Family connections are running deep within the hard-working tournament crew at the 2025 BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland (RQ) this week, with father-son combinations and even a newly-engaged couple on a holiday of a lifetime working together to get the course in world-class condition.

Long-time RQ assistant superintendent Michael Todd and qualified greenkeeper son Jarod (pictured right) are notching up their fifth consecutive PGA since the tournament’s arrival in Brisbane in 2021 and are again enjoying some quality time together at one of Australia’s most iconic sporting events. 

Michael, who has been with the club for 27 years and is a seasoned pro of the turf industry, says it is always enjoyable to work with his son who has now taken over his former role as the club’s irrigation technician.

“It’s really good to have that working relationship,” says Michael. “Jarod’s taken over that role from me, I’ve obviously moved on now to being assistant and it’s been a good stepping stone for that. For us two it’s good to have that relationship. I have two other sons as well, but to work with Jarod and teach him is great. He does things differently to what I do at times and he is able to also teach me things, so we enjoy it.” 

RQ foreman Tim Peters and his 14-year-old son Dallas (pictured above) are another father-son pairing enjoying plenty of bonding time prepping the course, with the Year 8 Brisbane Adventist College student looking to one day follow his dad’s footsteps into the industry. With the blessing of his school and the club, Dallas has lined up alongside the tournament crew this week and hasn’t been fazed one bit by the 3:30am starts or doing the hard yards out on the course. Indeed, he hasn’t been given any special favours and has been chucked in as part of the back nine bunker crew, working alongside RQ crew member Ashton Downes.

“I’m really enjoying it,” says sports-mad Dallas, who as well as enjoying golf also plays soccer, rugby, touch and does jiu-jitsu. “I was keen since April to do it and dad talked to a couple of people at the club and it was confirmed in September. I’ve done some work experience on the golf course with dad before and come in on the weekends sometimes too. I really enjoy it and it’s something I’d like to get into one day. 

“Working in the bunkers is kind of tiring, but I still like it. I’m working with Ashton so we can get them done pretty fast. I find it easy now because I know all the ways you have to rake them. It’s been a great week hanging out with dad, meeting all the people, getting to know the volunteers and talking to the PGA officials and members.” 

“It has been great having him here,” adds Tim, who together with his family made the move to Brisbane from New Zealand a decade ago. “Everyone has really taken him under their wing and I think it has been good for the crew having him around. He’s really keen about the industry and hopefully one day he may look at doing an apprenticeship. He’s willing to learn and as part of this week he’s done a bit of backlapping with me and even learnt to walk-mow the nursery green. 

“He’s been really good. I haven’t had any issues getting him out of bed for the early morning starts. Normally they muck around a little bit when it’s a school day, but he gets 10 minutes to get up and ready before we are on the road. He has taken the week off school and they were all for it, although he might have to do some sort of presentation when he gets back!”  

And UK tournament volunteers Lottie Fosten and Issac Peate (pictured right), on a holiday in Australia and both qualified greenkeepers at golf courses in England, are enjoying their time working Down Under at the PGA Championship. The couple, who two weeks ago got engaged in Sydney at the picturesque Balmoral Beach and have been travelling along the NSW coast, are passionate about all things golf, being outdoors but more importantly sharing that journey together.

Fosten (pictured above), who is the only female working on the RQ tournament crew this week, is an assistant greenkeeper at the famous Wentworth Club, one of the UK’s leading courses and perennial host of the DP World Tour’s BMW Championship.

Peate (pictured below) works as an assistant greenkeeper at Cottesmore Golf and Country Club in West Sussex, an hour south of Wentworth. The pair met in school, but a shared love of the outdoors and nature brought them together in the industry.

“We met before we got into golf,” explains Peate, who has been part of the back nine fairway mowing team this week. “I’ve always played golf and we met in school and then when we left school we were both looking for jobs. I asked if I could get a job greenkeeping at a golf club and I’ve been at Cottesmore since.”

Peate would ultimately get Fosten into the industry by landing her a job at Cottesmore before she took up a position on the crew at Wentworth as a trainee greenkeeper in May 2024. 

“For me, I’ve grown up on a farm and always been really outdoorsy,” says Fosten who has been part of the front nine bunker crew. “I went into gardening straight out of school and then Isaac and his boss were quite keen to get me involved in their team and that’s when I got into greenkeeping. It’s not too different and dissimilar to gardening and we both now really enjoy it." 

Keep your eyes peeled for their full stories in the upcoming edition of the Australian Turfgrass Management Journal, as well as a range of 2025 Australian PGA Championship coverage and photos.

Story and photos: Nick Creely and Brett Robinson.