Golf
The Wiedenmann Core Recycler is saving time and money
of keeping the plant healthy by utilising biostimulants of various forms. Phosphites seem to be the fashionable thing at the moment, but I’ve been using them for a long time with great results.” “Fairways are fertilised as required; normally every spring. We have a significant amount of dwarf rye within the fairway sward and this helps to see it through a very busy playing season.” “Wetting agents are used extensively, with monthly applications of penetrants, such as Floratine Pervade, throughout the winter and a retentive product during the summer months.” “Verticutting is carried out every twenty- one days or so, but we often reduce this frequency due to the use of the Campey brushes fitted to both our greens and tees triples.” “Topdressing is carried out as often as possible, sometimes weekly, but generally, due to time constraints, every ten days or so. Our target application rate for the season is 250 tonnes over 1.2 hectares of greens. However, this will be the first full year utilising our new Wiedenmann core recycler, so the money we save on topdressing will be spent on increased applications to tees.” “Presentation is everything,” stresses
Paul. “Having said that, it cannot take precedence over agronomics, as that can lead to a very slippery slope. As with all things in greenkeeping, getting the balance right between what the members expect to see and what the turf requires is key.” “We are lucky enough to have two weeks a year where the course is effectively ‘ours’. We generally close nine holes and keep the other nine available for play. By doing this, we maximise our productivity and minimise the disruption to the membership. We are also able to carry out our renovations when they are best suited to the plant’s needs rather than the golfer’s!” “We have continued to look at ways we
can reduce our renovation costs, and one recently purchased machine - a Wiedenmann Core Recycler - is making a difference. We wanted to cut the cost of renovation materials for our greens to allow us to divert that resource to other parts of the course, whilst also streamlining our labour requirements for
The six year old workshop and mess facilities still look brand new - shoes off please!
nutrient balance right, and then we core it out and throw it away”
topdressing to our playing areas, making it biologically active and getting the
“We spend years applying expensive, sterile
renovations. This machine has certainly achieved that.” “Prior to this, we would expect to hollow core perhaps twenty greens, a small number of tees and, if we worked really hard, an apron or two. With this machine, we can do all greens, tees, aprons and collars in our maintenance week with half the labour resource and 60% less materials, which we are recycling back into the sward.”
“Over a period of time, the savings will
really add up but, more than this, I believe the benefits of recycling dressing are worth it on their own. Thinking about it, we all spend years applying expensive, sterile topdressing to our playing areas, making it biologically active and getting the nutrient balance right, and then we core it out and throw it away or compost it! It just doesn’t make agronomic or economic sense.” On such an extensive site, I ask Paul if
the team are responsible for all areas. “We have considerable blocks of woodland that we are presently working our way through, thinning and replanting. All of the ‘in play’ blocks of woodland will be completed this year.” “When I arrived at the club, there was an abundance of Leylandii and Eucalyptus which, in most people’s opinion, are simply inappropriate for golf courses, so we set about removing them. I also commissioned John Nicholson to carry out a full survey and have been working from that document ever since.” “At first, it was a real struggle to get people to understand the end goals, but we got there in the end through a mixture of determination and conviction that we were doing the right thing. All the Leylandii are now gone, but a few Eucalyptus remain - the members don’t miss them one bit. In fact, they look back at photographs from the 80s and 90s with horror.” Paul says that keeping the members informed is vitally important. “We have regular forums in the clubhouse which are generally well attended by the members. Sometimes, these can become difficult, particularly if things aren’t going well out on the course for whatever reason, but over the years we have learned how to manage these situations and, in any case, I feel it’s very important that any course manager has a chance to explain what the issues are and how they will be resolved. I’ve always felt that the membership go away feeling confident in the greenstaff ’s ability to get the job done and with more understanding of the challenges we face on a daily basis.” “We also hold regular open evenings in our maintenance facility, of which we are very proud as a club. All our machinery is put on display, with information on its purpose, service life, value etc. The club provides food and drink, and the four hours we normally spend talking to members is gone in a flash! These meetings are probably the most useful communication tool I’ve come across.” “We also have a course information line and a section on the club’s website to communicate daily with the membership.” With a new workshop and mess facility, including Hydroscape recycling plant, separate welfare block and fully fitted
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 PC 63
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