Greenkeepers’ Acclaim For Meeting Ryder Cup Challenge

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Greenkeepers’ Acclaim For Meeting Ryder Cup Challenge: For years the greenkeepers have remained the ‘unsung heroes’ behind tournaments and big events. For sure this year’s Ryder Cup coverage was focused on the players and the matches, but there has been far wider acknowledgement of Le Golf National as perfect hosts, and unprecedented praise for the role of the greenkeeping team.

During his opening speech, European Captain, Thomas Bjorn, singled out Alejandro Reyes, Golf Course and Estates Manager at Le Golf National, with appreciation for his pivotal contribution in crafting the course setup. In the final euphoria, Ian Poulter took the time from his jubilant celebrations personally to meet, greet and embrace the greenkeeping team on the 18th green.

This time, the European Tour created its own promotional video of what goes on for course preparation behind the scenes. Other broadcasters and media took advantage of a peak into life in the greenkeeping sheds, to show video footage of turf management practices and personal experiences from the Turf Team Challenge website.

Greenkeepers’ Acclaim For Meeting Ryder Cup Challenge

Syngenta’s Daniel Lightfoot, using his Master Greenkeeper experience gained as Course Manager of Bearwood Lakes Golf Club, spent a full week with the LGN greenkeeping team in its preparations and over the full tournament.

“It has been a fantastic experience, to share such an incredible week with so many highly talented and fully committed greenkeepers,” he said. “And it has been very welcome that all the work has been so widely appreciated.”

Daniel believes volunteering at Le Golf National has been an extremely valuable experience for greenkeepers’ personal and career development.

“You get to learn new skills and techniques from the best in the business – both the resident teams on the course and from the other volunteer greenkeepers involved. But equally valuable is learning to work as a team and the great comradery and friendships that develop from meeting the challenges of preparing and delivering a great tournament venue.”

And it doesn’t get any bigger or better than Le Golf National. Alejandro Reyes himself has been a keen volunteer at events across the world, citing it brings a new perspective for greenkeepers, and can be an inspiration to introduce new things on their own courses.

“For sure, I love to do tournaments! Between the European Tour and the PGA Tour, I’ve lost count of the number of tournaments I’ve worked on. And every time you work on one you see something different,” said Alejandro.

“You get a picture of something and think ‘ah, that could work on my course’ or ‘we could do it better if we did it like this’.

“I am incredibly grateful for all the courses and superintendents who gave me the opportunity to see what they did through volunteering, so it’s a chance to give something back.”

Alejandro acknowledged it’s an investment in time for greenkeepers to be away from the course. “But the experience that they bring back is extremely valuable. Also it’s good for the team to welcome other people and to share experiences.”

Kerr Rowan, Course Manager at Sand Golf Club, near Jonkoping in Sweden, pointed out his key learn from working at Le Golf National has been to focus on attention to detail. “I think we run at a pretty high standard, then you come here and you think, ‘No we don’t!’. Out there it’s fantastic, so for me it’s about being a little bit more switched on.”

If there is one thing he’ll take back on the turf quality, it would be the incredible density of the turf surfaces across the Le Golf National course. “I’m just amazed by it. They’ve really tuned in their fertiliser strategy and it’s got me thinking a lot about fertiliser, brushing and density and watering and thinking, how can I be as good as here, or at least as good as I can be for the resources I have?”

Improving turf density, smoothness and consistency for players has been the key driver for using Primo Maxx II for Tournament preparation at Le Golf National. The team pointed ut that players would experience the same playing conditions and pace in the morning, as the last players out in the afternoon.

Lucas Pierre, Alejandro’s right-hand man and Head Greenkeeper for the Albatros Course, also reported the difference with the fairways this year using Primo Maxx II, compared to last year without.

“When you were cutting the fairway every day, you had to empty the box every five minutes; this year, it’s like the guys are saying ‘you never empty the boxes’ it’s perfect for us.

“You save on time; the quality of cut is better; turf looks better; you have better roll. We have more consistency. It really helps.”

For Lucas, the relationship he has developed with Syngenta has been very important. “For us, this could be one of the successes of the Tournament,” he said.

Managing such a big greenkeeping team – of some 180 volunteers and course greens staff – has been a challenge in itself. Stefan Carter, Senior Greenkeeper at Wentworth, highlighted the atmosphere had been fantastic.

“There’s been a lot of people, putting a lot of hours in. It’s a great bunch of guys and women from around the world. We all shared stories and shared experiences, which has really made it a happy place.”

He welcomed the chance to see the range of jobs involved and the opportunity to do a bit of everything.

“!t’s the way that they refine every detail and the finishing touches that sets it apart. To be part of the biggest golf event in the world has just been so fantastic,” reported Stefan.

“The networking here can change your career; it’s not just one week’s work, it’s a potentially life changing opportunity.”

For Swedish greenkeeper and mechanic, Johan Olsson, the mantra learned at his Le Golf National time has been to ‘check, check and check again’, just to make sure everything is set up precisely and will work perfectly and consistently out on the course.

“Then, when they’ve finished the morning session, it’s check it all again, ready for the evening. It’s just been the biggest thing you can experience, as a greenkeeper or mechanic.

“Watching 180 guys move out in the morning; it’s unbelievable, and something I can really recommend,” he added.

Wendy O’Brien, Golf Course Superintendent at Jurmala Golf Club in Latvia, highlighted just how much fun the whole greenkeeping team had, but also the opportunities for seminars and career development, along with the chance to glean the knowledge of others.

“For example, I have capillary concrete in my bunkers back home, so it’s been great to talk to others about their experiences and how they best manage them.”

She welcomed the professionalism of all the greenkeepers and organisational staff that had ctively encouraged and integrated women working on the team throughout the preparations. “We are all used to working as a minority group, but to be treated exactly the same and given the same responsibilities and jobs for our skills alone has been a great experience,” added Wendy.

Chloe Gallagher, of Sunningdale Golf Club, concurred. “Being part of a team with a dozen or more women has been really different and a great experience.

“It’s a fantastic industry for women and it’s given a showcase for what we can achieve. In the future the industry is going to be equal across the board, which I think is really good.”

South Africa’s Leopard Creek Country Club Golf Course Superintendent, Neville Wenhold, found the whole process of handling the pressure of a big tournament fascinating.

“Alejandro has made it a lot easier for us because he’s so professional at what he does. He makes it clear what expects from the team. He prefers for us to make sure that we are doing the right thing, rather than just pushing, pushing, pushing and making a mess along the line.

“He’s the key to everyone doing such a good job. The standard out here has been unbelievable. I’m taking a lot back home; new ways of doing things. It’s been really good learning from these guys.”

The BBC on-line commentary team summed-up the team’s performance perfectly at the end of the event:

“As the sun sets on Le Golf National, the Ryder Cup organisers are getting the presentation ready on the 18th green. The greenkeeper must be having kittens.…” “He deserves a pint or 10. What a course it has been this week. I’d say it’s the best course I’ve ever seen in a Ryder Cup. Let’s get it back again asap.”

Hagg’s Castle’s Silver Lining

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Hagg’s Castle’s Silver Lining: It wasn’t the best day that Scott Ballantyne, Course Manager at Glasgow’s Hagg’s Castle Golf Club, had ever experienced, and the fact that it was just before Christmas merely compounded his misery, but there has been a glorious silver lining to that particular cloud.

“It was the Friday before Christmas 2016 and someone popped in to tell me that there was a burst drain at the back of the 1st green,” recalled Scott.

“We went to investigate and what we found was just like a river spewing out sewage and it was coming from the Shieldhall Tunnel project, the £100 million city sewage project which involved a tunnel being dug under the city,” explained Scott, adding that he has since become something of an expert on the Shieldhall Tunnel.

The tunnel, now completed, runs underneath a significant part of the golf course, including the 7th hole, the 2nd tee, the 17th and 18th tees, the 16th and all the way up the length of the 17th, in total around 600 metres of golf course. Issues occurred when the drill bit struck unexpected rock.

“I’d never been given an indication that there might be a problem but it happened and we had to deal with it. We dealt with the mess that Friday and then shut down over Christmas for two weeks,” recalled Scott.

Hagg’s Castle’s Silver Lining

With festivities over everyone returned to work and when the tunnellers turned on their drill it all happened again – an ill-smelling recurring nightmare.

“We cleared it with squeegees for the second time and sacrificed two bunkers which we decided we’d have to rebuild. We told the tunnel constructors that we couldn’t keep clearing up the mess every time it happened so we told them just to go for it and we’d sort it out at the end. We shut down the 16th and 17th holes while they worked and insurance paid for the damage to the course.”

With the course returned to its full glory there was some revenue left over and this was put to good use with a superb new chipping area alongside the club’s brand new maintenance facility.

“It was always the plan to make the existing practice green bigger, but when we looked at it we realised we could put in what we have now – a bunker and full size pitching area surrounded by a fence, much of which we’d already bought to protect the workers who were building the maintenance facility.”

Knowing that the club had the money for the project but still looking for the best result without spending money unnecessarily, Scott turned to Rigby Taylor to examine the options and it turned into a great opportunity to use a new product – Rigby Taylor’s R Duo 50-50 blend of poa reptans and Browntop bents.

Everyone was confident having witnessed successful trials of the mix a Loch Lomond Golf Club during which it was starved, fed and shaved but what it hadn’t faced was the hand which the Beast from the East dealt it.

“It was March and we had just put down a bag of seed when the weather turned and the temperature went minus for a couple of weeks A couple of days after it went in the ground froze solid or a couple of days,” recalled Scott.

But what do you know? It came through it beautifully to the extent that David Carson, Scott’s Rigby Taylor man, and RT’s top man in Scotland, thought that the club had changed course.

“I drove past one day and when I looked in I could see a beautiful green sward on the new area. I immediately thought that they’d decided to turf the area and not tell me!” he said.

He was wrong and if the extreme weather had allowed doubts of its success to enter his head they soon disappeared as he saw first hand the cover that the seed had produced and chatted to Scott about how well the R Duo had come through.

Had they gone down the route that David had falsely suspected and turfed the area it would have cost around £6,500 to turf to the standard a club of Hagg’s Castle’s standing expects but by seeding it cost a few hundred pounds – and Scott still has the other bag he thought he might need but didn’t.

“The mix is clever because the germination point of fescue is slightly earlier than the bent so it accelerates the ameliorating process and you get a quick maturation process at a cost which is not breaking the bank. What you are doing is eliminating the battle of having to rid of the cauliflowers and getting it down to acceptable poa,” explained Scott, adding that he’d be more than confident about putting using R Duo on putting greens as well as chipping greens.

David also looks on the work at Hagg’s with a considerable amount of pride.

“Jayne Leyland was confident that it would do well but if you were playing by strict agronomy rules you are not going to get the STRI saying put poa on but this is the modern world and demands change.

“We have played it low key, we didn’t even put the mixture in our catalogue, and just thought we’d see how it went and are delighted with the results we’ve seen here,” said David.

Money was also saved on the new chipping area by merely adding another 25 yards to the three metre high fencing which had been bought to protect the guys building the maintenance facility from errant shots from the adjacent driving range.

All in all the project has been a huge success and turned what was a foul smelling disaster into a
major plus for the golf club.

An Update From Scott MacCallum

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We have just come from a tumultuous six weeks of sport – with the World Cup, Wimbledon and The Open Championship at Carnoustie and you know what – the fact that the groundsmen and greenkeepers didn’t create one headline between them makes my heart sing.

When it comes to turf maintenance and the media – no news is good news.

An Update From Scott MacCallum

But to a large degree that’s sad. Why shouldn’t the great work carried on by turf professionals in Russia, West London and the east coast of Scotland be acclaimed? It’s only when something goes pear shaped that turf professionals are named and shamed.

Had Harry Kane slipped on a loose bit of turf and missed one of his penalties; or Novak Djokovic missed a potential Championship winning point because of a dodgy bounce; or Tiger Woods saw one of his better drives land in a divot and cost him that elusive 15th Major, we would have known the names of every Head Groundsman or Course Manager involved.

Like a good referee – although I do believe the arrival of the celebrity referee is changing this – it has all gone well if no-one has noticed you.

I do know that that situation suits many turf professionals. In a previous guise I wanted to run a campaign to encourage golf club members to get to know their Course Manager, but it didn’t fly. Greenkeepers, and assume most groundsmen, don’t like their heads above the parapet.

What I would say, however, is that no matter how strong your agronomy knowledge the ability to communicate is just as important.

I remember something a friend of mine, who was Chairman of Green at Muirfield Village, in Ohio, told me. He said that their course, which plays host to Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament every year and hosted the 1987 Ryder Cup, was always in perfect condition. He also told me that their Superintendent’s degree was in politics, not agronomy.

So, face up to your biggest critic. If you can’t talk round someone who is bound to have much less subject knowledge than you maybe your next training course should be in communications not soil science.

Jacobsen Success in Oman

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Jacobsen, a Textron Golf brand, is making waves in Oman, with equipment being exclusively installed at three out of four golf clubs in Muscat, the capital. With less than 1000 registered golfers in the country, competition is fierce to attract golfers to any one course.

Ghala Golf Club

Ghala Golf Club was founded in 1971, and moved to its current site in the 1990’s. It has historically been a sand course, but it was transformed into a grass course in 2010 and is now used as the main training facility for the Oman national golf team, with many of its members learning the game at Ghala.

Russell Wilson has been the superintendent at the club for one and a half years after moving to the Middle East from Portugal in 2016. He says that recent investments have been made into the landscaping of the course; a new driving range has been built and new bunkers created, which has been carried out by the Dellanzo Group.

“At Ghala Golf Club, we have made a lot of investments to improve the quality of the golf course and to attract people to play here,” Russel said. “I have inherited a fleet of Jacobsen equipment after using another brand of machinery at my previous club in Portugal. I must say that I am very impressed with the quality and the reliability of the machinery. The grass grows for 12 months of the year in Oman, so the machinery gets a lot of use which means that it needs to be durable and it needs to perform consistently. Speaking to the other local superintendents, it seems that this is a large part of the decisions being made by clubs to purchase Jacobsen machinery.

“As well as machinery, we also offer free golf to juniors to try to grow the game of golf in Oman. This has been successful for us, and getting the younger generation engaged in playing golf is key to the future of the game. Our golf course has come a long way in the past three years, and the acquisition of Jacobsen equipment has a big part to play in the improvements made to the golf course.”

On the course:

2 x Jacobsen AR-3 rotary mowers

1 x LF550 fairway mower

1 x LF3800 fairway mower

1 x Eclipse1 greens mower

1 x Eclipse2 greens mower

2 x GP400 ride-on mower

1 x Greensaire 24 aerator

3 x Truckster utility vehicle (one with Jacobsen SprayTek).

35 x E-Z-GO RXV golf cars

Superintendent Profile

Name: Russel Wilson

Nationality: British

Number of years in industry: 20

Clubs worked at:

  • Pryors Hayes Golf Club (U.K.)
  • Scioto Country Club (USA)
  • Quinta do Lago (Portugal)
  • Amendoeira Golf Resort (Portugal)
  • Ghala Golf Club (Oman)

 Best piece of advice: Try to get experience of both warm season and cool season grasses, and it will open a world of opportunities for you.

 

Ras al Hamra Golf Club (PDO)

Ras al Hamra Golf Club, also known as PDO, was opened as a sand course in 1969 exclusively for the oil and gas workers of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The course is one of the oldest in the Middle East and underwent re-development in 2011, transforming it from a sand course into a grass course designed by Graham Marsh.

Brett Merrell has been the general manager at the club for six  months, and was previously the superintendent having worked on the course as Clients Representative for the re-development in 2011.

Ras al Hamra Golf Club hosts one of the oldest events in the Middle East, the Muscat Open, for 43 of the 45 years it has been running.

“We are very proud of hosting the Muscat Open at Ras al Hamra Golf Club,” Brett said. “Part of the success of hosting the competition is the fantastic team we have working on the course, and the support that we receive from Jacobsen.

The back-up and reliability of machinery is key for us out here, and that’s where we have been really pleased with the machinery we have invested in throughout the years.

“Ras al Hamra is a unique course; it has 15 greens with 1.2 hectares of turf and our tees alone total an area of 5000m2. We have double greens, so the course is very versatile, and we also offer night golf which is a major attraction for the golfers of Oman. We are always looking at ways to diversify and put Oman on the map of top golfing destinations; that’s something I would love to achieve during my time here.”

On the course:

3 x Jacobsen Greens King ride-on mowers

1 x LF550 fairway mower

2 x Groom Master bunker rakes

1 x AR-3 rotary mower

1 X Truckster XD utility vehicle with SprayTek sprayer

1 X Truckster XD utility vehicle

38 x E-Z-GO RXV golf cars

6 x Cushman Hauler vehicles

1 x Cushman Shuttle 2

1 x Cushman Shuttle 6

Superintendent Profile

Name: Brett Merrell

Nationality: Australian

Number of years in industry: 22

Clubs worked at:

  • Ipswich golf club (Australia)
  • Brookwater Golf Club (Australia)
  • Muirfield Village Golf Club (USA)
  • Harbour Town Golf Link (USA)
  • Ras al Hamra Golf Club (Oman)

Best piece of advice:

Stay true to your beliefs and you will go a long way in this industry.

 

Good To Have David Back

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Good To Have David Back: David Withers, who became one of this country’s most successful exports when he rose to the position of President and CEO with Jacobsen after 24 years with the company, has taken on the role of Managing Director of Iseki UK with the task of building a British arm for what is a very well known and respected Japanese brand.

David, for all his high flying career based in the United States, never lost either his love of his real home or contact with his British friends and associates, and being able to reignite with both sees him entering his new challenge with characteristic vigour.

He took time from building his new company infrastructure – and shouting at photocopiers and printers – to chat with Turf Matters.

Good To Have David Back

It must have been pretty full on since the decision to create Iseki (UK) towards the end of last year and your appointment as Managing Director shortly after that.

December and January was a really busy time. We had to find premises, hire people, put a computer system in place and pick up the inventory from Ransomes. It’s a big deal starting something from scratch in a very short space of time, ensuring all the legalities are in place etc, but we’ve been able to do it.

You were obviously very well aware of Iseki as a company, and their products, having worked with them while at Ransomes yourself.

Yes, I knew about the company from my time with Ransomes and Textron and that’s why I’m involved in all honesty and being able to work with a company that I wasn’t in competition with while at Textron.

Did your relationship with Ransomes assisted with the hand-over?

Very much so. The transition from Ransomes to Iseki UK was handled very well by both sides and done in a very friendly and co-operative manner. There are also five people who have transferred from Ransomes to Iseki. Our new premises are literally 400-500 yards away from Ransomes so in terms of transferring inventory it was relatively easy because we were so close.

How many staff do you have at present?

As we speak we have eight full time employees while we have three more who have agreed to join us and three temps. In total we will end up with between a dozen to 15 which should be enough to get us through this year and we’ll probably add some more after that.

Where does Iseki currently sit in what is a fairly crowded market?

It varies with tractors and mowers. We’re probably third or fourth with tractors at the moment and first or second when it comes to cut and collect mowers, which I believe are second to none when they come to build quality and performance.

What ambitions do you have for the company in the short, medium and long terms?

The task we’ve been given by our colleagues in Japan is to double business over a five year period. That’s what we are working towards and I think that it’s eminently doable. As things stand right now, golf is very important to us and local authorities are also very important to us but there is no doubt a lot of opportunity for us with contractors, homes with acreage, the bottom end of the agricultural market, so that is where we will be putting our effort. If I compare us to our colleagues in France, Germany and Spain, their sales are 50-50 on agricultural or turf tyres. For us it is probably 90% turf and 10% agricultural tyres. It’s not that the market doesn’t exist, it’s just that we haven’t focussed on it yet.

We often find we end up not doing the job for which we came into the business – Course Managers end up in front of computer screens rather than cutting greens for example. Are you looking forward to getting back to a more hands on role to the one you had latterly at Jacobsen?

Yes I am and no I’m not is the truth of it. I’ve been doing this for about four months and there are bits which I really love – out there meeting dealers, selling things etc. We’re a small team and if we’re really busy in an afternoon I’m out there picking parts something I’ve not done for many years. But then I find myself having to work a photocopier or a printer and I’m completely out of my comfort zone. It will be nice to get all the infrastructure in place so I can focus more on the business strategy side of things.

With all the experience you have gathered over the years you must be uniquely suited to your new role?

It was because of the experience and training that I picked up at Jacobsen that Iseki approached me and we started to talk about this role. To be honest it would be tough to find someone who has better experience and qualifications, based on the job I’ve done over the last 25 to 30 years.

Did you ever thing about sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labours?

It probably took two or three months to get around the fact that I wasn’t at Jacobsen any more. I’d been there such a long time and it had been so much a part of my life. I was still waking up in the morning thinking about work but by the time I’d got the summer I was bored. There is only so much golf you can play and it was too early for me. I still feel like I’ve got something to offer. We’ve got the five year plan to double the business and I’ll see how I feel when we’ve achieved that. I’ll be edging towards 60 by then so I’ll see then what I want to do then.

So exciting times ahead?

Very much so. I have to say too that we are working with dealers but we have gaps to fill so there will be opportunities for dealers who are out there and who are interested in becoming an Iseki dealer.

Well, David, we are delighted to see you back in the UK. The industry will be better for having you back involved and we’ll just let you get back to working out how to put toner in your printer.