“Our maintenance budget is limited, so we just get on and do what we can”
Andy surveys one of the natural fairways The course sits perfectly in the topography Gorse and granite - natural defences
3.30pm. “In the winter we work thirty- five ours a week, averaging out at thirty-seven and a half hours a week over the year. Even though we have official working hours it is not unusual, but rare, to find one or all of us here outside these times just to get a job completed” says Andy. “We prioritise the work pretty much as you might expect - greens and approaches, tees, fairways and bunkers, in that order. Fortunately, because the natural topography dictates what grass is left to be mown, the course lends itself to being managed simply. And even our members understand the situation and do a pretty good job of raking the bunkers! There are only twenty-eight on the course and they are all very small and unobtrusive. They only get raked by us perhaps two or three times a week, they are much more like a natural hazard and not some major feat of engineering.” "Our machinery plays a very important part in our efficiency” says Andy. “In 2006 we purchased three Toro mowers. We chose Toro because not only do we feel they are the best machines but also, with resources limited, we also had to budget for machinery lasting longer than our targeted five year replacement date. Our Toro dealer is over two hours drive away but provide a service as though local. With three staff the use of hand mowers does not enter the equation. With the exception of regrinding, all machinery maintenance is carried out ‘in-house’. “We had an old three-gang cylinder- mower for semi-rough areas, we replaced this with a Lastec Articulator rotary gang which has also saved valuable time, from four and a half days down to just over three.”
Spectacular views Towards the 18th green and clubhouse 20
“Because of the layout of the land, the majority of our tees are small, ranging from less than 100 square metres on some holes, this includes competition, general play and ladies, to ones which we have rebuilt that are 400 square metres in size.” Having said that, Andy is keen to increase the size of the tees, where space allows, to ease the wear pattern but, again, available time and budget will dictate when this work will be undertaken. “I first saw the course when holidaying here in the seventies” says Andy, “and always thought what a great place it would be to work. When I first arrived the course was in pretty good condition but needed, in my opinion, a few tweaks, but nothing too serious.” “For example, the fairways were straight, like runways, there was too much poa in the greens with a small layer of thatch (that my predecessor had started to reduce) and, as previously mentioned, small tees. The easiest to resolve were the fairways. By simply mowing we shaped them
through and around the natural humps and hollows and the course immediately took on a more aesthetic look.” “The greens were more of a challenge. We slowly reduced fertiliser inputs and, even though in 1997 we had installed a pop-up irrigation system (for greater control, not greater volume), reduced water usage. Within three years there were signs that the finer fescues were coming back to our 82 year old greens.”
“By 2000 our management
programme was running the poa ragged, but all was not rosy. The fescue was not filling in quickly enough. It was at this point Alistair Beggs of the STRI was called in to support me, and to reassure the members that the work we were doing was in the best interests of the course. An overseeding programme was initiated, comprising of straight bent in the August of that year and a mixture of 50% chewings and 50% slender fescues in the autumn and, by 2002, we had dropped the bents in favour of the excellent results we were seeing with the fescues. The greens now have around a 60% fescue sward with the other 40% made up of bents, Yorkshire fog, bits of rye and some poa.” “We’ve got our problems as well” says
Andy. “There were some areas of protruding granite on the 1st green which had just risen to the surface over many years. In 1989 a rebuild was undertaken in-house and was, unfortunately, not too successful. Apparently, they found they were sixty tonnes short of soil, so they laid a carpet of pure sand just below the turf. The results of this work can still be seen today with a distinct difference in colour and performance on that part of the green. It tends to dry out more quickly, even though remedial work was carried out over the following years using a 70/30 topdressing.” “Our weekly regime is pretty standard, although we do alternate days when other tasks are pressing. For example, greens are mown four to five times a week during the growing season” (height of cut three old pennies as Andy likes to say - or 5mm in new money) using the Toro Triple 3250D greens mower. Winter height is 6mm (four old pennies). Holes are changed once or twice a week.” “We cut the tees twice a week using
our Toro 2000 tees mower - 10mm in the summer and 12mm in the winter. We use a Toro 6500 to cut the fairways twice a week, maintaining a height of between 15-16mm. The articulator keeps the semi-rough to 50mm on a weekly basis.” “The main aeration work is carried
out through the autumn and early winter. We ‘vertidrain’ the greens using a Wiedenmann Terra Spike set to a
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