vi) The move to Leichhardt
While wartime setbacks were being slowly overcome in late 1945 and early 1946, the club was reaching a major point in its history - its 50th anniversary.
Anniversaries are often a time for reflection and this seems to have been the case in Ipswich, with the committee taking the opportunity to plan for the future.
Club house facilities were inadequate for a growing membership and the Associates were no longer able to admit social members because of lack of space. While it would have been relatively easy just to extend the club house, the committee realised that because the course was leased from Ipswich City Council, this imposed limitations on the Club’s activities and introduced uncertainty about renewal of tenure.
The committee consisted of a number of shrewd Ipswich businessmen who seem to have weighed up these factors and come to an obvious conclusion: it would be better in the long term for the club to own its own property.
According to Len Katterns who was the Professional at the time, the main advocate of the move was Col Cameron. This Col was a butcher - the Club at that time had two prominent Members with the same name. Other people closely involved in the decision included Norm Aylward, Dr Saxby and Mr Craies.
In 1946, the club bought vacant freehold land at One Mile which had been part of the Ipswich Grammar School endowment. The purchase price was 975 pounds.
While the Club was celebrating its jubilee in 1947, Ipswich City Council discussed park leases and agreed to offer the club another 21 year lease of the Golf Park at an annual rental of 10 pounds, subject to government approval. However, the decision to move had already been made.
At the end of 1947, Mr A.E. Gazzard (the professional at Victoria Park Golf Club) submitted a proposed layout, not eventually used. The site had also been inspected by Mr M.R. Hornibrook who had built the Peninsula Golf Course and his comment was that the Club had been fortunate to secure such a good property.
The general opinion of the proposed site was that it was a splendid property with soil that would be suited for golf grasses. Land that would be used for fairways was already well-grassed, little clearing had to be done and the terrain appeared to provide the opportunity for "quite a few very interesting holes".
At the annual general meeting in 1947, the decision was confirmed: construction of the new course should begin and the transfer should take place as soon as possible.
The cost of forming the new course was estimated at 3000 to 4000 pounds and the Club issued debentures in late November 1948 to raise the money.
Jack Phillips had returned as Greenkeeper after his war service, and in 1948, he began to tackle the new course. Although he had approved of the site, he remembers that when he started, it seemed an impossible job to transform the big, grassy paddock into golf links, particularly on a limited budget and with the post-war shortage of building materials.
The Club hired Tom Verrall to use his bulldozer to shape the greens and Paddy Fitzgerald and Paddy O’Rourke carted soil. The site had numerous anthills; to level them and to generally level the course, old railway lines were bought, cut into 6 metre lengths and welded into a V-shape. This was dragged across the ground behind a tractor and proved both cheap and effective.
The master plan for the course and the detail for most of the holes were produced by the very well-known James H. Scott of Sydney, with Jack Phillips responsible for the detailed design of Nos 2, 5 and 12.
Play on the old course ceased in July 1949 and play on the first nine holes of the new course began in August. A practice putting green was constructed at the end of the year and work continued on the next nine holes.
On Saturday, 10th June1950, the new course was officially opened by Dr D.A. Cameron. The course was said to be in great shape for the opening, with the greens putting very truly and all but four of the fairways in satisfactory condition. Three days of competitions were held over the weekend to mark the opening and on the Saturday night, 130 people attended a dance at the Clubhouse with entertainment including a fireworks display presented by the 9th Battalion.
The new course develops
The early 1950s were a low point for the club, when 24 players was considered a big field. The course was new and bare. Jack Phillips remembers that there was no depth of soil - a hard and waterproof layer of clay was a short distance below the surface. Dry weather affected the course quickly but because of the clay base, better drainage was also needed to carry excess water away.
The club spent money on loam for top dressing and battled grubs, hares and collar rot. When the club’s mowers broke down, members brought their own motor mowers and "attacked the fairways like an army battle".
Watering system
The secret to any grassy area is adequate water supply and the present-day success of the club can be traced directly to the wisdom of early committee members who ensured this supply. Progress in providing water was reflected very directly by progress in the Club as the course improved and attracted more players.
Pumps had been set up on the Bremer River in 1949 and a rising main was constructed to allow water to be pumped to tanks; it could then be reticulated to watering points over the course.
The next project began in 1961, when a dam was built to create a much larger holding area; water was pumped from the river to fill the dam. In normal conditions, water was pumped directly from the river onto the course, but when the river was dry, valves could be operated to make the dam the source of water. A new pump was purchased with switch gear and a time clock.
In 1962, a watering reticulation system was completed to all greens and tees and "Reel Rain" machines were used. The following year, there was a setback when a flash flood swamped the pump house and breached the dam wall but the watering system continued to grow.
By 1964, the system was almost complete and had cost 11,000 pounds to date - not counting thousands of hours of voluntary labour by members. However the average number of players on a Saturday was now a healthy 100.
When drought conditions struck in 1965, the water reticulation system proved its value. The dam had started to run low so Alf Zanow built up the wall level - just in time for a flood which completely filled it. When droughts continued in succeeding years, an alternative pipe line was run to Warrill Creek to ensure a more consistent supply. With this in place, water reticulation to the fairways began.
By 1967, the completion of an automatic watering system at a cost of $18,267 was giving excellent fairways throughout the season. Ipswich was the first golf club in Queensland to install an automatic system.
A disadvantage of the sprinklers was they projected above ground level and were not infrequently hit by balls, causing great frustration to serious golfers. A local rule was developed, allowing players the option of replaying their shot when this occurred. From 1968 to 1972, the Club progressively replaced the annoying fixed sprinklers with pop-up sprinklers.
This was essentially the end of the irrigation project. Maintenance, replacement of lines and fine tuning of the system has continued, but the benefits of devoting early attention to the water supply have been enormous.
Grounds beautification
An aerial photograph of the course taken in 1948 shows a grassy paddock, so bare that the trees could easily be counted. The challenge of converting it into a park-like course was taken up by a band of enthusiastic members headed by Dr Jackes.
Experts including the Queensland Government Botanist Mr White and a representative from the Forestry Department were invited to inspect the course.
The initial concept had been to have specialised plantings for each hole, so there would be a "yellow hole" with yellow-flowering plants, a "red hole" with red flowers and so on. However when Mr White arrived, he dug holes and shook his head. His verdict was that the soil was not good enough and he prepared a master plan with plants he thought would prove more suitable.
Initially, the success rate was not high. Holes dug in the clay soil trapped water and plants died. Hares nibbled the green tops of shrubs. Dry weather defeated efforts to keep the water supply up.
The committee persisted, particularly member Tom Dickson, and gradually, they began to see the results of their work. Trees grew tall and the appearance of the course began to change and soften. When Dr W.F. Jackes died in 1963, the attractive course was a permanent legacy of his early work.
Tree planting continued and another major planting program started in 1979 by members including Herb Fraser, Barry McGrath, Brent King, Col Smith and Col Ryan and professional Ken Davidson. In 1980, 480 additional trees were planted and in 1981, 1500. By 1983, the program had been so successful that a few larger trees had to be removed.
People coming back to the course today after a long absence are astonished by its appearance. The bare paddock of the 1940s is now an attractive park with mature trees and green lawns.
The magic wool scours
Barren areas were a constant trouble on the course in the early years. Half way down the third, for example, was a huge washout, so eroded that the clay surface was showing. The 17th had its own special feature - an old quarry.
Many ingenious solutions were suggested for the barren areas. The first bright idea was to spread sawdust. However, cigarette butts were dropped and the sawdust began to smoulder, making it look as if the whole course was alight.
The next idea was to use "coke grease" - a product rather like fly ash. Golfers of that era recalled that most of this blew away in the wind or was washed away in storms. What was left ate holes in the galvanised iron water pipes, resulting in unexpected fountains appearing on the course.
Finally, Ivor Morris of Morris Woollen Mills gave the club the residue from its wool scours to spread over the course. This came well-recommended because it had been used under the goal posts at Lang Park. It looked rather evil, smelt foul when it was watered but within six weeks, there was couch grass growing where none had been before. According to members, wool scours - along with a plentiful water supply - made the course.
Which grass?
The original grass used on the course was couch but in the late 1970s, people began to hear about the benefits of a new golf grass called 328 Bermuda. Samples were obtained in 1978 from the Coolangatta/Tweed Heads Golf Club and cultivated. In 1979, the 9th hole was converted to 328 as a trial. The following year, the 11th was converted and the decision was made to progressively change all greens. This was a long process and a 328 nursery was set up in 1985 to ensure a good supply. The conversion to 328 was finally completed in 1995.
In 1996, the Club began to trial a very tough hybrid couch called Wintergreen for use on tees. This new grass has the advantage that it is not killed off if the tee is sprayed for weeds.
Production of grasses for trials and for repair of the existing course is carried out in a nursery in the grounds.
Years of consolidation
When the basic problems had been overcome, the Club was able to concentrate on the finer points of course design.
Greens were increased in size in the 1960s and better machinery was purchased. In the 1970s, vandalism became a major problem for the first time. However, in 1974, work continued to level tees and provide grassy, rolling mounds on fairways to add character. Drainage was improved.
In 1984, the sand bucket system was introduced and it was estimated that 90,000 divots had been filled during the year.
The putting green received attention in 1991 and in 1993, Golf Constructions Pty Ltd rebuilt the 3rd and 6th greens which had been causing problems. New greens are being built on a sand base rather than the earlier loam to give better drainage.
The six-year drought of the 1990s took its toll. In 1992, the course was described as a dustbowl, in spite of the watering system, and power and water costs were a heavy burden on the club. In 1995, the water allocation from Warrill Creek ceased for the first time since pumping from this source began. However the drought had eased by 1996 and the course was in top condition again in time for the centenary year.
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