It was a huge week for the crew at Mount Lawley Golf Club in Perth last week as they prepared the course for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open. 

In what was a grand unveiling of sorts for the club since its major three-year redevelopment completed this past February, the new-look course was widely lauded for its conditioning and presentation as Oliver Bekker, playing on an invite, prevailed for his first Tour win. With a four-round total of just 7-under, he became the first South African winner of the WA Open since the great Gary Player in 1956.

It was the 11th time Mount Lawley has hosted the WA Open and the second for course manager Rod Tatt who was only a few weeks into the job when the club last held it in 2018, having just arrived from Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne. Together with assistant course manager Connor McLellan, Tatt oversaw an expanded crew of 24 for this year's tournament which included 16 Mount Lawley staff (eight full-time and eight casual) and a number of local and interstate volunteers. 

Joining the crew for the week were Braydon LIoyd and Tom Nelson from Eastern Golf Club in Melbourne along with another Victorian in Rob Halsall (Golf Buying & Service Australia). More locally, Ben Eddy (superintendent, Whaleback Golf Club) and two of his crew – Rhys Jones and Jerome West – lent valuable assistance, while Toro WA reps Rich Gainsford and Greg Jackson also pitched in. All 24 were on deck for morning course setup, with between 12-15 returning in the afternoons. 

 A key aim of the recent OCM redevelopment was to bring a touch of the Melbourne Sandbelt to Mount Lawley. Working with OCM chief designer Mike Cocking, Tatt and his team orchestrated the three-stage project which saw the reconstruction of 21 greens, six tees, a major overhaul of the practice facilities and clubhouse surrounds and reversal of the nines. 

Arguably the most unique aspect of the redevelopment, however, was the significant shift in bunkering style. All greenside and fairway hazards now boast a distinct Melbourne Sandbelt style which has helped give the club a point of difference within the Perth market. The greens are now cut right to the edge of the bunkers, while the backsides and tongues are rolled over Santa Ana couchgrass oversown with fine fescue. 

That Sandbelt feel has also translated into the new greens surfaces. The firm and fast 007 bentgrass greens that Tatt and his crew produced for the WA Open drew widespread praise, including from tournament drawcard Marc Leishman who would eventually finish in a tie for third, two shots behind Bekker. Earlier in the week Leishman had said that he thought Mount Lawley would deliver the preparation he wanted for this year’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne and that’s exactly what the Perth course delivered – firm greens and strong afternoon breezes that made them even firmer. 

After his second round 3-under-par 69, shot in tricky afternoon conditions, Leishman commented: “That was as Sandbelt as I’ve ever seen. That was rock hard. It was difficult, but it was awesome. It was so much fun to have to work shots left or right or right to left and land them on a hill to get them to a pin. I love that sort of golf and I think it really rewards good play and it definitely punishes bad play.”

OCM Golf were also interested observers of how the surfaces played and posted the following plaudits across their social media channels: “Rod Tatt and his team have done an incredible job with the course this week. Creating more of a Sandbelt-like experience was a big part of our renovation @mountlawleygolfclub and great to see the players enjoying some firm and fast conditions for the WA Open.”

“I think the course, and greens in particular, performed exceptionally well,” reflects Tatt, who was delighted with the feedback he and the club received from players and officials alike. “Given the time of year it wasn’t optimum couch-growing weather, however, it was the perfect time for the 007 bentgrass greens. We were able to run low moisture levels and present some very firm surfaces which the players seemed to love and the spectators enjoyed watching.  

“Moisture was reduced to less than six per cent in the afternoons (Pogo readings) and the greens seemed to handle that very well and got better as the week went on. As the greens were reconstructed over a three-year period there is some variance in age and as expected the more mature greens performed the best, requiring less water and recovering better from moisture stress. 

"We used the USGA GS3 ball to collect data and all the greens were consistent for speed, smoothness, trueness and firmness which was very pleasing. 

“The new-look OCM-designed greens and bunkers proved to be a great challenge for the players and placed a much greater emphasis on course strategy. That was the main difference from the 2018 Open and that was reflected in the scores this year, with the winning total just 7-under par. Tight hole locations and very firm greens brought the best players to the top of the leaderboard.” 

Cutting heights and course preparations/parameters for tournament week included:  
•    Fairways 8mm (mown every morning before play to remove dew);
•    Tees and green surrounds 6mm (mown every mowing before play to remove dew);
•    Green collars 4mm (mown three times during tournament week)
•    Greens were cut at 2.5mm in the weeks leading in. On the Monday of tournament week they were at 2.2mm and reduced to 2mm on Friday afternoon (single mow morning and afternoon with Toro Flex 1021s)
•    Greens were rolled on the Monday morning after a mow before the pre-qualifying. 
•    Greens received 500ml/ha of Primo Maxx the Friday before tournament week. Potassium silica and penetrant applied the Sunday afternoon prior to pre-qualifying.
•    Moisture readings, using Pogo moisture probes, and hand watering of the greens were undertaken in the afternoons.
•    As mentioned, Tatt’s staff used the new USGA GS3 ball every morning to collect data. Performance metrics (average overview) for the week were: Green Speed 11.10 feet; Smoothness 3.68 (readings of 0.0-5.0 are rated by the USGA as ‘High-quality ball roll with minimal vertical deviations’; Trueness 0.77 (readings of 0.0-1.0 are rated by the USGA as ‘High-quality ball roll with minimal horizontal deviations’; Firmness 0.351 (readings between 0.300 and 0.350 are rated by the USGA as ‘Extremely firm’)  
“Everything ran very smoothly which is a testament to the planning, organisation and long hours from Connor and the rest of the team,” says Tatt. “Their commitment to preparing a fantastic golf course for the tournament was outstanding. The weather was very consistent throughout the tournament week with low- to mid-20 degrees most days with afternoon southwest winds up to 25kph which made the course challenging for the players. 

“There were many highlights during the tournament but what was really pleasing was the way the Mount Lawley staff and greenkeeping volunteers gelled together and really committed to each of their roles. It was a fun week and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and I cannot thank everyone enough for their support.” 

The ASTMA congratulates Rod, Connor and the whole Mount Lawley tournament crew on  successfully hosting and the fabulous conditions they presented for the WA Open.

Story: Brett Robinson; Photos: Rod Tatt/Australian Golf Media