Capillary Bunkers project at Marienburger

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Capillary Bunkers project at Marienburger: Germany’s largest Capillary Bunkers installation so far has just been completed at the Marienburger Golf Club in Cologne, by architect Christian Althaus and contractor Sommerfeld.

Founded as Cologne Golf Club in 1906, the club moved to its current site in Marienburg in 1909. The construction of an autobahn (motorway) to Aachen in the thirties saw the course reduced to nine holes, which it has remained ever since. The club called in architect Althaus to advise on course improvements several years ago, and in 2021, the upgrade project got underway, incoporating the reconstruction of all nine greens – which were not properly drained – as well as bunkers, and the regrading of fairways to provide better drainage and more interest.

Capillary Bunkers project at Marienburger

Capillary Bunkers project at Marienburger

“The course is within a kilometre of the Rhine River, and is thus partially sandy, but even so it was clear that we needed a bunker liner,” says Althaus. “Even on the parts of the site that have a sand base, the steep faces of the bunkers would erode quite badly without it, and also the sand of the sub-base and the bunker sand would intermingle and contaminate the bunkers.”

Althaus considered various liner options, but was led to select Capillary Bunkers on environmental grounds. “We considered various liner options, but I knew I needed a very strong and stable liner on environmental ground, which led us to choose Capillary Bunkers,” he explains. “The strength and neutrality of the Capillary Bunkers product made it the right choice.”

Construction work is complete, and the project is growing in – the course will reopen in spring 2022.

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Toro selected as a founding partner

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Toro selected as a founding partner: The R&A has named The Toro Company as a Founding Partner and Official Golf Course Maintenance Partner for its planned community golf facility at Lethamhill in Glasgow, Scotland. The development aims to make golf more accessible, appealing and inclusive for people of all ages and backgrounds by creating an open and affordable pathway into golf that helps drive the future of the sport.

At the heart of facility, The R&A is committed to showcasing the gold standard in golf course maintenance, turf care, equipment innovation and development. To that end, they have selected Toro to join them in the development and fulfilment of their mission.

Toro selected as a founding partner

Toro selected as a founding partner

As part of this role, Toro will be the exclusive supplier of all course maintenance equipment to the new facility. Development is now underway for this new family-focused venue, which is to include a nine-hole course, putting greens, short game area, adventure golf and a driving range for visitors to enjoy a wide range of golf activities, including shorter forms of the sport.

In addition to providing an equipment fleet and irrigation products to the facility, Toro will have the first option to partner with The R&A on potential future developments. Toro also plans to provide a grant to be used toward the development of a greenkeeper apprenticeship, as well as for efforts that promote the global development of the game of golf.

“We are delighted to become a Founding Partner of this unique project,” said Peter Moeller, vice president of international at The Toro Company. “The R&A’s commitment to developing the game of golf and making it accessible to the broadest possible community is very much in line with Toro’s own mission and objectives. It is both humbling and exciting to see Toro’s equipment and irrigation solutions advance The R&A’s sustainability efforts, and we look forward to helping its team bring plans for the new facility to reality.”

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Toro has a world-renowned reputation as a supplier of high-quality equipment and solutions for golf course maintenance and so was a natural choice for us in selecting a partner for the new facility. We look forward to working alongside them in the development of the new venue and providing golfers with excellent facilities so that they can fully enjoy playing the sport in a variety of formats with family and friends.”

For more information about The R&A and its initiatives, please visit randa.org. Toro’s full line of equipment and irrigation products for golf courses can be found at toro.com.

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Home from home for Terrain Aeration

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Home from home for Terrain Aeration: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is an independent social change organisation working to solve UK poverty. The founder, Joseph Rowntree, of the famous York sweet manufacturing family, was a visionary Quaker businessman and social reformer.

The origins of the organisation’s financial resources lie in a major donation of shares in the original Rowntree Company he gifted in 1904. In the same year, Joseph’s son, Seebohm made available fields behind his Homestead House to children attending York Elementary Schools for outdoor activities. Today, at just under 15-acres, Homestead Park is a beautiful garden owned, managed and maintained by JRF for visitors to enjoy. There are various tree-trail walks around the park and the heavy footfall over time has led to severe compaction and waterlogging, causing the trees to suffer.

Home from home for Terrain Aeration

Home from home for Terrain Aeration

“The areas had never been aerated,” says Senior Gardener Paul Sarginson, “and we were finding the semi-mature cherry trees, around a hundred of them, as well as the mature chestnut and mature oak trees were becoming distressed. Terrain Aeration were recommended to us for their deep aeration treatment and they came to us for two half-days in October to do the work.”

Terrain Aeration’s Tree Division, headed by David Churchyard, has been formed out of the company’s work over twenty-five years of treating trees in all types of situation, from back gardens to large estates right through to Royal Parks. Trees may become stressed as a result of a number of factors such as nutrient shortages in the soil, surface compaction due to foot traffic and waterlogging where water drains off hard surface pathways.

The Terrain Aeration Terralift machines comprise a probe which reaches one metre depth, deeper than the roots of trees (other than the major tap roots which grow straight down). Breaking up the soil around the roots, and beyond, means that excess water will drain away from the roots to help stop anaerobic conditions and rotting of the root system. The probe is then used to inject dried seaweed, which helps keep the fissures open and backfilling the probe holes with aggregate provides a semi permanent aeration/ventilation shaft. Terrain Aeration aerates around the roots using two-metre spacings – on most occasions one-metre inside and one-metre outside the canopy drip line, as this is where the growing roots lie.

Decompacting around the roots and injecting air into the soil increases the percentage of uptake of oxygen into the root system. Using the Terralift’s ability to inject granular material via its seaweed carrier, forcing it upwards into the root zone of the trees, it is also possible to inject a tree feed mix containing slow release general nutrients and magnesium.

“Treatment of the main lawn areas this year was part of JRF’s management plan,” says Paul, “the Terrain Aeration lads who came were great and the plan from here is to have them back every year for a rolling programme of treatment.”

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Course managers achieve Master Greenkeeper status

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Course managers achieve Master Greenkeeper status: A pair of course managers who have spent their entire careers working at the same golf clubs have achieved the highest accolade available to UK greenkeepers.

Richard Johnstone of Nairn Dunbar Golf Links in the Scottish Highlands and Paul Brett of The Springs Golf Club in Oxfordshire have become the 86th and 87th members of the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) to achieve the prestigious Master Greenkeeper Certification.

Course managers achieve Master Greenkeeper status

Course managers achieve Master Greenkeeper status

Master Greenkeeper status is awarded to members of BIGGA who have reached the highest standards of greenkeeping and golf course management. Members must have been working for more than 10 years as a greenkeeper, including three years as a head greenkeeper, course manager or superintendent. They must undertake a three-stage examination process including an assessment of the operations at the golf facility they maintain.

Richard, 39, joined Nairn Dunbar in 2000 straight from school and became course manager in 2016. As BIGGA’s most active member utilising the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme, Richard has achieved more CPD milestones than any other BIGGA member. He has also undertaken a wide range of the opportunities that are made available to BIGGA members, including the BIGGA Delegation to the Golf Industry Show with Bernhard & Company, the John Deere TPC Sawgrass Volunteer Programme and the Future Turf Managers Initiative with Jacobsen. You can read more about Richard’s career here.

Paul, 41, joined The Springs in 1997 and was appointed head greenkeeper in 2000, aged just 20. He has since overseen a transitional phase in the club’s history, including a three-year period when the club was put up for sale and he took on general manager duties and operated the on-site shop. In 2017 Darwin Escapes purchased the golf club and hotel and has since invested £20m into the redevelopment of the site, with Paul playing a key role in the redevelopment of the golf course, alongside former Ryder Cup captain Brian Huggett MBE and architect Tim Lobb. On 20 December 2021 Paul will take up a new role as course manager at The West Berkshire GC. You can read more about Paul’s career here.

Richard said: “Learning never stops and I am always setting myself new challenges, one of which was to complete the Master Greenkeeper Certificate. It had always been an ambition of mine to become a Master Greenkeeper and I feel so proud to have achieved it at the first attempt. The whole process, from the review of golf course operations to the final examinations, was extremely rewarding for both myself and the team. I’m now looking forward to doing what I can to give back to the industry and help others reach their full potential.”

Paul said: “I had often thought of attempting the Master Greenkeeper process. However, due to being dyslexic and shy, I avoided it. While giving advice to both of my sons in preparation for university and the challenges they faced – being shy themselves – it made me take a look at myself and I decided it was time to practice what I preached. I have really enjoyed all stages of the process and I feel so proud to have my name on a list with so many great guys.”

To find out more about the Master Greenkeeper Certificate and to get involved, head to the BIGGA website.

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Tributes to groundsman David Leitch

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Tributes to groundsman David Leitch: St Andrews United Football Club has paid tribute to former groundsman David Leitch who died aged 85.

Read the full article from The Courier here

Tributes to groundsman David Leitch

Tributes to groundsman David Leitch

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