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On this segment of Aussie Golf History I'm joined by Philip Baird, Director of Golf and historian at Manly Golf Club. Phil and I talk about the lineage of the Ferrier family beginning with the well known Jim Ferrier, past golf professional of Manly Golf Club, and we go backwards from there.
The main reason behind this podcast is some new information that has recently been found in China and shared amongst golf historians of the understanding of how Jim Ferrier from Manly Golf Club is related to John Ferrier, a founding member of Carnoustie Golf Club, and there's a new part of the story of designing the first golf course in China.
This is a short history of sorts but one well worth taking in. I hope you enjoy this short history of the Ferrier family.
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Manly Golf Club
Philip Baird - Instagram
Australian Golf Heritage Society (AGHS)
Avondale Golf Club
Jim Ferrier - Wiki
Ossie Pickworth - Wiki
Dan Soutar - Wiki
Eric Apperley - top100golfcourses.com
Harry Hattersley - Wiki
Joe Kirkwood - Wiki
Cammeray Golf Club
Royal Sydney Golf Club
Killara Golf Club
Jim Ferrier golf swing - YouTube
Opening of Hidden Grace Golf Museum - China
Carnoustie Golf Links
Carnoustie Golf Club
Blacksmith Books - Early Golf in China 1870 - 1950 How Modern Golf Spread from Scotland to China
EP.11 Aussie Golf History - Dan Soutar
EP.93 Aussie Golf History - Killara Golf Club Part 1
EP.164 Aussie Golf History - Avondale Golf Club Part 1
EP.195 Keeper of the Greens - Brenden Benad
Keeper Of The Greens segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is brought to you by John Deere Golf. When you work where others play, you need a partner you can trust to keep your course in perfect condition. Find your nearest John Deere dealer at deere.com.au
Craig Hamilton is Superintendent of Sun City Country Club just north of Perth city in Western Australia. Craig's background is quite extensive, from first working on a golf course in his native home of Northern Ireland, to travelling and completing his greenkeeping apprenticeship in New Zealand, all the way to becoming Superintendent in Western Australia.
Yes, Craig has experienced and seen a number of different climates to maintain golf courses in, and he also shares with us a few very unique stories of things that we just don't quite get here in Australia!
Join Craig and I as we learn about his greenkeeping career of many experiences and also get a great insight into Sun City Country Club and some of its unique features and challenges that make Sun City a golf course you should visit next time you're in Perth.
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Sun City Country Club
Maungakiekie Golf Club
Akarana Golf Club
Carrickfergus Golf Club
Royal Belfast Golf Club
Waitemata Golf Club
The Australian Golf Club
Moyola Park Golf Club
Hamersley Golf Course
Walking the Fairways segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is proudly brought to you by Dint Golf Solutions and you can check out their website www.dint.com.au.
I'm joined on this episode by Superintendent of East Geelong Golf Club, Stewart Drayton. Stewart gives us an insight into this 9 hole golf course along with an update of some of the course improvements that they are completing. Geelong is the gateway to the Bellarine Peninsula golf region, a number of golf course which Stewart has spent time working at during his career.
I've also take some time to give you a wrap up of the inaugural VGCSA/NSWGCSA combined country turf conference and just what I experienced at Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort.
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule has been released for the season ahead which I go through, and there's I've got info coming out of QLD and WA, including the some changes to the future of Kwinana Golf Club south of Perth.
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Dint Golf Solutions - Instagram & Facebook
East Geelong Golf Club
Stewart Drayton - Instagram (1andahalfgreenkeepersgeelong)
Elanora Country Club
Apollo Bay Golf Club
Proserpine Golf Club
Bunbury Golf Club
Kingston beach Golf Club
Bardwell Valley Golf Club
Bega Country Club
Trentham Golf Club
Curlewis Golf Club
Portarlingston Golf Club
13th Beach Golf Links
Lonsdale Links
Queenscliff Golf Club
Clifton Springs Golf Club
Barwon Heads Golf Club
Royal Port Moresby Golf Club - Facebook
Binalong Community Club
Kalgoorlie Golf Course
Secret Harbour Golf Links
Willunga Golf Course
The Vintage Golf Club
Nudgee Golf Club
The Lakes Golf Club
Kingston Heath Golf Club
Moonah Links Resort
Royal Fremantle Golf Club
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club (PK)
Cobram Barooga Golf Club
Castle Hill Country Club
Harrison Golf
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club
Royal Auckland & Grange Golf Club
Millbrook Resort
Wainui Golf Club
The National Golf Club
Palmerston Golf and Country Club
Royal Adelaide Golf Club
Kooyonga Golf Club
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort
VGCSA
NSWGCSA
Ben Gibson - LinkedIn
John Neylan - LinkedIn
Gary Beehag - ASTMA Distinguished Service Award
Henk Smith - LinkedIn
Matt Stevens - LinkedIn
Scott McElroy - LinkedIn
Micah Woods
Bob Farren - USGA Green Section Award
Caloundra Golf Club
Royal Queensland Golf Club
OCM Design
Wolston Park Golf Club
North Adleaide Golf Course
Kwinana Golf Club
Contour Golf Design
The Swing of it Podcast - What's Happening to Kwinana Golf Club?
Wembley Golf Course
Collier Park Golf Course
Hamersley Golf Course
Whaleback Golf Course
Moore Park Golf Course
Albert Park Golf Course
Minnippi Golf Course
Cammeray Golf Club
Carnarvon Golf Club
7 Mile Beach Golf
Country Club Tasmania
EP.185 Royal Melbourne - Behind the Scenes of the Men's Australian Open Part 1
EP.130 Keeper of the Greens - Adam Lamb
EP.192 Keeper of the Greens - Hayden Mead
EP.108 Keeper of the Greens - Terry Vogel
EP.173 Keeper of the Greens - Tom Aldridge
EP.187 The Design Brief - Scott Champion
EP.67 The Design Brief - Ben Davey
EP.85 Save Moore Park Golf Course - Jared Kendler
Keeper Of The Greens segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is brought to you by John Deere Golf. When you work where others play, you need a partner you can trust to keep your course in perfect condition. Find your nearest John Deere dealer at deere.com.au
Brenton Clarke is Superintendent of Settlers Run Golf & Country Club in Melbourne, Victoria. Being from Adelaide in South Australia, and playing cricket, Brenton's got his first taste of turf greenkeeping at the famous Adelaide Oval. But it was his first job as an apprentice greenkeeper at a golf course that quickly cemented that golf greenkeeping was where he wanted to be.
After working his way through a couple of roles and missing out on some other opportunities, it was suggested to Brenton that he consider an overseas opportunity to gain different experiences on golf courses in the UK. And to the UK he went on an adventure of discovery and taking in as many experiences as he could.
Returning to Australia, Brenton got the next job he was looking for at the highly regarded Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide but it wasn't long before his first Superintendent position came calling from Victoria deep Covid restrictions.
Come along for a great conversation with Brenton as he shares with us his greenkeeping career journey, some interesting insights into Settlers Run, and a few deep rabbit holes we go down at the very beginning during Steve's Super Seven questions!
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Settlers Run Golf & Country Club
Lake Kununurra Golf Club
East Framlingham Golf Club
Mount Compass Golf Club
Adelaide Oval
Blackwood Golf Club
Tea Tree Gully Golf Club
Box Hill Golf Club
World Cup of Golf - Wiki
Kingston Heath Golf Club
The Grange Golf Club
The Royal Automobile Club
The Renaissance Club
Walton Heath Golf Club
Albatross Golf Resort
Kooyonga Golf Club
Presidents Cup
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Warrnambool Golf Club
Greg Norman Golf Course Design
Harley Kruse - Kruse Golf
Lang Lang Golf Club
EP.185 Royal Melbourne - Behind the Scenes of the Men's Australian Open
EP.124 Keeper of the Greens - Nathan Turner
EP.192 Keeper of the Greens - Hayden Mead
EP.95 Keeper of the Greens - Richard Forsyth
EP.198 The Design Brief - Harley Kruse
Well, here we are together, at the milestone of 200 podcast episodes!
This episode itself is a time to reflect and say thank you. I decided to do a couple of live podcast recordings where listeners and followers could ring in to the podcast and help me celebrate 200 episodes and talk about what they like. I also wanted to get in touch with and include a few people that had an influence on me from the early days on the pod, who I haven't spoken to for a few years.
Come on an audio journey with me for a celebration of a different kind full of thanks and gratitude. Oh and there's also a guest you've never heard of or from before, and you most likely will never hear from them again after this!
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
EP.100 Keeper of the Greens - When the Host Becomes the Guest
EP.180 Walking the Fairways - Nico Douglas
Sandhurst Club
EP.95 Keeper of the Greens - Richard Forsyth
EP.78 Keeper of the Greens - John Mann
EP.24 Keeper of the Greens - Phil Hill
VGCSA
NSWGCSA
EP.174 Walking the Fairways - Brenton Clarke
Settlers Run Golf & Country Club
EP.150 Full Turf Nerd with Craig Geeve
EP.145 Keeper of the Greens - Craig Geeve
EP.37 Keeper of the Greens - Mathew Soles
EP.88 Keeper of the Greens - Matthew Bailey
EP.90 Keeper of the Greens - Jimmy Downes
EP.194 Walking the Fairways - Jimmy Downes
EP.21 Loch and Leesh - Finding Fairways
Finding Fairways Aus - Instagram
Tamworth Golf Club
Uralla Golf Club
St Andrews Beach Golf Course
Rosebud Country Club
The Dunes Golf Links
Palm Beach Golf Club
EP.35 Keeper of the Greens - Pete Cawsey
Eastwood Golf Club
EP.33 Keeper of the Greens - Nathan Bennett
EP.187 The Design Brief - Scott Champion
Ross Flannigan - Instagram
My Love of Golf Podcast - Spotify
My Love of Golf Podcast - The Golfing Greenkeeper
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club
North Berwick Golf Club
The National Golf Club
The 1457 Podcast - Spotify
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Hillside Golf Club
Thornbury Golf Club
Craigielaw Golf Club
Gullane Golf Club
Muirfield Golf Club
Nomadic Aussie Golfer
Tony Ellis: Nomadic Golfer - Instagram
Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club
EP.128 Changing the Game with John Deere Golf
EP.185 Royal Melbourne - Behind the Scenes of the Men's Australian Open
EP.160 Steve's Random Special Guest - Nadeem Zreikat
John Deere Golf - Australia
John Deere - New Zealand
Dint Golf Solutions
McMahons
Colin Campbell Chemicals
Behind the Turf Podcast - Spotify
The Toolbox Team
Walking the Fairways segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is proudly brought to you by Dint Golf Solutions and you can check out their website www.dint.com.au.
This segment of Walking the Fairways features the regular news from across Australia and New Zealand but there's also the addition of an interview with Dave Meadows. Dave is the Course Foreman of Royal Adelaide Golf Club, and he is currently doing an incredible project travelling the eastern half of Australia by car with his family, feeding the homeless and disadvantaged with his low and slow BBQ. Dave is doing something amazing right now and I just had to have him on the podcast so you can hear about his incredible act of kindness!
The regular news also features the announcement of the return of the New Zealand Women's Open next year to the calendar, Waikanae Golf Club in NZ is adding a new tee to their 17th hole, Neangar Park GC in Victoria is hosting something special later this year, and Gold Creek Country Club in Canberra are continuing with more course improvements, along with plenty more as always.
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Dint Golf Solutions - Instagram & Facebook
Dave Meadows Smoke and Soul Project Website
Dave Meadows Smoke and Soul Podcast - Spotify
Dave Meadows BBQ - YouTube
Dave Meadows Smoke and Soul Project - Go Fund Me
Dave Meadows BBQ - Facebook
Dave Meadows BBQ - Instgram
Royal Adelaide Golf Club
St Vincent de Paul Society
The Salvation Army
New Zealand Women's Open
Wainui Golf Club
Windross Farm Golf Course
Terrace Downs at Fables Resort
Waikanae Golf Club
Muriwai Golf Club
Phil Tataurangi
Neagar Park Golf Club
WPGA Tour of Australasia
Thurgoona Country Club Resort
Yamba Golf & Country Club
Gold Creek Country Club
Merredin Golf Club - Facebook
EP.197 Keeper of the Greens - Harry Middleton
EP.53 Keeper of the Greens - Simon Snedden
EP.185 Royal Melbourne - Behind the Scenes of the Men's Australian Open Part 1
The Design Brief segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is proudly brought to you by McMahons. Check out their website to get a better understanding of their suite of services and outstanding portfolio of work at www.mcmahons.net.au
In his own words Harley Kruse wasn't drawing golf holes dreaming about designing golf courses when he was at school. He became a landscape architect and through working in his early career with Ross Perrett he was soon working on golf projects from a landscape architecture perspective. It wasn't until Ross Perrett teamed up with the late golfing great Peter Thomson and late Michael Wolveridge, which created the golf course design firm Thomson Wolveridge Perrett, that his career would soon turn much more to designing golf courses.
Harley Kruse today is an incredibly experienced golf course architect working early on with Thomson Wolveridge Perrett before moving over to Greg Norman Golf Course Design and leading their team in Asia. Following a decline in the Asian golf market, Harley went out to work on his own and started Kruse Golf, but you'll quickly hear that he remained working collaboratively with peers of the architecture industry which he continues to do today. From designing the Norman course at Mission Hills in China, and Danang Dunes in Vietnam, to Settlers Run in Melbourne and more recently remodeling Royal Perth Golf Club with peers Clayton DeVries & Pont, there's a lot packed into this episode.
Join Harley and I as we sit down to discuss his extensive golf course architecture career along with a couple of other design questions, in the wonderful Elanora Country Club clubhouse with the magnificent views to the Pacific Ocean! This is another interesting chat that I'm sure you'll take a lot away from.
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Kruse Golf
Elanora Country Club
Commonwealth Golf Club
Catalina Club
SAGCA
The Lakes Golf Club
Royal Sydney Golf Club
Hanse Golf Course Design
The Alister MacKenzie Society
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
North Berwick Golf Club
Neil Crafter (SAGCA Member)
Golf Monthly - What is a Revetted Bunker?
Golf De Fontainebleau
Clayton DeVries & Pont (CDP)
Ross Perrett (SAGCA Member)
Peter Thomson - Wiki
Australian Senior Golfer - Vale Renowned Golf Course Designer Michael Wolveridge
The National Golf Club
Twin Waters Golf Club
Links Hope Island
Lakeside Golf Club Camden
Justin Trott (SAGCA Member)
Paul Mogford (SAGCA Member)
Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD)
Bob Harrison (SAGCA Member)
The National Golf Club - Moonah Course
Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club
Brookwater Golf & Country Club
The Vintage Golf Club
Ellerston Golf
Mission Hills
Sand River Golf Club
Legend Danang Golf Resort
Royal Perth Golf Club
Cottesloe Golf Club
Lukas Michel (SAGCA Member)
Woodlands Golf Club
Settlers Run Golf & Country Club
Royal Adelaide Golf Club
EP.193 The Design Brief - Michael Henderson
EP.171 Keeper of the Greens - Darcy Jones
EP.175 Keeper of the Greens - Jake Gibbs
EP.93 Aussie Golf History - Killara Golf Club Part 1
Keeper Of The Greens segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is brought to you by John Deere Golf. When you work where others play, you need a partner you can trust to keep your course in perfect condition. Find your nearest John Deere dealer at deere.com.au
Harry Middleton is Superintendent of the wonderful Muriwai Golf Links just to the north west of Auckland in New Zealand.
Growing up and playing golf at Mount Maunganui, Harry was exposed to and got his early taste of greenkeeping local to home. And from here he would soon get an opportunity to start an apprenticeship at the local Omanu Golf Club. Upon becoming a qualified greenkeeper Harry began looking abroad to gain more experience in the industry which would lead him to the Home of Golf - St Andrews!
You'll have to listen in for Harry's full story which is unbelievable and includes a stint at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club and also maintaining a football stadium in England before the opportunity to lead the team at Muriwai Golf Links.
Lap this one up and with a few laughs along the way as I venture virtually across the ditch for this unreal conversation.
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Muriwai Golf Links
St Andrews Beach Golf Course
Portsea Golf Club
The National Golf Club
ASTMA
OCM Design
Huntingdale Golf Club
Lonsdale Links
Phil Tataurangi - LinkedIn
Tara Iti
Mt Maunganui Golf Club
Omanu Golf Club
St Andrews
The Road Hole - YouTube
Swilcan Bridge - Wiki
Leo Barber - LinkedIn
The Hills Golf Club
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club
Hayling Golf Club
AirSwing Media
Ranfurlie Golf Club
Concord Golf Club
Renaissance Golf Design
Tom Doak
The National Golf Club - Long Island Courses
EP.195 Keeper of the Greens - Brenden Benad
EP.179 Keeper of the Greens - Andrew Anderson
Walking the Fairways segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is proudly brought to you by Dint Golf Solutions and you can check out their website www.dint.com.au.
This segment I have 2 guests joining in on the pod. Fraser Brown, Superintendent of Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth, jumps on to give us an update of what they have been up to with an irrigation system being installed. I also make a phone call to Nathan Baker, winner of this year's ASTMA Graduate of the Year Award from the national turf conference in Melbourne.
Along with a chat with these guests I have a full wrap up of the award winners of the ASTMA conference, there's plenty happening in Perth with Royal Perth GC getting stuck into their final stage of their redesign of their golf course, Mandurah Country Club is also installing new irrigation. Moore Park GC in Sydney has been officially cut in half and Gailes GC in Brisbane is doing some bunker improvements on course. There's always plenty of info to stay up to date with and there's plenty of laughs in this one too!
p.s. Make sure you listen past the end for some bloopers!
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Dint Golf Solutions - Instagram & Facebook
Lake Karrinyup Country Club
Byron Bay Golf Club
Kingston Beach Golf Club
Mosman Park Golf Club
Bardwell Valley Golf Club
Trentham Golf Club
Bega Country Club
Apollo Bay Golf Club
ACTSTMA - Facebook
VGCSA
NSWGCSA
VGCSA & NSWGCSA 2026 Country Conference
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort
Royal Hobart Golf Club
Meadowbrook Golf Club
Royal Sydney Golf Club
ASTMA
Kingston Heath Golf Club
QSTMA
Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) - Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)
BoM - June 2026 Likely Impacts of El Niño
BoM - Sea Surface Temperature Maps
BoM - Maps of Recent and Past Conditions
BoM - Australian Rainfall Since 1900
The Western Australian Golf Club
Royal Perth Golf Club
Clayton DeVries & Pont (CDP)
Kruse Golf
Mandurah Country Club
East Geelong Golf Club
Gailes Golf Club
Wynnum Golf Club
Moore Park Golf Course
Camden Golf Club
Bondi Golf & Diggers Club
Dave Meadows Smoke & Soul Project
Dave Meadows Smoke & Soul Project Podcast
EP.87 Keeper of the Greens - Fraser Brown
EP.192 Keeper of the Greens - Hayden Mead
EP.168 Keeper of the Greens - Tom North
EP.159 Keeper of the Greens - Adam Marchant
EP.119 Keeper of the Greens - Shane Baker
EP.102 Keeper of the Greens - Idris Evans
EP.185 Royal Melbourne - Behind the Scenes of the Men's Australian Open Part 1
Keeper Of The Greens segment of The Golfing Greenkeeper Podcast is brought to you by John Deere Golf. When you work where others play, you need a partner you can trust to keep your course in perfect condition. Find your nearest John Deere dealer at deere.com.au
Brenden Benad hasn't followed the usual path to becoming a Golf Course Superintendent. Not at all! In fact, he is probably one of very few that have gone from maintaining horse racecourses over to maintaining golf courses.
Yes, from the outset, and unbeknownst to me, Brenden's greenkeeping career is rather different to most I've had the pleasure of chatting with on the podcast in the past. And from that difference comes many different rabbit holes. We also get to learn about the Manly golf course and what makes it such a unique and interesting site to maintain on top of being a highly regarded and historic golf course.
Our conversation also takes in topics such as leadership, people management, team culture, professional development, personal growth, and the often less discussed topic of mental health. We go into all sorts of areas in this one and enjoy ourselves along the way with a few laughs, and many sayings and analogies!
If any of the discussions in this podcast raised concerns with your mental health you can contact:
Lifeline (Australia): 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue (Australia): 1300 224 636 or visit www.beyondblue.org.au
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978 or visit www.mensline.org.au
You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Instagram
The Golfing Greenkeeper - Facebook
The Golfing Greenkeeper TV - YouTube
Send me an email to - [email protected]
People and places mentioned in this podcast:
Manly Golf Club
The Australian Golf Club
Mornington Racecourse
Caulfield Racecourse - Wiki
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Elanora Country Club
Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Thomson Perrett (Now Perrett Webb)
Redland Bay Golf Club
The Lakes Golf Club
EP.95 Keeper of the Greens - Richard Forsyth
EP.122 Keeper of the Greens - James Newell
EP.149 Keeper of the Greens - Dion Cope
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