Perth’s iconic Joondalup Resort was back in the tournament spotlight last week with the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Nexus Advisernet/Bowra & O’Dea WA Open teeing off. First contested in 1913, this year marks the 99th staging of the historic championship, which has become a firmament on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s annual schedule. Joondalup is hosting the WA Open for the first time since 1987, with its renowned Quarry/Lake loops of nine in play for the 72-hole stroke play championship which was won by Victorian Deyen Lawson at The Western Australian Golf Club last year.

Traditionally, the WA Open has been played the week following the WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie, but this year the events have been switched to avoid the PGA clashing with the 2023 Kalgoorlie Cup horse race. With Golf WA’s Men’s Country Week also taking place this week alongside the Open, it is one of the biggest weeks on the WA golfing calendar.

Guiding preparations at Joondalup this week is course superintendent Ashley Watson (pictured, middle, blue shirt) who has worked at the club ever since its opening – a remarkable 37 years. Watson, who was named the GCSAWA’s Superintendent of the Year in 2019, has been superintendent for the past 15 years. He leads a crew of 15 that includes senior staff members Troy Johnston (assistant superintendent), Stuart Police (irrigation technician), John Mundy (turf technician) and Josh Hall (head gardener).

Pictured top: Ashley Watson and the Joondalup Resort course staff ahead of this week's WA Open. Pictured below (from top down) are aerial photos of the stunning 3rd and 6th holes on the Quarry course. All photos courtesy of Joondalup Resort

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., few golf courses offer the dramatic contrasts, scenic beauty and sheer golfing challenge that the 27-hole Joondalup Resort layout provides. It boasts three nine-hole courses – Lake, Dune and Quarry – which are routed over a harsh landscape of bush, gum trees, rocky outcrops, limestone quarries, lakes and dunes. The Quarry course in particular is most striking, cutting through, as the name suggests, a former limestone quarry site. Holes 3-5 in particular are world-class and feature Robert Trent-Jones’ most dramatic work.

A tough, uncompromising layout featuring provides a perfect stage for the WA Open this week, with Watson and his crew again delivering the Quarry and Lake nines in championship condition, as they do week-in, week-out. The Penncross bentgrass greens are being cut at 3mm each day and rolled every second day, with Stimpmeter readings starting out at 10.5 and expected to get up to 11.5 by Sunday’s final round. The Santa Ana couchgrass fairways and tees are being kept at 12mm and 7mm respectively and the ryegrass/tall fescue roughs at 50mm.

In the lead-up to the tournament a few minor projects were undertaken in order to host the event. New bunker sand was required throughout both courses, while a bunker at the back of 3 Lake was filled in and turned into a grassy hollow. The crew also built a new pro tee on 2 Lake to lengthen the hole, resulting in an added degree of difficulty for the tournament.

“The tournament lead in was quite difficult due to the time of year coming out of winter with little to no grass growth,” notes Watson. “This, combined with the high level of course occupancy and expectation, did add an element of challenge to ensure the course was presented to PGA Tour standard.  Perth’s weather also created a few headaches. It has been unseasonably cold, wet and windy, meaning the crew was often out cleaning up rather than being able to focus on putting the polish on our course preparations.

“One of the biggest challenges has been to ensure the course is prepared and presented to a tournament level during one of the busiest times of the year. October is generally our biggest revenue month in terms of corporate golf days. Hosting the WA Open meant that we had to turn away this business in order to prepare the course. We closed the two courses for a full week pre-tournament as well as the entire week of the tournament. Limited play for our loyal contingent of golf members was also difficult to manage.

“We are very fortunate to have a team of loyal and hardworking green staff here at Joondalup which has enabled this tournament to come together, resulting in the course and resort landscape presented to an elite level. With the current economic climate, finding new staff has been extremely difficult which did put extra pressure on existing staff. We thank all the Joondalup staff for their dedication and efforts to present the resort for this prestigious tournament.”

Yesterday’s opening round would see two Joondalup members Josh Greer and Connor McKinney take full advantage of their local knowledge and benign morning conditions to lead the field heading into today’s second round. Greer posted an 8-under 64 which included an eagle 3 on the par five 18th (9 Lake). McKinney shot a 7-under 65 which also included an eagle 2 on the par four 5th (5 Quarry). Round 1 also featured a hole-in-one to recently turned professional Harrison Crowe. Making his first Tour start since turning pro in September, his ace came on the 169-metre par three 17th (8 Lake). The ASTMA wishes Ashley and his crew all the best for the remaining rounds.

At the same time as the WA Open teed off, over in Sydney the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia released its full schedule of 18 events which will comprise the 2023-24 season. From this week’s WA Open through until the Tour finale in mid-March, the Tour’s Summer of Golf will visit five states as well as New Zealand, adding to tournaments in Papua New Guinea and Northern Territory which have already been completed. The total Challenger PGA Tour of the Australasia schedule offers more than $9 million in prizemoney.

The Tour’s 2023/24 schedule includes two new events – the Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett at Willunga Golf Course in October and the Heritage Classic at The Heritage Golf and Country Club in Melbourne in January. Webex Players Series Sydney hosted by Braith Anasta also has a new home. After successful events at Bonnie Doon in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the tournament will head north west to Castle Hill Country Club. CLICK HERE for the full 2023/24 schedule.