Another Terra Spike for Brocket Hall
Another terra Spike for Brocket Hall
"Probably the most versatile and well engineered deep aerator on the market" was the comment of John Moorhouse, Course Manager at Brocket Hall when he took delivery of a second Wiedenmann Terra Spike recently.
John has responsibility for both courses at Brocket Hall, each with its own differing characteristics. The Melbourne, designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark, follows the natural undulations and contours of 18th century parkland. The soil conditions on the Melbourne fairways can lead to compaction so 6" depth and 10° of heave is used when deep aerating.
The Donald Steel designed Palmerston course wends its way through mature woodland which features hornbeam, beech and pine and with a soil structure that is stony with underlying chalk. This requires shallower penetration and since deep aeration began two years ago, root depth has increased significantly.
"The XP210 with its 2.1 metre working width is ideal for our two courses," he continued, "It's perfectly suited to our New Holland tractor being wide enough to cover the tyre tracks and we can use it across all areas on both courses. On the greens we'll go down to between 9" and 12" and on the tees and approaches we use 12mm or 25mm diameter tines. One of the real benefits of the XP is that we can adjust, while on the move, the roller to produce a depth that the soil conditions allow.
John Wells, Estate and Golf Operations Manager added, "During my time here The Melbourne has never closed due to the ground conditions and with special winter packages offered, it is essential that we are playable throughout the year. Deep aeration has improved the drainage and enabled us to do this.
The XP210 was purchased from local dealer, Ernest Doe & Sons and Chas Ayres of Wiedenmann UK was on hand to commission it and also to undertake operator training with the greenkeeping team.