Redditch GC Benefit From MM Seed

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Redditch GC Benefit From MM Seed: The application of Limagrain’s MM grass seed has produced fantastic results on the tees and greens at Redditch Golf Club, reports course manager Karl Williams.

The Worcestershire club is a 72 par course which provides a true test of golf. The part parkland and part woodland golf course is universally acclaimed for both its topography and the quality of its playing surfaces. In particular, the course is perhaps most famous for its last six holes, which are formed and cut out of dense woodland.

Redditch GC Benefit From MM Seed

The greens are particularly outstanding, all 18 having been re-laid during 1995 and 1996 to USGA specification. The work was carried out due to their former foundations consisting of red marl clay which proved to be extremely problematic in wet winters. However, those days are firmly in the past and Karl Williams is the man tasked with ensuring that the greens remain at a consistently high standard.

Karl started his role as course manager at Redditch in 2014 and now oversees a team of eight full-time greenkeepers. The team has doubled in size since Karl arrived and marks just one of a number of ongoing improvements as the club continues to signal its ambitions. Karl, himself, was also keen to play his part and this started with ensuring that he had the correct seed mixtures in place.

“I’ve been using Limagrain’s MM seed mixtures right back to when I started out as an apprentice – so probably for about 18 years now. When I first came here they were using a different brand of seed but I wanted to use Limagrain because in my opinion it is an all-round package – I’ve had big success from the mixtures in terms of quality, results and the support you get from the company,” he said.

When it comes to product performance and appearance, top sports grounds, including many of the UK’s finest golf courses, tend to look no further than Limagrain’s MM range of grass seed. The MM range is one of the most respected brands in the UK turf industry and its wide array of mixtures have a proven track record of producing the best possible swards for the intended end usage.

Redditch GC Benefit From MM Seed

The demand and pressure placed on the modern day greenkeeper and course manager to produce the best possible, consistent playing surfaces continually grows at a pace but Limagrain’s range of grass seed can ensure that you are always that one step ahead. Whether it be a mixture for your greens, tees or fairways – the MM range has it covered.

Karl has seen great results from applying MM22, which is a practical solution for those who are seeking a mixture for their tees that is great for divotting, repairing and overseeding.

“As a rule of thumb we normally do the tees renovation at the end of March and we apply MM22 at a rate of 30g/m2. So we apply that quite heavily and then it is just a case of topping it up by overseeding throughout the year.

“We get a lot of play here at Redditch and we don’t come off the tees all year, so I need a mixture which is going to give me a strong sward. Fortunately, MM22 gives me what I need – you always get a fast establishment and you get a great percentage of seeding from it. I also rarely suffer from disease so I don’t see any reason to come away from it.”

When it comes to his greens, Karl claims that he has never needed to overseed – which is perhaps testament to the quality of them. However, on one occasion there was a problematic green which needed a fast solution – so he turned to Limagrain’s MM7 mixture.

Redditch GC Benefit From MM Seed

“It was a shaded green that had a lot of trees around it so it suffered with a lack of light and air – even in the summer. From 12pm, it would have been completely in the shade. In the first instance we tried to repair it but unfortunately it didn’t really work. So, we removed a couple of trees and MM7 was recommended to me. The difference was unbelievable – I wish I would have taken a before and after photo.”

A modern mixture for quick renovations of worn and damaged areas of fine turf, MM7 is ideal for emergency repair work. Containing Cyrena and Venice (both perennial ryegrasses), Caldris (chewings fescue) and Sefton (browntop bent), these top rated cultivars together produce a hard wearing sward that recovers from scarring.

While members at Redditch Golf Club are enjoying the superb playing conditions they are also treated to a stunning array of flowers, courtesy of Limagrain’s range of Colour Splash mixtures.

“The colour around the course is absolutely fantastic and it is a sight to behold when they are in full bloom. We have them spread out across the course such as around the tees, near the wooded areas and along the drive and they really do make a statement.

“The main reason we decided to apply the Colour Splash mixtures was for aesthetics but we like doing our bit to help the bees as well,” he said.

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm.

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Turf Reward Benefits For West Malling GC

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Turf Reward Benefits For West Malling GC: Since claiming the Team Scout pedestrian sprayer through ICL and Syngenta’s Turf Rewards loyalty scheme, Course Manager Sam Young has seen an improvement in the efficacy of his spraying operations at West Malling Golf Club in Kent.

Turf Rewards provides the opportunity for customers to earn points from purchases that can then be exchanged against a fantastic selection of agronomic or turf related items and learning opportunities. Turf managers across the UK and Ireland have been benefiting from the scheme since its creation five years ago and it continues to grow significantly with more rewards and qualifying products being added year on year. The scheme can provide a great way to improve operations and enhance education.

Turf Reward Benefits For West Malling GC

“It’s a huge bonus when buying quality turf management products,” says Sam. “There is so much on offer as well; items such as health and safety clothing, iPads, Machine Mart vouchers and agronomy tools. We claimed the sprayer this year because it is something that we thought would improve the accessibility of spraying some of our smaller tees.”

The Team Scout is ideal for greenkeepers and groundsmen who require an efficient and reliable pedestrian sprayer. The unit has an adjustable pressure control system ensuring constant, accurate liquid application and three pneumatic wheels, the ‘rear jockey’ wheel increases manoeuvrability – which is something that Sam finds ideal.

“It is incredibly easy to manoeuvre. At my previous club we used to have a four-wheel pedestrian sprayer which was difficult to turn. The rear wheel on the ‘Scout’ allows for effective turning within the headland of the area being treated – this is particularly beneficial when considering some of the tees are only 25m2 with surrounding banks and thus not suited to using a tractor or utility vehicle sprayer. It is now possible to treat these tees as all the others”.

Turf Reward Benefits For West Malling GC

“This sprayer is well balanced, truly a great bit of kit; it now has larger pump, and with an average walking speed of 4km hour 500L/ha is achievable with a 04 nozzle, and with a choice of three different nozzles which come with the sprayer, you simply pick which one suits your application best.”

Other features include:

  • 60 litre capacity tank
  • 3 wheels with pneumatic tyres
  • Height adjustable 2 metre, 4 nozzle, folding boom
  • High output pump (14Lpm)
  • Adjustable pressure control system with gauge
  • 12V quick charge battery and charger

“I’ve used a few pedestrian sprayers in the past and this is easily the best one I have used. It’s also great for storage and transportation because the spray boom folds up”.

Please contact ICL on +44 (0)1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie.

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Master Green Keeper Helps Oxford GC

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Master Green Keeper Helps Oxford GC: Renowned Agronomist Greg Evans has taken the lead a two-year turf maintenance programme that has transformed the historic Oxford Golf Club.

Oxford Golf Club recruited Mr Evans on a consultancy basis to help create and implement a detailed green keeping improvement and maintenance strategy at the 18-hole course. The programme of focused activity has enhanced the greens, tees and approach areas. Mr Evans help devise the bespoke strategy and worked in partnership with Head Green Keeper Doug MacGregor. The Green Keeping team all welcomed the new philosophy and worked together to transform the course.

Master Green Keeper Helps Oxford GC

Mr Evans said: “Oxford Golf Club is a fantastic course and has always been well regarded. Following the implementation of a targeted agronomy plan it now has perfect greens and the rest of the course is of a very high standard.

“The club was really supportive and allowed us to close the competition greens for a tight maintenance window to enable us to really focus on a big agronomy programme. The greens have a good sand profile and so we carried out deep aeration activity and then followed a strict maintenance plan. This included targeted hard watering and tight cutting to produce faster, smoother greens. Within nine months the greens were performing very well, and they are the jewel in the crown of the course.”

The green-keeping team also focused on tees and approaches as part of the wider agronomy plan. Mr Evans added: “As with a lot of older clubs the Oxford Golf Club was built before irrigation systems were introduced and so the course tends to hold water. We hired in a verti-drainer to fully drain the course and changed the fertility programme to add small amounts of nutrients every ten days.”

Head Green Keeper Doug MacGregor said: “The introduced and continuation of the intense agronomy plan has been fantastic for the course, members and staff. It has been an excellent experience for the green keeping team and we can all take great pride in the enhancements we have made to the course.”

Stephen Nicholson, General Manager at Oxford Golf Club, said: “As a club we are committed to continually improving the course and the agronomy plan has formed a key part of our strategy. The club has really reaped the rewards of this intensive activity and our members and visitors alike have commented on the quality of our greens and tees. The Green Keeping team have all embraced the change in philosophy and done a fantastic job.”

Oxford Golf Club is the oldest course in Oxfordshire and features a Harry Colt designed 18-hole course, putting green, practice area and coaching school. It is located on Hilltop Road, Oxford. The club’s head professional is Joe Pepperell, brother of European Tour player Eddie.

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Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns

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Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns: ICL’s Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator 4-0-8+2MgO+4Fe is playing a crucial role in the fairway maintenance programme at Kingsbarns Golf Links, reports Course and Facilities Manager Innes Knight.

Golf has been enjoyed over the links land of Kingsbarns dating all the way back to 1793 when the Merchants and Lairds of Kingsbarns drafted articles to form the Kingsbarns Golfing Society. In 1850 the land was ploughed and transformed into farming due to farm land being more valuable than golf throughout that period. However, the society was re-established in 1922 and a nine-hole course was laid out on the links about Kingsbarns Bay. This course served the golfing needs of the locals and holidaymakers until the onset of the Second World War when the Links was mined in the national security defence effort.

Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns

Golf was resurrected on Kingsbarns Links at the dawning of the 21st Century and in 2001 it was named as one of the co-hosts of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Innes started in his role at Kingsbarns in the final stages of construction and admitted that it was somewhat of a baptism of fire with the course being selected to host a high-calibre professional tour event so soon after its opening.

“I came here on 17 March 1999 and saw the final stages of the construction. We opened in July 2000 and then was hit with ‘you’ve got a big tournament next year’ so the pressure was absolutely on at that point. The owners realised it was going to be a success and started investing more money. It was an immense effort by the whole team and the Dunhill was a huge success.”

The fact that Kingsbarns was selected to host the Dunhill so soon after its opening is testament to just how magnificent the course is. However, the standard was set and Innes has worked hard to keep the course at a consistently high level. Selecting the correct products is essential and Innes says that ICL’s Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator 4-0-8+2MgO+4Fe helps him to create that essential ‘links feel’ that Kingsbarns demands.

“On the fairways it is all about trying to create the links feel, so you want them firm, fast and able to withstand the wear. However, you do not want them to look too polished otherwise you can get criticised for that – it is all about finding the correct balance. We have two applications a season with Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator – one at the start of the season in the middle of March and one just after Dunhill in October which takes us through the winter period. The product is crucial for our fairways maintenance programme and we’ve seen great results.”

This low nitrogen, high potassium fertilizer contains iron to help harden turf in spring and autumn consists of fine granules for quick dispersal, and Innes believes that good spreading and fortunate weather is the ideal combination to get the best results.

Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns

“We are using a local farmer’s spreader now and it is working very well. The problem on a links course with low fertility is that you put something on and it shows up everything. This isn’t really the case on a parkland course when you are maybe using 300kg of nitrogen a year, but when you are only putting a miniscule amount out you have to get it right.

“If you put fertilizer out you really want it to rain the next day or a couple of days after and not be damp because of the iron content. We got such a good hit this year. It was dry when we applied it, there was no wind and then it rained the very next day.

“We saw a great response after just five days and every fairway was consistent. It gave them that hit they needed to pick them up at the start of the season. Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator is such a good product and if you get a bit of good weather at the same time as you apply it then the results are unbeatable.”

Please contact ICL on +44 (0)1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie

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Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC

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Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC: When joining 18-hole Lees Hall Golf Club in 2016, Ian Whitehead knew that simply by applying common sense greenkeeping practices – coupled with the right amenity products – he would be able to make a difference. The badly-presented, badly-playing course was effectively “playing second fiddle to the club’s social/bar facilities” and members were drifting away.

Today, part-way through what Ian reckons could be a ten-year programme of improvements to the course, there is a massive turnaround with ‘lost’ members returning and new ones joining – to the extent that over 100 new members have signed up during the past year.

Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC

With more than 30 years’ experience of greenkeeping in the Sheffield area, starting on a YTS course at Hallamshire GC, then at Stocksbridge GC before moving to Hillsborough GC as head greenkeeper aged 24 – plus having Levels 2 and 3 accreditations in greenkeeping and Level 3 in management – 48-year-old Ian joined the Sheffield-based club “when the greens chairman wanted someone to help out the greens staff”.

Ian picks up the story: “I immediately saw that with a bit of TLC the course (tees, greens and fairways) could be turned around. So, within a few weeks, I had borrowed the appropriate machinery and I set about double cutting and getting some stripes in. I also instigated a regime of regular scarification and aeration (we’re on clay), and applied fertilsers and topdressing – a normal regime!

“In fact, we’ve applied a lot of topdressing – 80 tonnes last year and more than 100 tonnes this year – and we now also regularly Shockwave and slit the fairways.

“The first thing I did was to double-cut the 1st and 17th tees down to 10 mm – the tees that are in view when you arrive at the course. First impressions count!”

Andy Rossington, the club’s resident professional, and the greens committee could immediately see that what Ian was doing was working and they were very supportive by for example, investing in a number of new machines “that have made a big difference, including new mowers for the tees, greens and semi-rough areas”.

As a result, Ian was appointed head greenkeeper four months later, in November 2016. “That gave me a full winter to get everything organised and ‘tidied up’ ready for the new season. We’re now in the second season and we’re getting there!”

Support was not only forthcoming from the greens committee and Andy. Over a number of years Ian has worked with Rigby Taylor’s Technical Representative Mike Brear, who had put together programmes of treatments to benefit the courses Ian had worked on.

Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC

“To an extent, I simply followed that programme here,” says Ian. “But these were old push-up greens and I didn’t want to ‘open them up’ too soon and too quickly, so I took a measured approach during the first season, waiting until the course looked a bit ‘tired’. Also, being north facing, this parkland course battles all the elements and in the spring suffers relatively slow growth rates.

Now, Ian applies his full Rigby Taylor programme, and he particularly highlights the Breaker Biolinks wetting agent which is applied six times a year as an indispensable product for Dry Patch prevention and root generation.

With an annual overseed of Rigby Taylor’s R105 Browntop bent blend, the current programme includes regular (twice a year, in April and September) use of Microlite micro-granular fertiliser, plus Microflow controlled-release liquid fertiliser in May, June and July, along with applications of Magnet Rapide liquid iron and Magnet Dynamic (turf colour enhancers, twice and once, respectively), Maintain NT plant growth regulator for dense swarf and improved root mass (seven times a year), K-Form potassium supplement (five times) and the Spike ‘tournament preparation’ mixture of potassium and silica (twice).

“These products have never let me down in the past,” adds Ian, “and I see no reason why they will now.”

He concludes: “There’s still a lot to do, especially with thatch levels on the greens and approaches, as well as work to the bunkers and the drainage, plus to the trees that shade many of the greens and tees. I think the approaches alone will take three to four years to get them where I want them. But I’m already seeing massive improvements in the fairways (through slitting).

“My goal is to make this the leading golf club in Sheffield, and with the backing of the committee and the members plus the continued technical support from Rigby Taylor, there is no reason why this can’t be the case.”

The last word is with Andy Rossington, the resident pro: “It’s no exaggeration to say that before Ian’s input, the first green here resembled the moon – it was desperate! But news of the improvements to the course has travelled, as is reflected in the boost to membership.

“Importantly, too, the greenkeeping team as a whole can now be proud of what they are achieving. Everyone here agrees with that, especially the golfers.”