Donald Steel

In a recent edition of GI the monthly magazine of BIGGA (British and International Golf Greenkeepers Assoc.) welcomes the recent speech by Jim Hyler, the new President of the USGA (the American equivalent to the R&A) who wants to make

“brown the new green”

and move towards a more sustainable game.

Steel writes: “Those leading the crusade for sustainable golf will have a fight on their hands converting the Augusta National Golf Club. It might be easier to abolish baseball as America’s primary sport. British greenkeepers have long held the view that The Masters sends all the wrong vibes where course preparation is concerned but they may perhaps be surprised that they have an ally in the new President of the United States Golf Association, Jim Hyler.

In a keynote address in February, he led the charge to make “brown the new green”, amplifying his message by contending “many of the standards by which we construct and maintain our courses have become, quite simply, unsustainable”.

Hyler focused principally on the environment, noting that maintenance practices that are environmentally friendly are also cost efficient, a crucial consideration for the survival of some courses in these economic times.

He highlights the myth that a great golf course has to blind the eye with greenness. “I believe that our definition of playability should include concepts of firm, fast, and yes, even brown, and allow the running game to flourish”.

He rightly applauded the USGA’s Green Service staff who, in the teeth of the recession, published a report last year entitled “Dollars and Sense: making it in a tough economy”. This listed 14 different areas in which courses can be more cost-efficient, including water use. He also referred to the USGA’s Green Section as “our best kept secret” but here his admission should have been consumed by embarrassment.

As long ago as 1977, the then National Director of the USGA Green Section, Dr Alexander Radko wrote a scholarly article in the now sadly defunct USGA Journal that was both eye-opener and trail-blazer. Under the banner

“Green is not Great”,

it punctured most emphatically many of the beliefs among golfers who are self-appointed technical experts- a large majority of those playing the game. It was for a while compulsory reading and can be found on the GTC website. It is well worth devouring.

For the good of the soul, I hasten to quote extracts such as “Many people have the mistaken notion that the greener the grass, the healthier the turf. Unfortunately, this notion is especially strong among golfers. They equate dark green with good playing turf, and they often refer to it as beautifully lush turf! Those trained in the study of turfgrass cringe at this description.

To them lush means undesirable, soft, succulent, out of condition”

Radko was critical that too often things are done for cosmetic reasons rather than because it is the best thing to do, adding “the pressure of membership has great bearing on the golf course management scene. It has spawned poa annua (annual meadow grass) oriented thinking because, in reality, that is what some memberships want. Poa annua, an unreliable annual grass, is considered a weed by some but a good turf cover by others”.

Experts all over the world agree poa annua is the most common problem in greenkeeping, shallow rooting and requiring more water and fertiliser to survive that other grasses but, as Radko went on, “the result is a forced growth of grasses that makes them uniformly greener but this does not mean the condition is better for golf. A forced growth is not a healthy one. Over-watering is one of the cardinal sins of turfgrass management”.

One of the sadder aspects of the saga is that Radko’s article was written by an American for an exclusively American readership; and yet, here 33 years later, the President of the same organisation is “preaching” as though theories on sustainability are something new although it is not the first time our governing bodies have failed to drive home powerful issues. In 2003, Bill Campbell, former President of the USGA and former Captain of the R&A, and a universally respected figure, commented that “ongoing increases in driving yardages are indefensible and not in the game’s interests” but his influence in getting something done has been no more successful than Radko’s.

Golf has a habit of not listening to its experts

but Campbell also had wise words to say in 1983 in addressing the Golf Course Superintendents of America - words that have gone largely unheeded as well- certainly over here. “Communication is important in any endeavour, but it is crucial for golfers to develop a close relationship with their Golf Course Superintendents. If the Club has a Green Chairman who is really effective, really trusted, and works well with the Superintendent, the club ought to keep him in that position for as long as it can”.

The formula that doesn’t work is a change of Chairman annually but now that Course Managers and Head Greenkeepers are so highly qualified, Green Committees are surplus to requirements. Campbell believed that “the ideal solution would be one where all golfers are educated enough to appreciate the role of the Golf Course Superintendent”. If only it were true.

To visit Al Radkow’s article www.the-gtc.co.uk

This was very good news for the ordinary golfer

David Croxton & Stuart Yarwood

It was an impressively organised and conducted event and gave an indication that the ‘profession’ of greenkeeping is coming of age.

If there is one organisation above others that we all have to thank for this, it is the Greenkeepers Training Committee (GTC).

This independent body has representatives from BIGGA (greenkeepers) and the Home Unions (golf clubs) making it unique within golf, as a “united” body for both employers and employees.

I might venture in detail to be critical  that the issue of the ‘firmness’ of greens all the year round was hardly mentioned and that the word ‘target’ was not in the vocabulary on this occasion but greenkeepers (or course managers as they are now called), are not only learning about the science of agronomy but also improving their abilities to communicate, which is the vital element if the FineGolf trend of traditional, sustainable greenkeeping is to continue to gather momentum.

When golfers pay their ‘Golf Union’ fee

a tiny part of it goes to the GTC who over the last 15-20 years have been at the forefront of elevating the education and training standards of greenkeepers. A range of Government-approved qualifications are maintained by the GTC, including an excellent apprenticeship scheme.

These training courses and qualifications are available through a network of GTC-Approved Colleges.

This must bode well for the future of our great game and we golfers must not forget that golf courses are only as good as the trained staff who maintain and manage them, hopefully supported by an owner or club committee who ensure the correct level of resources are available to their Course Manager.

The world-renowned golf architect and writer Donald Steel

has recently given of his time to become GTC chairman to support the Education Director, David Golding, and comments:

“A greater awareness of the GTC’s work will soon persuade golfers that there is no more worthy a cause in the game”.

The GTC is  totally committed to raising the awareness of the sustainable golf course programme and it is planning a series of workshops round Britain in association with the R&A, the Home Golf Unions, BIGGA and other golf organisations to promote greenkeeper training for what is effectively ‘Fine Golf’.

The trend to FineGolf has a depth to it.

Golfers seeking more information on the work of the GTC can visit www.the-gtc.co.uk

High Post GC in the rain

Ever felt as though you have jumped in at the deep end and are struggling to keep your head above water?

Imagine how Peter Hickling, Manager of High Post Golf Club felt, when on his first day at the helm, his club chairman put a letter on his desk from the Environment Agency. The letter threatened the directors with criminal proceedings for over abstraction of water for irrigating their greens. The chairman simply said “don’t let this happen again”. Welcome on board, Peter thought to himself!

Like many clubs on chalk down-land, High Post (whom Peter Alliss rates the bunkerless ninth hole in his dream 18 holes) draw their water from a bore hole.

Pressure from members for faster and faster greens

with the mower cutters being lowered, had developed Poa Annua (meadow grass) dominated greens which required high amounts of watering as well as lots of fertiliser and pesticides.

Peter consulted with his head greenkeeper, the Environment Agency and the R&A who had just launched their website www.bestcourseforgolf.org with extensive detail on best practice guidance for managing golf courses in a sustainable way.

Conservationist policies were soon developed and implemented.

These included:

• Over-seeding with drought resistant fine fescue grasses on the greens
• Targeted hand watering with reduced sprinkler irrigation.
• Use of Aeration machinery that injected water below the surface to the roots (eliminating surface evaporation)
• Reduction of fertiliser to further encourage the fine fescue drought tolerant grass and drive out thirsty annual meadow grass
• Installation of a closed loop wash-down system to clean green-keeping machinery
• Removal of thatch from the putting surface to develop turf which is drier and firmer and thus in healthier condition
• The height of the cut was raised on the greens

The sustainable way is not easy to start with.

A year later Peter was only just keeping his head above water. Golfers at High Post were used to lightning quick greens and reaction was not entirely favourable!

Finer grass greens at High Post

“Communication is the key” says Peter from sometimes painful experience. “Keeping the members fully informed of the approach being taken and the long term benefits is essential.”
Under the watchful eye of Lachlan Morrison, the club’s new head green-keeper appointed in March 2006, further impressive progress was made. Water abstraction for sprinkler irrigation was reduced by 47% and this despite the hot dry spell during 2006.

Steve Gingell of The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI), the club’s agronomist, monitored progress and gave advice throughout. Steve was “blown away” 12 months later by the dramtic increase of the finer grasses on the greens.

Dramatic improvement at High Post

All the while, Peter kept the Environment Agency in touch with all the new intiatives and progress and in early 2007 the club were advised to apply for a Water Efficiency Award - for which they later won a commendation, an achievement featured on the R&A’s main website, www.randa.org.

Rob Wescott explains: “through careful planning, the club reduced the water it abstracts by nearly half down from 6,138 cubic metres in 2003 to 3,261 by 2005. Our Water Efficiency Awards judging panel felt High Post was a leading example to other clubs, showing best practice in course management”

As the club goes into the 2009 season, Peter and his team are several rungs up the ladder of sustainability and feeling very bouyant, Steve Gingell and the STRI have been immensely helpful says Peter, “now we have introduced further practices which are bringing

significant benefits to the golfer.

With the improved composition of the fine grasses, and regular brushing and rolling of the putting surfaces the

speed of the greens has returned,

however, this is now combined with a quality sustainable surface.”

Less fertiliser, pesticides and water = less cost.

Moving towards greater sustainability has been the challenge and one which Peter and his team continue to relish. With some pride and a glint in his eye, Peter says “High Post, which incidentally has probably some of the finest quality fairways in the UK, will be a course that golfers will flock to as a shining example of best practice management.” It is a “joy to be alive” to visit High Post.

Expert help (The R&A, STRI) good communication and a dedicated team of professional green-keepers have been the key to the transformation and the hard work is by no means over yet.

The club aspires to become a world renowned inland course

fully embracing sustainable management.

“Firstly may I congratulate you on this fantastic site. It was forwarded to me by a good greenkeeping friend, Chris Mitchell from Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club. (Frank Pennink’s home course).
I hold the same passion as yourself about fine courses, I have the luxury to be a Head Greenkeeper, and one who is in the process of converting our course back to its forma glory with fine grass and ecology.

I am part of a networking group of 10 greenkeepers in the North West and Wales.

We are called the ‘gingerbread men’ stupid name I know but the name is rather apt, like our sugary friend we traditional greenkeepers are prone to having our head bitten off.

We have the Jim Arthur mentality and we encourage fine grass with traditional methods. We conduct talks and write articles in our trade magazines.
I have noticed that some of the gingers are already on your site. Delamere, Sandiway, Royal Liverpool , and Royal St Davids… the others include Wilmslow, Caldy (just won the environment award) Lymn, Bull Bay and me at Bromborough.

we promote sustainable methods. We are going from strength to strength.

The more we promote the fine courses the better. Keep up the good work you are very much appreciated.”

He writes a comment under the ’sustainable greenkeeping’ page about:

 Jim’s hatred of npk fertiliser and how fine grasses give fast courses all the year round.

Also read a lovely anecdote that sums up Jim’s robust character.