Responding to climate change
The changing climate puts all sorts of new pressures on Course Managers like Tom Jennings whose clay-based Calcot Park Golf Club in Berkshire may typically have to soak up 20 or 30mm of torrential rain in a matter of hours. Meanwhile, once the rain stops, his members quite naturally expect to be able to play their golf and to do so without serious interruption right through the year.
Of particular concern for Tom after the wettest winter on record was how to keep his tees looking good when it was often impractical to get a triple mower into position without causing damage. The answer, he decided, was to switch to pedestrian mowers for the tees – and the trio he chose for the job were Baroness LM66s from Lister Wilder’s Reading depot.
“We have always used triples mowers on the tees, but trying to get them round some parts of the course last winter was a real nightmare,” says Tom. “We are a Harry Colt designed course, so the tees are here, there and everywhere, with a variety of sizes of tees boxes. We have never hand-cut tees before but I wanted to get them looking good, so we made the decision a while back to go over to hand mowing.
“The mower we had was coming to the end of its life so we decided to demo two brands, and the Baroness LM66 was the stand-out candidate – versatile, lightweight, manoeuvrable – and the team like them. Plus I have never seen a better cut from a hand mower.”
The secret behind Baroness’ widely acclaimed sharpness lies in the fact that the cutting cylinders are made from a special blend of hardened steels – nickel, chrome and molybdenum. By cutting cleanly, the blades make the grass less vulnerable to disease and promote healthy growth.
For Tom and his team of seven plus two part-timers, the introduction of the LM66s has provided a useful longer term insight. “I also like the fact that Baroness machines triples have now moved from cable driven to hydraulic driven and I am reflecting on that as we look at aprons mowers,” he said. “It’s also notable that where other manufacturers offer a two-year warranty, the Baroness handmowers come with five!
In terms of back-up, he is full of praise for Lister Wilder & Baroness for their attention to detail and for facilitating extended demos that provide adequate time to test with certainty. Lister Wilder has also supplied the club with machinery that includes a Trillo S4 vacuum leaf sweeper & BL900 blower.
The beautiful 94-year old Berkshire course has come a long way over recent years. It sits within an exclusive private estate, and the seasonally changing colours of its trees and abundance of wildlife make for a memorable round. Renowned for its superb, undulating greens, the 18-hole, par 70 course is 6,300 yards and is acknowledged as a demanding, yet fair test of golf.
Maintaining the quality of the experience in the face of climate change and reduced use of chemical support for issues such as worm casts poses a big test for Tom. “As the winters get wetter we are having to re-jig some of our maintenance schedules,” he says. “When it rains you no longer expect just three or four millimetres; it could well be more like 20 or 30 millimetres. I don’t remember the last time we had two weeks solid of a good ground frost – it’s just not happening. At one time you could plan your schedules six months ahead, but this summer we were doing renovations in 30-degree heat. You just have to roll your sleeves up and make the best of it.”
Yet for Tom the joys of the job remain undiminished. “Every day is different and you are always seeing the course progress. I’m very lucky that I have a particularly good team, and we are well looked after by the club.”
