Golf
considerably, with attention to detail being at the forefront to promote the course in its best light and increase the diversity of flora and fauna”
“The aesthetics and presentation of the course has altered
reduced damage to the course.” At the time of my visit, Alec was about to begin his spring renovations. “This will revolve around our tried and tested robust programme of aeration, topdressing and fertilising. All the greens will be hollow cored with 19mm tines, topdressed with ninety tonnes of sand and fed a liquid spring fertiliser.” “Tees get a similar renovation; hollow coring with 12mm tines and applying forty tonnes of topdressing before oversowing with a Barenbrug bent and fescue seed mixture, whilst the approaches are hollow cored and topdressed every three years.” The greens are mown on a daily basis and turf ironed once or twice a week in the growing season. “I prefer to hand cut the greens all year round,” explained Alec. “We use John Deere 220 cylinder mowers for this, only using the triple greens mower at weekend or at particularly busy times. I keep them at 5mm in the winter and 3mm in the summer.” “Tees and approaches are maintained at 12mm in the winter and 10mm in the summer and mown two or three times a week depending on growth. Fairways are kept at 14mm all year round and mown twice a week, whilst the semi rough and rough are kept at 40mm and 75mm respectively. Areas of deep rough and rough are thinned out with a cut and
Developing the environmental balance of the course
collect regime on a two year cycle.” “My feeding programmes are centred
around a regular liquid programme using a combination of different tank mixes depending on the time of the year and the needs of the grass plant. I’ve had a portable, lightweight sprayer boom made that connects to the bulk tank sprayer on the John Deere Gator; this reduces the impact of running heavy machinery on the surfaces when spraying.” “Aeration is carried out regularly,” continues Alec. “The greens are aerated every month using our Wiedenmann XF Terra Spike fitted with 8mm solid tines. We also slit knife during the winter on a weekly basis (weather permitting) to keep them open. We’ll run the Terra Spike over the tees and approaches - and certain areas of the fairway - when either time allows or conditions dictate.” “The installation of the irrigation system has certainly given me more control out on the course, although it wasn’t needed that much last summer! It is designed to cover tees, greens, approaches and fairways. The system is fed from a large borehole from which we can access up to 20,000 cubic metres of water p/a, storing it in a large reservoir that holds 1.2 million cubic metres.” Alec reports regularly to the club’s manager Edward Richardson and Greens Chairman Tony Hammond both of
whom, he says, work very hard to support him and his staff. “This is a very important aspect of my job,” states Alec. “Without their understanding of the work required to improve the course, it would have been more difficult to get the members to understand what, why and when the work was required. Their support and patience in allowing me the time to turn the course around has been invaluable. Now we are starting to see the fruits of our labours, with the greens performing really well. They are now playable for most of the year and I rarely have to use temporaries.” “Bunkers and tees have improved immensely and the fact that, on average, around one hundred and fifty golfers are seen playing the course on a daily basis is testament to how far we have progressed.” “The aesthetics and presentation of the course has altered considerably, with attention to detail being at the forefront to promote the course in its best light and to increase the diversity of flora and fauna seen out on the course. It all helps to enhance the golfing experience,” states Alec.
On top of this, the club, at the beginning of this year, took over the management contract of the Newbury Golf Centre at the racecourse, as part of a major redevelopment plan. “I’m
Speedcut carrying out laser grading - turf laid by the greenkeepers
26 PC APRIL/MAY 2013
Refurbished and rerouted paths have helped to speed up play
Trees have been felled to improve sight lines
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