Tag Archive for: golf

Suståne keeps Rushmore Golf Club ‘green’

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Suståne keeps Rushmore Golf Club ‘green’: While the course at Rushmore Golf Club may be a tale of two halves, the approach to nutrition is wholly focussed on sustainability – with Course Manager Jaime Acton very proud of the six years that the greens have now been completely chemical-free.

Alongside cultural practices and an overseeding programme, much of the success Jaime attributes to products from the Suståne range of organic fertilisers which have delivered outstanding plant health, strength and resilience.

Suståne keeps Rushmore Golf Club ‘green’

Suståne keeps Rushmore Golf Club ‘green’

With the county line between Wiltshire and Dorset cutting straight through the ancient estate within which Rushmore is situated, the course delivers mature parkland or a more modern challenge depending on which of the 18 holes you’re on! The estate has sustainability at its heart, an ethos which Jaime and his team share and put into practice with the Suståne products. “When I took over almost 10 years ago, I inherited quite a heavy feeding regime, largely based on synthetic fertilisers” explains Jaime.

“I had used formulations from Suståne in previous roles, and knowing what they could do, began ‘weening’ the greens away from the synthetic feeds and the additional chemicals this programme required, and onto a primarily organic regime.” Working closely alongside technical representatives from local distributor AGS, the Suståne programme has been refined over the years depending on the soil’s requirements – now consisting of 6-2-4 Turf Revival in the summer and 5-2-4+Fe for feeds throughout the cooler months.

Suståne 6-2-4 is specifically formulated to provide the right nutrients to assist with post-maintenance recovery and plant stress. In addition to water-soluble and organic sources of Nitrogen, 6-2-4 features Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae which has been enhancing the germination of Jaime’s bent overseeding programme. “We apply 6-2-4 every six to eight weeks at 25g/m2 which tends to correlate with our overseeding work meaning the seed is sown straight into that nutrition. The plant is strong and resilient enough to cope with the pressures of that period, including disease, and specifically Anthracnose.”

Jaime continues, “In the autumn and winter we continue the dormant feeding with Suståne 5-2-4 which keeps microbial levels up, allowing us to protect against disease rather than having to react to it. The small amount of Iron in this formulation also helps to give us good winter colour.”

“While we haven’t used any herbicides or fungicides for six years, that’s not to say we haven’t had disease! But what we do get we can manage by reducing the stress and encouraging the plant to grow again.” He concludes, “With our Suståne programme, we are feeding the soil rather than the plant, getting the nutritional needs right from the ground up and allowing the plant to take everything it needs to remain strong and healthy.”

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Gullane Golf Club chooses Toro

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Gullane Golf Club chooses Toro: Gullane Golf Club in Scotland has chosen Toro as it works towards accreditation for its Golf Environmental Organisation (GEO) certification.  

Choosing five Workman GTX Lithium-Ion utility vehicles and two all-electric Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 riding greensmowers to make a positive ecological and environmental impact, these new machines form another part of the club’s existing 10-year deal with Reesink Turfcare Scotland and the Toro brand – bringing the partnership to a quarter of a century.

Gullane Golf Club chooses Toro

Gullane Golf Club chooses Toro

Stewart Duff, course manager since 2006, explains: “We consistently do our best to make the course a better place and are working towards GEO Certification. One of the environmental and social responsibility factors considered is the amount of petrol and diesel machines used and we’re trying to reduce that as much as possible.

“We didn’t want to see the older buggies we had previously go, as they were excellent, but once we saw the new ones with the lithium batteries, we were sold,” Stewart continues. “They’re a big step up: they have more ground clearance and the new lithium-ion technology means the batteries don’t need topping off with distilled water once per week or to be replaced every couple of years like the conventional lead-acid ones, which is incredibly convenient.

“The fact that they’re environmentally friendly plus the savings made on fuel and reduced servicing cost, as well as the no noise pollution, ticked all the boxes for us. They’ve quickly become a firm favourite.”

The Workman GTX Lithium-Ion utility vehicle is all-electric and the largest lithium-ion model in its class. It also played a big role in Toro’s journey towards electric power, something the brand has been working towards for over 20 years, alongside the Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370, the first all-electric riding greensmower on the market, of which the club has ordered two.

Stewart says: “We ordered two eTriFlexes, one which we’ll get in August and another in January. Not only do they come with all the electric power benefits, but the fact that you can interchange different units quickly and easily with no spanners required, is another fantastic selling point.”

“I look forward to seeing what else Toro has in store when it comes to electric machines as we have been impressed with what has been launched already. It’s exciting to watch the next technological advancements emerge in this sector.”

To talk to someone about Toro technology and how the Toro range could suit your course, call 01480 226800.

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Free golf membership for greenkeeping help

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Free golf membership for greenkeeping help: The owner of a private, nine-hole golf club in England is letting people play for free providing they pitch in with course maintenance.

Read the full article from Golf Magic here

Free golf membership for greenkeeping help

Free golf membership for greenkeeping help

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Is there a crisis in golf greenkeeping?

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Is there a crisis in golf greenkeeping?: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has launched an industry-wide survey that will quantify information relating to a perceived ‘crisis’ within the greenkeeping and wider golfing sector.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that golf clubs are struggling to fill available vacancies, particularly in the greenkeeping department. Reasons generally put forward for this include the requirement to work anti-social hours, lack of appreciation and a relatively low entry salary. However, for those who do embark upon a career in greenkeeping, the positives are many.

Is there a crisis in golf greenkeeping?

Is there a crisis in golf greenkeeping?

This survey is crucial as it is vital the scale of the challenge is quantified, as well as the key drivers for the issues. Effective golf club staff are critical to the health and growth of the sport as they strongly influence the experience of golfers on a day-to-day basis.

As BIGGA seeks to fulfil its overarching ambition of creating a more positive working environment for the UK’s greenkeepers, BIGGA hopes the hard data from the survey will enable the association to positively guide the broader golf industry.

Head greenkeepers, course managers and other members of the turf management team at golf clubs are invited to complete the survey. Only one response is required per golf club. The survey can be completed online at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2VZ52PH

BIGGA has requested the support of partner organisations with regards this research and will publish the results in full when the periods for submissions has closed.

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “With the ongoing cost of living crisis at the forefront of our minds and the COVID-19 pandemic having caused many people to consider their priorities, the golf industry faces a very real challenge to engage sufficient staff at club level, to effectively deliver the sport to the nation’s five million regular golfers. Participation in the sport is booming at just the time that recruiting and retaining greenkeeping staff is at its most challenging. It is vital the golf industry – utilising real data – considers positive solutions to the ongoing labour issues.

“We encourage all our members to respond to this survey, which we believe will benefit all greenkeepers and golf club staff.”

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New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

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New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club: Chorley Golf Club has got its 125-year anniversary year off to a good start by updating its machinery fleet.

The course sits in 127 acres between Bolton and Preston, drawing players out of both major conurbations to be challenged while taking in prime views that extend as far as the Lake District and North Wales.

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

With healthy membership numbers and a high number of visiting players, Head Greenkeeper Tony Grayson and his team of four – deputy John Cottam, Chris Riley, Stuart Angus, and Daniel Woan – are working to meet expectations every day.

“I try to produce the best course I can every day, as we have so many competitions”, he says. “It’s all about the presentation of the course – people want what they see on TV.”

Living up to the manicured greens and fairways seen on televised competitions is no mean feat in the north west of England, where consistent rainfall and clay soils present major challenges.

“The ground is very quick to get wet but also quick to dry as we are on a couple inches of topsoil and thatch on the fairways,” Tony said. “The bunkers are really difficult to maintain in bad weather because the clay contaminates the sand. Others might put in liners nowadays, but we’re on a limited resource and it costs a fortune.”

Pests and diseases, particularly fusarium, anthracnose, worm casts and leatherjackets are an increasing challenge too, with many chemicals being taken off the market. Frequently warm and wet conditions make the pressure relentless.

Keeping the course in top condition takes attention to detail, and the team can afford little machinery downtime. A breakdown can threaten to overwhelm the team so when they were handed the keys to a brand-new shed just before the first covid lockdown in March 2020, the impetus was there to invest in new machinery.

Tony said: “It had been difficult to invest in machinery because of the previous sheds in terms of their security and the environment – you don’t want to be keeping machines in damp conditions.

“We had an ageing fleet and the reliability, particularly of our previous rough mower, was going down. When you’ve got the grass growing like mad and a rough mower down, it’s difficult to manage.”

The team’s new shed now stores a John Deere 7500 fairway mower, a 9009A TerrainCut rough mower, an 8000A E E-Cut Hybrid fairway mower, a XUV86SM Gator, three 220SL SL PrecisionCut walk-behind greens mower and two 2500 greens mowers.

Tony said: “Looking at other brands, I found that John Deere, as well as being at the top, was offering value for money as well. Once I demoed everything, it was obvious what I was looking for. The machines are now specific to our course and environment so we can go out with more confidence, getting a nicer cut.

“The 8000AE is so versatile and it can even act as a backup fairways mower by quickly raising the height of cut. It is our key machine and the one that players will notice in terms of the appearance of the surrounds and approaches. Now, the green-side bunkers are part of the surround and we’re able to cut around this area with the new machine, making the presentation so much better.”

For the majority of the new machines, Tony opted to use John Deere Finance. And with a strong relationship with John Deere’s specialist servicing dealer Balmers GM spanning 20 years, the team at Chorley has direct access to support to maintain the machines. For its flagship machine, the 9009A, Tony reasoned that an operating lease, whereby the team would only pay for the use of the machine, would be the best option.

“The club looked at the hours our machines were doing – and with the rough mower doing the most hours, we took it out on an operational lease as we have a lot of semi-rough, and will look to change after five years.”

Following a successful 2021 with summer on the greenkeepers’ side and armed with a new machinery fleet, Tony’s sights are now set firmly on future proofing the course – and the reliability of the new machines will be crucial to ensuring this work can happen.

“Our aim now is to make the course longer by building a few more tee zones set right back on the course’s boundaries to cater for an increasing number of golfers hitting the ball further. All this has to be done without disrupting golfers’ experience or making a mess with the heavier equipment required.

“Our industry isn’t without its challenges but investing in the machines has really given our greenkeepers more pride in their work, and the machines are doing a fantastic job at presenting the course in the best light.”

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