New chapter at Loch Lomond

Following his recent move 2,500 miles across the waters from the stunning Cape Bretton, Nova Scotia, Phil Helmn caught up with Lee Strutt - Director of golf course and estates - Loch Lomond, to begin his new adventure in Luss, Scotland.

The course, designed by the successful Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf partnership, opened for play in 1993. Measuring 7,100 yards from the back tees, this is a tough and long course. Each hole, except for the linked 2nd and 4th greens, is isolated from the next. None of the hazards are hidden from view, either from the tee or from approach shots, but not so the Loch which players can admire from at least half the holes on the course.

History

The Colquhoun Clan built Rossdhu House in 1773 (now the clubhouse) and Mary Queen of Scots wrote her love letters in Rossdhu Castle, the remains of which overlook the 18th green. Loch Lomond Golf Club is set in more than 660 acres of sheltered seclusion, sandwiched between the mountains and the historic Lochside. The golf course contains two Sites of Special Scientific Interest, protecting rare plants and unusual woodland and is designated as a National Scenic Area.

The experiment

For as long as I have known Lee (our paths crossed back in January 2001), I have always admired his thirst for knowledge. He has one of those inquisitive brains that thirsts for understanding, and if I had a pound for every time I heard him utter “what if?” I’d be a millionaire by now! So, it was no surprise when I discovered that he and his team are about to undertake experimentations into turf establishment, continued growth and sustainable best practices, with a goal of understanding future sustainability for our management of our fine turf surfaces.

“With future turf management practices becoming more environmentally challenging,” Lee explained, “I want my team to discover what agronomic establishment and maintenance strategies we need to adopt to ensure surface playability and performance are not affected (or possibly improved).” He continued, “We want to learn what will happen if we begin to reduce or eliminate traditionally trusted resources and inputs in order to create great surfaces, and what we must do to overcome these deficits.”

Lee revealed, “We start preparations this winter with removing turf from our turf nursery, ready for spring next year. There will be seven ‘plots’ in total, one being 800-1000m2 in size which will also act as our Poa/Bent nursery green, while the other six will be each 250m2 Fescue/Rye blend”. When asked, he mentioned all areas are within sight of the maintenance facility, the rootzone is straight sand (as are all playing surfaces on the golf course) and fully irrigated.

Key points

“The plots will be prepared and developed by six individuals in the team, which is a huge learning opportunity for them,” he explained. “Each plot will be divided, representing the control area where no trials will be conducted. We want to discover what cultural practices influence sustainable turf management. There are significant challenges looming in the industry regarding disease management and we want to see what efficiencies can be made in resources, such as nutrient inputs, wetting agents and dew suppressants in the battle against disease thresholds.”

Data points:

• Rate of establishment
• Nutrient inputs
• Seeding rates
• Disease resistance
• Organic matter build up 
  
• Rooting depth and mass
• Infiltration rates 
  
• Firmness 
  
• Trueness
• Species dominance
• Visual appearance
• Colour value

Watch this space This sounds like a fantastic opportunity to explore the intricacies of fine turf management and, as industry professionals, what we must discover to support our future management regimes. Sustainability is challenging and, in the future, this type of experimentation will provide knowledge we may all benefit from. It just leaves me to thank Lee for the thought-provoking discussion and thank his team for undertaking this interesting challenge.