Toro have kindly agreed to lend the club two further Greensmaster 1000 mowers so that we can cut all the courts before the start of each day’s play
hundred years ago. The grass is predominantly Bent with some 20% of Fescues. Unfortunately the Club is bordered on two sides by houses and we do suffer from contamination of meadow grasses that are approaching 10% on some of the lawns. In 2003 the hot dry summer exposed severe weaknesses in our grass maintenance policy and all the courts developed significant dry patches; on three of the courts we lost over 30% of the grass. For many decades the groundsman was not allowed to scarify the grass as it made the courts ‘look untidy’. As a consequence the last ten
years has seen a major effort to deal with the significant thatch problem that is only now beginning to be reduced to an acceptable level. We also found that all the courts had a solid layer of
compaction some eight to ten inches below the surface which was obviously inhibiting the development of the grass.
The Club has therefore been faced with a serious programme of rectification work and I have learnt a lot about grass in the last two years. The Club bought a Groundsman aerator in the autumn of 2003 and over the winter periods of 2003 and
2004 used a Robin Dagger to drill some 1000 holes in each court. This work has made a tremendous difference to the sub-surface and we have successfully regained grass cover on all courts. The Club also bought a Toro Greenmaster 1000 mower last year which has significantly improved the quality of cut. Toro have also kindly agreed to lend the Club two further machines for the period of the World Championship so that we can cut all the courts before the start of each day’s play.
I know many of you will be amazed by the foregoing tale
but it is the reality of life for a minor, amateur sport. Even though Cheltenham can be considered the premier club in the country, its affairs are still run on a shoe-string. I often look with envy at the amount of money available to professional sports clubs in this country, and whilst all groundsmen face the same problems, some of us have to accept less than ideal solutions. But if you have a free day early in August, you are most welcome to visit the Club and see how our preparations have turned out. You will certainly see some fabulous croquet.
Reader Enquiry 9
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