Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

applications.
The greens are predominantly Poa
annua with a small percentage of Rye,
Yorshire Fog, Bent and Fescue - a
programme is in place to increase the Bent
grasses first before trying to increase the
Fescues.
Marcus tries to keep the speeds up at
about 9 on the stimp meter during the
summer, which is plenty quick enough for
the playing membership. Any quicker, with
the slopes that they have at L’Ancresse, and
the wind would make them unplayable,
However, on rare occasions for County
championships, they may be pushed up to
10, but Marcus needs to watch the weather
carefully.
Tees
Tees are verti-drained with 3/4” solid tines
in November and February to a depth of
between 6” and 9” with full heave, and
again in April with ½” solids to a depth of
6”. Those that are used through the winter
are hollow cored with 3/8” tines to a depth
of 3” (no heave) with the cores recycled
back in to keep the cost of topdressing
down. They are scarified and overseeded
at the same time, using Advanta MM12
mix.
Fertiliser used on the tees is Sierrablen
28:5:5 applied in April at a rate of 40gm2 .
Without doubt, the weather is the
driving factor on the island, with the
Fertiliser and topdressing
Greens
Scotts Double K (7:0:14)
Scotts Invigorator (4:0:8 + 4%Fe)
Headland Trisert (15:0:12)
Headland Turfclear
Headland Pro turf
Headland Tricure AD
Scotts Primo Maxx
Roffey 70/30 100 ton per year
Island racing...
A RECORD entry of 28 horses, including a
first from France, contributed to a fine day of
racing at this year’s annual May Bank
Holiday race meeting at L’Ancresse,
culminating in the biggest field for one race
since the sport was resurrected five years
ago.
Jim Jamumeanu, President of the Racing
Trust, was very happy with this year’s event,
especially as 3,500 plus racegoers turned up
for the event. Jim has a long association
with racing on the island, having been an
active member of the trust for many years,
and also trained a number of horses for the
race.
The event is unique in that it runs across
common land and the L’Ancresse golf course.
The track is set over one mile 760 yards,
providing an interesting circuit for the horse
and rider.
Upgrades were carried out this year to
improve the finishing straight, with an army
of volunteers helping to remove tracts of
gorse to reline the track. Also, some
combination of wind speeds and warm
temperatures dictating the condition of the
course. In the winter, when there are high
tides, some parts of the course get flooded,
with areas on the fairways dying back due
to the salt contamination. Once the
floodwater has abated, the contaminated
areas are reseeded and fed to promote new
growth.
The course is unique in many ways. Not
only having to provide two sets of
members with a challenging course,
Marcus and his staff are constantly battling
with the elements and limited resources to
keep the course in tip top condition. The
sheer cost and logistical implications of
importing products, goods and services is
challenging, and is often dependant on
availability.
Also, every year, the course is closed for
the island’s annual horseracing meeting!
Height of cut
Winter Summer
Greens 7mm 4mm
Tees 17mm 10mm
Collars 17mm 10mm
Approaches 17mm 10mm
Fairways 25mm 17mm
Semi rough 35mm 35mm
Rough 90mm 90mm
Tees and approaches
Scotts Sierrablen (28:5:5)
Roffey 60/40 5 ton per year mixed with
Advanta mm12 and used for divots
Tees are hollow cored in the spring and the
cores recycled back in, overseeded with
Advanta MM12 mix
Fairways
Humber Palmers 11
Divot mix Roffey 60/40 with Advanta MM12
localised flooding prevented the sward from
maturing, so parts of the track had to be returfed.
It takes two weeks to prepare the course,
setting up the running rails and appropriate
safety fences, and one weekend to set up the
tented village that provides essential
facilities - accommodation, stores, offices,
toilets, entertainment and stables.
Horses and trainers arrive two days before
the meeting to acclimatise themselves with
the course. This year was quite dry, with
parts of the course having to be watered on a
daily basis to maintain the going at good to
firm. The race meeting starts at 2.30 pm and
finishes at 5.00pm.
It is a popular event with the islanders and,
with an entrance fee of just £6.00, is very
good value. The Trust is now considering
whether it would be more cost effective and
attractive to provide two days of racing. So
far, there has been good feedback from
trainers, riders and the general public for this
to happen.
What’s in the shed?
John Deere 220 hand mowers x 3
Ransomes Certes hand mowers x 3
John Deere 2500A greens mowers x 2
John Deere 2500B greens mowers x 2
Jacobsen Greens King VI
Jacobsen Tri King
Jacobsen 4600 triple rotary
John Deere 3235 fairway mower
John Deere Pro Gator
Cushman Turf Truckster
Iseki 380 tractor
John Deere eGator
Ez-go buggy
Redexim 7516 Verti-drain
Cushman topdresser
Propass spinner dresser
Gambetti Barre 450lt sprayer
SISIS MegaSlit
Rotary rough topper
Hunter Juno grinder
3 tonne trailer
Farmura F25 sprayers x 2
Cooper Pegler knapsack sprayers x 2
Ransomes turf cutter
Sisis Auto Rotarake
Flymos x 3
Strimmers x 2
Hedgecutter
Scotts Accu Pro spinners x 2
1 Set Greentek verti cut, scarify units,
1 set sorrel rollers and 1 set each of
rotary and topdressing brushes
1 Set Greentek vibrating rollers