Achieving Smooth and Healthy Greens at Shrigley Hall with Mansfield Sand
At Shrigley Hall Hotel & Spa, a prestigious Georgian country house nestled in 262 acres of picturesque Cheshire countryside, Head Greenkeeper Ben Evans ensures that the greens are always at their best by using Mansfield Sand’s MM35 Golf and sand compost mix.
These products are key to providing golfers with an exceptional playing experience, keeping the greens true and divots expertly filled.
Shrigley Hall boasts a championship course that presents a true test of skill and stamina for golfers of all abilities and is regarded as one of the finest in the North West of England.
Ben, who has been at Shrigley Hall for six years and in the greenkeeping industry for 15 years, emphasises the importance of using high-quality materials to maintain the course’s standards. “It is a hotel and resort course, covering 260 acres with lots of woods surrounding it,” Ben explains. “It’s a very busy course, and our membership is thriving.”
Ben has been working with Mansfield Sand for six years, primarily using their MM35 Golf for top dressing the greens. “We started using MM35 Golf because we had issues sourcing our previous sand product,” Ben notes. “We use it for top dressing on greens and probably go through about 60 tonnes of it a year. Our approach is little and often to keep it topped up and at a good level.”
Mansfield Sand’s MM35 Golf, a pure silica sand sourced from the company’s Two Oaks Quarry, is renowned for its benefits, including improved recovery, firmness, smoothness, and an enhanced rootzone. “The MM35 Golf helps us ‘true’ the greens up, smooth the surface, and fill in any indentations,” Ben explains. “If we just put a little bit on at a time, matching it with the growth, it helps build up a nice healthy rootzone. We have a budget to work with, and MM35 Golf from Mansfield fits nicely into that budget. Without it, our drainage would probably be worse.”
The reliability of Mansfield Sand’s service is another key factor for Ben. “I call up the Mansfield Sand office, and they arrange my order. It will be delivered on time, every time – I can’t fault it at all.”
In addition to MM35 Golf, Shrigley Hall also uses Mansfield Sand’s sand compost mix for divots. “We purchase this once a year, and it is a really good product. It is a 60.40 mix, perfect for divots, filling in holes around the tees, and any sort of construction work we do,” Ben adds.
Mansfield Sand’s products, with their consistent quality and exceptional performance, have become indispensable to Shrigley Hall’s course maintenance. The MM35 Golf not only ensures the greens remain smooth and true but also significantly enhances the rootzone and drainage, contributing to the overall health and playability of the course.
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