For the 13th consecutive year, Kalgoorlie Golf Course hosted the WA PGA Championship last weekend, the third event in this season’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and first of a two-week swing over in the West. Kalgoorlie superintendent Roger Innes and his expanded crew had the Graham Marsh-designed course in peak condition for the tournament which featured the biggest ever contingent of international players for the $250,000 event.

The tournament was Innes’ second in charge having arrived at the club in early 2024. It has been a whirlwind 18 months for Innes who landed in Kalgoorlie after a successful 20-year career in South Africa where he was superintendent at the 36-hole Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg between 2005 and 2023. Initially taking on the foreman role at Kalgoorlie, within six months he was elevated to superintendent and preparing the course for last year’s WA PGA. Originally from Johannesburg, Innes relayed his journey from South Africa to Australia at the GCSAWA Margaret River Conference in August including some of the challenges he had to overcome with visas in order to get here.

Having last year’s tournament under the belt meant for a smoother lead in for Innes and his crew. However, they had to navigate the Top 100 course through what was a much colder winter and then deal with a 60mm deluge on the eve of tournament week which came off the back of no rain for a month.

“We had an especially cold winter with many frosts that did brown off the couchgrass quite severely,” explains Innes. “Fortunately, although September was dry, we had good water reserves so we could get the soil profile fairly wet. That 60mm of rain was pretty much perfect and while it did make for some extra work – fixing bunkers, repairing areas of erosion in our desert roughs and clearing a few fallen trees – it took all the pressure off having to manage watering during the tournament.

“Any areas on the fairways and rough that were struggling with drought greened up immediately. The only problem was the greens were very soft at the beginning of the week but they firmed up as things dried out. We had done a lot of work through winter finding and unblocking drains in the desert rough which made a huge difference coping with that rain which hit on the Sunday before tournament week.” continued...

With good grass coverage across the course, Innes and his team (pictured above) had the Wintergreen fairways at 8mm for the tournament, green surrounds and tees at 6mm and the 007 bentgrass greens at 3mm. Two weeks prior the greens were lightly verti-mowed and dusted with sand.

“Tournament week went really well,” continues Innes. “With improved growth we had much better definition between the fairways and rough which made a massive visual difference. The weather was just perfect as well which made it very easy to control green speeds and firmness.

“As it was my second time in charge, knowing what to expect definitely made things easier this time around. We also had a larger team. Since the last tournament, our team has now grown to 15 which includes seven full-timers and the rest part-time students and people on working holiday visas. We are still looking for apprentices to join the team. Having a bigger team meant the attention to detail with our preparations was much greater than last year. We also had the members come out and volunteer their bunker raking services during the week.”

While current New Zealand Open champion Ryan Peake headed what was a high-quality field, it would be Austin Bautista who ended up prevailing in the perfect Kalgoorlie conditions. The Sydneysider, already a two-time winner in 2025 on the Sunshine Tour in Africa, birdied the 72nd hole to claim a one-shot win over good friend Jay McKenzie. Bautista shot a final round 2-under 70 to run down Mackenzie (73) who led by as many as five shots early in the final round.

Bautista, who as a result of the win jumps to third on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, was full of praise for the course that Innes and his team had produced. Speaking after shooting an opening round six-under on the Thursday, Bautista commented: “I would say, if anything, the greens are the best I’ve ever seen them. They are by far one of the best sets of greens I’ve putted on this season, including in South Africa.”

The second leg of the Tour’s WA double – the Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open – tees off off at Mount Lawley Golf Club this Thursday, with superintendent Rod Tatt, assistant Connor McLellan and the crew getting the opportunity to showcase the recently redeveloped course for the first time in a major tournament setting.

As was highlighted in ATM Volume 27.2 (March-April 2025), this past February the club officially opened its new-look course, signalling the end of an intensive three-year project under the auspices of OCM Golf. The redevelopment saw the reconstruction of 21 greens (converted to 007 bentgrass), six tees, a major overhaul of the practice facilities and clubhouse surrounds and reversal of the nines. After initially focussing on just greenside bunkers, all fairway bunkers were rebuilt as well, with the overall number of hazards going from 62 to 86 and increasing in size as well. CLICK HERE to read the full story.

The ASTMA congratulates Roger and his team at Kalgoorlie on their efforts to present their course for the WA PGA and wishes Rod and his team at Mount Lawley all the best for the coming days.

Story: Brett Robinson; Photos: Australian Golf Media/Roger Innes