Bish, Bash, Bosh, Done ... Gordon Ramsay we are not!
The members were a different story. Some lived off past glories, refusing to believe there were any problems, but that the greens were subjectively better ‘in their day’. Maybe those green, lush surfaces of yesteryear were the start of the decay? Others knew we had problems but assumed we could just ‘pop in’ overnight, do this change over and we would have lovely greens again. Of course, all very easy. Bish, Bash, Bosh, Done.... Gordon Ramsay we are not! Some just weren’t bothered! It was my job to highlight the potential of their course and explain that there would be a ‘perceived’ backwards step to go further up the ladder. Agronomically, we could only go up. All was good until the work started. The first step was to write a Course Policy Document; we had the backing of the club, but we needed an insurance policy. A written document saying what we were ‘up to on the course’ and that we were following good advice and best practice. I then started a high disturbance three years at Lymm. We were micro hollow coring every month, using the deep Graden, vertidraining twice a year, importantly, when dry and in the playing season, not in the wet Novembers when the comps had finished, and slitting more times than you could shake a tine at. All bad things as far as the members were concerned. They were now wanting Gordon Ramsay in. I also took the inputs down, put the greens on a bit of a diet, reducing fertiliser applications over three years from 200kgN to 85kgN, and further still over the remaining five years. Irrigation was only to be applied by hand. To this day I have never watered my greens with the pop ups in eight years at Lymm. Topdressings and wetting agents were increased and outbreaks of Fusarium were dramatically reduced. We used a chainsaw to great effect, clearing eastern sides of greens, allowing more light and air to dry out the surfaces. After these three years we
noticed the bent grasses coming back in. After all, we had got rid of the thatch and we weren’t building any more. It was then we started our overseeding
programme with bent. We had created the environment for it and it was appearing naturally. During these early, high disturbance years I would like to say I made many friends at the club and the members were in full support. They relished going out to play on greens full of holes and topdressings, and really enjoyed changing their game from target golf, which had flattered many a poor shot for many a year, to running a ball on to firm, pale greens. Sadly, they didn’t enjoy what I was doing and I stopped getting Christmas cards but, through open forum nights, newsletters, course walks, casual chats in the car parks or clubhouse after the weekend comps, some of the members started to trust me and believe in the results we were achieving. As the years went on and we eased the disturbance pressures and increased the bent grass populations, the members had true, sustainable putting surfaces that played 365 days a year. We now apply less than 20kgN per year to the greens, less than 200m3
of water, and
we have not sprayed for Fusarium for over four years. Bent grass populations are
around 60-70% and we even have a whisper of Fescue on most of the greens. Money saved on previous inputs could now be applied to improving other areas of the course, by expanding the intensity of the greens programmes to tees, fairways, machinery
“I wish I had spent more time at work”
Stuart Yarwood, Head Greenkeeper, Lymm Golf Club 38
and sheds etc.
They believed in me, and the practices we employed, and the members now enjoy the results. For most of the time that is. Yes, the temperature still gets a little high from time to time, but the existing lines of communication we have set up soon put any fears or unease to rest. Feedback is a great thing and it is so important to put yourself up there and talk to the members. A golfer’s assumption is a Greenkeeper’s worst enemy!!
So, we went through all these bad times and, as a Greenkeeper, you try to take it on the chin. You know you have confidence and trust in yourself, but why do you keep getting the ‘knockers’, and how do you pick yourself up and keep going? You know it’ll be worth it, your realistic, you know what you can achieve on your site but, sometimes, the whole thing can be a bit of a drain, both at work and it can go home with you, and that's never a good thing. We all have mortgages, families, partners, and personal responsibilities. We should all take time out to love them as much as we love our golf courses. Us Greenkeepers will never be on our death bed and proclaim “I wish I had spent more time at work”.
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