Coarse grasses are a real problem in golf greens, particularly at this time of the year when finer leaf species are slower to start growing causing uneven growth.
The removal of ryegrass infestation from greens can achieve more consistent ball roll and a better quality fine turf surface. On fairways, ryegrass control can improve both the playability and visual appearance of the course, as well and helping to achieve a clean finish from mowing. In rough areas, thinning out dense ryegrass makes it easier to locate balls, thus avoiding slow play.
The launch two years ago of Rescue, the highly selective grass weed herbicide which removes ryegrass leaving fine turf grasses unaffected, gave turf managers an effective tool to combat the problem.
Last September, Everris, exclusive distributors of the product for Syngenta, formed ‘The Rescue Club’, a programme of regular gatherings for turf managers wanting to address ryegrass issues on their course using the product.
“The Rescue Club is a series of informative, educational events aimed at putting Golf Course Managers in the best position when deciding whether to use Rescue, and if they decide to do so, to provide them with the best information on how to use it and how to get the best results from it,” explains Michael Fance, Senior Technical Area Sales Manager for Everris and coordinator of The Rescue Club on its behalf.
“The presentations give attendees the most up-to-date technical advice possible, examples of product use ‘in the field’, plus insights into some potential pitfalls and key decisions that turf managers will have to face when using Rescue. This is often then followed by a course walk to look at treated areas, to discuss application techniques and to talk about the practical use of Rescue within an integrated turf management programme.”
The Berkshire Golf Club played host to the latest Rescue Club event held in April. Run in partnership with local distributor Avoncrop Amenity, greenkeepers from 16 different golf clubs gathered to hear Everris’ Technical Area Sales Manager, Lewis Blois, present an introduction to The Rescue Club philosophy.
Simon Barnaby, the company’s technical consultant, then gave attendees the most up to date technical advice regarding the use of Rescue, before Michael Fance took the audience through a series of user experiences from a variety of links, heathland and parkland courses in theUK.
Ian Morrison, Course Manager at The Berkshire, then led the group on the course walk, taking in a number of areas where the use of Rescue would involve totally different approaches, then to see where he had applied Rescue at the back of the 17th green on the Red Course.
All attendees have the opportunity to sign up for a 50ml trial bottle to enable them to conduct a professional trial on their course.
For information about future Rescue Club events, please contact Michael Fance on 07879 652624 or email michael.fance@everris.com. Further information about Rescue can be found at www.greencast.co.uk
Everris www.everris.com