Golf Rhys is a fan of Toro machines - supplied by local dealer Major Owen “As well as the badgers, we also suffer
from rabbit damage; we have lads who regularly shoot the rabbits, but badgers, being protected, we can’t do anything about.”
With so much going on around the course
at all times of the year, Rhys says that it is important to communicate with the members. “I have a Royal St David’s Links Team page on Facebook and a blog on the club’s website. The members are also regularly kept up to date with emails from the secretary. It’s about talking to the golfers; explaining why we do things and just keep educating them.” The Facebook page is populated on a
weekly and sometimes daily basis with information and images that Rhys wants to get across to the members. The page currently has close to 300 ‘friends’; a good percentage of the membership. He also provides links to online articles that help to get his points across. Most recent has been an aeration article from the GCSAA, a compost tea article from Pitchcare and a ‘10 Great Reasons to Love Your Golf Course Superintendent’ poster. How and why to repair pitchmarks is a recurring theme. Rhys understands that the role of the head greenkeeper will inevitably change. “Further
pressures will be put on us by the removal of chemicals and fungicides by the EU. There will definitely need to be even more emphasis on encouraging more disease resistant, sustainable golf courses.” “Trying to keep on top of paperwork takes up a good deal of my time; good planning is a must. Being a reasonably small team, all my time is spent on the course, so my paperwork does come home with me quite often, unfortunately, but it’s all part of the job and position.” “The job has changed massively since I
started,” concludes Rhys. “There is a lot more science involved in the job now, whilst social media now makes communication with the golfing public so much easier. I always say ‘educate them correctly before they just make anything up which sounds right’!” Rhys is now three years into his role at
Royal St David’s and, in that time, he has certainly made a difference. Golfers - and Mother Nature - should be very pleased with his efforts thus far.
What’s in the shed? Toro Triflex 3420 Toro 3250 Greensmasters x 3 Toro GR1000 pedestrian greens mowers x 2 Toro 5510 fairway mower John Deere 3245c rough mower Toro ProCore 648 Tym tractor Kubota tractor Smithco roller Gambetti 300 ltr sprayer Amazone Toro Workman x 3 Toro Workman MDE Kubota RTV Charterhouse Verti-Drain Charterhouse fairway overseeder
“Machinery is mostly purchased outright and new, if possible, but it does vary a bit. We have two excellent Toro GR1000 ex- tournament support hand mowers and an ex-demo Ryder Cup Smithco roller.
I am responsible for my budget, which is agreed by the finance committee at the end of year review. But all purchasing and all aspects of the budget are my responsibility. It works well as, with different weather conditions, I need to be flexible and adapt to the different requirements of the golf course at different times of the year. It’s simply not possible to ‘buy by the calendar’ anymore as the seasons and requirements are so unpredictable.
We have Major Owen ten minutes down the road who provide excellent back up service. They are a Toro and Kubota dealer.
Toro provide quality machinery and make up our main fleet; we have a Total Solutions Package with them. But we do demo a lot of stuff and, sometimes, other manufacturers, like the Smithco roller, are best for us, so we went with what was best for the course. The Smithco roller has really been beneficial to us.
We hire an Air2G2 and Vredo disc overseeder from Shaun at Greener Grounds. He operates the Air 2G2 and I overseed; generally a day and a half and all greens and approaches are done. Those are certainly two machines I have on my wishlist.
Servicing is carried out mostly in-house with grinding outsourced.
Spraying soluble compost tea
We also have a wash down area that is compliant with current legislation.”
PC JUNE/JULY 2016 I 21
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