More than 50 greenkeepers and volunteers descended on Victoria s Drouin Golf Club recently to assist course superintendent Jason Allan and his crew resurface greens damaged by vandalism. As reported in past editions of The Cut, six of Drouin s greens suffered significant damage after they were sprayed with the herbicide Arsenal Xpress in early April. Despite best attempts over winter to nurse the greens back to health, the residual nature of the chemical meant that the club had to bite the bullet and resurface the affected greens. The National Golf Club (course manger and AGCSA member Leigh Yanner) on Victoria s Mornington Peninsula came to Drouin s rescue by donating 2815 square metres of new Mackenzie bentgrass turf which had been grown as part of the club s Old Course greens resurfacing project. Working with Anco Turf s Tim Elligate, 46 pallets of bentgrass turf were harvested by Anco staff on Monday and transported by semi-trailer to Drouin over three separate trips. After putting out a call for assistance a few weeks ago, more than 50 volunteers turned up at Drouin Golf Club early on Wednesday morning to help Allan and his crew resurface the six damaged greens. Volunteers came from numerous clubs and organisations including Gisborne GC, Frankston GC, Freeway GC, Metropolitan GC, Commonwealth GC, Kingston Heath GC, Royal Melbourne GC, Cape Schanck, Settlers Run, Trafalgar GC, Devil Bend GC, Leongatha GC, NMIT, Anco and the AGCSA. Such was the turnout that all six greens were finished before lunch-time and with enough time and turf to spare the volunteers were also able to resurface the club s new 19th green (Drouin Golf Club is a 27-hole complex). Although construction of the new 19th green had started back in January, due to the vandalism and then a wet winter in Victoria its reconstruction had been put on hold. The AGCSA commends all those who volunteered their time at Drouin and also The National Golf Club and Anco Turf for their generosity in supplying, harvesting and delivering the turf free of charge. If you were to put a total cost on the turf side of the project, Drouin received over $40,000 worth of product plus the laying component that the volunteer group happily donated. Congratulations to all involved. (Photos courtesy of Bruce Stephens, Anco and Andrew Peart, AGCSA)
Author: Brett Robinson / AGCSA