Is there a place where golfers should aim to place bunker rakes, what can greenkeepers do to protect a course during a drought, and are robot mowers a threat to jobs?
We asked you to pose your questions to the experts and get the information you really want in our Greenkeeper’s Question Time. Answering your queries is Scott Reeves, veteran course manager and BIGGA’s Membership Director.…
Bunker rakes: Should they be inside or outside bunkers?
Scott says: The R&A and USGA recommend that rakes are left out of bunkers in a location unlikely to affect play. In reality clubs have to find a solution that works best for them in terms of maintenance regimes and bunker style.
The way I used to leave them, which we arrived at after lots of debate internally at our golf club, was with the handle just out but the rake in the bunker pointing at the flag. That was so a golfer could pick it up but didn’t have to walk through the bunker to get it.
How do you protect a course during a drought?
Scott says: It starts with the preparation work you do beforehand. Good aeration leads to good root development, which leads to resilient plants which can tolerate drought stress better.
There is the preparation that goes into managing your feeding regime and using wetting agent programmes, so water is uniformly distributed. There is the preparation of managing the infrastructure to make sure your irrigation system works properly.
When that’s all done, and you’re in a drought, there are remedial actions – hand watering, raising the height of cut a little bit, making sure your blades are sharp so you don’t lose moisture through jagged leaves. These are some of the things you can do, but it’s very tough.
Are autonomous mowers an opportunity or should greenkeepers be worried about their jobs?
Scott says: My opinion is you should embrace them as an opportunity. I’ve seen people all over the country using autonomous mowers, and it hasn’t led to a dramatic loss of green staff. There are numerous really good examples.
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At the golf club where I used to work, they’ve got six autonomous mowers, and they’ve removed their fairway and rough mower because the robots are doing the work now.
They haven’t lost any staff. They’re focusing on attention to detail, high-level things and the things that make up being skilled.
Should we be frightened of it? No. You’ve got to embrace it. You’ve got to accept the industry is changing and your skills will be deployed in a different way.
If you’re a younger greenkeeper and thinking, ‘where’s that going to leave me?’, future-proof your career. Think, ‘where can I specialise? Where can I raise my own skill level?’
You’ll always be in demand if you’re very good at your job and BIGGA can help you through the education and development opportunities we offer.
This article appears in Your Course, from the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association. Your Course invites golfers to gain a deeper appreciation of what preparing and maintaining a golf course really involves. Head to www.bigga.org.uk to find out more.
Have a question for a greenkeeper?
What do you think? Should bunker rakes be inside or outside? Remember, it’s your course. If you want to send a question in about it, email info@bigga.org.uk and we’ll put it to one of our experts.
