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The Impact Of A Heatwave

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The Impact Of A Heatwave: Ten weeks of drought has posed a major challenge to Irish golf courses. Kevin Markham interviewed two greenkeepers to assess how course conditions have been impacted.

Listening to Met Éireann tell us we haven’t had weather like this since 1976 makes you realise how much we miss hot, dry summers.

Golf courses that were under three feet of snow in March are now burned brown by the long days of sun. If you’ve been on social media, you’ll have seen an unforgettable image of Ballybunion, which looks more like the Sahara than a golf course.

The heatwave may have cooled but the trouble is, 10 weeks passed without significant rainfall and greenkeepers have had their work cut out to maintain their courses.

Here are the views of two head greenkeepers: Paul Coleman (PC), Golf Course Superintendent at Dromoland Castle; and Dave Edmondson (DE), Links Superintendent at The Island.

What are the key challenges facing golf courses in a heatwave?

PC: “The main challenges facing parkland courses are trying to provide good quality playing surfaces in the face of intense and prolonged drought. The golfer’s expectation is still the same no matter the weather and we need to at least offer a product worth the money.

“As the majority of playing areas are comprised of sand for the purpose of better drainage, they obviously dry much faster and consequently wilt. Also, having staff working in this heat is not ideal as there is prolonged exposure to the sun.”

DE: “Dormant turfgrass is not growing or recovering from daily wear and tear, such as traffic patterns. Areas of The Island are also becoming hydrophobic (water repellent) due to lack of precipitation.”

Have you experienced anything like this in your career?

PC: “The last time I can remember a similar prolonged period of hot and dry weather was in the summer of ’95. I was working as a seasonal greenkeeper at Woodstock Golf Club, and there was no irrigation on the course. The only method of applying water was through a bulk tanker which drew from a nearby river.”

DE: “In my six years at The Island, 2013 was similar with prolonged dry conditions. I have also experienced similar low rainfall years in France and Belgium, although these were slightly easier to deal with due to lower traffic.”

How do you tackle these issues?

PC: “Irrigation. We have an automated system on tees and greens but it’s not as simple as just turning them on and forgetting about it. Moisture levels need to be constantly monitored as too much is worse than too little. Some members are amused when they see us out with hoses, knowing we have sprinklers.Without getting technical some areas on the greens become water repellent and will not wet with just water. They need to be treated with wetting agents.

“Unfortunately, it’s a logistics game and we do not have the capacity to water the entire golf course.”

DE: “We are targeting our water onto key areas: greens, tees, greens surrounds, and heavily divot-prone landing zones. As a classic links, based on sand, The Island is prone to drying quickly and we are utilising wetting agents for moisture retention and to avoid water repellancy issues.

We are also using traditional watering methods, i.e. hand-watering on putting surfaces, as much as possible. This allows us to target water onto the high parts of greens (slopes) and leave lower lying areas. This method has allowed us more uniformity of moisture throughout our putting surfaces with an improvement in playing characteristics.

“With all of our watering practices we utilise soil moisture probes daily to determine the needs of specific areas. This is deemed to be good practice, allows us to micromanage our greens and conserves water.

“The club recently purchased a pogo moisture meter that allows us to test moisture content in a given GPS location, sends the information to a cloud network, and creates a map which helps the greenkeeper handwatering for the next day to target dry areas or hotspots.”

How much time is spent dealing with the current challenges?

PC: “We have two guys each watering for approximately 50 hours per week. Mowing has decreased and so we can tackle other jobs we normally wouldn’t be able to get done.”

DE: “As turfgrass is presently mainly dormant, our mowing has reduced drastically so I have three guys hand-watering during the day. One of these will be collecting moisture content data to help us make key decisions regarding the next day’s watering.”

Are the grasses able to cope with these conditions?

PC: “Typically we go by transpiration rates of the grass plant and this can mean approximately 5mm to 10mm of water is required per night (in or around 8,000 to 12,000 litres).”

DE: “Native links grasses are Fescue and Browntop bent, and both species are native to links sites and are extremely drought resistant. They can withstand periods of stress. In many areas these species are predominantly dormant at present but will bounce back once the rain returns. From a sustainability perspective, these grasses require little to no pesticides, and limited fertiliser or water inputs.”

How serious a threat is a prolonged drought to the golf course?

PC: “It is serious as 90% of the course is burned out and in great water deficit. It will take a few weeks of rainfall to recover. No water means dead grass on greens and tees. This can make the course unplayable. There will also be a cost down the road in regressing some turf areas lost.”

DE: “I don’t see it as a major problem as long-term forecasts predict a break in the current weather. If we do get any thinning of turf coming out of the dry weather, we are due to overseed again in August with fescue throughout.”

What can golfers do to help the course and greens staff during these periods?

PC: “Members and guests can help by not driving golf buggies carelessly on fairways and where they don’t need to be. The wheel lines are being burned into the grass.”

DE: “Golfers should understand that greens teams throughout the country are doing there utmost to produce quality products for their members and guests. Patience is required through these challenging periods until we all return to normal weather conditions.”

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Work Of A Non-League Groundsman

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Work Of A Non-League Groundsman: In the no-frills, grass roots world of non-league football, it’s possible the most important man on the pitch is the groundsman.

Sitting on a plastic chair, in muddy boots and paint stained jacket, David Page is every bit the non-league groundsman I was hoping to meet.

“The day begins with a cup of tea,” he says, welcoming me into the cosy former shipping container, which serves as his office and general tea room. “You’ve turned up at the perfect time. Days like this provide a glimpse into real life non-league football.”

My journey to Crown Meadow, the home of Vanarama National League North side Lowestoft Town was old school. No out of town, bland stadium here, but a walk along Seago Street, past rows of terrace housing, eventually arriving at the metal gates. It feels like a proper football ground, steeped in history, rooted in the local community. I vividly remember watching games here, on dark winter nights with friends some twenty-plus years ago. Experiences like those stay forever in the mind.

The club has seen mixed fortunes – fighting bankruptcy, relying on supporters’ donations, then an FA Vase final at Wembley, successive promotions, play-off finals and now reaching the heights of National League North non-league football. By any standards, it’s been one heck of a journey for the Trawlerboys.

Sipping our tea, we stare out at the bleak conditions. Rain pummels the pitch with such force that I doubt today’s important match against one of the league’s biggest teams, Stockport County, will go ahead.

“It’ll be on,” says David. He should know. He’s looked after the pitch for 19 years. He takes off his deep blue baseball cap, which proudly bears the club logo. The previous night was a sleepless one, he says, worrying about the pitch and checking for regular weather updates.

“I never switch off. I can’t – I keep thinking about my pitch and what condition it will be in.” David is a Lowestoft man. He used to work in the fishing industry, spending days and nights out on the North Sea on one of the many trawlers that frequented this stretch of coast. But nineteen years ago, he was approached by the Lowestoft Town chairman to become their groundsman. He joined the ground-keeping course at Ipswich Town, learning from the best in the business, Alan Fergusson, now head groundsman at St Georges Park, home of the England international team.

Sitting in the press box, overlooking the ground, I chat to David. He is focused on the pitch, watching rain sweep across, soaking the already soaked turf. It’s like watching a chess player planning his next move.

“What you see is what you get here,” he says. “We don’t have the luxury of training pitches or elaborate facilities, this pitch sees a lot of action. Four of our sides play and train on the surface.” The first team, reserves, youth and women’s sides all regularly use the surface, making the groundsman’s job all the more difficult. It’s in remarkable condition, considering.

Despite the advancement of technology and pitch care, the job of a non-league groundsman has changed little, and the task of getting the pitch ready for match day is much the same as it always was, although, as David is keen to point out, there is a vast improvement in equipment.

“When I first came up here, the groundsman at the time took me to the shed, handed me the rechargeable drill and pointed to the lawnmower – that was it.” The Trawlerboys’ shed is now home to a host of ground improving aids – large and small rollers, slitter, mowers, rakes and no end of tools to help keep the surface in top condition. A combination of good equipment and superb knowledge means the club did not postpone one game last season, impressive for any club, but especially for a non-league side.

It hasn’t always been like that. David recalls one match day when he arrived to find three-quarters of the pitch under water.

“I could have cried,” he says. We head towards the home team changing room. George the kit man is already laying out the players’ match day kit. Rows of bright blue shirts hang from the hooks, while freshly laundered towels and other essentials are carefully placed at the ready for each player.

David checks the facilities, making sure everything is working. The job of a groundsman at this level is one of caretaker too. The club also has several volunteers who help with painting and maintenance.

On a match day David typically arrives around 6.30am and is normally the last to leave in the evening. He returns early Sunday morning to clean the stands and changing rooms, and see to the pitch if there is a women’s game on. “It’s a good job my wife works in the turnstiles, otherwise we would never see each other,” he says.

As the rain eases off, we head out onto the pitch. Holding his trusty groundsman’s fork, David begins slowly lifting the turf, allowing some of the standing water to disperse. The pitch feels spongy and I imagine it won’t take much for the surface to cut up, but David remains hopeful.

“We have the referee coming around 10am for a pitch inspection – I think we’ll be OK”. Heading back to the office I warm up by the heater while David, the referee and club secretary stroll across the soggy pitch.

“Is it on, mate?” asks a Stockport County fan, one of many who have stayed in town overnight after a six-hour car journey. The game is given the go ahead, preparations for match day continue, and as the rain subsides, the line marker is brought pitch side. It’s a job that can take a good hour and means walking miles over the course of a week. I head for the exit.

The next time I see David is at half time in the match. He’s out there, patting and lifting the turf, nurturing the surface. A last minute goal sees the Trawlerboys grab a score draw. The fans pour out of the exit, smiles on their faces. David is pitch side, staring out onto his beloved turf, pondering his next move.

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Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

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Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000: Two decades since the introduction of the very first Polaris RANGER®, the historic legacy continues with the launch of the new RANGER XP® 1000.

The RANGER XP® 1000 is the latest addition to our strong utility vehicle line-up, and sets a new industry standard with over one hundred user-inspired improvements. It features class-leading power (82hp) and torque (61lb-ft), industry-leading towing (over 1100kg) and ground clearance (330mm) – which make it is the hardest working, smoothest riding SXS built.

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

So what does it take to design the new RANGER XP 1000?

Steve Wilcox, Senior Industrial Designer at Polaris Industries commented on development:“The process of getting a new product ready for production involves research, sketching, clay modeling and then a full-size hard model is created. This is followed by A-side Computer Aided Design (CAD) data for tooling. During the early phases of sketches and clay development, a new model can take between 24-32 months to complete a ground up design, with several team members contributing up to 65 hours per week.”

Steve was the Senior Designer of the RANGER XP® 1000, and responsible for the creation of the 2D exterior styling concept that was chosen to go into production and also overseeing the development of the design in clay, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and production.

“I love the RANGER line-up and I’d say that the new XP® 1000 is my favourite as it’s a product of my own blood, sweat and tears – and it turned out great.”

The Industrial Design department can often have five to six major programs running simultaneously, each having their own designer assigned. Very often, Senior Designers like Steve can often work on more than one project at once.

“Typically I have direct involvement between three and five major programs at any given time and frequently have a few smaller programs sprinkled in as well.”

Customer insight was used for the developments made to the RANGER XP® 1000 with 100 customer inspired updates being incorporated into the product.

Tiger Bracy, Manager of the Industrial Design team, said: “The “Voice of Our Customer” is always present and taken into consideration in the development of our products. We use online studies, dealer research, ride clinics, and focus groups to gather as much feedback as possible. This way we can make sure we’re delivering on what the consumer wants.”

Steve agrees: “Without the consumer, we have no product. As a designer, I am provided with lots of research by the product team but on top of this I always try to collect my own data by having informal and personal interviews with real people and asking very specific questions.”

While customer demand is an important driving force for constant innovation, so is the desire to remain a global powersports leader.

“We update models because our customers demand improvement and they deserve them, but awe also do it so that we stay ahead of our very aggressive competitors. We aim to refine our models with new features, and push the limits of design to maintain our position as industry leaders,” explains Steve.

With so much valuable feedback and data from owners as well as years of experience and knowledge, how does the team decide which improvements and changes are the most important?

“It’s a balancing act between functionality, performance and style,” admits Tiger. “We rank the attributes that are most important to customer’s needs, and we turn them into characteristics that the vehicle must deliver on.”

Steve concurs: “It’s also a case of balancing what is feasible within the scope of the program. We use our own experience and creativity to solve problems and enhance the user experience. Sometimes the consumers don’t realise there are areas to be improved. We’re enthusiasts ourselves and scrutinise the experience – perhaps sometimes more than our users – this is where we have the opportunities to innovate.” 

Both agree that working on a product, and then seeing it being used by customers is an extremely rewarding experience.

“I love seeing the products that we’ve worked on being used by customers. For me, the RANGER DNA is ‘Hardest working, smoothest riding’ and it applies to all the RANGER’s I’ve worked on. I’d say the biggest challenge is always having to prioritise the most important styling features because during the engineering process, compromises will always be made. It’s hard to let some of the key elements go, but you must in order to balance other features. My favourite parts of the latest RANGER are the stance and the styling,” said Steve.

Tiger concludes: “For me, RANGER must have a powerful motor, large cargo capacity, smooth suspension, industry leading towing ability, and a comfortable yet functional interior. All these elements we have built into the RANGER XP® 1000.”

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GKB North of the Border

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GKB North of the Border: When your heritage as a machinery manufacturer and dealer dates back to 1816 you expect nothing less than the best. The Groundcare Division of Thomas Sherriff, which began in 1986, is based in East Lothian and with a further six branches provides comprehensive sales, parts and service support for commercial, agricultural and consumer equipment. The company has now become an official GKB Machines dealer, taking delivery of the first three machines, a Combiseeder, Sandfilller and SP100 Sandspreader.

Sherriff’s had seen GKB products at a number of events and were impressed with the build quality but needed to see how they performed. “When we met GKB they came across as a forward-thinking company,” says Thomas Sherriff’s Groundcare Manager, Richard Scott, “and with a background in contracting and maintenance they have an exceptional insight into what groundsmen and greenkeepers need from products for maintaining sports turf and golf courses.” Thomas Sherriff arranged with GKB’s Operations Manager, Tom Shinkins, a series of product demonstrations for customers locally where the three machines were put through their paces.

GKB North of the Border

The GKB Combiseeder was developed to meet market demand for a fast, efficient way of seeding and surface aerating with virtually no surface disturbance. The Sandfiller provides a fast solution to drainage with economic and environmentally friendly intensive aeration and sand filling in a one-pass action. The SP100 Sandspreader is a top dresser that conveniently mounts onto a turf truck such as the ProGator, Truckster or Workman.

“Seeing these machines in action the results were obvious and the quality exceptional,” says Richard, “from the day Tom came and met us we have all got on well and he’s always there with support should we need it. We’re very pleased to be selling the product as GKB dealers.”

For more information, visit: www.gkbmachines.com

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Dennis Razor Top Of The List

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Dennis Razor Top Of The List: After Richard Ayling, grounds manager at Merchant Taylors’ School, compiled a shortlist of new potential machinery to purchase, the Dennis Razor fine turf mower beat the competition to receive a unanimous vote from himself and his team.

The illustrious Merchant Taylors’ School in Hertfordshire has a glowing reputation for good reason. It boasts first-class results both in the classroom and outside on the magnificent playing fields.

Dennis Razor Top Of The List

The site in total including the prep school is approximately 280 acres and that comprises of 80 acres of sports fields on the main school site, 20 acres on the prep school site while the rest of it is made up of buildings, lakes, lawns and woodland.

In managing the maintenance and upkeep of this vast area, it is safe to say that Richard, who has been working at the school for nearly 23 years, certainly has his work cut out. He heads up a team of ten which consists of groundsmen and gardeners – all of whom play a vital role. Therefore, when it comes to purchasing new machinery, Richard insists that it must be a team decision.

“We were looking for something that was fairly simple to use, had easy height adjustment and a nice balance,” he says. “I took my staff to SALTEX in November last year and had a good look round the show to see what was on the market. We looked at various machines and drew up a shortlist. After a couple of demonstrations we were all in favour of the Razor.”

Superbly balanced and ideal for cricket pitches and other fine turf surfaces, the Razor features a 560mm (22in), 11 blade cutting cylinder for a perfect finish. An ultra-short wheelbase ensures easy manoeuvrability and excellent performance, even on undulating surfaces. The Dennis Razor encompasses the simple ‘no tools required’ click height adjusters for quick and easy operation, a feature which particularly struck a chord with Richard and his team.

Dennis Razor Top Of The List

“Its ease of use is the best feature and I particularly like the click system on the height adjustment setting. The Razor was exactly the machine we were looking for.”

Richard purchased four Dennis Razors – one for the school’s lawn areas and three for cricket pitch preparations. The team normally start using the Razor 8-10 days prior to a game taking place and Richard was quick to praise the machine’s quality of cut.

“For cricket preparation we use the Razor to cut down to 3-4mm but they are superb for trimming off the squares as well and they cut nicely at 15mm too. Ultimately they produce a fantastic finish on every occasion.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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