Summer Sports - Tennis
“
Milan Stojsavljevic, a young Serb who looks every bit a Djokovic in the making, but is apparently set on a groundsmanship career
because of water filtering down from the higher courts.” September is Tony’s busiest time. Starting
first or second week, the courts are taken out of service in three stage batches for refurbishment work. This allows members to carry on grass surface playing on a reducing number of courts, and it means he can do important jobs in reasonable conditions. Scarification, aeration, seeding and topdressing are the essentials ahead of the over winter close down. “We now have all the equipment to do the
work ourselves thanks to club investment in recent years. The return of the big tournament in 2015 has been a factor, of course,” said Tony. Most of the equipment Tony uses has been bought new in the last four to five years and, for the September refurbishment notably, there’s a tractor-mounted scarifier. “Warm and fine early autumn weather
means players want to carry on playing. I understand that. It has to be a compromise. I have to get the work done then because I can’t gamble on decent germination if it’s left until later.” Tony re-seeds as part of autumn
refurbishment, using Limagrain’s MM50, which is bred for grass tennis courts and
We now have all the equipment to do the work ourselves thanks to club investment in recent years
” 60 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 Assistant groundsman Milan linemarking with a water-based emulsion
resilient to the wear and tear of play. There is no further grass court play after
early October and all eleven courts are ‘put to bed’ until 1st May the following year. Over the winter months, maintenance
continues by keeping them trimmed regularly, as long as conditions allow, to 13- 14mm. Tony says he does the first two or three cuts after germination by rotary, because it doesn’t pull new growth. He will then switch to cylinder and, during the playing season, reduces the cutting height to 8mm.
Mowing is 100 percent pedestrian and
each court is cut three times a week during the playing season, and Tony endeavours to get all mowing completed early in the morning before members arrive at the club. Between May and September, each court
gets monthly applications of Everris Greenmaster liquid fertiliser with slow release granular applications in autumn and spring. Tony puts a lot of value on his use these days of growth retardant Primo Maxx. He says that, as well as usefully reducing height a little, it also thickens the sward noticeably. He does occasionally use seaweed extract products, and has found monthly
applications of wetting agents a help in seasons past, although he’d not had need of them prior to this rare hot, dry spell in mid- July.
As far as disease control over winter is
concerned, Fusarium and Red Thread pose a threat, but are not a huge problem. Tony says he’s found that a single application of Chipco Green keeps things in check, generally. He conducts regular aeration to aid drainage, and always has his fingers crossed for snow and frost-free winters. There are no pest problems to speak of, though casting worms are an unwelcome irritant. Tony uses a twice-yearly application of liquid insecticide Ringer to try and keep these in check. “In a season which is short anyway, wet
conditions like this year are frustrating,” said Tony. “We’ve been flooded several times, and had to let nature take its course to a large extent. As well as curtailing play, it holds up maintenance routines. Getting on to the courts to do the jobs that need doing has been doubly hard this year.” I feel privileged - and lucky - to be visiting the club on the hottest day of the year. Everything looks so perfect. The STRI does an inspection twice a year,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156