Industry News
MYGolf off to a
kick start!
MYGolf is well and truly up and
running with 200 registered
centres across the country in all
States and Territories. The response to the program has been
extremely positive with all State
& Territory Associations and
Clubs embracing the program.
Only launched in December at
the (Men’s) Australian Open, the
program is off to a flying start
with the commencement of the
School Term this year. Already
there are over 600 enrolments.
The highest number of participants to date at a single centre
has been achieved by Brisbane
Boys College with 50. In other
States - Tasmania GC (28),
North Adelaide (20) Kareela
(20) Royal Queensland (33),
Mansfield (17).
In addition to the MYGolf Skills
Challenge, the new school programs are commencing nationally through State dedicated
field officers and support personnel. Special thanks to the
support of Drummond Golf and
the other major golf manufacturers by providing golf kits at
no cost to schools undertaking a
golf program.
The program was also promoted
during the Handa Women’s Australian Open, and receives the
full support and endorsement of
the leading Australian Players.
Clubs can register as a MYGolf
National Centre at no cost, and
receive a kit of information valued at over $100.
For more details visit www.golfaustralia.org.au/mygolf
The West experiencing a long HOT summer
The Golf Course Superintends Association of Western Australia (GCSAWA) has reported on the HEAT
wave experienced in Western Australia. It may have officially ticked
over from summer to autumn a
few weeks ago, but GCSAWA president and Wembley Golf Complex
superintendent Darren Wilson sent
through some amazing stats which
again highlights the extremes this
country can throw up for those in
the turf management game.
While many other states experienced their wettest summers on
record, most notably Queensland
and Victoria which were decimated
by floods, the west has literally
baked over summer and despite
the change of seasons there
seems to be little respite in sight.
The West has had just over
100mm from 1 September 2010
to 17 March 2011, while mean
temperatures throughout January,
February and March have been in
the low to mid-30s. Wilson reports
that many superintendents have
already used between 80-90 per
cent of their annual water budget
for the financial year and many
courses have suffered significant
turf loss either through having to
turn sprinklers off or because of
severe disease pressures (Wilson
says he has never had such issues
with disease on his greens during
his time at Wembley).
Looking at Perth’s Bureau of Meteorology stats for the past seven
months, they certainly make for
interesting reading. After recording some 250mm last winter and
a further 75mm for spring, it has
been the summer months which
have proved most trying. Just
30mm has fallen since Christmas Day, nearly half of that total
coming on 6 January, while just
0.4mm was fallen since 1 February
2011. Compounding pressures for
superintendents and turf managers has been the run of consistently high temperatures and in the
27 days from 6 February 2011 to
4 March 2011, temperatures failed
to dip below 30 (lowest was 30.1
and highest was 39.0). January’s
mean temperature was 32.5, February’s was 34.1 and the March to
date mean sits at 31.5.
Industry on the Move
Australian General Manager appointments:
Southport Golf Club (Qld): Steve Lamerton; Midlands Golf Club
(Vic): Mark Dalmau; Mangrove Mountain Golf Club (NSW): Paul
Alexander; Kareela Golf Club (NSW): Tony Treeve; Wynnum Golf
Club (Qld): Paul Fitzpatrick; Marrickville Golf Club (NSW): Brodie
Pike; Oatlands Golf Club (NSW): Barnaby Sumner; Alice Springs
Golf Club (NT): Brad Clarke; Bendigo Golf Club (Vic): Brian
Wearne; Portsea Golf Club (Vic): Peter Heppell; Royal Queensland
Golf Club (Qld): Andrew Kirkman.
New Zealand appointments:
Ian Litchfield at the Pukekohe Golf Club; Kim Michelle Bond at
Gulf Harbour Country Club; Rodney Sentch at Clarks Beach Golf
Club; Paul Holmes Lakes Golf Course
Golf Industry Central Autumn 2011
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