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Rungsted Golf Klub, Denmark – Course Manager

Rungsted Golf Klub, designed by Charles MacKenzie (brother of Dr Alistair MacKenzie) is one of the oldest and best golf clubs’ in Denmark.  Situated to the North of Copenhagen in mature parkland, the course has hosted many National & International tournaments including the SAS Invitational with players among others Tiger Woods, Thomas Bjørn and Colin Montgomery

The Club now invites applications for the position of Course Manager to manage the day to day running of the Golf Course and surrounds. Presenting and maintaining the Club’s golf course to the highest standards, offering a fair but challenging test of golf for the benefit of the members, guests, and visitors whilst ensuring a joined up and ‘one team’ approach.

 Principal Responsibilities:

• Carrying out the day-to-day operation of the Greenkeeping department in line with the guidelines.
• Leading the team in delivering the golf course and surrounds to a high standard with consistent and well-maintained playing surface.
• Financial management – proposing annual budgets and managing / forecasting accurate expenditure.
• Continued development / evolution of the course to modern standards.
• Achieving effective working relationships with the leadership team
• Processes and Policies – ensuring the compliance with the relevant legislation and Club policy documents.

The Candidate:

• Proven ability to manage a Green Keeping Team effectively, demonstrating a high level of understanding of all relevant policies and procedures to follow.
• You will hold a minimum qualification of level 3 HNC (or equivalent) in an appropriate technical subject in turf science or equivalent.
• A high level of knowledge and application of health and safety, employment, environment and other legislation relevant to golf clubs.
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills, with a proven track record of a customer focussed approach that positively impacts working relationships across wide ranging groups.
• Willingness to work flexible hours including evenings, weekends, and public holidays.
• Strong leadership and people management skills that result in a motivated and high performing team of employees.
• Sound business acumen, financial literacy and good IT skills.
• Understanding of the GEO Certification process would be desirable.
• Ideally, you are a single handicap golfer.

 Remuneration:

An attractive salary package commensurate with experience and in line with BIGGA / FEGGA guidelines is on offer. There is no Club accommodation with the role.

Application Process:

 To apply candidates should email a letter highlighting their motivation for the role and relevant experience, an up-to-date CV, details of your current remuneration and notice period and ability to relocate if necessary.

Contact: Bruce Jamieson at Timberlake Golf –

E: bruce.jamieson@btconnect.com;  Mob: 07768 874845

Application deadline: Friday 12^th July 2021

NewsJul 10th, 20210 comments

Kristianstads Golfklubb welcome applications for Workshop Manager

Founded in 1924, Kristianstads Golfklubb is one of Swedens finest resorts boasting 2 fantastic golf courses – the newly redesigned West Course and the East Course which is ranked top 3 in Sweden.

The resort based in Åhus on the southeast coast of Sweden, also comprises of a new Driving Range, Training Academy, three indoor Padel Courts, Resort Lodges/Hotel, Club House (planned for total renovation), and a two-year-old state of the art Greenkeeper Maintenance Facility.

We are currently welcoming applications for the position of Workshop Manager. This is an ideal opportunity for an individual that is both self-driven with high standards and professionalism to join a large team helping to maintain the whole resort.

This integral part of the Clubs Management structure, the Workshop Managers role comprises of the following-

• Maintenance and service of all onsite machinery and workshops
• Service and record keeping
• Adhering to all Health and Safety legislation
• Responsible for Workshop annual budget.

An extremely generous package goes with this important position as well as other attractive benefits. Accommodation can also be sourced if needed.

If you have these competencies and are looking to work for a forward thinking, standards driven company, then please send you application together with a current CV to-

Bevan Tattersall

Golf Courses Director

AB Kristianstads Golfbana

Kavrövägen 29

29635 Åhus

Tel – 0046733522600

Email – Bevan@kristianstadsgk.com

Website – www.kristianstadsgk.com

NewsJul 8th, 20210 comments

A FEGGA Experience at the European Tour Event – Scandinavian Mixed

For the first time in history of golf women and men played together in the same time on tournament. The European Tour – Scandinavian Mixed introduced by two famous Swedish professional golfers Annika Sörenstam and Henrik Stenson was on Vallda Golf course in Gothenburg in Sweden. 78 men and 78 women competed against each other. FEGGA students on scholarship in Kristianstad Golf course had opportunity to be a part of this historic event.

Vallda Golf Club is beautiful heathland golf course PAR 72 typical for Britain in west coast of Sweden 26 km from Gothenburg, designed by the golf architect Martin Hawtree. He took inspiration from the legendary English golf courses of the 1920s. The combination of red fescue and very long drainage (over 40 km) and hundreds of tons of sand resulted in a very difficult playing surface. The golf course is very dry, the ball rolls and bounces without wanting to stop. The greens were so fast that on Wednesday, before the first day of the tournament, they gave up mowing the greens in the evening because the speed on the green was too fast.

Tournament started 10 June and finished 13 June. All volunteers started work on Sunday 6 June before tournament. First day we went on golf course to walk from hole to hole, after we had a meeting and split the tasks. To maintain this tournament was 35 people. The biggest group was on bunkers. Two weeks before tournament the golf course was closed, so fairways, tees, greens were kept in great condition. I was responsible for raking bunkers in the morning and divoting fairways in the evening,

We stayed nearby at the hostel 15 mins drive from the golf course. Work started at 5 o clock in the morning. Half hour before we had breakfast, coffee and after everyone went to their tasks. Around 10 o’clock we had early lunch and after there was free time for rest till 17. Before evening task was dinner. During the meal, there was time to talk mainly about greenkeeping work and golf. The atmosphere was very positive all the time and shared with everyone. All participants integrated very quickly.

At first it may seem what was so exciting about helping this tournament. I wasn’t entirely convinced myself at first. Earlier, I worked on golf courses where tournaments were organized, although it was not a European tour, but what a difference I thought. Now I know the difference is huge.

First, you can meet many valuable people, experts from the greenkeeping industry and you can talk to them about what interests you in this job. You can make very valuable contacts. The atmosphere itself is also influencing, you feel that you are taking part in a really great event. I can talk about my work for hours on various topics. Funny stories, bothering questions, difficulties related to grass diseases etc. My family probably has enough when I bore them talking about it, and here suddenly there are 35 people very open to talk about golf and the work of greenkeepers.

 

Secondly. You feel great pride when you watch the golf course you work on, on the TV and see your work on TV, even if it seems to you a minor thing like raking bunkers which in fact is quite the opposite, because it can affect the player’s overall score on how it is. raked bunker. You see this on TV and feel very proud of your job.

Thirdly. You can see what it is like to work on another golf course. If there are no competitions on the golf course where you work, you have another experience that you can show off in your CV. Don’t forget about possibility to work on one of the top Swedish golf courses. European Tour is played only on high top-level golf courses. A huge power of positive energy that stays on for a long time and gives a great kick to later work on the golf course. Huge satisfaction and pride that you managed to work on such a great undertaking. An experience that will remain until the end of my life.

Thanks to the fact that I participated in the FEGGA scholarship, I was able to take part in the preparation of this wonderful event, which will surely remain in my memory for a very long time. At the same time, I feel that I have taken another step in my greenkeeper career and can add another experience to my CV. There is one more tournament ahead of me on the golf course where I work and study Kristianstad GK – Ladies European Tour in early September and Dunhill Championship in Scotland. And it is for such an opportunity, if you have many passions in your work, it is worth deciding to participate in the FEGGA scholarship.

 

Christopher Krawczyk – greenkeeper with 3 years of experience on golf courses in Sweden, student in Elmwood college – HNC Golf course managment. After finishing the scholarship, I want to work as an assistant head greenkeeper.

NewsJul 5th, 20210 comments

Belgian FEGGA-student in Sweden: May and June update

The weather is getting warmer. Or less cold I should say, because 12 to 15 degrees isn’t that great. This is supposed to be the warmest region in Sweden, but in Stockholm (400 km to the north) they’ve hit 25  degrees already. It doesn’t make it easier at our high end club in Kristianstad, but at least the grass is growing now. We try our best to give the players a nice golf experience and we try to maintain the high position on the Swedish ranking.

Presentation, presentation, presentation.

That’s what the young Bevan Tattersal was told at The Belfry and now he’s telling it to us, the FEGGA students. There’s no time pressure but it has to be perfect. When you don’t like one of you mowing lines: mow it again. When a sign on the course looks a bit crooked, stop what you’re doing and put it straight again. And when the grass on a path is starting to get a bit thin, we take out the sod cutter and put down some new turf. These might be just details, but on a course like this they have to be perfect.

Pin positions and tee markers are moved daily. To keep the wear and tear to a minimum, but mainly to improve the experience for the golfers. People staying at the lodges like to play daily and it’s a lot more fun to play on a “different” course.

The maintenance can get quite physical around here. Greens and tees are cut with single mowers and all bunkers on the East Course are raked by hand. The bunker edges, which are mostly revetted, are cut by hand with  scissors. It’s very labour intensive but it provides an excellent finish.

To round up this little summary we’ve got the fairways. These are cut daily at a specific angle to get perfect “diamonds” on the surface. They all have to have the correct shape and point straight at the green. Clippings are always collected. To keep these fairways in top shape there’s also the divot crew. Each Tuesday morning about ten volunteers from the club fill up all divots. The members here are really proud of there club. They happily perform this task and take pride in it.

Golfer / Greenkeeper

All greenkeepers here at Kristianstad’s Golfklubb play golf, but two of them are actual professional players. Ludwig “Ludde” Nordeklint was mainly active on the Scandinavian and Challenge Tour. Here at KGK he’s also well known for his hole-in-one on hole seven, a par 4 dogleg. Ludde has always combined his professional golf with his job as a greenkeeper. That’s something he would never trade in to become a teaching pro.

Åke Nilsson also started at the Scandinavian Tour, but reached the European Tour after a couple years. He has certainly made his mark with over 30 tournaments and a couple top ten finishes. During the years before the pandemic he mainly played on the Challenge Tour, but this year he’s trying to get to the European Tour once again through the Qualifying School. Meanwhile he works as a greenkeeper at his home club in Kristianstad. He enjoys this so much that he definitely sees his future in greenkeeping.

It might seem a bit odd these days, going from professional golfer to greenkeeper (certainly for me as a Belgian), but it wasn’t always the case. The first club professionals often acted as greenkeepers as well. Old Tom Morris, widely regarded as the father of modern greenkeeping, won The Open four times between 1861 and 1876… It does make sense when I think about it: Ludde and Åke are both physically strong and they combine attention to detail with their perception of the golf game. Åke’s vision on greenkeeping: “I’d like to get the course in a state in which I would want to play it myself”. In my opinion that has to be one of the best possible motivations for a greenkeeper!

Through our national greenkeepers association in Belgium we try to get our greenkeepers into playing golf themselves. A good chef has to taste what he’s preparing, right? We’re very pleased our yearly greenkeepers golf tournament is still gaining popularity. After a Covid break in 2020 we would like to resume this tradition this autumn. I could use some practice myself, so I’m going to get my golf bag and I’m off to the practice area. Hej så länge!

A first time for everything

June was an important month for us FEGGA-students. The first of three big tournaments was scheduled this month, and it was a historic one. At the Scandinavian Mixed, which was played at Vallda G&C, men and women battled for the very first time on the European Tour for the same prize money. All of this on the same golf course with mixed flights, only the tee positions were different. It was a challenge for the organisation to keep things competitive between men and women, but they succeeded very well. After the cut on Friday the top 20 looked very “mixed” indeed. The heavy wind on Saturday however proved to be a big advantage for the men and it knocked a lot of women back. In the end Alice Hewson grabbed the 3rd place as the first woman, only two strokes behind the champion Jonathan Caldwell. Henrik Stenson, Annika Sörenstam and the entire organisation were very pleased about this successful experiment and we’ll definitely see more of this in the future.

For me personally the Scandinavian Mixed was also a milestone. It was the first time I was at a big, international tournament as a greenkeeper. I’ve visited the Belgian and Dutch Open in the past as a spectator. To be part of it as a greenkeeper however let’s you see the course from a different perspective. On Sunday prior to the tournament week we were welcomed by course manager and former tour player Johan Axgren and his assistant Niklas Andersson. As I wrote last month in my blog, Swedish tour players find their way into greenkeeping more easily after their playing career than what we’re used to in Belgium. Obviously that’s a big advantage if you’re in charge of the maintenance of the course during such a big event. During the welcoming speech and the subsequent tour I immediately noticed the relaxed atmosphere. The expectations were high but with over 30 greenkeepers we were well prepared to tackle these challenges without too much stress.

Vallda G&C, Valhalla for fescue

Thirty may not seem that many for a big tournament like this, but Vallda is a very particular golf course. It opened quite recently in 2009 and was designed by Martin Hawtree, who found inspiration for this course in the Scottish heathland courses. It was seeded wall to wall with red fescue. The maintenance is done in a sustainable way with minimal input, all to preserve these fine leaved grasses. Inspiration was found in the ideas of Jim Arthur, who wrote them down in his book “Practical Greenkeeping”. Do we have to fertilise now? Should we irrigate now? Is cutting necessary now? In doubt: don’t do it. Regarding the fine leaved grasses that we love on our golf course, the wrong maintenance could cause a lot more damage compared to not enough maintenance.

Because of this low input strategy there is a lot less cutting to be done, even during the tournament week. The biggest challenge was not letting the greens get too fast. Considering the open environment and course design, the ideal stimp reading was 10 feet. Faster speeds on these hard fescue greens could be troublesome, especially during windy weather. Three to four times a day the moisture content and surface hardness were measured on the greens. With this data and considering the weather forecast the daily maintenance was determined. During the tournament week all greens were cut on Monday morning and Saturday evening. On Tuesday only 6 specific greens were cut and another 5 on Wednesday. If you compare this to the average golf course, you’ll see that 30+ greenkeepers is plenty. This also meant that we could focus on the finish of the bunkers and the overall presentation of the golf course. As Eddie Adams, Director of Agronomy of the European Tour, told us: “the difference between good and great is in the details”.

On Sunday Eddie Adams was very pleased about the maintenance during the tournament. Needless to say the atmosphere among the greenkeepers was very good that last day. We all could watch the conclusion of the tournament in a laidback atmosphere, and that’s more remarkable than it seems. Because of Covid there were only a couple hundreds of spectators allowed on the course. That meant that we, the greenkeepers, had front row seats when Jonathan Caldwell gained his first victory on the European Tour. The Northern Irishman praised the golf course and talked about how it reminded him of the courses back home. Vallda is the kind of golf course that I really like myself, so I agree with him completely: it was a great week on a beautiful golf course. I’d like to thank Johan, Niklas and the entire team at Vallda once more for the hospitality and the amazing experience!

A new goal

Of course a lot more has happened this month. We visited Malmö FF for instance, the biggest football club in Sweden, where we got an excellent tour by head groundsman Johan Kellerman. There was also the confirmation that the Creekhouse Open (LET) will take place beginning of September at Kristianstad’s Golf Club. Because of Covid it was unclear for a long time whether spectators would be allowed or not. Now that we’re certain the tournament is on, we have a nice goal to work towards. I am done for the day however. It’s Midsommar here in Åhus, home of the Absolut distillery, and that means vodka and pickled herring. It would be rude to ignore these local traditions, so I’ve got no choice but to take part… Hej så länge!

NewsJul 5th, 20210 comments

Wet Sand is no Issue with the Dakota 412 at Reay Golf Club

As the most northern links golf course on the United Kingdom mainland, having a top dresser that can spread wet sand like the Dakota 412 from Campey Turf Care Systems is a must at Scotland’s Reay Golf Club.

The James Braid designed course is positioned on the edge of Sandside Bay with views of the Pentland Firth and the North Atlantic from every hole. The course and its stunning views have been under the control of Head Greenkeeper Jason Norwood, since March 2021, with the new man aiming to put his stamp on the course, starting with the greens.

As the sole full-time member of staff for the main 18-hole course and junior three-hole, Jason’s priority is the greens, with volunteers giving up two days a week to assist with the fairways and roughs. The limited time available to Jason needs to be spent working, and with the Dakota 412, he’s able to top-dress as and when he needs to regardless of the sand moisture.

“I’ve tried to put my own stamp on things here with different types of machinery and different ways of working, and the club has really been on board with that, and one of those things has been buying the new Dakota top dresser,” Jason explains.

“The equipment we originally had couldn’t cope well with wet sand; it was more of a large-scale fertiliser spreader. As you can imagine at the top of Scotland, there’s a lot of rain about so any sand that we do have is normally quite wet, so that was one of the main features of the Dakota for us because it can deal with that quite easily and we still get a good even spread with it.

“We really want to push forward and make use of the North Coast 500 tourist route, which is literally on our doorstep; it passes directly in front of us, so we get a lot of passing visitors now, and I think all year-round performing greens are the main thing golfers are after on a golf course so it’s making sure that we can provide that for them.

“We’ve had the machine since the middle of April, but because of the weather chances to get it out have been limited. I’ve trialled different settings on our junior course greens to get what we want for the main course, and it’s been good so far.

“With it having four wheels the weight is distributed incredibly well, so it doesn’t leave a mark on the greens, and the first time I used it you’d have no idea that anything had been done or any heavy equipment had been over the greens it because the footprint was minimal.”

The Dakota 412 features accurate and easy to operate calibration with no manual adjustment and has four Ultra-Trac turf tyres on independent floating beam axels for maximum weight distribution, allowing Jason to work without causing viable disruption to the surface.

As part of Campey’s installation, and to help Jason get the most out of the machine, Campey Product Specialist, Richard Heywood, walked him through the various settings and features, which Jason views as an invaluable experience.

Jason explains: “Because we are so far north, there is a lot more to consider when ordering machinery. Something that was great for me was being supplied through my machinery dealer Double A with support from Campey by sending Richard to demonstrate how to use the top dresser to the best of its abilities. This proved invaluable to me not having used one before.

“He went through it all, explained what all the different settings were, how to adjust it all, and that was vital. Having someone who knows how to operate it fully really maximises its performance and helps us get the best out of the machine.”

NewsJul 5th, 20210 comments

John Deere mowers excel at The K Club

One of Ireland’s top golf resorts has taken delivery of two new John Deere 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough mowers to keep its courses in pristine condition. The famous K Club 5-star golfing resort in Kildare, just half an hour’s drive from Dublin, hosted the Ryder Cup in 2006 as well as the Irish Open in 2016 and 13 European Opens.

When the need arose for new rough mowers at the resort, thorough research was carried out by the greens staff to investigate what each brand had to offer. In the end the top cutting quality and reliability of the John Deere models trumped the competition, and two 9009A mowers were ordered from local golf & turf dealer Dublin Grass Machinery.

Powered by a 55hp engine, the John Deere 9009A is a five-gang 68.6cm (27in) independent rotary deck mower with a cutting width of 2.7m (9ft), providing the all-day productivity needed for golf course rough mowing.

Gerry Byrne has been Resort Superintendent at The K Club for the past 24 years and is well pleased with the machines’ performance. “We recently bought the two new John Deere rotary mowers as we wanted to improve the overall presentation of the rough areas on both the Palmer North and Palmer South courses,” he says. “We carried out extensive research into all the main brands and decided that the 9009A suited our needs best of all.

“I have used John Deere mowers in the past but not that recently, just the company’s tractors. It’s been good to reconnect with Dublin Grass Machinery, as I have known Stan Mitchell and the dealership team since I was a trainee many years ago.

“We have operated other makes of rough mower here, and they carried out a good job of overall course maintenance. However, we felt the more versatile John Deere 9009A mowers would give us a better quality of cut. Both mowers not only provide a premium, precision cut but importantly they are also able to cope with our intricate dune style mounds, particularly around sensitive areas of the courses. I find them to be very proficient and user friendly,” he adds.

Most of the servicing and maintenance of the machinery at The K Club is carried out by the resort’s staff mechanic. A good parts and backup service from Dublin Grass Machinery was another influential factor in the purchasing decision for Gerry Byrne and the greenkeeping team.

“Our mechanic Pat Freany has been with us for over 25 years,” he says. “Pat carries out all the servicing and repairs and has a very good working relationship with the dealership. The quick turnaround on parts delivery and service kits is a unique selling point for John Deere, which Pat really appreciates.”

As for future investments in new machinery at The K Club, Gerry Byrne is confident that John Deere will feature again. “The K Club has significant investment plans for the whole estate, and John Deere mowing equipment will certainly be part of our continuing strategy to enhance the overall presentation standards for our members and guests.”

NewsJul 5th, 20210 comments