there is only one person who can decide what that path is. And that is the Greenkeeper at that club. He, or indeed she, is surely employed to make the decision on how best to move the course forward, using the huge array of information and products now available to help all of us to formulate our plans. Surely, there is nothing wrong with trying absolutely anything that might help us to achieve our goal of stronger, more self sufficient greens, regardless of how much it might have made the great Mr. Arthur shake with rage!
Get a soil analysis test done, study the
results, ask for advice, experiment with whatever products those results appear to suggest you could use to compensate for anomalies in your rootzone and, if that doesn’t work, experiment again. Be open to new ideas, evaluate them in your own head, and make up your own mind whether there is a place for these new ideas and products in your programme.
And think about cutting heights, and how easy it would be to maintain your greens if you could get away with cutting a millimetre, or even half a millimetre higher all year round. You would use less nutrients, you’d get less disease, your overseedings would be more successful, your machines would cause less wear on the edges and the high spots, and your water usage would go down.
And, most of all, communicate with your employers and members. Tell them
what you plan to do, and why they might have to suffer a little in the short term while you do it. Let them know your fears for the future, and what advantages they may enjoy in the long term if they trust you to do the right thing now.
If ultimate sustainability on our specific site is our goal, whether that goal be minimal inputs and disturbance on an underplayed, fertile links like Machrie, or whether it be an improved, “puttable, all-year-round” surface which is less susceptible to disease and thatch build-up at the course with the swampy 15 year old USGA spec greens, we need to get together with our employers and work out, and document, in which direction they wish the club to go over the next 5, 10, or even 20 years. We need to work with, not against, our committees and memberships to come up with a strategy that will enable us to produce a golf course strong and healthy enough to withstand the worst that the beaurocrats can throw at us. And if, in our own particular instance that means a poa-bent mix rather than fescue, or more aeration rather than less, or (perish the very heinous thought) eight and a half feet in the Summer instead of ten, then please let us carefully and sensibly work this out for ourselves rather than just blindly following the latest fad or theory. Only then will we be able to work towards a sustainable future for ‘our’ golf course.
Not every golf course can achieve the same goals and outcomes
Islay is the most southerly of the Hebridean islands off the west coast of Scotland. It is approx 25 miles long north-south and approx 20 miles wide east-west. It has approx 3,500 permanent residents. Travelling by car and ferry (from Kennacraig) it should take approximately 4.5 hours to/from Glasgow - 2.5 hours for the approx 100 mile drive and 2 hours for the ferry crossing.
The Reelmaster 5010 Series.
Exceptional quality of cut and after-cut appearance – that’s what you get with the Reelmaster 5010 series fairway mowers from Toro.
It’s all thanks to an innovative design that’s focused on performance,operator comfort,and serviceability.
What’s more,the acclaimed DPA cutting units offer simple adjustment along with major advances in reel and bedknife edge retention. The detailed improvements will keep you out of the shop and on the fairway,producing the results you’ve come to expect.
Hundreds of improvements, one great result.
TORO Commercial, Irrigation and Consumer Products are distributed by Lely (UK) Limited St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 1QH. Tel: 01480 226800 Email:
toro.info.uk@
lely.com
TORO Commercial and Irrigation Products are distributed by Lely Ireland Limited, Kilboggin Nurney, Co. Kildare. Tel: 00 353 (0)45 526170 Email:
turfcaresales.ie@
lely.com www.toro.com
After all, beauty lies in the details.
For a free demonstration, please call us on 01480 226845 today.
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