Abridge Golf Club’s fairways looked even better after 2018’s summer

By Alistair April 2, 2019 19:36

In what was a challenging year for greenkeepers up and down and the country, course manager at Abridge Golf Club, Geoff Smith, had no complaints with the way the course emerged from the prolonged period of hot weather in 2018. The fairways, in particular, came out looking better than ever, which he puts down to the timely installation of a new Perrot irrigation system, and his tried and tested nutritional programme from Headland Amenity.

Geoff joined Abridge, a Regional Open Qualifier 2009-2013, as an assistant greenkeeper 17 years ago, on the back of learning his trade at The London Golf Club. “When I took charge 12 years ago in the autumn of 2006, I found out within my first three months at the helm that we were going to be hosting a large national tournament in the summer of 2007, which was a daunting challenge to say the least! I decided to call on the expertise of some trusted industry contacts – one of whom was Claire Harley of Headland Amenity.

“All those years ago she recommended we apply Multigreen® 28-3-15 temperature-controlled release fertiliser on the fairways, a programme we still follow to this day.” Multigreen® is the only long-term fertiliser where nutrient release is governed by soil temperature only and not affected by other factors such as moisture, pH or microbial activity. Ideal for use on fairways, coarse turf or winter sports pitches, the prills contain their nutrients within a permeable resin-coating to prevent severe leaching loss.

“Abridge can be a bit of a grass factory but with the controlled release of Multigreen®, we get a consistent, healthy growth on the fairways that continues for months. Last year was a great test for our nutritional programme and we’ve emerged with flying colours!” Geoff applies Multigreen® once a year, and compliments this with a tank mix of TriCure and Elevate Fe, applied in September/October, to help in the management of Dollar Spot – another recommendation from Claire.

Geoff adds, “I have a great working relationship with Claire and know she’s always on the end of the phone if I need help or guidance. Undeniably, the Multigreen® feeds, together with a verti-drain and scarification programme, has helped me to produce fairways that our visitors and members describe as carpets! They love to play on them and that’s really what counts.”