Golf


The 14th green on the Waterfall “ 40 I PC APRIL/MAY 2018


My policy is to bring the apprentices in, push them through college and then they can decide what they want to specialise in. The more they are


qualified, the greater their chance of career progression


“We’ve retained Harry Colt’s original features wherever possible although, between 1999 and 2003, we began to rebuild the clay push‐up greens and that process has continued as we construct them to USGA standards.”


“The forty‐four bunkers are still in place and, in the last couple of years, we’ve redrained and reconstructed some with revetted edges to help eliminate washdown from the faces.”


Once owned by Exclusive Hotels, Mannings Heath stood alongside the likes of Pennyhill Park in Bagshot as one of a group of prestigious venues. Giulio worked at the Surrey site occasionally; now he enjoys his life devoted to serving the needs of a 500‐ strong private members club. “Pay and play is not my preferred golf model,” he confesses. “We attract an increasing number of juniors here, but they


don’t stick around and want to play as many courses as they can.”


Playing off a handicap of three in his teens, Giulio still “hits the odd ball”, when he can spare a moment away from his hectic programme, which covers duties as diverse as maintaining Hawkins Pond dam and keeping the water clean and clear. “We’re home to all kinds of reptiles, snakes and newts. Since the 90s, I’ve noticed lizards are proliferating, possibly due to the warming climate in the South East, and anywhere there’s bracken, you’ll find adders.” Six years ago, he oversaw the rebuilding of the irrigation lake, fed from the borehole, tripling capacity to just under two million litres. Sounds plenty to cope with in warm weather but “if a really hot spell strikes, we could lose up to 1.5 million litres in ten days, and we need at least 300,000 litres minimum to keep the pumps operational”. Only greens, tees and approaches are irrigated, which limits water consumption, he adds. “Up to 7,500m3


free water can be


taken from the borehole and rainwater harvesting from the barn rooves is fed into the lake, so that helps.”


Giulio manages a ten strong full‐time team at Mannings Heath, plus a part‐time gardener who splits his time between here and nearby sister site Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, bought recently by Penny Streeter. [We’ll be glimpsing Leonardslee’s Grade 1 listed garden and landscape delights in the next issue].


“Fifteen years ago, the team numbered sixteen,” recalls Giulio, “but the advent of more efficient machinery enabled us to prune slightly as greater mechanisation has come into greenkeeping.”


Much of the Kingfisher course has been given over to vineyards


Brothers Roy and Alan Jones, have worked together here for nearly forty years apiece and are the site’s service stalwarts. “Roy was head greenkeeper when I came here and it’s invaluable to have his and Alan’s experience to call on. They have such pride in the job.” Another vital part in the Mannings Heath maintenance machine is full‐time mechanic


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  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164