Scott
Duff, head greenkeeper at Bovey Castle in Devon, is using a range of Sherriff Amenity products to help the club get back into the Top 100 Golf Courses.
Designed
in 1926 by J F Abercromby, one of the finest British golf course designers of
the last century, Bovey Castle’s 18 hole championship golf course is
challenging and surrounded by the natural beauty of the Dartmoor.
Scott, who
has been at Bovey Castle for four years, started his turf career in football at
Torquay United FC before switching to greenkeeping. He admits that it was
somewhat of a challenging transition but claims that he has no regrets.
“When I
was in football groundsmanship, I had always wanted to try greenkeeping but to
be honest I was always worried that I would be out of my depth,” he said. “I
went from looking after just one surface which had a fairly consistent
maintenance regime to suddenly looking after a multitude of different areas –
each with their own requirements. It was the biggest challenge in my career but
also the best because I can confidently say that I love my job.”
Scott
excelled in his new role and was rewarded two years ago when he was promoted to
the position of head greenkeeper. Now, alongside Sean Bennett – course manager,
the two of them have a very clear goal.
“We are a
championship course which used to be in the top 100 but not anymore
unfortunately. Quite simply our goal is to get back in there. I think with
Sean’s knowledge of managing a course, his drive and his passion, along with
the improvements he wants to make, I think it is very realistic.
“We are
not a million miles away but we still have a lot of work to do and with people
like David Chammings from Sherriff Amenity on-board then this will only boost
our chances. David has really changed the way we approach our feed programmes
and also some of the work we do out on the course because he draws up
management plans which concentrate on what we should be doing throughout
certain periods of the year.”
After
consultation, David recommended a tank mixture consisting of iNTrench
fertiliser 15.0.9 and GoGreen Energy bio-stimulant for the greens – two
products which perfectly complement one another.
iNTrench
is a controlled uptake nitrogen fertiliser designed specifically for the needs
of professional sports turf. It gives up to ten weeks of improved blade colour
and a higher quality turf with 66% the nitrogen rate of leading competitors.
Its tank-mix partner, GoGreen Energy, is a concentrated bio-stimulant,
formulated to assist plant health and relieve stress symptoms.
“Every
course is different and you have to work out what is best for your site,” said
Scott. “With iNTrench and GoGreen, we find that if we go at half rate (20 l/ha)
every two weeks, then the greens seem to hold the nutrients a lot better. By
applying it like this we notice healthier greens and also better longevity out
of the products. This tank-mix has worked really well for us and there has been
a big improvement in the greens.
“In fact,
we also use this mix with the addition of seaweed on our tees if they need some
instant colour-up.”
Scott also
reported excellent results from Sherriff Amenity’s Aqua-Zorb 45 – a unique
wetting agent, which helped him through a somewhat difficult summer last
year.
“Last
year, Aqua-Zorb was a real saviour for us. I would say that at least 90% of
courses in the UK would say that the disease period for golf was horrendous
last year and a good wetting agent could have saved money on fungicides and
relieved the drought stress.
“We had
such intense heat last year and Aqua-Zorb still worked incredibly well
considering we were frequently seeing temperatures of 30°C plus.
“I feel we
have been going through a massive transition period and this year we will see
even more improvements to the course. The Sherriff Amenity products have played
a big role in the success over the past couple of years and I can’t fault the
service from David whatsoever.”
