Green Improvement Strategy

Our greens have been under the microscope again in recent years. While at times, they have been acceptable, all too often they fall below member expectations.

Our greens have high levels of foreign grass, according to sports turf specialists STRI Australia. Read the 2023 report.

It has been difficult to keep foreign grass to a minimum as we do not have a pure source of Champion grass for re-surfacing or patching. Champion grass was used in the Club’s green replacement program 2012-2015.

For the past 18 months we have worked with our course superintendents and Troon to determine options for improving the greens and providing a premium playing surface.

In early 2024, after consultation with Troon, we overseeded our greens with Poa trivialis to ensure a consistent surface during winter. At that time we advised members that the Committee and Management Team would develop a strategy to improve the greens in consultation with the Course Advisory Group,

The recently agreed improvement strategy is to resurface the greens.

Green Resurfacing Plan

Stage 1 of the green resurfacing plan is to trial TifEagle grass on holes 19, 20 and 21 from January 2025, replacing the Champion and foreign grasses.

This trial will allow the Committee and Management Team to assess the performance of the TifEagle grass and the costs, timing and process associated with replacing these greens. This information will be used to determine the way forward for the potential replacement of the 18 greens on the Yeerongpilly Course and the East and West practice putting greens.

During the trial and before moving forward, Members will have opportunities to provide feedback on the plan in a range of ways.

Questions and responses are provided below. Please enter other questions by clicking here and we will add responses to the collection for the benefit of all members.

Why do we need to talk about the greens when they are so good at the moment?

Course Superintendent Marcus Hartup and the Course Team have done a great job with our greens and they are good at the moment. However, with the amount of foreign grass appearing, this is not sustainable. Additionally, while the greens have improved, they are still not at the level members expect.

What does contaminated / foreign grass look like?

Contaminated/foreign grass can be unsightly as it has a different growing habit to the desired turfgrass. This in turn makes it difficult to provide a true consistent putting surface.

What will happen if we don’t remove the foreign grass?

With the foreign grass being a different variety of couch grass there is no selective herbicide to reduce and eradicate it. Over time the foreign grass will increase due to spreading as practices such as verti-cutting and hollow coring spreading the grass.

What will happen if we do nothing?

If we do nothing, the foreign grass will continue to gradually spread, and the greens will provide an inconsistent ball roll and compromise the trueness of a well struck putt.

How do we know resurfacing is the right step forward for us?

Ultimately to have the greens presented to a high standard they need to be consistent in ball roll and playability. They will need to be resurfaced at some stage whether that be now or in the future.

Why don’t we fix the bunkers first?

We are currently working on the bunkers.

The most important element for improving our bunkers is the fix the drainage. We have purchased equipment to check our drainage and to unblock where required.

This is an important first step. Once the drainage issues are addressed, we will ensure we only consistent source the right standard of sand. Bringing in new sand before fixing drainage will not improve the bunkers.

Following the unblocking of bunker drains we will consider a capillary product to assist reduce wash outs and to further assist the drainage. We will also look at a program to reduce the number and size of bunkers as detailed in the Course Enhancement Plan. (Crafter & Mogford 2024).

Why is TifEagle the best grass?

TifEagle grass is already being used on a number of courses in South-East Queensland including Sanctuary Cove, Indooroopilly and will shortly be installed at Royal Queensland Golf Club. It is a proven surface.

There is a registered nursery of TifEagle in South-East Queensland.

Marcus Hartup has extensive experience working with TifEagle in South-East Queensland and Asia.

Several golf clubs in the USA are now moving from Champion to TifEagle.

What is involved in resurfacing the greens?

The process of re-surfacing the greens is as follows:

• Survey the greens to ensure the restoration of existing contours.
• Spray the green with a herbicide to eradicate any grass that is present
• Remove the grass from the surface.
• Excavate 200mm deep to reach beyond the rootzone.
• Apply a fumigate eradicate any roots that may be present.
• Install an amended sand with desirable physical and nutritional attributes, including Zeolite, Humalie, Humic Acid, TX 10 and Gypsum.
• Shape to the original contours.
• Apply fertilisers and plant the stolons.
• Grow in – fertilisers will be applied to assist in the growth as well as frequent topdressing to develop a smooth playing surface.

What is the next step?

Greens 19, 20, 21 will be the used to trial the process and time it takes from start to playability.