GREENKEEPER INTERNATIONAL GI £5.20 JUNE 2009 Inside... FOCUS ON FUNGICIDES Dr Terry Mabbett gets technical The Unseen Irrigation System Featured IRRIGATION MATTERS UNCOVERED Horses (and Tennis) for Courses Epsom and Wimbledon under the radar Golf Course as Feature a Picture Meon Valley, the subject of last year’s Photographic competition winning picture Your Turf will only Play as Well as the Irrigation System Allows it to! Does your current irrigation system enable you to get the best out of your turf? Topturf Irrigation, the UK and Europe’s leading specialist irrigation company, believe in using only the best products for the job in hand. Through our partnership we can now offer Hunter irrigation products for our systems. Giving you the highest standards and value for money. Topturf Irrigation, in partnership with Hunter and Revaho. Topturf Irrigation Engineering Ltd Units E4 & E5, Rudford Industrial Estate, Ford, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 0BD Tel: 01903 278240 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ttirrigation.co.uk BIGGA WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR President Sir Michael Bonallack, OBE Board of Management Chairman – Peter Todd Vice Chairman Paul Worster Past Chairman Kenny Mackay Board Members Jeff Mills, Gary Cunningham, Archie Dunn, Ian Willett, Tony Smith, Elliott Small, Mark Dobell Chief Executive John Pemberton [email protected] Head of Learning & Development Sami Collins [email protected] Head of Membership Department Tracey Maddison [email protected] Contact Us BIGGA HOUSE, Aldwark, Alne, York, YO61 1UF [email protected] www.bigga.org.uk Tel – 01347 833800 | Fax – 01347 833801 Greenkeeper International The official monthly magazine of the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association Editorial Communications Manager / Editor Scott MacCallum Tel – 01347 833800 Fax – 01347 833801 Hope the Sun Shines [email protected] Assistant Editor Melissa Jones Tel – 01347 833800 on our New Look Fax – 01347 833801 [email protected] Your June issue of Greenkeeper Hopefully, the much-heralded glorious International is the first to hit your summer will have arrived by now and we will Design doormat with its new look. Hopefully you be seeing a surge in the amount of golf being Design and Production will like the design and the new feature played across the country. With the pound Editor ideas that are included. weak against the dollar and, even more so, Tom Campbell Tel – 01347 833800 On a personal note I have enjoyed taking on against the Euro, we are paying through the Fax – 01347 833801 [email protected] board the feedback we have had over the last nose for foreign holidays and imported goods, few months and trying to incorporate those but it should make visiting the UK pretty into a workable monthly magazine. What came attractive to our overseas visitors and with the Advertising out of it was a desire to provide more technical sun splitting the skies it would be great to see Sales Executive content, and we have done that with the feature bookings up. Kirstin Smith that is sponsored by the Golden and Silver Golf enjoys its highest profile around this Tel – 01347 833800 Fax – 01347 833802 Key Development Fund, and more content time of the year. We’ve just had three high [email protected] for younger greenkeepers. To accommodate profile UK tournaments - at The Wentworth this wish we have brought back the Assistant Club, where Chris Kennedy chalked up yet Printing Warners Midlands Plc, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Profile and are continuing to develop our another PGA Championship; The London Club, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH recently-introduced Quick Guides. where our National Chairman, Peter Todd, Tel – 01778 391000 | Fax – 01778 394269 Greg Evans, of Ealing Golf Club, is the prepared his course for the European Open, Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise first man to take his place on Greenkeeper and Celtic Manor and the Wales Open, where reproduced without written permission. Return postage must accompany all materials submitted International’s very own Soapbox, which Jim McKenzie continued his fine-tuning for if return is requested. No responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. The right is will be a monthly column aimed at giving a next year’s Ryder Cup. reserved to edit submissions before publication. guest writer the opportunity of talking on a All three Course Managers do the Although every care will be taken, no responsibility is accepted for loss of manuscripts, photographs subject about which he or she is particularly greenkeeping profession, and indeed golf, great or artwork. Opinions expressed are not necessarily passionate. This feature will be open to anyone credit and seeing top professionals playing those of the Association, and no responsibility is accepted for such content, advertising or product and if you feel you have something you’d like great golf on great, magnificently prepared, information that may appear. Circulation is by to say, please get in touch with me and we’ll golf courses can do nothing but good for the subscription. Subscription rate: UK £50 per year, Europe and Eire £65, Rest of the World £95. The discuss what you’d like to write about. game – particularly if it is played in polo shirts magazine is also distributed to BIGGA members, and not waterproofs! golf clubs, local authorities, the turf industry, And there will be some other new ideas still libraries and central government. to come on stream over the next few months, I hope you enjoy your new look magazine and including a regular Guest Sport and, hopefully, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on a feature which allows Course Managers to be a it. We do listen to your views and try to produce little more open and candid about the problems an interesting, informative magazine on the they are facing at their clubs and the measures back of it. they are adopting to cope. A lot of hard work has gone into this new look and I hope you will feel that it has been time ISSN: 0961– 6977 and effort well spent. © 2009 British and International Golf On now to a topic we all like to discuss – the Greenkeepers Association Scott MacCallum weather. Editor JUNE 2009 GI 3 CONTENTS June 2009 GI A look at what’s inside the magazine this month 10 34 REGULARS 6 Newsdesk 11 Chairman’s Word 12 GTC 13 Learning and Development 14 Industry Update 42 New Products 45 Around the Green 51 Chief Executive’s Column 32 52 Membership 53 Assistant Profile 53 What’s your Number? 54 Quick Guide to… Recycling 55 In the Shed - Puzzle Page 60 Human Resources 61 Letters 62 Soapbox – Greg Evans 38 4 GI JUNE 2009 17 as a Picture Scott MacCallum visits Meon Valley, the subject of last year’s Photographic competition winning picture, and discovers a hotel golf complex with a members’ club feel Let’s face it, we are all guilty We all know that while there is per - of stereotyping. Scots are all haps an element of truth in it there tight-fisted; southerners are are many golf venues which don’t fit all softies; the Welsh all sing into that stereotypical model. and are descended from coal One such is Marriott Meon Valley miners, while the Irish all Golf & Country Club, in Southamp- come up a bit short when it ton, which operates much more comes to grey matter. We all like a conventional golfing estab- know it’s nonsense, but the lishment than many traditional myth still gets perpetuated on golf clubs and possesses 27 holes a daily basis. that are as interesting as they are It also exists in golf. The accepted challenging. mantra is that members’ clubs Attached to a superb, recently are invariably cosy and stuffy refurbished, four star hotel – the 18 with visitors treated as a barely hole Meon and excellent nine hole tolerated, but necessary, evil, while Valley - offer a great test for hotel proprietary clubs and hotel courses guests, but the 700 Meon Valley on the other hand have wide fair- members are lucky to have some ways, short rough and pile as many great facilities and a golf course people through as can humanly be which is set up for enjoyment rather accommodated. than purely speed. 16 GI JUNE 2009 JUNE 2009 GI 1� FEATURES 17 Pretty as a Picture Scott MacCallum visits Marriott Meon Valley which was the subject of last year’s winning Photographic Competition entry 23 Focus on Fungicide Dr Terry Mabbett looks at fungicide and its place in modern turf management 28 Handheld Power Tools 23 James de Havilland gives you the lowdown on the latest power tools 30 Spraying – Nozzle choice keeps spray on target Tom Robinson provides some practical tips and advice on nozzle selection 31 Horses (and Tennis) for Courses Scott MacCallum visits two golf clubs which offer support to two major sporting occasions 38 The Unseen Irrigation System Adrian Handbury offers some excellent advice to ensure your irrigation pipes measure up. 30 JUNE 2009 GI 5 NEWSDESK GI The latest news from around the globe KEEPING UP THE PACE Alan Strachan, Course Manager at Royal County Down, certainly Is Sustainability Viable? couldn’t be accused of slow play after completing the London ‘Is sustainable management of sustainable approach to golf Jayne Leyland (front left) Marathon in a very impressive pictured with her fellow fine turf a viable option in the course management. speakers at the Sustainability 3 hours, 5 minutes and 52 modern commercial climate,’ was Other speakers included Day held at Bridgewater College. seconds finishing in a highly Back row, left to right: Lawrence the subject under the microscope Richard Whyman, Burnham & Pithie, Stuart Yarwood Course creditable 1252nd – not bad for at a recent one-day seminar at Berrow GC, who talked about Manager Lymm Golf Club, a 42 year old running novice! Paul Lowe Course Manager Bridgewater College Cannington his experiences in introducing Bromborough Golf Club, “Until last March when I Will Bowden Greenkeeping started to run for the first time Centre for Land-based Studies.