TOOLS , PLANT & EQIPMENT
Presenting a pictureperfect course at Killarney
At Killarney Golf and Fishing Club , presentation is everything
Members of Killarney ’ s greenkeeping team sit on the new John Deere machines , with Richard Charleton , Turf Strategic Account Manager at John Deere , Killarney ’ s Head Greenkeeper Enda Murphy , and Mike Weldon from the Seamus Weldon dealership which supplied the new kit .
ith breathtaking views
W out over Lough Leane and the undulating Killarney National Park beyond , players come from all over the world to experience the two , 18-hole Killeen and Mahony ’ s Point courses .
It ’ s a club steeped in 129 years of history which includes hosting the Irish Open four times , with Nick Faldo winning in 1991 and 1992 , Ross Fisher in 2010 , and Simon Dyson in 2011 .
With such rich heritage and high expectations , the greenkeeping team has to maintain the highest possible standards to satisfy the 500-plus golfers who could arrive to play at the complex during its busiest days of the year .
Enda Murphy is in charge of the 18-strong team responsible for presenting the course . He ’ s in his 30th year working at the club after joining as an apprentice from school .
“ I completed a four-year apprenticeship in Killarney and then worked a year at Wayzata Country Club near Minneapolis in the States ,” he explained .
“ It was wealthy club with 28 greenkeepers for one 18-hole course , but what struck me was how neat and tidy the whole place was . The machinery sheds were immaculate – everything was organised and every machine had its place with a back-up machine in reserve too .
54 GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | May 2022