TURF MANAGEMENT
Dealing with the after
effects of drought
hile the drought of the summer
W of 2018 may be a distant
memory for some, other
clubs are still feeling the effects of
the damage caused. One such club is
Boat of Garten Golf Club in the Scottish
Highlands, where Head Greenkeeper
Michael Mann is still tending to some
of the worst affected fairways. The
overseeding of which is now much
quicker and easier thanks to their new
SpeedSeed 1100 from Charterhouse Turf
Machinery.
The 18-hole, James Braid designed
course is renowned for its challenging
play and the cleverly shaped, undulating
fairways. “The sharp undulations can
pose quite a challenge when it comes
to maintenance and finding machinery
that can work with the challenging
terrain” explains Michael, who has been
at Boat of Garten for just under a year.
“When we needed a new overseeder,
we looked at three or four different
makes and models, one of which was
the new SpeedSeed from Charterhouse.
Its compact size meant it could closely
follow the uneven ground, so it worked
out to be the best option for us.”
Offering a 1.1m working width, the
SpeedSeed 1100 does not compromise
when it comes to coverage and
performance. Creating 990 holes per
sq. metre, with an optional second
spiked rear roller to double that, it can
cover both large and small areas quickly,
working at depths of up to 20mm. “After
we took delivery of the SpeedSeed
from MacGregor Industrial Supplies in
July 2019, we were out with it pretty
much straight away, overseeding the
greens and some of the worst affected
fairways. It’s such a great size, suitable
for use site-wide.”
“The set-up and controls of the machine
are all nice and user-friendly, and it’s
accurate seed calibration system is easy
to adjust and operate. It’s a very clean
machine, that leaves minimal surface
disruption and hardly anything to tidy up
in its wake.”
By the back end of 2019, thankfully
recovery work reached a conclusion, but
Michael now looks forward to utilising
the SpeedSeed to its full advantage
as we enter the new growing season.
“While we don’t have a set overseeding
programme, now that we have the
seeder at our disposal we can look to
capitalise on any growth windows and
start to work on other projects around
the course – weather permitting of
course!”
www.charterhouse-tm.co.uk
16 GroundskeepingJournal.co.uk | Summer 2020