Golf
scanned regularly for tidy, well-priced equipment. “We do have one or two regular machinery sources that often come up trumps but, if the price and condition are right, then location and distance are no obstacle to sealing a purchase.” Having a wide-ranging set of golf course equipment available in-house means that Cardigan Golf Club rarely needs to use contractors or hire-in machinery. Robert likes it that way: “It means that we
Robert Clark guides the hollow-tine aerator across the putting green. Like all of the machines on the course, the Ryan GA30 saw service on another golf course before being acquired by Cardigan
and topdressings using a drag mat pulled by a greensmower. Although Cardigan Golf Club owns a
comprehensive machinery fleet, few machines are purchased new due to the need to maintain tight control over costs. That said, Robert has managed to source
many pre-owned bargains in excellent condition, amongst the most recent being a Toro self-propelled turf sprayer with 6m windfoil boom, a Trilo scarifier-collector and a Sisis Veemo heavy-duty scarifier, the latter’s close ground-following abilities proving helpful on a course laid out on almost pure sand, with natural turf undulations and contours offering golfers comparable challenges to a true links course. Apart from a lack of towering sand dunes, the one aspect that sets Cardigan apart from other fine links courses around the Welsh coast are the spectacular views from virtually every hole of a course which, at its highest point, is around 400ft (122m) above sea level.
Robert explained that, when the club
needs an additional or a replacement machine, the starting point has traditionally been turf magazines complemented, more recently, by online resources which are
can do virtually all course work ourselves at times when turf and weather conditions are just right,” he said. “This ability is rarely possible if you have to wait for a contractor or a hire machine.” The new, flexible approach to course management, introduced by Robert when he took up his post in June 2013, has resulted in a sustained rise in standards that has led to more golfers now playing the course more often than has been evident for a number of years.
Robert pointed out that it is now accepted
The overriding aim is to achieve and maintain a consistently high standard every day, irrespective of who is playing the course
”
Having been hollow cored, topdressed, seeded and matted, the 5th green at Cardigan Golf Club receives a final mowing to leave the surface ready for golfers
that two greenstaff are on the course at the weekends, mowing greens, raking bunkers and repairing pitch marks and divots to ensure that the golf course is presented at its very best on, what are, the busiest and most important days of the week financially for the club. The all-round improvements now being seen in course condition and presentation standards mean that Robert and his team spent little additional time or effort preparing the golf course for the Under 18s Wales versus Ireland International matches. “The overriding aim is to achieve and
maintain a consistently high standard every day, irrespective of who is playing the course,” he said. “I would expect a first-time visitor holidaying in the area to be equally as impressed with the course as someone who plays two or three times a week.” Because the underlying sandy soils do not
encourage rapid or lush grass growth, summer mowing is carried out strictly on an “as necessary” basis to maintain fairways at a height of around 18mm and tees and greens approaches at 9mm. Greens, however, are cut every day at a height of between 3.5mm and 4mm, depending on weather conditions, dropping occasionally to 3mm ahead of competitions. Irrigation is available for all tees and
greens, but is used very sparingly, principally to maintain colour during hot, dry spells. Water for the irrigation system is stored in ponds filled by drainage run-off and a bore hole located on the lowest side of the course overlooking the Teifi estuary. To complement the essential course
maintenance work carried out by greenstaff throughout the week, Robert has instigated a wide-ranging programme of upgrades on areas that, from his golfing viewpoint, have received inadequate attention in the past. Uneven tees are being re-levelled, the
edges of fairways better defined and rough is being thinned-out and trimmed to a consistent 75mm height so that golfers have a better chance of locating a wayward ball.
PC APRIL/MAY 2014 I 25
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