Golf
It takes four hours to cut all the greens, raking bunkers as they go
“I'm very aware that the thatch is getting out of hand, and last year’s poor weather has exacerbated a surface water problem on many of the greens”
The undulating terrain is a challenge
“Alistair and I share all the jobs between us, taking it in turns to do various tasks throughout the week,” he explained. “We cut the greens daily during the summer months and at least three times a week at other times of the year. Tees get cut two or three times times a week in the summer, and fairways twice a week.”
“It can take well over four hours to cut
the greens; this is because, on the way round, we’ll also rake the bunkers and move tee markers. Tees take a day to cut and fairways about a day and a half, so time is precious when you consider all the other work that has to be done. We do tend to work longer hours during the summer months to get the tasks done.” “It’s about being as efficient as we can,” stated Kenny. “We aim to get an early start, ahead of the golfers coming out, to minimise disruption to their game. They are, after all, our lifeblood.” The club has around 350 members and, because the ‘Cashmere’ connection draws a lot of visitors to the area, there are always a number of golfing societies coming along to play the course. “We keep our renovations fairly simple. In spring, the greens are scarified, hollow cored and topdressed, and this is repeated in late August, along with some overseeding. We aerate the greens twice a year using our Weidenmann Terra-Spike and, at other times, use our Groundsman 345 vertical solid tine spiker when time and weather permits.” “Feeding is kept to a minimum,”
explained Kenny. “A granular is applied in the spring, followed by a couple of summer applications and then, perhaps, an iron feed in the winter months.”
Fridays are always the busiest days for
Kenny and Alistair, setting up the course for the weekend play. It’s virtually a non- stop operation from 7.00am to midday to get all the jobs done, It is hard to imagine how on earth they continue to do it week in, week out. However, Kenny knows only to well that, with limited staff, there is only so much work that can be achieved. “The consequences of not having enough time to do some of the more essential work often comes back to haunt us,” bemoaned Kenny. “In recent years we’ve noticed an increase in thatch levels on the greens, and I put this down to a limited budget for topdressing, coupled with the restricted amount of time we can spend working on them.” “I’m very aware that the thatch is getting out of hand, and last year’s poor weather has exacerbated a surface water problem on many of the greens. Some are very sodden and anaerobic.” “We’ve no primary drainage on any of
the greens, so it’s a case of carrying out good cultural practices to keep the surface open. However, with the rain being so persistent in the last few months, even the fairways have become very wet, which restricts heavy equipment access to any of the greens at the moment.” “The likelihood of putting new drainage into the greens is not an option as the club simply do not have the funds at the present time to even consider going down that route,” explained Kenny. “Instead, I looked at the cost of having them sandmastered in the spring - once they have dried out, of course! The expectation is that, over time, this
Alistair George 14 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
Surface water was a big problem during 2012
Drainage work is ongoing
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