Andy Garland, Course Manager at Hertfordshire’s Centurion Club, is
working on improving course-wide surface drainage with a little help from his
new Verti-Drain 7521.
Focussing on the fairways, his latest bit of kit from Charterhouse Turf Machinery, will be fundamental as club preparations ramp up to host the
2020 UL International Crown event.
Televised to millions, 2020 will be the fourth edition of the
Women’s Professional tournament and the first time it will be hosted in the UK.
Andy and his greens team of 12 are already well into preparations
to ensure the course is fit for a worldwide audience. “When it comes to
aeration, we have a small machine for use on the greens, but we had been hiring
in a unit for work on the fairways” he explains. “The trouble with that was,
the effectiveness of the work conducted was very much at the mercy of the
weather and the resulting ground conditions on that day.”
With previous experience of Verti-Drains, Andy spoke with his
local dealer Browns and had a demonstration of the 7521 model. “You know what
you’re going to get with a Verti-Drain – the ability to use different tines to
work at good depths and build quality that can handle compacted soils.”
Having taken delivery of his new machine complete with different
head options in August, the 7521 has been busy on the fairways, together with
some deep aeration work on the greens. “We equipped the Verti-Drain with 1”
tines and aerated all of the fairways which instantly improved surface
drainage.
"Water dispersal has been so much better which is crucial as
we head towards the winter period. We hope to get one more round done on all 18
holes before the tractor gets put onto renovation projects over the winter.
This should help us emerge in spring ready for full tournament preparation.”
Andy concludes, “By having our own Verti-Drain we can be flexible
around the weather conditions and the maintenance schedule to maximise its
effectiveness. It will be a key tool as we get ready for our big event next
summer.”
