Golf
What’s in the shed? John Deere 2500E greens and tees mowers x 2 John Deere HPX Gators x 2 John Deere 3235C fairway mowers x 2 John Deere 2653 utility mower John Deere 3520 compact tractor John Deere 4600 tractor John Deere 220 pedestrian mowers x 4 John Deere ProGator John Deere Aercore 1500 John Deere 72” rotary deck mower Wessex HTC 18 rough cut mower Charterhouse 7416 Verti-Drain Charterhouse 804 Verti-Seed
Greentech brushes, poa busters, verticutter, vibrating units and saddle roller Sisis Mega Slitter
“Machinery is generally purchased on a 5-year replacement deal through Thomas Sherriff & Co. Ltd.
We remain loyal to John Deere as long as the machinery and kit does the job we require. So far, Sherriffs have been great. Any problems that have arisen have been resolved quickly and professionally.
The Speed Link System on the majority of our John Deere machines has had a distinct effect on how we now analyse our cutting practices as the system is fast, efficient and very easy to adjust.
We trialed the Greentech vibrating units in July 2015 - and they never went back. They fit our triples, don’t need towing around the course and, if you suffer from vertigo and motion sickness, no problem, you aren't going sideways!
As our greens are undulating, we have to take care for, when the wind blows and the greens dry, the speed on the greens automatically increase.
My wish list would include a 1.2m Sisis Multitiner - and another pair of hands - otherwise we’re doing okay.”
The watercourse on the 11th fairway - edged with sleepers and new bridges added
Renovations are prioritised by situation rather than budget, but you learn to walk before you run.
How have the changing weather patterns affected what you do?
At this moment in time [mid-December], it’s damp and 13O
C degrees outside, plus we
have had double the average rainfall, as has much of the UK. Keeping on top of disease outbreaks is always on one’s mind. Increased cutting around the course is a more evident this year but, like a lot of jobs, you become tuned in to changes and adapt.
Do you take regular soil samples to ascertain what work is required?
Samples are taken in February when our agronomist visits, and later if necessary. We also routinely check the moisture levels of the greens throughout the summer and adjust irrigation as and when required.
How do you interact with your club members?
Newsletters, notice board, emails and the occasional course walk helps us to integrate
Out of my comfort zone!
In the winter of 2013, when I took up the positon of Head Greenkeeper at Craigielaw, it was a big step, for gone now were the days of coming to work, doing your job and then going home, which had become comfortable.
But, luckily, the majority of the squad, including my brother, had all worked alongside each other for a number of years.
The first thing we did was to pool our experience and knowledge and work our way forward from there. Our agronomist, David Stansfield, came in early February 2014. He asked us what direction we wanted to go. This was a back to basic principles of turf maintenance programmes which was great as we were all singing from the same hymn sheet.
Greens had a black layer problem. This has been alleviated greatly by those back to basic principles of balancing air to moisture content with an aeration programme of coring, verti-draining, slitting to spiking greens every month, with a little and often topdressing with PRO20 throughout the
24 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016
with our members, plus the odd chit chat when working out on the course. Keeping members informed and updated is the best way to alleviate any frustrations or common problems that can occur out on the course.
Are you working on any special projects at the moment?
We are putting a new practice hole in the academy to help ease the pressure on our short course.
What projects have been undertaken in recent years?
Our water course on our 11th fairway was edged with sleepers and new bridges were built to improve the appearance and strategy of the hole. T.I.S levelled the ditch and put in the sleepers and we constructed the bridges.
How do you undertake pest and weed control?
The odd mole trap does go down and, when it comes to total weed control, we changed to Rosate for it seemed the weeds became resistant, the Roundup Pro which we had been using for a few years.
summer and reviewed spraying practices.
We now spray the greens fortnightly with a Farmura programme designed to give a more even uptake to even out the growth rate.
The greens haven’t been triple cut for three months now as hand cutting is starting to become the norm.
A lot of work has been done on our greens surrounds to bring them into their own and, with guidance from our director of golf, Jonathan Porteous, we have improved the strategy and individuality of each hole by widening bailout areas and tightening the remainder to provide definition.
We restyled and rerouted fairways again back to more natural links shaped fairways. Verti-draining of the fairways was done February and November 2013, and once annually since then in November. Gavin Irons does this for us using 18mm tines; this has paid big dividends.
It all takes time and, as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we are getting there - always reviewing, always learning.
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