GREENKEEPER INTERNATIONAL GI Published by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association £5.50 AUGUST 2015 Exclusive GOLF AT RIO 2016 Jacobsen in Brazil Bridge over troubled water Greenkeeping resilience at an eventful Open Championship ALSO INSIDE... OPM : HEIGHT OF CUT : ROYAL WIMBLEDON WELCOME FROM BIGGA BIGGA BIGGA President Sir Michael Bonallack, OBE BIGGA Board of Management Chairman Les Howkins BIGGA Vice Chairman Stuart Greenwood BIGGA Past Chairman Chris Sealey BIGGA Board Members Rob Welford, Andy Baker, Scott Reeves, Kenny MacKay, George Barr, John Keenaghan BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton BIGGA General Manager Tracey Maddison [email protected] 5 COURSES. BIGGA Finance & Procurement Manager Steve Wragg [email protected] Contact Us BIGGA House, Aldwark, Alne, York, YO61 1UF Zach Johnson with the St Andrews [email protected] greenkeeping team (courtesy of Tim Johnson) 81 TOTAL HOLES. www.bigga.org.uk Caption Tel – 01347 833800 | Fax – 01347 833801 GREENKEEPER Praise for Open greenkeepers INTERNATIONAL 365 DAYS A YEAR. The official monthly magazine of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers I must begin by paying tribute to the will do more to shout about in order for the Association Limited. awesome job done by the St Andrews profession to get the recognition it deserves. Production Links Trust greenkeeping team on the Design & Brand Old Course for the Open Championship, Another opportunity for industry Executive the golf course was immaculate recognition is the BIGGA Awards, Tom Campbell Tel – 01347 833800 throughout the tournament, producing inaugurated last year in association with ext 513 [email protected] low scores and a thrilling climax. the IOG and this year going it alone. @TomDesignBrand On the Friday morning the transformation The 2015 Awards were launched recently Editorial from a course besieged by rain to perfect and the winners will be announced during Communications conditions in just a few minutes was testament the BIGGA Welcome Celebration to be held Executive to both excellent preparatory work and the in the historic Harrogate Royal Hall during Steve Castle Tel – 01347 833800 heroic efforts on the day to shift vast quantities BTME. Last year’s Awards showcased some ext 510 outstanding achievements and it is no [email protected] of standing water. @SteveCas12 exaggeration to say had a profound effect on Advertising I’ve always loved the fact that the Head the careers of some of the finalists and winners. Business Development Greenkeeper of the venue is invited to I urge all of our members to consider Manager be part of the official presentation party nominating themselves, colleagues or friends, Jill Rodham Tel – 01347 833800 and I’m sure I wasn’t alone in smiling at there are no limitations on size of club or ext 519 scale of facilities – the Awards simply seek [email protected] the TV when Zach Johnson appeared to @JillyPops12 be flanked by Gordon Moir and Gordon to recognise outstanding achievements in Printing McKie for what seemed like most of the greenkeeping. Warners Midlands Plc, The Maltings, Manor proceedings. I am convinced that as an industry we can do ONE BRAND Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH more to celebrate the fine work of greenkeepers Tel – 01778 391000 | Fax – 01778 394269 To hear Zach Johnson praise the greenkeeping team so fulsomely in his winning and I sincerely hope these Awards are OF TURF EQUIPMENT Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission. Return speech was immensely gratifying. embraced by our membership and that the To keep its 81 holes of world-class golf in awless shape every day, Pebble Beach uses only postage must accompany all materials submitted judging panel have a very difficult job at the end if return is requested. No responsibility can be Tribute must also be paid to the BIGGA Jacobsen turf equipment on every inch of every hole. assumed for unsolicited materials. The right is Support Team who endured a testing week of the year. reserved to edit submissions before publication. with so many delays. The group maintained a Enjoy the read. For more than 90 years, Pebble Beach has been a national treasure. Its ve breathtaking courses Although every care will be taken, no responsibility is accepted for loss of manuscripts, fantastic spirit and as usual friendships were contain some of the most iconic golf images known to the game. Six major championships photographs or artwork. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Association, made and cemented. helped create an indelible image of majestic beauty and striking contrasts. and no responsibility is accepted for such For so many to change their plans in order to content, advertising or product information that may appear. Circulation is by subscription. take part on the delayed final day was superb For more information about Jacobsen or to nd a Jacobsen dealer near you, visit jacobsen.com. Subscription rate: UK £50 per year, Europe and and once again made me proud to be part of Eire £65, Rest of the World £95. The magazine is also distributed to BIGGA members, golf clubs, this great industry. local authorities, the turf industry, libraries and central government. This is the volunteering time of year for greenkeepers and I have been amazed to see, mainly on social media, just how many of FOR A LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE our members give up their time to support ON YOUR COURSE, CALL 01473 270000 colleagues particularly for tournaments. This applies at every level including events as parochial as Captain’s Day or Club www.ransomesjacobsen.com ISSN: 0961– 6977 Championships, this is truly unique in my © 2015 British and International Golf experience and is something we at BIGGA Jim Croxton, BIGGA CEO Greenkeepers Association Limited GI/PB1/08/2015 @BIGGALtd AUGUST 2015 GI 3 GI Pebble Beach A4.indd 1 29/06/2015 11:55 CONTENTS A look at what’s inside the magazine this month GI WIMBLEDON AUGUST 2015 Royal FEATURES Wimbledon 20 The Open 2015 News, photos and quotes from a memorable Open Championship at St Andrews 26 Olympic golf in Rio Exclusive on Jacobsenat the 2016 Olympics 30 Height restriction As Royal Wimbledon Golf Club celebrates its Should we be cutting less? Vinny 150 year centenary, Laurence Pithie visited Tarbox from The Grass Group this unique club to find out about its past, a match for current work programs looks at the debate and what it plans for the future 32 OPM – Who sprays any course 38 26 and who pays? 38 GI AUGUST 2015 @BIGGALtd @BIGGALtd AUGUST 2015 GI 39 Dr Terry Mabbettlooks into the GI_AUG_15_v3.indd 38-39 30/07/2015 10:43 Oak Processionary Moth 38 Royal Wimbledon – a match for any course REGULARS Laurence Pithie finds out what the GREENKEEPER greenkeepers are working on and 3 Welcome from BIGGA future plans INTERNATIONAL 6 Chairman’s Word Published by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association GI £5.50 AUGUST 2015 8 Newsdesk 44 Meditation and greenkeeping - nominations open for Course Manager Ian Tomlinson the BIGGA Awards 2015 explains how this ancient art has 14 Industry Update changed his life 16 Membership News 46 Back to the future 18 L&D News Paul Miller looks at soils and turf 58 Around the Green quality and explores Scotland for - news, views and the history of soil characteristics 20 32 44 Exclusive photographs from your GOLF AT 50 Mind the (gender) section and region RIO 2016 Jacobsen gap 66 Greenkeepers in Brazil Andy Wight speaks to a female Training Committee greenkeeper and tries to work out why there are so few females in the 68 Buyers’ Guide Bridge over industry 70 Recruitment 74 @BIGGALtd 52 The Final troubled water Countdown - a selection of the best Greenkeeping resilience at an eventful Open Championship A preview of the Toro Student tweets to us this month ALSO INSIDE... OPM : HEIGHT OF CUT : ROYAL WIMBLEDON Greenkeeper of the Year GI_AUG_15_v4.indd 1 competition 30/07/2015 14:32 54 Social Talk Published by the Two BIGGA members explore British and International the importance of social media in British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association Ltd greenkeeping 46 52 54 Golf Greenkeepers Association 4 GI AUGUST 2015 @BIGGALtd @BIGGALtd AUGUST 2015 GI 5 Chairman’s Word Funding BIGGA National Chairman 2015, Les Howkins MG, gives his thoughts for the month your future The funding and assistance provided by BIGGA Partners and BIGGA Credit for a testing Open Education Supporters underpins the Association’s considerable investment in Continuing Professional Development and all our July was dominated by one thing and educational activity. They are investing in the future of BIGGA members, one thing only, the WEATHER! The we are hugely grateful and urge you to show them your support start of the month down south saw temperatures well into the thirties and the dry spell continuing. At the same time greenkeepers further north were reporting exceptionally high, unseasonal rainfall. And of course we all witnessed what the weather can do to one of the world’s leading sporting events. The hottest July day on record gave large areas of the country a great summer feeling, as many sunbathed in London’s parks and filled the south coast beaches. For greenkeepers it was a bit different, we started to think about soil temperatures, managing soil moisture, dry patch and maintaining grass cover to produce good putting surfaces. Whilst we have always had to face these challenges, recent years have seen a rise in the popularity of testing tools. Thermometers, moisture meters, stimpmeters, smoothness testers. These tools have given us the ability to measure the conditions and manage them accordingly. Having the data gives us facts (ammunition) to deal with committees, GM’s and owners.