Golf
changes from dry to wet periods and back again have also
“The rapid
presented some challenges as water often appears in
traditionally dry areas”
L-r: Chris Fogg, Sean Eckett, Alex Bueno, Dan Gray, John Hordley, Paul Brown and Michael Lipscombe
managing soil push ups will know it's always an uphill battle. Getting the balance right between too much and too little
“Anyone
aeration and decompaction can be tricky”
60 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
streamlining our methods by using an online system. We actively encourage the staff to get involved in their own H&S, such as the risk assessment process and identifying new hazards.” “As a club, we encourage the greenstaff to go out and look at what training is available. They then come back to us with the details and an indication of the benefits it will bring to both themselves and us as an employer.” “All are qualified to at least NVQ level 2 standard or equivalent and the club provide me with a very good budget for their ongoing personal development,” comments Paul. “We have recently taken on the two young guys as full apprentice greenkeepers after initially employing them both as summer casuals. They ended up working through the winter and on into the spring of the following year, by which time they had acquired so much knowledge it would have been foolish to lose them! Although this meant a large increase in both our salary line and training budget, I persuaded the club to make some funding available to enable us to keep them. Will has recently started his NVQ, whilst Alex will spend his year doing some short courses before enrolling at Merrist Wood this September.” “I sit down each year with the secretary and finance chair after producing a spend forecast and reviewing the five year capital/machinery plan,” he explains. “We have recently overhauled the way we set our budgets and have introduced much more detail into them, so they are now a better reflection of what and where we spend and, therefore, I can more accurately forecast for the future. Ultimately, I am responsible for working within the defined budget we set as a group and highlighting any areas that may need additional resource going forward.” “As with every aspect of expenditure, the
end result has to justify the initial outlay but, sometimes this can be difficult for club officials and members to see. Education and communication are the key factors here, demonstrating that our methods work and targets are met. Weekly performance testing and regular testing of
our soils ensure we are effectively managing our resources.” The course covers 132 acres in total, twelve of which are managed ecological rough, thirty-five mature woodland and eighty-five the playing area. “We are predominantly a fairly free draining brash, but with some considerable pockets of clay that dominate the course in certain areas. However, we are also in an area where the water table sits very high during the winter months and, across a site with only 2.4m of fall from the highest point to the lowest, it can get to field capacity very quickly, and that tends to cause us issues. As a flat site, we can flood in several areas around the course,” bemoans Paul. “With the changing weather patterns,
we are definitely starting to struggle a little more during the winter period with high moisture levels. The rapid changes from dry to wet periods and back again have also presented some challenges, as water often appears in traditionally dry areas of the course and vice versa due to changes in underground water patterns.” Having experimented with drainage over the past fifty years, the club have concluded that it is virtually impossible to utilise a piped system effectively without significant investment, although that hasn’t stopped them from actively looking at long term solutions. “We have recently commissioned an in-depth drainage scheme for the entire course, alongside a comprehensive course audit to include a full bunker redesign and some substantial changes to several holes.” “The greens are all original push up with no drainage; the exception being the 18th, which was rebuilt in 2008 to a USGA construction specification, but utilising a slightly slower draining rootzone to help it match the existing greens performance a little closer.” “Anyone managing soil push ups will know it’s always an uphill battle. Getting the balance right between too much and too little aeration/decompaction can be tricky, especially with a demanding and very active playing membership.” “The 18th green has required intensive
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156