TOP DRESSING
Making the switch to Johnsons J Fescue mix
oing a fantastic job at
D retaining the natural links characteristics , Perranporth Golf Club Course Manager Rob Cook has been delighted with his switch to Johnsons J Fescue mix . Having used Johnsons Sports Seed at his previous club , Rob swapped with confidence two years ago , sowing the greens with a combination of Chewings and Slender fescues , with another 100 % fescue blend , J Premier Fairway , employed across the fairways .
Picking up where the previous Course Manager had left off , maintaining the fescue species and low inputs was something Rob was keen to continue with when he took over three and a half years ago . “ Once I used the stock of seed we had , I got in touch with my local Johnsons rep Ian Barnett who went through the mixtures available . J Fescue was the obvious choice for the greens , and for the fairways I was after a mixture of all the fescues – Hard , Sheeps , Strong , Chewings and Slender Creeping Red Fescue . J Premier Fairway ticked all of the boxes , straight off the shelf . The results have been absolutely fantastic !”
Rob usually overseeds the greens between one and three times a year , the last time was September 2020 – the germination from which is still visible . “ J Fescue delivers high shoot density and strong colour which lasts . Ordinarily , I would be planning to overseed again in April but with the greens in such good condition and the upcoming return of golfers we believe we ’ ll be able to wait until our next maintenance week in September .”
“ On the fairways we have a ‘ members volunteer divot party ’ who divot all 18 fairways with the J Premier Fairway mix over a two-week period – and through lockdown it ’ s been even more frequent .” The combination of more frequent seeding and the higher quality cultivars included in J Premier Fairway has meant that the artificial fairway mats that members were required to use over the winter period are a thing of the past ! “ We ’ ve made fantastic strides forward in terms of year-round plant health and strength .”
“ With divot work ongoing and a bumper season of play expected , I ’ ve got no doubts at all that the surfaces will be fit and ready to cope with the sustained levels of play ” Rob concludes .
www . johnsonssportsseed . co . uk
28 GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | April / May 2021