John
Jennings, Course Superintendent at Castleknock Golf Club in Dublin, always used
to struggle with achieving longevity from the fertilizers he was using – that
was until he applied ICL’s Sierrablen Plus Stress Control 15-5-22 +2MgO.
Located
in the leafy suburbs of Dublin, Castleknock Golf Club is one of the finest
parkland courses in the country. With its undulating greens, the course is
designed to test golfers while maintaining that all important element of
fairness.
There
are a number of memorable holes on the course, most notably the 9th and 18th,
and two par 3’s over water that share a double green, with the clubhouse
providing a stunning backdrop.
Tasked
with keeping the course in impeccable condition is John Jennings. John started
his career at Castlebar Golf Club before moving to the Grange Golf Club in 1984
– where he worked for 16 years.
In
1999 John accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent at Carton House
where he worked under John Plummer. During this time he undertook the
responsibility of the grow-in of the O’Meara and Montgomery Courses. He spent
four years in this position before taking the role of Course Superintendent at
Castleknock Golf Club in 2004 – which corresponded with the opening of the
course.
Now
a vibrant club with a growing membership which currently stands at
approximately 900 members, Castleknock can see up to 40,000 rounds of golf a
year played on the course. As you would expect, to cater for this high amount
of usage the course is maintained to the highest standard.
Generally,
John does not encounter too many issues, which is testament to his work, but he
does admit to a slightly problematic area on his fairways.
“I
have used many controlled release fertilizers over the years and struggled to
get longevity and colour due to the high sand content in my fairways. However,
since I began using Sierrablen Plus fertilizers two years ago it has become a
game changer.”
John
is one of many turf managers who has benefited from using a range of products
in the Sierrablen Plus portfolio. This is largely thanks to the Poly-S and PACE
technologies which are contained within each analysis. They have been
scientifically proven to provide consistent feeding, enhanced longevity and a
low-scorch risk.
Furthermore,
its small-sized granules allow for even coverage and equal nutrient
distribution. These fertilizer products offer a wide choice of analyses for
proper nutrient input for every growth phase of the turf, and John has
certainly noticed significant improvements since the product.
Featuring
high potassium content to strengthen cell walls, John applied the analysis to
his fairways in September 2017 and despite the incredibly harsh winter, it was
still having a positive effect in March 2018. John was so impressed with the
product that this year he applied Sierrablen Plus Stress Control to his tees
and was pleased to see remarkable progression so soon – again in unfavourable
weather conditions.
“I
am extremely impressed with the early response and sward density achieved when
using the product, giving uniform growth that lasts 6 – 7 months. I will
continue to use it and would highly recommend it to anyone,” he said.
