Forrestfield’s Hartfield Golf Club will be greener than ever thanks to a donation of the rare putting grass that covers the course.
The turf is from the former Glen Iris Golf Couse in Jandakot which closed its doors in March this year after a steady decline in players meant the golf business was no longer viable.
Both Hartfield and Glen Iris planted their putting greens with a variety of cool-season Bentgrass called ‘Putter’.
Originally imported from America in the early 2000s the variety is no longer available in Australia but is still commonly used on golf courses throughout the US.
When Hartfield’s Golf Course Superintendent, Nick Kinley, heard that Eastcourt Property Group (Eastcourt) had bought the Glen Iris site, he approached the company to see if there might be “some Putter seed around”.
He was thrilled when his request for the special grass resulted in an opportunity to harvest the Glen Iris turf.
“I have been at Hartfield for seven years and have been chasing it for most of that time – even looking for it while attending a golf industry show in America,” he said.
“The rolls of turf are still pure. To me, this variety of Bentgrass is tried and true, planted at Hartfield over twenty years ago and still withstanding the hot dry Western Australian climate.”
Eastcourt’s Manager of Property Development, Sam Gill, said when Nick reached out and explained about the special significance of the ‘Putter’ grass, he wanted to be able to help the club
“While there wasn’t any seed left, we realised Nick and his team may be able to harvest some of the Glen Iris turf and grow it over the longer term,” he said.
“With Hartfield being impacted by COVID-19 restrictions we were happy to not only provide the turf at no cost but assist with its transfer to Forrestfield.
Nick is excited about Hartfield’s future plans with the harvested turf.
“We are doing remedial work on a number of greens collars, and the rest will be grown in our turf nursery where in due time it will be used for more course improvements including redoing our chipping green,” he said.
