Golf
“
He’s been here longer than even he can remember, so his course and site knowledge is invaluable, as is his passion for the course
The greenkeeping team l-r: Gary Hudson, Jonny Platt, Phil Hudson, Adam Matthews, Andy Ivel, Adam Cheetham and James Hudson
the team will come in at lunchtime and cut fairways into the evening.” Adam currently has a team of six for the
twenty-seven holes which, he says, is a challenge. “We will be adding to the team next season, with the club’s backing.” Forty-three year old Andrew Ivel is the
team’s longest serving member with twenty- three years service. “Andy came with the furniture,” jokes Adam. “He’s been here longer than even he can remember, so his course and site knowledge is invaluable, as is his passion for the course.” “Adam Cheetham [thirty and with ten
years service] came to us from neighbouring Sandmoor Golf Club, and heads the mechanics side for us, as well as performing all the other greenkeeping operations.” Jonny Platt (35/11), Phil Stanton (34/18), Gary Hudson (33/15) and James Walton (23/4) complete the team. “With two lads who are very good
Weather patterns in the UK are unique at the best of times, which is why our industry can claim to have some of the best and well respected greenkeepers in the business
” 14 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
technically, they tend to share the mechanical duties, and we carry out servicing and machinery maintenance in- house.”
“We have a close relationship with a number of contractors who I will bring in to give us quotes on any work that we can’t do in-house, or don’t have the time or resources to carry out. I’m also lucky to have a number of friends in the industry whom I can call upon if I’m not sure about something or need some advice.” The large contoured greens are sand based with a soil rootzone; they were originally the first bent grass greens to be constructed in the UK. “A number of them are shaded due to thick tree plantations and we now have a programme in place to address this,” Adam explains.
“When I took over, it was with the express purpose of getting the greens up to speed for a PGA EuroPro Tour event and dealing with issues such as high thatch content, black layer, soft, spongy etc. - and then creating a plan to fully resolve the problems as quickly as possible to get the club back to where it
belongs. One of the first things I did was to raise the cutting height on the greens to 4mm. Additionally, I changed our dressing and infill material to a straight sand product and increased the frequency of topdressing. I prefer a little and often approach to dressing and, in ideal circumstances, I aim to dust the greens every seven to ten days. I also introduced the more frequent use of a turf iron.”
“I had just seven weeks to prepare for the
event which was being played at the end of August 2015,” exclaims Adam. “It was the first four day event the club had ever hosted and, with highlights being aired on Sky Sports, there was some pressure to ensure the course looked at its best.” “We double verticut (up and down the same line to eliminate grain), deep solid tined to 9” and carried out four back to back topdressing applications up until twelve days before the start of the event, giving us time to prepare a good surface. I must have done something right,” says a delighted Adam, “as we secured the event for another three years, which was great news, both for the club and the greenkeeping team, whose hard work had been rewarded.” “It was the biggest field the EuroPro had
ever had; 160 players for the first two days, with a two tee start at 7.30am. The lads were in at 4.00am each day to cut and iron greens, cut approaches, rake bunkers and change holes. They came back in again at 5.00pm to cut tees and fairways for as long as the light allowed.” “Andrew Snodin (tournament director) and the PGA team were fantastic to work alongside. Matchroom Sports, who do the filming for Sky, were great and the drone footage they provided me of the course is superb and a great tool now for showcasing what we produced and also identifying areas that we need to work on for next year.” “Weather patterns in the UK are unique at
the best of times, which is why our industry can claim to have some of the best and well respected greenkeepers in the business. Up
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