lakes golf clubs. This year’s Open – featuring men’s, women’s and all abilities fields – tees off on 30 November and as we did in 2022 The Cut will carry regular weekly course updates leading into the tournament.

Both of this year’s venues are steeped in Open tradition. The very first Australian Open was held at The Australian in 1904, with the club hosting a further 20. Its last was in 2019 when home club hero Matt Jones secured a one-shot victory over fellow LIV Golf convert Louis Oosthuizen. The Lakes has entertained the elite men on seven previous occasions, including four since 2010. Between them, The Australian and The Lakes can lay claim to a total of 29 Australian Opens (both men’s and women’s).

The Australian is home to course superintendent Dan Cook (CSTM) who has been at the club since the spring of 2021. Arriving there after an extended period at Elanora Country Club in Sydney’s northern suburbs, this will be Cook’s first Australian Open. By no means, however, is this his first tournament, having been involved in numerous US Masters during his time on the crew at the famed Augusta National earlier in his career.

Marlon Johnston, a graduate of the 2021 Future Turf Managers’ Initiative, is one of two assistant superintendents at The Australian and will be providing The Cut with regular updates as the crew dials in the Rosebery course for the tournament. Originally from Tasmania, Johnston relocated to Sydney in 2014 where he went on to have stints at New South Wales GC and The Lakes before joining The Australian in March 2022. His previous tournament experience includes a US Open, World Golf Championship Matchplay and the 2018 Australian Open when he was at The Lakes.

(Pictured: Gearing up for the approaching ISPS Handa Australian Open are (from left) The Australian assistant Marlon Johnston and The Lakes assistants Jackson Nicholls and Michael Ervin)

A few clicks down Southern Cross Drive at The Lakes Golf Club, course superintendent Anthony Mills is gearing up for his third Australian Open. Mills arrived at The Lakes six months before the club was due to host the 2012 Australian Open. Initially employed as the assistant, within three weeks of starting he was thrust into the top job and with it the prospect of heading up the crew for the tournament. Mills led the team again for the 2018 Open and will lead them once more as they prepare the course for the opening two rounds as 2023 tournament co-hosts.

Similar to The Australian, The Lakes’ have two assistant superintendents – Michael Ervin and Jackson Nicholls – who will be providing updates on their preparations for The Cut. Ervin has been in the industry for 20 years and arrived at The Lakes in August 2022. He was previously assistant superintendent for two years at Kooindah Waters on the NSW Central Coast. Nicholls joined The Lakes crew as a second-year apprentice back in 2015, rising to an assistant’s role which he has held for the past three years. Both Ervin and Nicholls volunteered at Kingston Heath Golf Club during last year’s Australian Open.

The ASTMA sincerely thanks both clubs for providing these course updates as they gear up for this year’s Open. Read on for the respective first instalments which will also be posted on the ASTMA website and across our social media channels. Enjoy the read…

 

Open tradition continues for The Australian

The Australian Golf Club, situated on the outskirts of the Sydney harbourside and CBD, is no stranger to hosting the national golf championship. The club is proud of its position in Australian golfing folklore and this year, 2023, will be the 22nd time that the club has hosted the event, the first dating back to as early as 1904.   

The property has seen significant change over the past two years, with new golf course superintendent Dan Cook assuming the head role in October 2021. The course management team consists of two assistant superintendents – Shane George and Marlon Johnston – and two second assistant superintendents – Josh Presland and Vincent DeMarzo. The team that has developed during this period is made up of people with experience from all over the world and the success of our operation is aligned with our management structure, allowing the processes that we have in place to be executed at a high level for our daily membership enjoyment.

(Pictured top is the 9th green at The Australian looking across to the 7th green and 8th fairway; above is the 3rd green with the 4th green in the background)

Unlike the rain cycle that everyone endured throughout 2022, we have fortunately been able to control our maintenance and management outcomes through the winter of 2023. The extended period of stable weather has allowed our team to enjoy the fruits of their labour more than ever, and allowed the excitement to escalate knowing that we’re 60 days away from hosting the biggest event on the Australian golfing calendar.  

In coming editions of The Cut, we will share some insight into the areas that we have focused on over the last 12 months. These include greens and short-cut grass renovations, tree and landscape management, bunker renovation project, infrastructure upgrades and our tournament preparation.

Marlon Johnston – The Australian GC

 

 

Open anticipation builds for the Lakes crew as course masterplan works coninute to bed in

The maintenance team’s excitement has been building through the last few months, with this year’s tournament to be the first for a vast majority of The Lakes staff. We have placed a countdown on the door of the lunchroom which is helping to build the anticipation levels among the crew as the days tick over. We are very excited to be hosting such a unique tournament, and for myself and Michael it will be a great progression having been involved with last year’s tournament preparation at Kingston Heath Golf Club.

The weather we have experienced throughout winter has been hugely different to previous years. Minimum temperatures were higher than last year and the total amount of rain has decreased compared to the last couple of years. This has resulted in less wear and tear on playing surfaces over these months which has enabled the surfaces to gain a head start out of the winter months.

In April, the club completed the first stage of The Lakes Golf Club masterplan works. With assistance from course architect OCM, we completed a number of small and large projects over a period of a month. These included:

• New pathways on the 2nd tee and 8th green complex;
• New championship tees on the 2nd and 8th;
• Rebuilding and expanding the 3rd tee;
• Widening the 5th championship tee;
• Extending the 5th fairway bunker;
• Linking the fairways between 5 and 6;
• Extending the back of the 7th green;
• Building a new fairway bunker on the 8th (previous two were removed);
• Extending the surround at the back of the 8th; and
• Reshaping windblown sandy wastes on 2, 5 and 7;

Throughout winter the team has undertaken numerous tasks to improve the course and we will go into these in greater detail in future updates. We are currently in the middle of our club championships, so the next few weeks we will be fine-tuning areas of the course. We have greens, fairways and tees renovations planned post-club champs and this will be very light and dependent on the weather.

Jackson Nicholls and Michael Ervin – The Lakes GC