World’s first synthetic golf course being built in Australia
Australian golf has made a giant leap forward into the 21st century with construction set to start on the first synthetic 18-hole course at Zilzie Bay on the Capricorn Coast.
In an astonishing world-first, this landmark initiative addresses sustainability issues associated with maintaining and watering grass.
The revolutionary Reef Palms course at Zilzie Bay in Queensland – measuring 6000 metres in length with a par of 70 – will feature 18 synthetic greens and surrounding fringes, and a network of synthetic tees.
That means no watering, coring, weeding or feeding to provide a playing surface that comes up like new day-in and day-out with the minimum of care and attention.
Ozgolf Technologies, an Australian-owned company, has won the contract to re-design parts of the original course layout and install and maintain the synthetic turf.
From a playability point of view, installing synthetic greens also overcomes the problem of grass grain – a reason for Queensland courses being ranked down the list in national surveys.
And in a stunning endorsement, many of the world’s best golfers – including Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion – stake their livelihoods on synthetic greens, having them installed at their homes to practice on while resting from the PGA Tour.
Zilzie Bay is a $1.6 billion golf, residential and resort project occupying a spectacular 447ha site and boasting almost seven kilometres of ocean frontage.
Developer Chris Dadson said his groundbreaking decision was based on addressing water shortages that would allow the golf course to cope even with the imposition of various levels of water restrictions.
"We spent a lot of time and effort on this decision, and that process included making an extended trip to the US," Mr Dadson said.
"We are going to create something really, really special. There will be considerable interest in what Ozgolf Technologies are doing, particularly from others trying to identify a workable solution to prolonged drought.
"A typical 18-hole golf course requires as much as 4,000,000 litres of water a day during summer.
"And much of that water is drenched with chemicals that leach into the soil and drain into lakes.
"Our alternative is environmentally very sound as we don’t need to use pesticides and chemicals."
Sports Technology International, the largest synthetic turf supplier in Australasia, has signed an exclusivity agreement to supply the synthetic grass.
Stephen Niven, the managing director of STI, is enthusiastic about this milestone project.
"As an Australian company, we are proud to be a part of the first championship size synthetic golf course in the world," Mr Niven said.
"We have spent considerable time and effort developing the right mix of products to ensure that this project is a success.
"We also see this project as an opportunity to raise public awareness about recent synthetic grass developments that provide realistic and ecologically friendly surfaces for sporting and domestic landscaping applications.
"We are confident that this is just the beginning of many successful golf projects in our partnership with Ozgolf Technologies."
Anthony Smith, the operations manager of Ozgolf Technologies, is an acclaimed expert in synthetic turf.
Mr Smith will oversee the installation and maintenance process at Reef Palms.
"The beauty of synthetic greens is that they mimic grass greens," he said.
"They play as true as the top professional putting greens around the world. That’s a fact.
"And golfers will quickly find out that the ball reacts on landing just as they would expect from a grass green."
All fairways on the Reef Palms layout are being covered in a native couch grass selected to provide wonderful lies for golfers of all abilities.