Technical


Sam Cook is just embarking on his NVQ Level 3. A trainee carpenter working at a local club, Sam is Sean’s next door neighbour. “Having the cottages is really handy for us,” adds Sean. “They’ve been refurbished recently and are really comfortable. The club rents them from the local council, along with the car park.”


As you’d expect at a club with such a strong emphasis on learning, Harpenden Common is committed to an apprenticeship programme.


Ryan Hodges, 21, started ten months ago and has just embarked on his NVQ Level 2 after arriving from Vauxhall. A scratch golfer, he no doubt favours the fast greens (summer Stimpmeter readings average 9 to 9.5) although these can prove a challenge for less accomplished players, says Sean. Thanks to the bolstered budget Terry recently put in place, the greens team have been able to recruit another member. Harry Topping, 17, came last August straight from his A‐levels and is already signed up for his NVQs, not forgetting BIGGA membership –


“


making the team tally seven.


“Harry is part and parcel of our strategy of improving not only course playability, but also the cosmetic aspects too,” explains Sean. “I’ll also serve as a mentor for Harry, and Olly too, so that we develop a strong, young team of greenkeepers.”


Mention of the new recruitment, spurred largely by course improvements, prompts Sean to stress the need for a broader understanding in the clubhouse of the challenges the greens team face. “General managers need to be more educated about the demands the golf course makes on maintenance ‐ why we do what we do,” he states. “Major disagreements can arise between the greenkeepers and the clubhouse when communications are poor, as they seem to be in many clubs. The expectations of members on greenkeepers and vice versa are important to clarify and good communications helps that process,” Sean amplifies.


“We are lucky here that communications with the clubhouse and members are strong.


Planning ahead helps ensure members know what’s happening on the course so they are prepared. By constantly updating each other, Terry and the greens team can keep members informed of developments and therefore reduce risks of complaints.” It was Terry’s logical approach to problems out on course that helped spark a change in the course maintenance policy, Sean recalls. “Applying tonnes of sand to the greens twice a year, along with loads of other products, then removing them in March before the start of the season seemed nonsensical to him.”


“What we have now is a far less disruptive closed system that involves introducing air into the greens, light sand dressing of twelve tonnes across eighteen greens twice a year, frequent application of compost teas and application of zeolites periodically.” “That’s been our strategy for the last three years and is working brilliantly to the point where we only plan to apply zeolites once this year.”


Steve again: “The course is built on clay,


General managers need to be more educated about the demands the golf course makes on maintenance - why we do what we do


120 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018


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