It’s every greenkeeper’s worst nightmare – to receive a call informing them of vandalism on the course. That nightmare was the unfortunate reality for David Byron of Thorndon Park Golf Club in Essex who returned from BTME 2025 to discover the destruction of six greens, three tees and numerous fairways.
With sheer determination, a concerted team effort and the outstanding recovery demonstrated by mixtures from across the Johnsons Sports Seed range, the surfaces were fit and ready for club championships just a few short months later.
The only club in Essex to make the England Top 100 list, David has been at Thorndon Park since 2008 and has held the position of course manager for the last five.
“Being in Harrogate when the news broke of our misfortune was both good and bad,” he explains. “While I was not in a position to personally assess the damage the quadbikes had caused, I was completely overwhelmed by the support and offers of assistance I received from the greenkeeping community.
“I decided to take advantage of as many extra pairs of hands as I could when I returned to clear the greens and managed to get hold of a lot of materials on overnight shipments – the club, our members and the whole industry went above and beyond in our hour of need, and we’re incredibly grateful.”
David and his team of nine set about re-levelling and restoring the affected greens one at a time, sacrificing the club’s practice putting green to bring the surfaces back into play as swiftly as possible.
“We took our time to blend the turfed areas in with micro-coring, topdressing and overseeding with Johnsons J All Bent and J Ultrafine Rye Green,” says David. “We’ve used Johnsons seed here for many years and it just works for us on all areas of the course. I consulted with DLF’s Craig Spooner in the wake of the vandalism and we agreed on an overseeding strategy combining the two mixtures – using the quick-establishing ryegrass as a nursery plant, then going back to favouring the bent grasses. The photos and reaction we’ve had from the players at our recent club championship speak volumes for how successful the programme has performed.”
Johnsons J All Bent sets the industry standard for density, sustainability and visual quality. With the inclusion of three top-rated browntop bent cultivars, the mixture delivers a sward tolerant of high wear and close mowing, while the class leading disease resistance also reduces requirements for chemical inputs.
The recovery on the greens has been matched by the performance of Johnsons J Tee and a bespoke dwarf ryegrass mixture, from DLF, on the fairways. “Most of the other damaged areas have bounced back with some regular overseeding and a good dose of TLC!” he adds. “We have to praise the Johnsons mixtures and support from Craig in getting us to where we are today – it’s all part of, what has been, a momentous team effort.”