Few course managers have the\nchallenge of creating an aeration programme for 45 holes. Step forward Matt James at Cumberwell Park GC\nwho oversees five nine hole courses at Bradford-on-Avon, eight miles south of\nBath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original courses \u2013 the\n\u2018red\u2019 and \u2018yellow\u2019 were created in 1994; \u2018blue\u2019 followed in 1999, while\n\u2018orange\u2019 in 2006. Then, in summer 2016,\na shorter Par 3 course was opened. Unlike traditional venues, the USGA based\ngreens and tee constructions on the first four courses are generously sized,\ntheir design nonetheless still reflecting the natural contours and landscape of\nthe 400 acre site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matt James\u2019 aerator of choice\nis the Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi. Previously the club owned a Wiedenmann 1.4 m\nwide GXi6 but upgraded to the GXi8 HD when it was launched to take advantage of\nthe productivity an extra 40 cm offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith 36 holes we just about got\naway with owning one spiker,\u201d said Matt James. \u201cJumping to 45 we were over\nstretched. In autumn 2017 we added a second; two brings flexibility. Take last month as an example: we\u2019ve had one\nmachine set with hollow cores coring greens. The other is on solid tines for\ntees. So, two machines ready to go when weather permitted helped us catch up. Changing\ntines is fast on a Wiedenmann, even quicker now when you just swap machines. Terra Spikes are recognised across the turf\nprofession. You see users happily posting their results on Twitter. We\u2019re\npleased with ours and the support we get from Stuart Fry and T H White at\nKnockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some form of aeration is\ncarried out at the Wiltshire club every two to three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cumberwell plan is to\naerate tees at least once in the winter with 12 mm\nsolid tines varying depth and heave as conditions allow. A handful of areas displaying signs of more\ncompaction might be given a second run as spring approaches. During March, hollow coring takes place using 10\nmm coring tines. Again repetition may be carried out. Over the summer the tees\nget lightly pencil tined with several passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The true-running expanse of USGA\ngreens which Cumberwell is renowned are tined twice in the winter with 12 mm solid\ntines and then throughout the year receive maybe half a dozen passes with 8 mm\ntines. Fairways don\u2019t get spiked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Increasingly the Cumberwell\nPark team has been introducing multi tine heads for finer work and for coring\nthroughout the year. The GXi8 HD can be fitted\nwith multi tine holders on all eight legs, each solid multi- tine head holding up\nto twelve 5 mm needle tines while each coring multi-tine head takes six tines\nper head with a coring diameter from 6mm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe certainly vary the tines.\nWith the Wiedenmann we can always achieve the depth which is important. In the\npast we tried fitting tining units on our greens mower but couldn\u2019t get the\nnecessary depth. Now we get finite\ncontrol from just a few mm all the way to 250 mm depending on what tines are fitted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cumberwell Park\u2019s innovative\nand inspired approach to course layout delivers an excellent golfing experience\nto members and visitors alike. Yet maybe less apparent to the golfer is how in\nparallel, clever forethought means it delivers a perfect solution to accommodate\nits many maintenance needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur Par 3 is separate but in\nterms of the other four nine holes courses we are quite unique,\u201d explained Matt\nJames. \u201cThey all start and finish at the clubhouse. Our booking system is such\nthat golfers play any combination of courses. We treat it as a four tee start. Crucially I have access to the system. With appropriate notice I can close an\nindividual course for maintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor example, tomorrow one\ncourse is shut from first thing until 9.30 am for top dressing. It really helps\nto be able to shut for tining or top dressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have to make a judgement\non operations I can do. You have to be organised and plan activities ahead. Key\nthings get booked well in advance, for example coring is traditionally March\ntime. Naturally you plan around big\nevents or tournaments. We wouldn\u2019t choose to tine or top dress before something\nimportant but you\u2019ve got to fit it all in. Fine tines leave negligible\ndisturbance so it is not particularly disruptive. We wouldn\u2019t do it days before\na competition; but aeration is necessary so you fit it in somehow rather than avoid\nit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scale of Cumberwell Park\nis not for the feint hearted. Its setting is enhanced by nine lakes, 34 acres\nof woodland and free-flowing streams. The establishment has been awarded four stars\nin Golf World\u2019s Top Courses in Britain and is also an accredited Golf Mark and\nClub Mark facility. Nine of Cumberwell Park\u2019s 20 greenkeeping staff are trained\non the aerators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how does Matt James keep\ntrack of what\u2019s been aerated? \u201cWe keep\ndetailed records for all operations carried out. Specifically with spiking,\ndetails include which tines used, depth, where on a particular course and the\noperator name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With another nine hole par 3\ncourse in the pipeline, Matt James and his greenkeeping team strive to maintain\ntheir constant high standards. Only last\nmonth the club won the Environmental category at the Bath Life Awards 2018\nwhile Head of Conservation, Jon Keepen was announced as a finalist for Conservation\nGreenkeeper of the Year at this year\u2019s STRI\u2019s Golf Environmental Awards. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Few course managers have the challenge of creating an aeration programme for 45 holes. Step forward Matt James at Cumberwell Park GC who oversees five nine hole courses at Bradford-on-Avon, eight miles south of Bath. The original courses \u2013 the \u2018red\u2019 and \u2018yellow\u2019 were created in 1994; \u2018blue\u2019 followed in 1999, while \u2018orange\u2019 in 2006. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}