Golf
In April last year, Tim Fell, managing director of turf
producer, Tillers Turf, was having a fairly routine day at his Lincolnshire turf nursery until Donald Trump called from his office in New York to make his rather substantial request
TURF that TRUMPS all others
I John Bambury on the 18th tee
“I’d like the best turf in the world delivered to my new golf course”
Donald J. Trump, Trump International
n April last year, Tim Fell, managing director of turf producer, Tillers Turf, was having a fairly routine day at his Lincolnshire turf nursery until Donald Trump called from his office in New York
to make his rather substantial request. Donald Trump’s vision is to create one of the finest links courses in the world at Balmedie, just north of Aberdeen. The Trump Organisation had identified Tillers Turf as the specialist grower of turf for golf courses, having supplied turf for greens at prestigious courses throughout Europe, and most recently to the renovated West Course at The Wentworth Club. “We were asked to submit proposals for
growing the turf for the 5-star 18-hole golf resort development, Trump International Golf Links,” Tim Fell explains. “The specification was for 40,000m² of a traditional Scottish Links fescue and browntop bent mixture, grown on a rootzone to match the indigenous dune sand. They also needed 25,000m² of our Arena Gold turf, which is hard wearing and fine in appearance, for use on pathways, and our 100% fescue turf for fairway repairs. An additional area, over and above the contracted amount, was produced as a contingency. In the event, this can now be offered to other customers for use on green construction, fairways and tees.” “The main challenge for us was to produce
greens turf that was strong enough to lift and handle, without building up a thatch layer, but we have a very experienced team and we were confident that we could deliver turf that met the specification and the expectations of Mr. Trump.” Rootzone sand, in keeping with sand native to the Menie estate, was spread over the nursery at a depth of 15mm, and on the 17th and 18th June 2010, the traditional Scottish
Links seed mixture was broadcast into the ground. Temperatures were well into the high 20s at this time, and the main challenge for Tillers’ staff was to keep the sand damp to ensure quick, even germination. The company had invested in the purchase of a 45 metre wide Briggs boom irrigator specifically for the job, which provided controlled coverage with a small droplet size. Irrigation was then applied little and often.
Germination was observed at around ten days, and the plant reached first leaf stage at fourteen days.
One year on and it was in prime condition. Lifting began on 8th June, twelve months after sowing, and was completed by the end of August. To reduce the risk of heat damage, the turf was lifted in the early morning before the air temperature reached 15O
C. “Harvesting
wasn’t possible on some days,” explains Tim, “it was just too hot.” “The turf was lifted with a Trebro Harvestack, automatically loading twenty pallets with sixty four standard 0.6m-wide rolls of turf, 15mm thick. It’s critical that the time between harvesting and laying is kept to an absolute minimum. The haulage was key in delivery of the contract; we put a lot of effort into getting the level of service required and coordinating the loads. The turf was lifted at 5.00am and loaded straight into lorries for the journey north, arriving in Aberdeen the same day.” “When we had high temperatures, we
arranged for specialist refrigerated wagons to transport the day’s load. We numbered each pallet to enable the contractor to lay the turf in the order in which it was harvested. By August, the handover of all the greens turf was complete, and we were satisfied that it was the best turf our company has ever grown.”
Modelled green awaiting turf 32 PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2012
Laying the turf
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