Tag Archive for: Year-round

Course investment enhances year-round championship quality

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Course investment enhances year-round championship quality: The Buckinghamshire is investing £3 million to upgrade its major championship qualifying course and enhance year-round playing conditions.

The private members’ club, home to the Ladies European Tour and which has previously hosted qualifying for The Open and US Women’s Open, completed a renovation of all its 68 rivetted bunkers this spring. The Club is now adding more than 100,000 linear metres of piped and secondary drainage, and looking to increase its water capture capabilities.

Course investment enhances year-round championship quality

Course investment enhances year-round championship quality

A new championship tee has just been built for the picturesque par-three finishing hole, which runs alongside the River Colne, with a complete upgrade of the practice range now planned.

The investment by owners Arora Group follows a £10 million 2024 renovation of the historic 17th century clubhouse, which now offers seven luxury bedroom suites for use by London based and international members. The club is just 10 miles from London Heathrow Airport.

Gerry Ivers, Managing Director of The Buckinghamshire said, “Our members’ playing experience is paramount, which is why this is an important investment. The frequency of wetter winters is increasing due to climate change, so we are taking steps to ensure playing conditions remain at a very high standard all year round.

“With the wonderful support from our owners, the Arora Group, there is complete focus on facilities at The Buckinghamshire for our members and their guests, both on and off the golf course.”

The Buckinghamshire opened in 1992 and was designed by the late John Jacobs who, although renowned as a PGA Professional and coach, was also a highly regarded golf course designer.

Gerry Ivers added, “The renovation of the bunkers and the return to shorter, native rye caps around their edges, replacing longer fescues, is something we are especially pleased with. Our greenkeeping team played an important role in this work and it has significantly improved definition and playability.”

The full schedule of course works includes:

  • Bunkers: full renovation of 68 rivetted bunkers; sand exchange, with 750 tonnes of new China clay sand added by hand (jagged sand particles to better hold bunker faces); longer fescue grasses replaced by native rye caps around bunker edges
  • Drainage: Upgrading of piped drainage to over 20,000 linear metres and 91,000 linear metres of secondary drainage; enhanced water capture capabilities, increasing sustainability
  • 1st tee: Repurposing of the 1st Tee environs to now include a compact warm-up putting green allowing space for a fourball to practice putting before teeing off
  • 18th tee: Back Tees (Black) now extending to 220 yards on this great par-three finishing hole running alongside the River Colne
  • Practice range: a full upgrade to the range is planned, with the introduction of new state-of-the-art performance technology, reshaped target areas and great new hitting surfaces.

Within easy reach of central London, The Buckinghamshire is a private members’ club for discerning golfers and their families.

To find out more about membership of The Buckinghamshire, please click HERE.

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Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance

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Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance: Frequently ranked among the top 20 courses in England, Royal West Norfolk sets the bar high when it comes to the play and presentation characteristics of links golf.

Maintaining the 18-holes for the last 37 years is Gavin Playford, who is supported by a team of five and a fleet of Redexim equipment which, he says, gives them complete control over tasks around the site and throughout the maintenance calendar.

Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance

Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance

The unique location of Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, along the picturesque Brancaster coastline, means that access to the private members course is off-limits during certain times of the day due to hightide. While this creates a headache for delivery drivers, the biggest challenge for Head Greenkeeper Gavin and the team is the exposed location and sandy soil profile. “The warm, drought-like conditions over the last few years has driven a big increase in the amount of overseeding we’ve been doing as we undertake recovery work, and attempt to increase fescue populations around the site” explains Gavin.

A pair of Redexim overseeders have been helping with the project – a Double Disc 1430 and a Speedseed 1500. “The DD 1430 we’ve had for roughly five years now and is our go-to for work on the fairways and the greens. We like the weight of this machine and the small spacing between the discs which has been critical to regaining coverage on our fairways and some of the greens following the severe drought of 2018.”

“For smaller, more targeted overseeding we’ll then switch to the Speedseed dimple seeder, which we purchased though Ben Burgess Groundcare last year.” The individual conical ring sections of the Speedseed create pockets in the soil into which seed is accurately delivered. The holes are then closed with a rear roller, safely concealing the seed and creating the optimal conditions for germination. “This machine complements what we’re doing with the disc seeder, allowing us to focus on particularly problematic areas such as perimeters, where we can incorporate finer seed varieties.”

With overseeding work complete, come the Autumn the team will then switch their attention to an intensive aeration programme, delivered by their Redexim Level Spike and trusty Verti-Drain® 7416. “From October, we’ll be conducting frequent slitting and verti-draining on greens, tees and fairways. This will continue until the New Year when preparations are then put into place for renovations.”

“On top of that, we also have a Redexim Turf Tidy which we purchased two years ago, again from Ben Burgess” Gavin adds. “This has been brilliant in helping us to thin out some of our roughs in an attempt to encourage finer grasses.” In its cut and collect set-up, the Turf Tidy features a powerful flail rotor. Alternative rotors for fast, effective leaf collection or scarification are also available.

Gavin concludes, “We like the Redexim kit, we’re familiar with it, the build quality is great and we can trust that it’s going to do the job. We also like the brilliant back up from Ben Burgess, particularly our local area Sales Manager Stuart Edge, whose advice and support is second to none.”

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Year-round aeration for Duddingston GC

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Year-round aeration for Duddingston GC: Head Greenkeeper, John Guthrie at Edinburgh’s Duddingston Golf Club favours the little and often approach to aeration. Maintaining healthy surfaces is key for the parkland club which nestles below Edinburgh’s iconic Arthur’s Seat and has a history dating over 125 years.

The purchase of a Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi8 HD deep aerator in May, from Scottish dealer, Fairways GM at Kinross, was essential to his strategy, and five months’ hence, he continues to be really pleased.

Year-round aeration for Duddingston GC

Year-round aeration for Duddingston GC

“It’s making a big difference; I knew the GXi8 would be good, but I didn’t factor quite as quick or as neat. Easily all 18 greens can be done before 1.00 pm, so about a hectare’s worth in total. In the past, aeration tied up three people. we would have had someone following on with a roller and another person tidying up behind. The Wiedenmann is so clean, you don’t always have to roll at the back if you set it up properly. Two of the team can be free to do other tasks; resource wise, that is a significant benefit.

“Since May, we’ve taken a discrete approach, tining down on the greens to 100- 150 mm and tees to 200 mm, all with 12 mm tines, experimenting with heave at 5° occasionally. From November, we switch to 20 mm tines and might go 250 mm on the greens if conditions allow, possibly again with a little amount of heave. The fairways, too, will get the full depth and the bigger tine.

“A good machine deserves its praise.  H&S on the machine is first rate. It really is smooth, and the operator doesn’t leave the cab feeling they’ve had a full body work out.  Also, smoothness means the Terra Spike is surprisingly quiet, not too noisy for members playing nearby, but mostly we can be done before they get anywhere close.

“Hopefully, we’re out all 12 months a year, weather permitting, and target a few choice areas with extra runs when there’s time available.”

Membership at Duddingston GC has increased over lock down but tee times have remained constant for John and his team of five. “There’s nothing for it but to keep doing your best and the whole team has done really well, even now new members are still joining.

Bob Marshall, Area Sales Manager at Fairways GM said:

“The GXi8 was absolutely the right fit for John and his team.  It paired well with their existing Kubota L4240 tractor and for his site it’s got access-all-areas status.”

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