Turfgrass® EIGCA Bronze Partner is celebrating 25 years in the golf course industry and decided to look back at the drivers and the “game changers” for the future!

Every golf club aspires to have conditioning similar to Augusta, which is hard to accomplish, without the correct investment and personnel. Golf course owners, general managers and committee members, all see Augusta National in pristine condition in April and wonder why their course cannot be to that standard. They neglect to consider that Augusta National reaches these dizzy heights with a massive number of volunteers and an extremely healthy maintenance budget

When Turfgrass® was founded in 1997, green speeds would average 8 to 9 on the Stimpmeter. Today, even an average club is looking for speeds of 11 plus. The demands on Greenkeeping staff are not sustainable given the squeeze on many maintenance budgets and the strict new legislations around pesticides. This is also a concern for designers with the level of slope, number of pin positions and sizes of greens required. Architects and Turf managers need to communicate and educate the ownership team and members of the golf club, to the “beauty” of imperfections. The golf course of tomorrow will no longer be lush green nor disease, insect, or weed free. Turfgrass® role is to assist the designers and the clubs in achieving a new level of excellence, using natural and alternative ways of maintaining golf courses with integrated pest management solutions and maximising efficiencies across all areas of the maintenance budget.

Advancements in golf technology have meant that there has been an increase of 20 – 25 yards in the distance that people hit golf balls. As a result, new golf course developments have become longer and larger. Even Augusta National has increased its course length by 495 yards over the last 20 years. What Turfgrass® has seen in the industry is an increase in maintained turf areas, once again putting pressure on maintenance budgets. Golf Course Architects have also had to renovate courses as bunkers became obsolete for the good player and were only “catching out” the average player.

Turfgrass® work with Architects to make golf more economically and environmentally sustainable, by reversing the size of golf courses and decreasing maintained areas. “Naturalised” areas are being added and bunker sizes are being vastly reduced. Typically, your average modern-day area of bunker sand of 10,000 square meters, is being reduced to approximately 6,000 square meters. Emphasis is being placed on run-offs around greens as hazards. Generally, 2- 3% of golfer shots are from bunkers, whereas bunkers can take up to 20% of a maintenance budget! We completed one such project at Vidauban, France, just last year.

While the “Augusta National Effect”is here to stay, Architects and Turf Managers need to communicate and educate the client more about what is happening in Europe with global warming, water reduction and the curtailment in pesticidal use. We need to work collectively to achieve the same goal of providing a rewarding experience, growing the game of golf and protecting the fine work that has taken place over the last 25 years!

For more information about Turfgrass go to www.turfgrass.ie