NEWS RELEASE 29 July, 2025
Shed Conversion Ensures Quality Golf at Top-Tier Magenta Shores
Crestmead, Queensland (30 June, 2025) — James Newell is Superintendent of the picturesque Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The Ross Watson-designed, 18-hole course is set out on a pristine peninsula between the rolling surf of the Pacific Ocean and the calm waters of Tuggerah Lake.
Every hole on Magenta Shores, ranked #33 in Golf Australia's Top 100 courses, offers golfers — and green keepers — stunning views of the ocean and bushland, and the quick drying, sand-based course is playable under weather conditions that would close many Central Coast and Sydney courses.
James Newell's career has given him a unique understanding of the precision required to maintain a top-tier course. He spent his childhood hitting balls around the family farm on the North Island of New Zealand and later played pennant and competition golf, before a greenkeeping apprenticeship led to work on some of the sport's most famous courses.
They include Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, home of the New Zealand Open, and the extraordinary Cape Kidnappers, 140 metres above sea level on the tip of Hawke's Bay on the North Island. A stint at the championship Woodlands Golf Club and Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne's sandbelt preceded the move north to Magenta Shores.
"I arrived in the early days of the Club, the club opened for play in 2006, but I could see Magenta Shores was an amazing golf course. It's a very large property in an incredible location right next to the Pacific Ocean, so there's a serious amount of grass and sand," James said.
"The course itself covers 35 hectares, and what we call our sandy dunes or native vegetation is 11 ha. We currently have a team which consists of nine full-time staff and three casuals to manage our turf varieties, which are include bent grass greens and Santa Ana couch, plus a mix of Santa Ana and fescues in the roughs."
Reaping the rewards of lawn renovation and shed conversion
Magenta Shores is beginning to reap the rewards of a substantial turf renovation five years ago.
"We line planted Santa ana couch grass into the fairways on the first nine holes in 2020 and the second nine was completed 2021," said James.
"The front nine is good - it's coming into peak playing condition now with close 100% coverage. The second nine is a season behind but altogether, we'd have 90% coverage across the whole course."
In November 2020, Magenta Shores started a shed conversion to John Deere, starting with the 220 E-Cut™ Hybrid Walk Greens Mower and Gators™.
"I was super impressed with the 220s," James said.
"The quality of cut for our greens was excellent and loved how well it hugged and highlighted our contours. One of the challenges for us is the undulations, which are pretty strong in some spots.
"The next addition to the shed was the tractor, the 4066R. I'd used one before and knew it was a great quality tractor — and then fairway mowers and our GPS equipment, including a ProGator™ GPS PrecisionSprayer, followed by the 8000A E-Cut Hybrid fairway mower and 7500A PrecisionCut™ fairway mower."
Integrated with the machinery is the management system, John Deere Operations Center™ PRO Golf, which has boosted operator efficiency, workplace and machine management, and precision spraying.
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James Newell, Superintendent of the picturesque Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club has led its transformation.
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Magenta Shores Golf Club has spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.
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James Newell, Hayden Gilmore and Trent Gilmore are part of the team keeping Magenta Shores Golf Course in pristine condition.
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The 8000A E-Cut Hybrid fairway mower is one of the additions to the Magenta Shores Golf Club fleet of equipment.
Technology saves time and money
"I come from a farming background and wasn't afraid of technology, so it was a no brainer to start using GPS units and PRO Golf," James said.
"It reduces the human error because we can send programs and applications to the machines and avoid miscommunication.
"Being able to run reports from the sprayer to check what's going out is fantastic. What we thought was 25 ha of spraying ended up being 22! Saving three hectares of spray is quite impressive, and the ability to spray at low volumes also enables us to target specific weeds or diseases.
"By only hitting the areas we need to hit, and saving fuel and wear and tear on machines because of reduced hours, it becomes more sustainable.
James said PRO Golf is the 'complete package' for managing all aspects of the course.
"I've always used a digital whiteboard so that was quite an easy transition, but being able to add fleet manager in as well is huge," he said.
"The 8000A and 7500A are telematically talking to Ops Center all the time, and the fleet maintenance schedule makes forecasting and ordering parts easy."
He's a big fan of the hybrid machines with their diesel engines and electric reel motors.
"We've got the small cutting units with the five-inch cutting reel and the quality of cut and playing service from that is definitely superior. It cuts tighter, which helps the density of the turf as well as plant health," James said.
"From a playing point of view, particularly around our green complexes, it offers multiple options to get the ball close to the hole, so it brings all players into the game."
Magenta Shores has two mechanics and grinding equipment on site, but James has been impressed by the longevity of the reel.
"Being a sandy site, it's not great for cutting units and can make the blades quite dull," he said.
"But we definitely get longevity out of the cutting reel due to the quality of steel, with the cutting reel and bed knife remaining sharper for a lot longer. It's a really fine-bladed reel."
James enjoys playing on the course to see first-hand what the team is producing and already has his wish list for a new round of machinery.
"We're probably aiming to buy a couple of tractors first and then the next thing will be the electric walkers, and we will need to look at the Triplex mower at some point," he said.
"Members and visitors are very grateful and happy with what we do at Magenta Shores, and at the end of the day, the quality we produce is helped by John Deere equipment."
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