NEWS RELEASE May 09, 2025
Margaret River Reaping 'Amazing' Results From John Deere Gear
Crestmead, Queensland (09 May, 2025) — FOR Scott Barnett, Margaret River Golf Club south of Perth is a long way from where he completed his greenkeeping apprenticeship at Boonah Golf Club in southeast Queensland, but the courses share one major attribute — remarkably picturesque locations.
Both clubs are in regional areas and were founded in 1928. Boonah is set amidst the rolling green hills of the Scenic Rim, an hour southwest of Brisbane, while Margaret River is just two minutes' drive from the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.
It's the perfect location for Scott, who was a gifted young golfer and Queensland representative player before deciding he wasn't going to make it into the top echelon. He opted for greenkeeping as 'the next best step'.
"For me, sitting in a shop or on the driving range wasn't going to be much fun. I wanted a job working outdoors so I signed up for an apprenticeship at Boonah Golf Club," he said.
Almost 20 years later, Scott arrived at the 18-hole, par 72 Margaret River course in one of Australia's most popular tourist areas, fresh from working in Perth for NewGround, a company that specialised in course maintenance, design, irrigation, and sports turf construction.
Growth of Club prompts replacement plan for machinery
The Margaret River Club's parkland course meanders through 36 hectares of natural bushland near the mouth of the river, and its popularity has grown along with the nearby township.
Like many regional courses, it originally had sand greens, before being converted to grass as resources and infrastructure improved.
"Our Club has 600 members and is open to the public, and last year we did over 50,000 rounds of golf for the year. That's quite big for a regional course," Scott said.
"We have about 17ha of irrigated turf, with bent grass greens on all 18 holes and Kikuyu fairways and tee boxes, as well as chipping, putting and practice facilities."
The club was already planning to replace its 'mix and match' of machinery models, so soon after becoming Superintendent, Scott checked in with the local John Deere dealership in nearby Busselton to begin converting the fleet to green.
"The dealership is only half an hour away and one of their technicians actually lives locally in Margaret River, so that's been really good," Scott said.
"They stock parts that only we and Busselton Golf Club use, so the service and stock availability was a huge contributing factor. Our Account Manager at our local dealership, Jack Latchford, is very supportive."
First to purchase 'absolutely amazing' GPS Precision Sprayer
Margaret River became the first golf club in WA to invest in the GPS ProGator™ 2030A Precision Sprayer, with AutoTrac™ Guidance System, individual nozzle control and 4640 Universal Display.
"The GPS Sprayer has been absolutely amazing, just a massive help to our operation, particularly because we have so few staff and some of them are fairly inexperienced," Scott said.
"You really can't do a bad spray job with it. As long as the chemical mix is right and you put it into the computer, it is spot on for accuracy and prevents any overspray or overlap, which was a huge selling point for me.
"It can be mounted on a 2030A ProGator but we use it solely as a standalone spray rig, which is six metres when all three booms are running. We can spray from individual nozzles as well."
The Margaret River team treat all fairways, tees and greens at least once a week, and in peak times, three to four times a week including some night spraying. Scott hasn't quantified the chemical savings from the new sprayer but acknowledges they would be "considerable".
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Scott Barnett has driven the Golf Club's conversion to a John Deere fleet of equipment.
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The 8700A PrecisionCut™ Fairway Mower and the 7200A PrecisionCut Trim, Rough & Surrounds Mower help to keep the course pristine.
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Margaret River Golf Club's fleet of John Deere equipment.
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The locals also enjoy the parkland course which meanders through 36 hectares of natural bushland.
Silence of electric TE Gator satisfies golfers and residents
The second machine to arrive was the TE 4x2 Electric Gator™ utility vehicle, with enhanced stability, large cargo box and an onboard charger that allows for charging from any location with a wall plug.
But it's the silence of the vehicle in operation that Scott said was a game changer.
"Golfers don't like noise, and the electric Gator allows us to quietly get in and around competitions on the course," he said.
"A neighbouring housing development has been built alongside our second and third fairways, so another reason for buying the electric model was anticipating that residents might not want to hear any noise."
Completing their purchases so far is an 8700A PrecisionCut Fairway Mower with four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, and a 7200A PrecisionCut Trim, Rough & Surrounds Mower with reach trimming system for bunkers, both of which Scott described as "really good to operate".
"We also purchased a 2700 (E-Cut™ Hybrid) greens mower and we have been super impressed with not only the performance but how quiet the machine is, which has been massive for the operator and the people in the new housing development surrounding the course," Scott said.
The Club will continue to convert to an all-Deere fleet over the next two to three years, and at the top of Scott's wish list is John Deere's Operations Center™ PRO Golf course management software.
PRO Golf next on wish list to replace white board and logbooks
PRO Golf enables superintendents to monitor their fleet's schedule, customise fleet and crew reports, assign jobs and communicate with staff, manage labour costs, schedule maintenance, and streamline equipment servicing.
"I think it would make a huge difference to install the PRO Golf online management system, especially since we're converting to a full John Deere fleet and currently going through a shed upgrade of offices and the lunchroom too," Scott said.
"We currently use the John Deere Operations Center app but everything else is done manually on the whiteboard and in logbooks."
Aside from investing in the latest equipment to ensure their longevity, Western Australia's golf clubs face a challenge to source staff against the lure of the state's lucrative mining industry.
"It's hard to get staff down here because young people just want to get a trade and go off to the mines. And people may not be aware of greenkeeping as a career because it's not well advertised," Scott said.
"When I first started at Margaret River our staff consisted of three first-year apprentices, but today I have a 2IC, a greenkeeper, a groundsman/mechanic and a young casual, and I'm really lucky that it's a great team."
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