One of the many ‘douits’ that criss-cross the course
have been taken as cuttings and grown on by the staff. The holes that are near the sea have been planted up with Tamarix that are hardy and thrive on the west coast of the island. In the wetter areas we have planted various willow varieties - golden, weeping, tortured and red. We’ve also planted poplars and alders that also don’t mind wetter conditions, and we have established areas of pine, hawthorn and oaks.”
Agronomy
“With so many differing soils on site I employ the services of agronomist,
Thank God for red diesel!
markers, signs, hole cutters, cups etc. - are ordered in one lot, so I have to ensure that everything is covered.” “To get goods to the island costs, on average, £60 per tonne. Topdressing has just jumped to £100 per tonne, forty bags of fertiliser now costs an extra £60 to get here. In the present financial climate it is now costing us much more for less. That is why I try to get everything for the year in at one go and store it in the shed (greenhouse).” “Even visits from Martin Hawtree and
George Shiels have to be budgeted for; tickets and other costs can amount to
The incoming tide! Maintenance Regimes
“I try to keep applications of fertiliser as low as possible on the greens, concentrating on applying double the amount of potassium as nitrogen, which we try to keep below 70kg N per hectare per year.” “With our warmer climate, we can apply a tonic to the greens in early March (8:0:0 at 10g/m), before the first application of wetter H2Pro at 25 l/h, and then every six weeks at 20l/h. This will be closely followed by Scotts Blade soil supplement at 40l/h and a first application of PrimoMaxx at 0.05 l/h followed by monthly applications at 0.04l/h.”
“I try to get a head start in spring, with my first hollow coring work straight after our first major tournament, which is usually on Easter Monday. We core with 12mm tines and clear all the greens, first with the front nine closed and, later in the day, we start on the back nine and finish mid-morning the following day.” “The greens are overseeded with Manor and Heriot browntop bent from Johnsons Seeds. This is broadcast with a pedestrian spreader at 5-6gm per square metre (about 180 kilos for this year).” “Each green is then sarrel rolled and
Extensive flooding on 1st March this year
George Shiels, who has been advising the club for ten years. During his visits I walk the course with him and discuss programmes of work, take a number of core samples and agree a way forward.”
Budgets
“Living on an island has one big disadvantage - the cost of carriage. All course accessories - flags, sticks, tee
over £250!” “I try and keep the total running costs
to around £250,000 per year. The largest cost is the staff wages at £125,000. Machinery leasing and repairs costs around £35,000 and course consumables - fertiliser, seed, topdressing and pesticides - between £15-18,000. Drainage and flood control will usually cost around £12,000.”
topdressed with around one tonne of 90/10 Wessex topdressing brushed in with a Sisis Oscar oscillating brush. This will be followed with vibratory rollers for the next couple of days.” “The greens are then topdressed on a monthly basis, at half rate, until another hollow coring is completed in August.” “The height of cut remains at 6mm until mid to late April, and is then lowered to 4mm over a three week period. We never go much below 4mm during the season and, for our big tournaments, we double cut and roll depending on conditions.” “A number of other fertiliser products are used during the season that include a
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