United Kingdom
August 5, 2016
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After a six year hiatus without a Head Gardener, in February this year, Ballyclare Golf Club appointed Gavin White to take the lead on a large improvement programme. Today, he leads a team of five.
“One of my biggest challenges, is aeration. There hasn’t been any for 10 years—at least not on the fairways. Whenever it rains the clay surface can hold water quite badly, leading to the course being closed a lot more than it should be.
However, once it gets down into the profile, it does drain away. So my objective right now, is getting plenty of sand in to it, to dilute the thatch and get more oxygen in. The ground was totally anaerobic before.”
“We’re using Barenbrug BAR EXTREME. The cultivars are highly rated on STRI’s performance chart, and it’s value for money. It has fantastic germination rates and good colour, good wear, good recovery and it’s not too hard to keep.”
“We also have a fair bit of unsightly Poa annua. It’s very nutrient dependent and doesn’t cope with stress. It’s not as bad as some and we have a foundation of browntop bent already, so it’s just a matter of over seeding and raising the height of cut. For that we’re using Barenbrug BAR ALL BENT, to help us produce a firm, smooth, dry surface.
Gavin still has some way to go at Ballyclare, including Verti-Draining again in mid-October, and laying down 1000 tonnes of top dressing over 18 fairways. However the future looks bright for the Irish club.
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