EP.139 Keeper of the Greens - Rod Tatt (Mt Lawley Golf Club)

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 (deere.com.au/en) ⁠⁠ at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠deere.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (deere.com.au)

Rod Tatt is Course Manager of Mt Lawley Golf Club in Perth, Western Australia. His most recent years have been working through a remodelling of the entire golf course under the architecture hand of OCM. Being his first post as a superintendent in Western Australia, Rod has had to workout pretty quickly how to get the most out of the golf course in Perth's unique environment that is so different to the east coast.

That being said, it's all the more interesting when we learn that Rod is originally from regional Victoria, not far out of Melbourne, where he got his first taste of greenkeeping. Greenkeeping and golf came as a pair for Rod in his younger days where it wasn't long before he got really involved working on golf courses on Melbourne's famed Sandbelt region along with playing competitive golf.

Rod's story is one of learning through experience and learning from great mentors. He has worked at some of Australia's best courses, including as Superintendent, with some of the best golf course architects, and now brings his particular set of skills to Perth where he has been involved in delivering an incredible new version of Mt Lawley for it's members and guests.

This is an interesting conversation with a few deep dives and visited rabbit holes, that neither of us saw coming, including player expectations and just what does the term "consistency" mean in golf maintenance.

You hit 'em clean and we'll keep 'em green!

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Send me an email to - thegolfinggreenkeeper@gmail.com

People and places mentioned in this podcast:

Mount Lawley Golf Club (mlgc.org/cms)

Walton Heath Golf Club (waltonheath.com)

Bacchus Marsh West Golf Club (bmwgc.com.au)

Bacchus Marsh - Wiki (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacchus_Marsh)

Ballarat Golf Club (ballaratgolfclub.com.au)

Victoria Golf Club (victoriagolf.com.au)

John Sloan - LinkedIn (au.linkedin.com/in/john-sloan-38676a301)

Mike Clayton (claytongolf.com.au)

Cranbourne Golf Club (cranbournegolf.com.au/cms)

Woodlands Golf Club (woodlandsgolf.com.au/cms)

Yarra Yarra Golf Club (yarrayarra.com.au/cms)

Tom Doak (renaissancegolf.com/198/who-is-tom)

Renaissance Golf Design (renaissancegolf.com/index.php)

Brian Slawnik (renaissancegolf.com/229/design-associates/brian-slawnik)

San Francisco Golf Club - Links Magazine (linksmagazine.com/classic-course-san-francisco-golf-club)

Cal Club (calclub.org)

OCM Golf Design (ocm.golf)

Rod Tatt - Claude Crockford Award 2023 (astma.com.au/news-item/13236/mount-lawley-golf-club-superintendent-rod-tatt-wins-sustainability-and-environment-award)

Fairway to biodiversity - Western Independent (westernindependent.com.au/2025/04/08/fairway-to-biodiversity)

WA Open (golfwa.org.au/wa-open-returning-to-mount-lawley-in-2025)

Lake Karrinyup Country Club (lkcc.com.au/cms)

Joondalup Golf Resort (joondalupresort.com.au/golf)

Secret Harbour Golf Links (secretsgolf.com.au)

The Cut Golf Course (thecutgolf.com.au)