Golf
Willie is proud to show the long root development of his fescue greens
course maintenance budget, a saving of €7,500 (£6,000) every year.
Not happy with his lot, Willie
also wanted to enlarge the greens. He mowed out into the aprons, at greens mowing height, where a lot of perennial ryegrass was growing, and managed to rid the collars of a lot of the rye with the help of the overseeding. Spraying with Rescue last autumn helped to eliminate the remaining ryegrass and he is continually mowing out further into the surrounds to kill off the ryegrass and weeds as he does so. One disadvantage of the
greens getting bigger is that the sprinkler heads, which used be situated at the edge of the green, are now on the putting surface, some by as much as a metre in! These will have to be relocated out further to the new edges of the greens. “I would like to see a situation
where the golfer will be putting many yards away from the green instead of chipping - just like you see on links courses.” In just four years, Willie has transformed the greens at Esker
Hills without a sod being turned over. This method of greens transformation has got great support from the members. His boss was so impressed with what Willie and his staff have achieved that he got an article put in the local newspaper. Even Shane Lowry gave him compliments. But, like all medical
treatments, there comes a health warning. At times during the transformation, the putting surfaces were poor and the greens looked terrible. What works at Esker Hills may not work on other golf courses, Willie warns. A sand and gravel soil structure, along with well constructed sand greens, has contributed a lot to the success of transforming the greens, along with great knowledge and experience from Willie. The quality of the greens has been instrumental in attracting new members and a surge in visitor numbers. You will have to visit Esker Hills to see the greens revolution for yourself.
This article first appeared in Greenside, the official publication of the GCSAI
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The long par 3, 6th hole PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 I 31
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