The Australian Sports Turf Managers Association

ASTMA MEMBER DAY TICKETS FOR AUS OPEN, PGA The PGA of Australia and Golf Australia greatly value ASTMA members’ contribution to the game and are offering ASTMA members employed at a golf facility complimentary entry into the two major headline tournaments this coming summer. ASTMA members will be able to access an ‘Any One Day pass’ for either or both the BMW Australian PGA Championship (Royal Queensland GC, 21-24 November) or the ISPS HANDA Australian Open (Kingston Heath and Victoria GCs, 28 November-1 December). Click here https://lnkd.in/gM3t9rjX to register.

LAST OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR '24/25 FTMI INTAKE Those members of the sports turf industry looking to apply for the Future Turf Managers Initiative have until close of business THIS Friday 13th September to get their applications in for the 2024-2025 intake. Click link to enrol https://lnkd.in/gKEurg_w

Today September 10 2024 is International Thank a Superintendent Day. "We encourage all those who love golf to thank your course management team using #ThankASuper.

Today September 10 2024 is International Thank a Superintendent Day. The Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) in conjunction with other worldwide superintendent and turf management organisations is continuing to recognise those who help keep the golf courses enjoyable and sustainable with the International "Thank a Superintendent Day". We encourage all those who love golf to thank your course management team using #ThankASuper. 

UTAS Stadium in Launceston hosted its fourth and final fixture of the 2024 AFL Premiership season on 24 August and to mark the occasion operations coordinator John Kedey and his team made sure the ground left a lasting impression. The home away from home for the Hawthorn Football Club is well regarded as one of Australia’s best presented boutique arenas and that was well and truly on display during the Hawk’s 124-point drubbing of North Melbourne thanks to a symmetrical 3D-mowing pattern cut into the ryegrass surface. Read more… https://lnkd.in/gSiUXVCh

The latest USGA Green Section podcast features a fascinating chat with Royal Melbourne Golf Club director of courses Richard Forsyth. Across the 36-minute podcast, USGA Green Section education director John Petrovsky quizzes the VGCSA life member about the club’s unique approach to organic matter management with its famed Suttons Mix greens. Harking back to the days of the venerable Claude Crockford who was Royal Melbourne course manager between 1935 and 1975, Forsyth has reinstituted the old process of lifting the turf off the greens, removing the organic matter layer underneath and then relaying the turf. Such a process helps to ensure that Royal Melbourne’s famed greens firmness and bounciness is retained while also maintaining an important link to past traditions which have stood the test of time. Read more… https://lnkd.in/g_9GYAJW

A special gathering of retired and long-standing members of the NSW golf course superintendent and sports turf management community took place in Sydney last weekend in what is hoped will become an annual industry fixture. The brainchild of former Avondale Golf Club superintendent David Warwick, with help from wife Michelle and support from the NSWGCSA, nearly 60 gathered at the Harlequin Inn in Pyrmont to reflect on their time in the industry and reacquaint themselves with friends and colleagues from years gone by. https://lnkd.in/gDUFkEgy

FTMI 2024/25 APPLICATIONS CLOSING IN 2 WEEKS! Turf Managers interested in applying for the 2024-2025 Future Turf Managers Initiative (FTMI), have just two weeks left to complete applications. A completely free professional development program for the next generation of sports turf managers looking to take their career to the next level, this popular industry-leading professional development program has assisted dozens of turf managers in preparing to take the next step in their career Closing in 2-weeks, applications must be submitted to the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association by close of business (5.00pm AEST) Friday 13 September. Apply Now - https://lnkd.in/gKEurg_w

One of the biggest and busiest resort courses on the Gold Coast is on the hunt for a new course superintendent. After nearly 13 years at the helm, Lincoln Coombes (CSTM) announced last week that he will be leaving the 27-hole RACV Royal Pines Resort, bringing to an end a highly successful and transformative era for the facility. Coombes, who prepared the course for seven consecutive Australian PGA Championships between 2013 and 2019, will finish up on 17 September before taking up the superintendent role at Boomerang Farm, a nine-hole golf course and functions facility in Mudgeeraba in the Gold Coast hinterland. FULL STORY HERE https://lnkd.in/g5diRpbJ

It is set to be a hectic couple of months coming up for Australian curator Matthew Sandery following the International Cricket Council’s announcement last week that it was moving the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. Last Tuesday the ICC confirmed that the 2024 tournament was being moved from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates due to concerns over safety as a result of widespread political protests and civil unrest. Sandery is head curator of Dubai International Stadium and the ICC Academy and together with his team of 13 will prepare their facilities as joint host of the tournament alongside Sharjah Stadium. The tournament will feature 23 matches over an 18-day period from 3-20 October, effectively giving Sandery just six weeks to get everything ready. READ THE FULL STORY…https://lnkd.in/gSQxZ_Ua