2023 ISPS HANDA AUSTRALIAN OPEN: 30 NOV-3 DEC
THE AUSTRALIAN AND THE LAKES - COURSE UPDATES 

The Australian Golf Club assistant superintendent Marlon Johnston and The Lakes Golf Club assistant Michael Ervin continue their 2023 ISPS Handa Australian Open course updates as the tournament countdown continues...

THE AUSTRALIAN'S BUNKER RENOVATION PROJECT

A huge focus for The Australian Golf Club over winter and spring this year has been our bunker renovation project. During the La Nina weather event between 2020-2023, the club identified that the bunkers weren’t performing well and they were considered by the membership to be the weakest part of the property. Their poor performance was highlighted through significant rain events where 2600mm of rain fell across a 13-month period (see photos right).

Having gone through years of bunkers being in less than acceptable condition, the membership voted in favour of a complete renovation, with the key considerations being;

• Restoration of the original bunker shapes in line with the intended Jack Nicklaus design;
• Installation of a porous bunker liner;
• Sand selection;
• Management of the construction footprint;
• Maintenance strategies and performance longevity;
• Future drainage provisions; and
• Future uninterrupted membership play during weather events.

The bunker renovation project began in earnest on 15 June 2023. Over the course of the next 17 weeks a total of 76 bunkers (in excess of 8000 square metres) would be reconstructed. The success of this project has been attributed to the partnership developed by the club and golf course construction company Atlas Golf. Jim Norfolk, owner of Atlas Golf, and course superintendent Dan Cook managed the project, while construction foreman Josh Nicholson orchestrated the daily operations. The positive relationship developed by staff from Atlas Golf and The Australian Golf Club has allowed the project to be completed in great time and the outcome has exceeded expectation.

The bunker renovation process began by defining the shape of the new bunker edge and creating the horizon line. All bunkers had a new vertical edge cut in and all turf, sand and existing drainage material was removed (pictured right). The next step was to grade the sub-base of the bunker and ensure that the base was modified to increase the playable area in the base of the bunkers. After the grading was complete, new drainage was installed along with a gravel layer. On top of the gravel layer, the porous bunker liner was installed (see photos right), and the final stage of this process was sand installation.

During the project, the in-house team assisted with many aspects of the construction. Once that phase had been completed, The Australian Golf Club staff took over the preparation for play which included rolling, watering, packing and final shaping of each bunker before it was re-opened. Key successes of the project were:

• Minimal construction footprint left onsite;
• Time management of the project;
• The relationship between The Australian Golf Club and Atlas Golf staff;
• Consistent playability of bunkers and membership satisfaction;
• Reduced maintenance during future weather events; and
• Aesthetically enhancing each hole.

Marlon Johnston, assistant superintendent, The Australian Golf Club

 

LIGHT RENOVATION LOOMS FOR THE LAKES CREW 

It has been another productive week at The Lakes as we lead into the final round of our club championships on Sunday and then straight into our light renovation which we will make a start on that same afternoon. Weather and golf numbers have been a bit kinder this week, with temperatures down and scattered showers over a couple of days helping to take the pressure off the course a little. On Monday we had a large charity golf day which didn’t tee off until midday, which allowed us to close the course in the morning so we could get a lot of work done uninterrupted.

Some of the major on course activities this week have included:

• Applying wetting agent to all playing surfaces as well as a nematicide, insecticide and fungicide application to the greens.
• Stump grinding (pictured below right) of any the trees that have fallen over during the last few months, most of which have been in areas that have become overgrown with tea tree. Opening these areas up has made a real difference to the views around the course.
• Re-shaping and levelling of bunkers. Due to the winds that happen here and how open the course is, sand tends to get shifted around a lot. Sharpening up the entry points, levelling out the bases and throwing sand up the faces and under the bunker lips is the main priority, doing them now and getting them to settle before the tournament arrives. (Pictured above left are staff shaping the 9th greenside bunker and right the finished 10th greenside bunker.)
• Continuation of turfing any weak or bare areas around the course. We are getting these areas in now so that they will be grown in properly by the start of the Open. We have been replacing it with turf cut from the back of the driving range which itself will be replaced with farm turf once the project is complete.
• And finally, after it’s long-awaited arrival we received delivery of our new Toro 3500 Sidewinder rotary mower this week (pictured below left). This will be used for our fescue areas around tees and bunkers and also along our lake edges. It will help to cut down the time it takes to maintain these areas.

Michael Ervin, assistant superintendent, The Lakes GC