GOLF
History 1901-1903
The mudfl ats of Victoria Harbour, in Hong Kong, were bought for $2.50 per square foot by a local businessman who began charging for tipping rubble from the growing colony. The land began selling for $25.00 per square foot. Short of buyers for the land, the businessman joined with the personnel of the Royal Navy’s China Fleet to raise funds for a Royal Naval Canteen.
1929-1933
The canteen proved to be extremely successful and was soon demolished to make way for a new building. Using the club funds and with a generous loan from the Hong Kong and Shang- Hai Bank, Admiral Kelly (Commander in Chief China Station) laid the foundation stone for the seven-story China Fleet Club building. For the men who served on the China station (‘The Old Blue’ as it was known), it provided a place for refurbishment and decent accommodation away from the crowded ships.
1941-1973
During the battle for Hong Kong, the Japanese occupied the club using it as the naval HQ. The club was extensively refurbished and returned to its former use after the Royal Marines and Royal Navy liberated the colony. During the Korean war, the club became a major rest and recreation centre for UK and allied sailors. During the Vietnam War, allied and American sailors used the club extensively between tours of duty boosting club profi ts.
1980-1985
Land values escalated, and the trustees sold the air space over the club. A developer paid for temporary facilities while building a new luxury club on the fi rst nine fl oors, with 14 more fl oors of offi ce space above. Fleet house opened and because of the agreement to hand back Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997, the search began for a suitable successor to the China Fleet Club in the UK.
1986-1992
A proposal to build the China Fleet Country Club in Saltash, Cornwall was put to the Hong Kong sailors committee and Trustees. The feasibility study was approved by the Hong Kong sailors committee, the land was purchased, and design of the complex began. Building work started on the 180-acre Saltash site. The new China Fleet Country Club was offi cially opened on June 1st, 1991 along with its prestigious golf course, designed by Dr Martin Grant Hawtree. On 30th November 1992, the Hong Kong China Fleet Club closed its doors for the last time ready for the Chinese to take over Hong Kong.
1992-Present day
The China Fleet Country Club goes from strength to strength, opening its doors to civilians in 1994, to constantly extending and refurbishing year on year. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016 by receiving a visit by HRH Princess Anne the club was rededicated to commemorate this event. The story continues…
32 PC October/November 2020
We have managed to reduce our fungicide applications signifi cantly; going from fi ve or six a year to once in six months, which I am absolutely delighted with
granular feed at the start of maintenance week in March, then will go with a straight N liquid 25:0:0. “A couple of years ago, I started to work with David Bevan from Agrovista Amenity and, with his solid advice, I have gone down the route of using BioMass Sugar, HumiMax, SeaAction Liquid Seaweed and turf hardeners. Historically, we just used to use these products in the winter months, but now we are applying them once a month. One thing I think I do diff erently to most people, is that I will go half-rate once every two weeks. I found when we fi rst started the programme, it was a stretch trying to go a month at full rate with all the products. So, I experimented with going three weeks still at full rate and found that; in the last week they just looked a bit hungry and tired. I now have a result which works best for us, which is a half rate of everything but every two weeks, so it is like a drip-feed; they never get to that stage where they are looking tired. ICL Primo Maxx is also in there at 400ml every two weeks, but we have just started to ease back on this as we have got to a stage where the greens are too dense, and we weren’t getting enough air in the profi le. After the latest STRI report, we have just started to tweak down the amount of nitrogen we
are applying throughout the year to help the bent.”
As you walk into the driving range (near the club shop), there is the greenkeepers corner board with monthly updates, a picture of the greenkeeping team and information on planned and ongoing projects. I was interested to know if the golfers take the time to read it and if Nathan has had much feedback. “It went up a year ago when Ben joined us. As well as the usual information, we will post any legislation changes on insecticides and fungicides that have been removed from the market, which pre-warns them of what to expect as a result. They are taking notice and we have some good feedback. We also communicate through our Facebook and Twitter accounts and provide similar information, plus weather updates.” Most of the machinery at the club is on lease through various companies, and some smaller items (around £10-15,000) are purchased through CapEx. “We do a lot of business with Devon Garden Machinery. We are mainly Toro, but our fairway mowers are Jacobsen and we have a few John Deere utility vehicles. I tend to purchase whatever machine best suits the area we are maintaining, rather than looking at price or manufacturer.”
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