Our Course Manager Simon attended the flagship annual BIGGA Exhibition in Harrogate recently and I caught up with him to find out more.

Editor: Simon, how important is this BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME)?

Simon: Every January the north Yorkshire town of Harrogate comes alive with over 200 exhibitors and 5,000 delegates from across the world to Europe’s premier exhibition for golf greenkeepers and amenity turf professionals.

The golf industry is changing faster than ever with new rules, new technology and new challenges posed by the economy and our changing climate.

BTME features a mix of exhibition, educational seminars and most importantly networking opportunities.

Editor: What were the highlights for you this year?

Simon: The main talking point was the R&A sustainability outlook and their strategy for golf: Golf Course 2030.

Editor: What are the issues we face?

Simon: One of the most concerning is access to water. Today we are able to keep our course in premium condition through supply of bore hole water, topped up with limited volumes of mains water. The R&A expect that after 2028, golf courses will no longer be able to source mains water. Also bore hole water usage will be curtailed. We need to find ways to capture rainwater to make up the shortfall. The R&A have run several projects in the UK where clubs have built reservoirs, improved irrigation systems reducing run off and reused drainage water. Some of these clubs have already vastly reduced water consumption and saved running costs with mains water becoming increasingly expensive.  A trend to grass seed varieties that need less water will also contribute to a solution. With climate change bring less rain and at times more heavy rains these project opportunities will be even more critical.

Editor: So does that mean one day we might have the 10th as an island green?

Simon: you never know. Perhaps a benefit of climate change.

The second issue is regulatory impact on chemical pesticide and fertiliser usage. We are already suffering with the loss of registration of key chemicals used for controlling insects. The rook and crow damage is a direct result, as we are unable to control chafer bugs and leatherjackets in the fairways and rough. On the smaller greens areas we were able to reduce these insect populations by covering with tarpaulins last year and raking out thousands of the pests. We will look to do this again, if in our monitoring we see new flushes of either of these insects. You will have seen we have tried other non-chemical solutions such as kites, bird scarers and last year a falconer. Unfortunately, the birds are not easily outwitted.

Editor: How about Fertilisers?

Simon: Fertilisers will also come under pressure and are increasingly expensive anyway. At BTME we heard about new ‘slow release’ fertiliser technologies that will make the fertiliser last longer to reduce the number of applications and therefore cost.  Also there is a move to more biodegradable coatings and expected legislation by 2028.

Editor: Does this mean we will have to change the way we manage the turf?

Simon: Yes. In the 2030 strategy the R&A challenges the need to mow so much. To reduce our carbon footprint they describe eliminating ‘striping’ the fairways and not mowing under trees etc. This will in my view make the course look less manicured but all in the pursuit of sustainability. We are custodians of the land and need to reduce the burden on the soil, fauna and flora. The challenge is to create a top performance course in a sustainable way.

Editor: Do you think chemicals could get banned on golf courses?

Simon: Yes they could. The industry is lobbying for defence of a sustainable, integrated turf management approach with targeted, reduced usage rather than outright bans. Compared to agriculture we already have a much lower chemical usage.

Editor: Do you see electric vehicles and robots coming soon to golf?

Simon: We already see some all-electric golf course equipment. John Deere even makes a mower that drives by satellite navigation and is semi-automatic with mowing and spraying areas loaded into the system. Like for cars it is in its infancy but in agriculture it is expanding faster. We are considering leasing an electric mower to see how it performs. We are also trialling an electric ‘green iron’ for 3 months.

Editor: What are the issues facing the other greenkeepers you met?

Simon: The main gripes I hear are the increasing input costs but clubs are not increasing greenkeeping budgets accordingly. We are lucky at Alresford that our requests were listened to.

Many clubs are struggling keeping their staff. We need to make sure we train and develop our team.

Editor: What are your next steps with the learnings from the conference?

Simon: I have already started working with Derek Myers, Greens Chair and we will need to look at our sustainability in line with R&A 2030.

Clubhouse Development – Snagging

Following extensive background work and negotiation we have been able to order the patio canopy for installation during the Spring.

You may recall that the provision of the canopy had been removed from the builders contract due to ongoing delays centred around the actual specification and cost. It became apparent that the type of canopy preferred by the Club was not able to provided within the original contract price, so the Club decided to go direct to suppliers.

Our chosen, direct supplier would now like to use our design for the canopy as a model for other clubs, again; Alresford leading where others may follow. Chair of House, Alan Farrell, has negotiated a better price enabling the order to be supported by our Finance Committee.

The rigour of our financial structures was again upheld by David Crawshaw, Chair of Finance, in gaining approval of the Management Committee and the Finance Committee prior to placing the order. The canopy is a completely bespoke design, which will take 8 to 10 weeks to fabricate, so we expect installation to be completed in early May.

Rising costs continue to be obstacle to completing the relocation of the large refuse bins. The works to relocate the bins are outside of the Clubhouse Development budget and will be completed once costs permit.

The Club is due to make a final payment to the contractors for the Clubhouse Development, however, there is snagging to address before that payment can be made. We continue to predict that the final costs will be within 1% to 2% of the budgeted costs, which will be an incredible outcome during hugely inflationary times. Since placing the contract for the Clubhouse Development works, general prices have risen by 15% so we continue to be very proud of our financial rigour and governance of spending at our Club.

Financial Budgets for our Financial Year 2023/24

Work is already starting amongst our sub-committees to plan for the Financial Year 2023/24. Our governance arrangements require the Finance Committee to approve/amend requested spending by our Sub-committees, which is ultimately further approved/amended by the Management Committee.

The Finance Committee generally completes our draft budget in August each year which is finally signed off by the Management Committee in September/October. This annual budget ultimately determines the level of subscriptions that we bring to the Annual General Meeting in November of each year.

Our Lenders’ Trustees are embedded in our Finance Committee and add an additional layer of scrutiny and governance which provides assurance to those holding Members’ Loan Notes.

Continuous Improvement

The Management Committee approved working parties to be set up to manage continuous improvement for both our Course & Practice Facilities, and our Built Environment. Terms of Reference will be tabled at the next Management Committee for both working parties. In addition, the Management Committee will be asked whether it is also appropriate to consider a review of our administration and governance arrangements to ensure continuous improvement in this area too.

We have been delighted with the continuous improvement delivered already by our Head Professional, Mark Wood, and the bar and catering service delivered by the Kitchen@. Our Club has enjoyed significant change in our environment and the services provided for the benefit of members and our visitors, we will continue to focus on the best use of resources to deliver continuous improvement.

Honorary Membership

The Management Committee has asked Nick Duncan to raise a working party to consider the criteria and process in awarding Honorary Membership at our Club. At my request, this review will take place ‘at arms-length’ of the Management Committee and should be completed during the summer.

In signing off; I note that it is only four weeks until we enter British Summer Time on 26^th March which for me heralds the onset of the competitive golfing season. We do place an enormous workload on our Competitions and Handicap Committee to manage each and every competition. I think we are in for a great season this year and thank the Competitions and Handicap Committee in advance for the huge, voluntary workload that they will share under the leadership of Gill Freemantle.

Robert White

Chair of the Management Committee

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Honorary Membership

Spring is around the corner, maybe!

Last month I wrote about our 50^th County match fixture. First of all, thank you to all members for patience and understanding as 48 players took part in this anniversary match on 12^th February. The day itself certainly didn’t disappoint. It was a wonderful day with Alresford Golf Club at it’s very best in every way – welcoming, friendly, competitive and with superb winter greens.

The day started, following coffee and bacon rolls of course, with David Harrison teeing off to a round of applause on the first tee. David invited Greg Richardson back to partner him. Greg is a 5 times Club Champion, 3 times Junior Champion, a onetime course record holder and great supporter of this fixture in years gone by. I partnered Laurance Cherry the County Captain who plays off plus 2 (so my involvement was minimal!). The format was 12 fourball scratch matches with County fielding mostly plus handicap players. Alresford faired very well with many close games; however, the result not surprisingly was a victory for County, 8 ½ to 3 ½.

After golf there was dinner for 60 people including past and current Captains, County Presidents, Secretaries and of course our guest of honour David. After a few words from myself and Alan Drayton, the County President, David then reflected warmly on how this now traditional fixture started. To close, fittingly, County and Alresford presented David with a 50-year-old bottle of port.

I consider the County match to be the shotgun start for the Club’s golfing season. In March we restart the qualifying medals and stableford competitions. The first ‘Foursomes Day’ falls on March 12^th this year, featuring Famous Grouse (men) and Centenary Foursomes (ladies) so grab yourself a partner (entry details in C&H article below). At the end of March, we have our first two-day competition Curly’s Cup.

Curly’s Cup is now in its 26^th year and was presented in memory of Harold “Curly” Young (1911-1985). Curly was a Club Captain in 1942 and 1953. An unusual competition format of Round 1 stroke play and the Round 2 stableford score being subtracted to give the lowest overall nett score to the winner. Whoever wins is expected to drink a half pint of Curly’s favourite tipple Guinness at the November trophy evening in his memory. If you don’t like Guinness, don’t enter!

It is due to feedback from members that we are trialling Marshals in 2023. It will only work with the support and compliance of members. Several shifts during midweek will cover our busier times including Society bookings and Marshals will also be on duty over the weekends. Together let’s make this work, feedback over the coming months would be welcome.

I enjoyed the Quiz Night on 17^th February, thank you to all involved from the Social Committee. With thanks to Margaret Lumb, we had an impromptu collection that raised £330 for a Save the Children fund which has been created to help get life-saving supplies to terrified children caught up in the two earthquakes that struck southern Turkey and the border with Syria. Thank you for your generous donations on the evening, very thoughtful and generous.

Back to golf – enjoy the start of the season everyone!

Simon Freemantle

Captain

FAMOUS GROUSE /LADIES CENTENARY FOURSOMES.

Sunday 12^th March 2023

Open to male 7-day, Intermediate and junior members with a current Handicap Index who have played in at least 6 qualifying competitions since 13^th March 2022.

Entry £3 per person

Competition Booking will open at @ 9pm on Thursday 2^nd March 2023.

No Casual Tee Bookings between 07:06 and 13:51 hours will be permissible on this day*

Competition booking will be open to pairs and individuals.  If you do not have a partner but wish to play, sign up individually and a player may join you.

Players will still be required to sign into the competition before commencing play and enter their score after their round.

This can only be done on the PSI terminal located in the Pro Shop.

Greensomes Medal

You and your partner both drive from the tee. You then select the best ball and play alternate shots with it until holed out.

As prizes are bottles of “Grouse”, juniors cannot win whisky and will receive golf balls.

Handicap Allowance = 60% of lower + 40% of higher Course Handicap

*Any unused tee times will be released 48 hours prior to the competition of casual play but only for 2 balls for pace of play on the course

Ladies Centenary Foursomes

Maximum Combined Handicap Index = 72.0

Handicap Allowance = 50% of combined Course Handicap (rounded)

Open to 5 and 7 day lady members

Sunday 12^th March 2023

Competition Booking will open at @ 9pm on Thursday 2^nd March 2023.

No Casual Tee Bookings between 07:06 and 13:51 hours will be permissible on this day*

Entry £2 per person

Competition booking will be open to pairs and individuals.  If you do not have a partner but wish to play, sign up individually and a player may join you.

Alternate Competition Day:

Tuesday 14^th March 2022

Tee bookings in the usual way

Casual play will be allowed on the course on this day

Foursomes Stableford

The aggregate winners of the Sunday and Tuesday competition will represent Alresford Golf Club at the Regional Final to take place at

Waterlooville Golf Club on 10^th August 2023

If you do not have a playing partner but wish to play, please email sjstaines@aol.com

Players will still be required to sign into the competition before commencing play and enter their score after their round. 

This can only be done on the PSI terminal located in the Pro Shop.

*Any unused tee times will be released 48 hours prior to the competition of casual play but only for 2 balls for pace of play on the course

CHARITY COMPETITIONS

17th & 18th  March

25th & 28th March – Ladies

All entry monies from these competition are donated to the RNLI charity.

CURLY CUP

Saturday 25^th & Sunday 26^th March 2023

Our first major of the year – Curly Cup, 36 holes with a different scoring method.

Overall Score = Round 1 medal nett score less Round 2 stableford points

Summer Knockouts

Rotherham: Mixed Foursomes Knockout

Cooper: Men’s Foursomes Knockout

Company Cup: Singles Knockout (by invitation)

Entries Close on 5^th March 2023

ENTRIES OPEN

The following men’s knockout competitions are now open for entries.  Entrants must have a Handicap Index and have played in at least 6 qualifying competitions between 25^th March 2022 and 26^th March 2023 (General Play Scores do not count).

To enter the knockouts (it does depend a little on what device you use) Club V1> Club (or drop down menu)> Knockouts> select the down arrow for each knockout to view details and enter.

Wessex Salver:

Men’s Singles Knockout

Entry by gender through Club V1:

“Wessex 2023”

Entry Fee £3 (taken on sign up)

Ross (Over 50s) Singles Knockout:

Players must be over 50 by 3^rd April 2022

Enter through Club V1:

“Ross (Over 50s) 2023”

Entry Fee £3 (taken on sign up)

Entry will close on Sunday 26^th March 2023 at 10pm.

Gill Freemantle

Chair Competitions & Handicap Committee, Handicap Secretary

handicaps@alresfordgolf.co.uk

In total contrast to January, February was a very busy month for the Vets who played in five Hampshire Seniors Winter League matches which included three matches postponed from earlier in the season due adverse weather conditions. In a normal season it is unusual for one match to be postponed but this season four of our ten matches were postponed at least once.

Although mathematically we could have retained the Winter League trophy if results had gone our way in February it was not meant to be. Results with one match still to play are as follows:

Hockley (Away) Halved 2:2

Royal Winchester (Home) Won 3:1

Hockley (Home) Lost 1:3

Salisbury & South Wilts (Away) Lost 0:4

So a disappointing end to the campaign this year but hey, we cannot win every year! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gareth Rees for managing our participation in the league this season, a particularly difficult task with all of the postponements.

The photograph below shows our optimistic team just before taking to the course at Salisbury & South Wilts, little did we know we were in for a sound beating! The result of this game, a 0:4 loss,  was particularly disappointing as last year we beat them 4:0 away to retain the trophy. Hopefully we will have better fortune (and fewer postponements) next season.

We are now just a couple of weeks away from our season opening event, the Vets Captain v Vice Captain Competition on 8 March. Sign ups for this competition and the Vets and Ladies Breeze Up on 23 March are open on the Vets Noticeboard and on ClubV1. Although signup is progressing well we have space for more players so if you are free why not give it a try? As well as enjoying a very friendly competitive game of golf you just might win a prize……..

The sign-up for the first summer friendly at home to Petersfield on 15 March plus the next few matches is also open on the Noticeboard and ClubV1. We are looking for maximum participation so why not give it a go?

Steve Oldham

Vets Captain

Simon Justice, our Course Manager (Head Greenkeeper), reports that Greens Maintenance has gone well. Every green was “deep solid tined” to 7 inches (175mm), micro hollow core removed from each tine hollow and then top dressed. This deep solid aeration should help push oxygen well into the profile of the green and provide channels for the roots to get into. The hollow core is basically removing organic matter or “thatch”. Thatch is often described as the number one enemy of putting surfaces and sports pitches across the country making surfaces soft and spongy when wet and quickly killing grass during prolonged dry spells. Thatch is a layer of organic material which forms between the grass and the soil beneath. Because thatch forms between the grass layer and the soil it can prevent essential water and nutrients from reaching soil. This makes the grass weak and easily damaged since the roots will grow into the thatch and not penetrate deeper into the soil below.

After recent tests on thatch depth on our greens Simon targeted the top two inches (50mm). Too much thatch causes a poorly draining top layer so removal of the thatch in this way will improve drainage and firm up surfaces. When Simon analysed the cores, he noted that the cores removed from our most shaded greens contained a considerable proportion of black thatch caused by poor or insufficient light, too much shade. This creates anaerobic conditions (a clogged surface that can’t breathe) for the roots of the grass plant which affects the quality of the sward. A good green, with a firm surface would ideally have 5-8mm of thatch. Current thatch levels are 15mm on the shady greens (holes 4,7,10,11,12 &14) and 10-12mm on the other greens (holes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17 & 18).

Aeration (and more light) and top dressing are key interventions to reduce thatch and firm up the greens. The recent visit by the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) Agronomy Operations Manager confirmed that this is the correct strategy and recommended that we increase this activity over the year – more aeration and more top dressing. The STRI Agronomy Operations Manager also noted that a “drill and fill” on all greens would help the health of our greens. This process involves drilling holes to a depth of 300 mm (12”) into the surface and then back filling each hole with a porous ceramic material coupled with kiln dried sand. The end result is hundreds of drain holes, good for rooting and better greens in the long run. Both recommendations will be considered for the future but as with all things there are cost implications.

The work on the winter projects, to extend the fifth tee, to improve the condition of the course (specifically the turf and bunkers), the removal of the hump next to the first green and the extension to the grass tee on the range continues.

By the time you read this the Greenkeeping Team should have completed the turfing and irrigation system of the extended fifth tee. It is always difficult when you are “tapping into” an existing tee but the team have successfully matched the fall of the extension to the fall of the existing red/yellow tee. You will notice that the tee slopes slightly upward from back to front, a fall of about 75mm every 10m or in old money about 3” every 10 yards. The boundary fence will be erected early in March and will mark the completion of the tee. Depending on the weather and related growing conditions we hope to have the tee in play for the first of the 36 hole board competitions.

The Greenkeeping Team are using a range of strategies to repair bare areas on the course including returfing. They even used the cores from greens maintenance to cover the tree roots on the path between the first green and the second tee. This should improve the wearability of the pathway. Bunker work also continues, the team are currently checking sand depths in bunkers and as we go through March, they will add sand if needed. The 15th fairway bunker banks will be turfed next week, and the team will be edging the worst faces around the course, conditions and time permitting.

The extension and repair of the grass tee on the range is on hold at the moment and I’ll be able to provide an update in due course. In the meantime the green keeping team will begin the next winter development, the removal of the hump next to the first green and the creation of a swale. More details of this can be found on the website in both the Hawtree report and the Ten-year Plan.

Finally, both green staff and members (who have complained) are noticing an significant increase in unrepaired divots on fairways and pitch marks on greens. This is your golf course and if you do not repair the damage you cause the Greenkeeping Team will not be able to present the course in the condition we would like. So, please can we all do all we can to protect our course, do the right things at this time of the year so the course will be in the best shape possible as we head into the spring – please replace your divots and fix your pitch marks correctly.

Derek Myers

Chair of Greens