WEED CONTROL
Building on the legacy of the Ryder Cup
ack in 2010 , as Colin
B Montgomerie prepared the European team to take on the USA in the prestigious Ryder Cup , Jim McKenzie , director of golf courses at Celtic Manor was orchestrating his own preparations . He and his team of groundsmen were working alongside Complete Weed Control to deliver the perfect conditions for the competition to commence .
It had in fact been ten years in the making , as meticulous planning was put into action for what would be the first time the tournament was staged in Wales . It would be played on the newly constructed Twenty Ten Course , designed specifically for the Ryder Cup .
Bad weather plagued the event that year with play being suspended twice and it being the first time the tournament went into a fourth day , but Jim remembers Mother Nature ’ s input well before the teams or spectators arrived . Jim recalls : “ The summer of the Ryder Cup was one of the driest we ’ ve had and keeping the grass alive was a big challenge in advance of the event . We started preparations to the surfaces and lakes in early spring alongside Complete Weed Control .”
The course was used for the Wales Open just two months prior to the Ryder Cup and remained in in play for the public whilst preparations were being made for the tournament , alongside the two other courses at the resort , The Roman Road and The Montgomerie .
34 GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | March 2022