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Duncan Ross revitalise problem fairways at Longridge Golf Club Duncan Ross Sports Contractors has used its drainage expertise to revitalise successfully three fairways at Longridge Golf Club that had previously suffered heavily with water retention. The 18-hole, 5,904-yard, course provides outstanding views over the Ribble Valley, Forest of Bowland and the Fylde coast, and, is maintained to an exceptional standard by Course Manager, Andrew Read, and his four staff. During his 18-years at the club, Andrew had to contend with moisture retention on the 3rd and 9th fairways. Recently, this had caused the 3rd fairway to become near unplayable and action was taken to bring it, and the ninth and eleventh fairways, back in line with the rest of the course. Duncan Ross was picked to rectify the drainage issue based
on Andrew’s requirement to find a contractor capable of delivering a high quality and tidy project. “The 3rd fairway this time last year was horrible. It was black in places, you could hardly walk on it, so if you can’t walk on it you can’t really play golf on it. “We had more problems when it came to cutting because it would make a mess. In the autumn it never dried up, so I had a meeting with our Green Chairman and explained that we needed drainage work done, and they went to the council and funds were made available. “We then got Duncan on site and he looked at the 3rd, 9th and 11th fairways and came back with a plan. I had drawn some plans up and Duncan looked at those and decided what the best way to achieve it was, and he’s got the experience, so we were happy
to go with what he recommended. “Going into September we’ve had over 160mm of rain and the drains have started working well. We’ve checked the outlets and there is loads of water coming out of them, so it’s been a sound long-term investment. “The 3rd fairway and the 9th, which is a short fairway, are now playable. I checked the outlets on the ninth recently and they were running well, and the fairway is dry. “Golf is a 12-month a year sport now, in the past getting into September and October people started putting their clubs away but now they want to play all year round.” Whilst the main objective of the drainage installation was achieved on the 3rd, 9th and 11th fairway, Andrew and the club’s members were also impressed with the way the Duncan Ross team carried out the project.
Adding versatility George Paterson, Head Greenkeeper at Fortrose & Rosemarkie GC, has had firsthand knowledge of Wiedenmann Terra Spikes for over 20 years. In past roles at Rosses Point, County Sligo GC and Lossiemouth GC, he has used an XP, a Greens Terra Spike and a GXi8 HD. Now for the last 12 months he has been working with both the super light SL6, Wiedenmann’s smallest aerator in their fleet, and the deepest, the 40cm XP. “I chose the SL6 last December because our Terra Spike XP was a little too big for some areas,” said George. “It is great on fairways but couldn’t reach some tight spots. Adding the SL6 gives versatility and I can cover all bases. Instantly it offers a lighter footprint for our fine turf areas, so our tees, greens and approaches. We’re very happy but as it is my fourth Terra Spike purchase I knew it would be robust and reliable.” At 1.4m wide, the SL features an innovative cover, one of several bespoke features designed to keep the SL’s weight to just 470kg. An
updated version of Wiedenmann’s patented TwinDrive takes up less room and moves the centre of gravity closer to the tractor. A built-in tine return system and additional shock absorbing facility make it noticeably distinct to other Terra Spikes. “Our John Deere 2720 compact tractor lifts the SL6 comfortably, especially getting on to some of our smaller tees. It aerates just outside the width of the tractor wheels which is excellent. For us it’s a dual machine, as we both hollow and solid tine. We can put multi tine heads on and we can get down a full 8 inches, ideal for our shallow top soil. On its last outing we went down 8 inches on the tees. Previous to that we solid spiked for overseeding, using cluster tines, and next time round we will solid tine greens again,” he said. Turf Matters | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 | 55