Tag Archive for: Course

MM Seed: A Key Ingredient for Golf Course Excellence

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MM Seed: A Key Ingredient for Golf Course Excellence: Attendees at BTME 2024, visiting DLF’s stand 126 in Hall B, can anticipate a showcase of cutting-edge products from the world’s premier grass seed breeder and producer.

In the face of increasing demands and pressures on modern greenkeepers to maintain a consistent playing surface, the pivotal elements for a top-tier golf course are seed quality, purity, and vigour. The MM range of seed mixtures stands out by utilising materials from the DLF Select programme, ensuring high purity and germination rates.

MM Seed: A Key Ingredient for Golf Course Excellence

MM Seed: A Key Ingredient for Golf Course Excellence

For over three decades, greenkeepers and course managers have reaped the benefits of choosing the MM brand and its superior quality varieties. All MM varieties undergo thorough testing at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI), guaranteeing that the final product meets the requirements for play, appearance, and maintenance.

Leading the way for golf greens is MM9, a three-way Browntop bent mixture that remains a top choice for renovations and species exchange. MM8, designed for links-style courses and sustainable golf, offers a three-way fescue mix with excellent disease resistance, drought tolerance, and minimal fertiliser requirements. MM Coastal is a great alternative to MM8 where salt spray is a concern, providing excellent salt tolerance for golf greens, tees, and fairways with its 100% Slender Creeping Red Fescue mix.

For golf course managers seeking a 100% Ryegrass Greens mix option, MM Supreme Ryegreen mix is the answer. It includes Singapore Perennial Ryegrass, known for its fine leaves, good shoot density, high disease resistance, and wear tolerance. This mix embodies the main benefits of perennial ryegrass, including fast establishment and wear tolerance in close mow situations.

If you’re in search of a mixture ideal for tees and fairways, consider MM50, a 100% ryegrass blend. It boasts rapid establishment, quick recovery from divot scarring, high wear tolerance, and an extremely fine appearance. Meanwhile, for links-style fairways where damage and wear are less prevalent, MM13 is well-suited. With a high percentage of Crystal Hard Fescue, it offers excellent drought tolerance and low maintenance requirements for this challenging environment.

DLF’s stand also provides information about the DLF Pro Flora and Colour Boost range of Wildflower mixtures, perfect for those looking to establish a traditional perennial flower meadow or create a vibrant display of annuals and perennials.

The MM team of amenity seed specialists will be present at BTME to discuss these products in more detail and offer their expertise to address any queries attendees may have.

For further information, please contact DLF UK on 01386 719758 or visit the MM website www.mm-seeds.co.uk.

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Sustainable Earth Course enhancements

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Sustainable Earth Course enhancements: The Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates has undergone a sustainable rejuvenation ahead of the DP World Tour Championship, the final event in this year’s Race to Dubai.

With multiple course changes designed to improve the aesthetic and playing experience, one of the notable upgrades is the complete replacement of sand in all 100 bunkers on the Earth Course. In a commitment to environmental responsibility, the additional sand is both new and recycled, with a particularly vibrant white appearance that complements the desert backdrop. On the 10th hole, the bunkers have undergone a more comprehensive refurbishment, to ensure optimal playing conditions and a strategic challenge.

Sustainable Earth Course enhancements

Sustainable Earth Course enhancements

The main playing areas on the course are flanked by wood chips that add a contrast to the green course and sandy desert. To recreate the bright red aesthetic that has become synonymous with the Earth Course, the team has replaced all wood chips surrounding each hole on the course ahead of this year’s DP World Tour Championship. The red-coloured wood chips provide a vivid colour contrast and are all produced on-site by the maintenance team.

Stephen Hubner, Club Manager at Jumeirah Golf Estates, commented: “The Earth Course is recognised around the world as being home to the DP World Tour Championship and conclusion of the Race to Dubai. One of the course’s most redeeming features is the wonderful colour contrast that we can achieve with the bright white sand and the deep red-coloured wood chips which line the side of each hole – providing the earthy look.”

Stuart Horwood, the club’s Superintendent, added: “It is a huge undertaking for us to totally remove and replace the woodchip around the course and the sand in each bunker, but something that we feel is crucial in order to maintain the famed aesthetic that the Earth Course has earned. It was also important that we completed this task in the most sustainable way possible, so we used recycled sand and produced our wood chips on-site. The team have done a great job of enhancing the course for what is a key date in our calendar.”

The Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates has been host of the DP World Tour’s pinnacle event for more than 10 years and will remain the host venue until 2031. In that time, some of the game’s biggest names have hoisted the Harry Vardon Trophy, for the champion of the Race to Dubai. In 2022, Rory McIlroy was crowned champion for the fourth time in his career. Other recent winners include: Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, and recent Ryder Cup winning Captain, Luke Donald.

The 2023 Race to Dubai is also set to go to the Northern Irishman, as the points standings after Max Homa’s first DP World Tour victory in South Africa mean that world number two, McIlroy, cannot be caught by second placed Jon Rahm. This will mark his fifth Race to Dubai title.

Jumeirah Golf Estates is a world-class residential golf destination offering luxury homes and leisure facilities amidst two internationally acclaimed championship golf courses, creating an unmatched lifestyle experience in the heart of new Dubai.

Set across 1,119 hectares of lush green landscape, the development is an unrivalled destination offering attractive investment opportunities and world-class amenities. With 700 families and more than 1,835 homes, Jumeirah Golf Estates currently comprises of 16 unique communities, which overlook two of the world’s finest golf courses, Earth and Fire.

As home of the annual DP World Tour championship since 2009, Jumeirah Golf Estates rivals the best golfing destinations in the world.

For more information on Jumeirah Golf Estates, head to: https://www.dubaigolf.com/jumeirah-golf-estates

Jumeirah Golf Estates, in addition to Emirates Golf Club, and Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club are owned and operated by Dubai Golf. Viya Golf, a business of Dubai Golf, also owns and operates Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and Yas Acres Golf and Country Club in Abu Dhabi.

For more information on Dubai Golf and its properties, head to: www.dubaigolf.com 

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Ryder Cup on course with Capillary Bunkers

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Ryder Cup on course with Capillary Bunkers: Next week’s Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside the Italian capital, Rome, will again be played on a course whose bunkers have been lined with the Capillary Bunkers system.

Marco Simone, originally designed by American architect Jim Fazio, was completely rebuilt by Dave Sampson of European Golf Design during 2019 and 2020. The course’s back nine was entirely grassed by the end of the summer of 2019, but the Covid-19 pandemic made phase two, the front nine, a little trickier.

Ryder Cup on course with Capillary Bunkers

Ryder Cup on course with Capillary Bunkers

“I was on site in March 2020, the day Italy shut its borders, so I had to get out of the country very, very quickly,” says CapillaryFlow EMEA sales manager Kneale Diamond. “But SOL Golf, the contractor who built the course are very experienced and extremely good at what they do, so all was well.”

Around 8,000 square metres (86,000 square feet) of bunkers were built and lined. “Obviously, the bunker drainage is vital for the Ryder Cup – given the time of year when it is played, there isn’t a lot of spare time if it rains heavily,” says Diamond. “But even more important than that is the quality of surface in the bunkers. This level of competition demands a perfect sand surface, and only Capillary Bunkers can combine outstanding drainage performance with world-class, consistent surfaces.”

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Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

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Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course: Four young greenkeepers from around Europe are coming to the end of a unique six-month work experience placement at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, the host of this year’s Ryder Cup. And their stay will culminate in golf’s biggest spectacle, the Cup itself, being held in the last week of September.

The placement scheme was organised by FEGGA, the Federation of European Golf Greenkeeping Associations, and sponsored by CapillaryFlow, the leader in water, carbon dioxide and oxygen management techniques for golf courses and other sports fields, and equipment giant Toro. It is the second time Capillary and FEGGA have combined to give greenkeepers work experience at a Ryder Cup site, but this scheme is very different to the one run at Le Golf National in Paris in 2018.

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

“In Paris, ten greenkeepers came from Europe and ten from the USA, but they were just there for tournament week,” says FEGGA executive officer Dean Cleaver. “Unlike all the other volunteers, who had to pay their own way to Paris, we took care of all our delegations costs for getting there and back. It worked really well, bringing greenkeepers from across the world together. But this programme is on a completely different level.”

The four scholars, Oscar Gummesson from Sweden, Ciaran Killeen from Ireland, Michele Lazzeri from Italy, and Mathis Reboullot from France, have been part of the greenkeeping team at Marco Simone since April, including for the Italian Open in May, and will remain there until the end of the Ryder Cup. “We’ve taken care of their accommodation, gave some help with flying in and out, and there has been regular education throughout the programme,” says Cleaver. “Toro has been and delivered a course on irrigation, Kneale Diamond from CapillaryFlow is going to do one on bunkers, and Alejandro Reyes, who is serving as director of agronomy for Marco Simone, has been educating them on the grass choices that were made for the golf course. It has been a really great experience for them, and I’m confident that what the four of them have learned during the placement will help them go on to become leaders of the greenkeeping community in their countries.”

CapillaryFlow chief executive Martin Sternberg, himself a qualified course superintendent, says: “We were really happy to be involved with the programme in Paris, and are even more so this year. As a company, our mission is to help improve the standard and economics of golf course – and other sports field – presentation, and improving the education of the greenkeepers who take care of those courses is a really important part of that. It’s been a fantastic programme, and I hope our scholars will go home afterwards and remember it as one of the highlights of their careers.”

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Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status

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Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has revealed that Janne Lehto, course manager at Hirsala Golf, has become Finland’s first certified Master Greenkeeper.

Janne, 30, is chairperson of the Finnish Greenkeepers Association and is an agronomist for the Finnish Golf Union. He began his career at Hirsala, before spells at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland and Woodlands Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. He returned to Hirsala in 2016, before taking on the course manager role in 2017.

Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status

Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status

Hirsala hosted the Finnish Open in 2011 and 2015, but is also considered one of the most forward-thinking and environmentally conscious golf clubs anywhere. The club is GEO Certified and has worked alongside WWF Finland on a number of projects including wetland management, waterway restoration and marine conservation. Additionally, the club powers machinery using biofuel rather than fossil fuels and both the clubhouse and maintenance facility have solar panels that means all of Hirsala’s electricity needs are fulfilled by the club itself. Fairways and rough are mown by autonomous mowers, each powered by clean energy drawn from the Hirsala’s solar power system.

The Master Greenkeeper Certificate is awarded to those members of BIGGA who have reached the highest standards of greenkeeping and golf course management. Candidates must pass three stages to achieve the certification, including an assessment of golf course operations and a case study and technical examination. They must also have 10 years’ experience as a greenkeeper with at least three years spent in a course manager, head greenkeeper or superintendent position.

“I was pretty thrilled,” said Janne of the moment he received a phone call from BIGGA’s Deb Burnett telling him he had become BIGGA’s 89th Master Greenkeeper. “It was a great feeling to get the process done because I started it over two years ago, but was held up by the COVID-19 pandemic that meant I could not have a course inspection, there being no other Master Greenkeepers in Finland. I started greenkeeping in 2011 and I’m always looking to develop myself and progress my career, so this was the natural next step.”

Head to the BIGGA website for more information about Master Greenkeeper and the other professional qualifications available to greenkeepers.

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