NZPGA Pro-Am Championship

Day 5 – Four Amazing Days, Three Golf Champs, 2 Holes in One and one NZPGA Pro-Am Champion

After knocking out our last breakfast for the green staff this morning, we thought what better way to finish off our adventure in Arrowtown than with a round of golf at Arrowtown Golf Club.  Hosted by Course Superintendent Rick Machray, we were joined by Mike Davies (Timaru Golf Club), his mate Scott Adams, the John Deere team of Pete Calder and Paul Mooney and us - Brandon, Grant and me.  The heat of the day, and the fact that we wanted to get back to watch the last round at the Hills, meant we could only squeeze in 9 fantastic holes.  For the record, the PGG Wrightson Turf Team got one over the John Deere Team, perhaps the beginnings of an annual grudge match to be held again next year!

The last round of golf at The Hills was very memorable.  Sitting around the 15^th green, dubbed the Party Hole, we were privileged to sit down with a few drinks to see some amazing golf going on around us.  The gallery went mental on the 16^th behind us when not for the first time today, Hollywood actor and amateur golfer, Don Cheadle knocked in a hole in one.  At that stage, the course leader Michael Hendry from Auckland managed a quadruple bogey to set up a two way battle down the last holes.  He would have been sweating it out after putting on the 18^th, then after an agonising 15 - 20 minutes he was finally confirmed as the NZPGA Pro-Am Champion for 2012. 

Good news for South Island golf fans - the tournament is being brought forward next year and will be held in late February, ensuring the organisers of perhaps more stable and warmer weather.  The format of the tournament was a huge success and we have been very proud to be associated with The Hills in a way that presents such a spectacular backdrop for the golf that plays on around it.

The last nights in Arrowtown allowed us to let our hair down for one last time and help celebrate a very successful tournament.  Mother Nature came to the party all week and we were spoilt with some amazing scenery in a special part of our country.

To all the people we caught up with during our travels around Central Otago, especially Ian Douglas, Brendon Allen and the team at The Hills, it was great to see you all again and many thanks for your kind hospitality.  I’m sure we will see you all again soon. 

From the South Island Turf Team, we hope you have enjoyed our regular updates from Arrowtown. Take a peek through our picture gallery on our website to see some of the action during the week.   Keep checking back for more blog posts from the rest of our team coming through soon.   Till then, take care. 

 

 

Day 4 – The End of the Summer Evenings

It would be fair to say that there were a few tired looking people around the maintenance shed this morning, us included.  After a week of early starts (and some would say the odd late night) the days are starting to catch up on us.  We have one more day to prepare breakfast for the team before we pack up and head back to reality and the comfort of our own beds.

Tomorrow marks the end of daylight savings where we will need to put the clock back an hour.  It definitely feels as though the season is changing where we are having milder temperatures and an amazing spectrum of colours from golden yellows to burnt amber within the trees around The Hills.

Brandon, Steve Hill and the John Deere lads have spent some time out on the course today soaking up the action.  Today’s format differs from the previous two days where the amateurs have now joined the field, pairing up with the Pro’s.  Players joining the Pro’s today include Prime Minister John Key, Hollywood actor, producer, philanthropist and author Don Cheadle, the hottest property in NZ golf at the moment Lydia Ko, double international Jeff Wilson and ex Wallaby Nick Farr-Jones.  Great to see more spectators on the course walking around checking out some great talent on the course, as well as the ‘hackers’ who have paid up to $10 K to have a round on this magnificently maintained golf course.  It’s not every day we get the chance to walk around a beautifully groomed golf course looking at browntop seed heads blowing in the rough, in amongst some works of art from Michael Hill’s son Mark, a sculpture artist.

Our newest team member, Grant Bunting heads over from Wanaka later on tonight to lend his hand tomorrow and wield the Barbie Mate over the grill.  He will be on his first PGG Wrightson Turf BBQ, one of many more that we do around the South Island for the industry.  

Tomorrow we get the chance to head out for a hit around Rick Machray’s backyard of Arrowtown Golf Club.  Dubbed by many as the best non-resort course in NZ, it will be great to experience some of the purest browntop greens you will find anywhere.  It is great to have an association with this course through our new browntop cultivar called Arrowtown. 

Great to see another of our colleagues down here, albeit on holiday with his wife Michelle, is Brian Griffiths.  We managed to sneak in a few lemonades with him and Michelle last night whilst they are down for the weekend, celebrating a birthday we understand! 

Just a quiet day today being the weekend, so I’ll sign off before I report back tomorrow for the last day of the tournament.  Till then, take it easy.

  

Day 3 - Run Bugs Run!

Another cracking day down here today, the lads on the course were lucky not to have a frost like they did yesterday, but she was still a nippy morning.

Today’s blog just touches on The Hills course; it’s the people that help turn the cogs and also make the tournament run smoothly.

The course consists of 18 holes, a practice driving range, a practice chipping range and also a putting green.  General Manager Ian Douglas and Golf Course Operations Manager Brendon Allen (previously from Royal Auckland Golf Club) lead a team of approximately 18 staff to keep the course maintained throughout the year.  An extra half a dozen turfies have come in to help during the tournament.

The Hills tournament figures:

• Greens and Tees – Egmont browntop.  Greens are cut down to a height of 2.85 mm.  Tees are cut at a height of 7 mm.  Green speed is kept at around 10.5 feet.  The greens are soil based and only recently have they initiated a sand topdressing programme.
• Fairways – Silhouette chewings fescue, Jasper II creeping red fescue and Duraturf Colonial Blend.  They are maintained at a height of 11 mm.
• Primary and Long Rough – sown down in a similar blend to the fairways but maintained at 25 mm and 75 mm respectively.
• Pre-tournament Greens fertiliser – CPR, True Foliar Si (silica) and True Foliar MgMn (magnesium and manganese) at 2 treatments approximately 10 days apart.  This brew is tank mixed with Primo Maxx to aid in green speed.
• Brendon has had the chance to spray some Breakthru Gold on the surrounds and approaches to aid in dew removal, thereby reducing the risk of frost.  He is very happy with the result.
• Tournament preparation began about 2 months ago when they began burning in mowing patterns on the fairways.  The crew have been hands on since then.
• During the tournament the crew start work at 4am under headlamps and are back in the shed for breakfast at 7.30am. 

 

One interesting fact you may not know about The Hills is the pest programme that is undertaken on a regular basis to keep on top of the rabbit population.  Every now and then a Rabbit Hunter is called upon to have a run around the course.  With him are his 12 hunting dogs and 2 ferrets.  The ferrets are sent down the rabbit hole to flush the little critters up, much to the delight of the dogs.  On a good day the hunter can take care of over 100 furry bunnies! 

Hopefully we can bring you some photos of the course later today or tomorrow.  We haven’t had the chance to head out yet, but this afternoon looks promising to watch a bit of golf and walk the course on a pearler of a day.

P.S. the cold beer tasted good last night after the 30 km Macetown mountain bike ride with Mark, Blair Dibley and Tony Rae (Dunstan Golf Club). Amazing views, 30+ river crossings and burning quads to finish it off.  Great to get out and enjoy the district whilst we are here!

Till next time, take it easy.

 

Day Two – One Hell of a Frost

Mother Nature has turned on another absolute stunner day today – albeit was a little nippy at 6.00am this morning.  With an on-course ground temperature reading of 0.4 degrees  (air temperature at 1 m was 3 degrees), and it was fair to say when the crew came in off the course this morning, there were a few cold hungry souls looking forward to hooking into another cooked breakfast to warm their cockles.  A ripper frost in some areas of the course, coupled with a heavy fog layer, resulted in play being delayed by 1.5 hours.  The players won’t complain once the day warms up I would imagine!

One guest that is also bunking in with us in the house is Troy Jordan, the 2IC from Forsyth Barr Stadium.  Although he comes from a stadium environment (he initially came over to NZ from his previous role at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne), he kindly put his hand up to come over to Queenstown to help out and experience the buzz around the town.  Other volunteers that are present helping out on the course include the Year 1 students from the Otago Polytech.  Their tutors Gary Smith and Bob Steel brought them up to Christchurch recently and they had the privilege of spending half a day at Kimihia Research Centre to have a look around some of the trial work going on with our browntop and perennial ryegrass breeding programmes.

  

Mark, Blair Dibley and I managed to get in 45 km on the mountain bikes last night – with me dragging the chain behind I might add.  Later on this afternoon we are heading up the Arrow River from Arrowtown to the old gold mining village of Macetown for another 30 odd km.  Might feel the burn later on again after this one! 

As I type this blog, Mark and I are heading over to Wanaka to catch up with a new member of our team, Grant Bunting.  Grant starts with us later mid-April so will be good catch up with him and to get out and have a look around the Wanaka Golf Club, just might need a beanie and some merino socks I think!  Then later on Mark and I are off to visit Simon Foreshaw at Jacks Point.  I always look forward to going into Jacks, you really do feel like you are in another world when you walk around this breath-taking course, especially on a day like today!

Tomorrow’s report will focus around some of the details around the tournament itself and also some in-depth information about The Hills course.   Tomorrow’s breakfast should allow me some time to sit down with both Ian Douglas and newly appointed Golf Course Operations Manager Brendon Allen to get some goss on the course I hope!  Hopefully we can report back tomorrow with some great photos of the area at the same time.

Till tomorrow, have fun out there.

 

 

Day 1 – Grilling at The Hills

Here is the first ever blog I have written, the first of more to come from the scenic surroundings of Arrowtown.  It's absolutely stunning down here at this time of year and there's not a better place you would want to be in with the change in seasons fast upon us.

The PGG Wrightson Turf South Island team, Mark Shaw, Brandon Parker and I are in town this week catering cooked breakfasts for the greenstaff at The Hills as they host the NZPGA Pro-Am Championship golf tournament.  Bunking in with us is Pete Calder, Paul Mooney (both from John Deere…we are just waiting for them to employ a Mary!) and Steve Hill, Superintendant from the Hanmer Golf Club.

The trip down yesterday was nothing out of the norm on any South Island roads…campervans, tourists, hitchhikers and driving through a mob of around 300 PGG Wrightson clients in Tarras.   It was mowing day at the Tarras Golf Club on our way through also, the 50 odd mowers were busy at work, no doubt fertilising the fairways at the same time!

With day one behind the BBQ done and dusted we managed to get through over 40 saussies, 3 kg of bacon, 2.5 kg of hash browns, 2 kg of tomatoes, 2 kg of onions, 4 loaves of bread (toast), over 60 eggs both scrambled and poached by Mark, a few Weetbix and some OJ to wash it all down.  Big thanks to both Ian Douglas and Brendon Allen and the rest of the crew at The Hills for allowing us to come down to spend some time with them during one of their busiest weeks of the year.

Finally, thanks to Blair Dibley from Millbrook Country Club and also Kit Gordon from TIC Queenstown for giving us some time to show us around their venues whilst we are down here.  Great to get out and about and kick some turf with them and provide some practical solutions for any issues they may be having.

Anywho…better get back to the serenity…hitting the mountainbike later tonight for a ride with Mark and Blair Dibley from Millbrook, before a beer or two around some great company.

Until next time, that’s a wrap.

Jason Weller