A highly effective soil penetrant from Headland Amenity is keeping fairways at West Herts Golf Club in good condition as the British summer finally makes an appearance.
West Herts Golf Club is one of the longest established private members' clubs, now operating under a Joint User agreement with Watford Borough Council. The 18-hole parkland and woodland course offers tree-lined fairways and well-bunkered greens. It is also extremely popular, which makes keeping grass cover on the fairways a challenge, especially in dry conditions.
"We're on clay soil overlying chalk, and the course is heavily used with lots of traffic on the fairways, which are not irrigated," explains Course Manager Andy Smith. In dry years Andy has experienced total burn off along the fairways, which can be expensive. "It costs £8000 to reseed the fairways, so we aim to avoid this. I first tried Headland XL Fairway in 2012, along with another wetting agent. I was so impressed with the results of XL Fairway that I have decided to only use that this year."
The organisiloxane soil surfactants used in XL Fairway have excellent penetrant capabilities, helping any moisture move into the soil profile. Field trials have also shown that application of XL Fairway provides a short term dew dispersal effect, minimising disease potential and providing a drier cut.
Andy comments that the course missed the thunderstorms that broke July's hot spell and only received 2.5mm of rain in that month, but the fairways have held up well. "We have sprayed four times and the fairways have burnt up less than in previous years. I know that when we do get some rain XL Fairway will offer excellent recovery."
XL Fairway also features a highly active seaweed extract, rich in gibberellic acid to aid plant growth, reduce stress, and keep fairways looking healthy.
Andy again: "Application couldn't be easier – dosage is 10L/ha and the product is supplied in convenient 10Ltr packs. XL Fairway has proved to be a really cost effective solution to our dry fairways and I am very impressed with it."
