Roehampton - the ace of clubs
Roehampton Club is steeped in history and prestige. It originated as an officers' polo club created by three brothers, Edward, George and Charles Miller.
At the turn of the 19th century there was a tremendous strain on London's polo clubs and many, including Wimbledon, were considered to be too far from the capital. The brothers were determined to have a polo club somewhere more accessible than central London. So, in 1901, Charles was sent to find a suitable ground that would still be within reach of the city.
From its early days, croquet was extremely popular at the Club and, from 1904, Roehampton played home to The Open Championship; 1904 also saw the opening of a nine-hole golf course that was later expanded to 18.
By 1913, the Club had 1,560 members and its popularity had been given a boost due to the golf course being extended to the full 18 holes. It had a thriving social scene right up until the 1st World War. This was largely fostered by Charles' wife Grace, who was extremely elegant and a superb organiser who came to play an important role as the social scene manager. She was even known to run an eye over other members as they entered, to make sure they were properly attired!
Throughout its rich history, Roehampton has been at the heart of London society. Influential clientele, including Lord Hugh Salisbury, Admiral of the Fleet (later Earl) Beatty, and Winston Churchill were all prominent polo playing members. The royal and aristocratic connections were strengthened by the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the Aga Khan who were all made Honorary members for life in 1935, followed by the Duchess of Gloucester, and King Edward VIII granting his patronage in June 1936.
One of the BBC's earliest outside broadcasts was carried out from Roehampton over three days in July 1938, featuring a variety of sporting events including tennis, archery, diving, riding, polo, croquet and golf.
Roehampton Club's unique sporting heritage has carried on to the present day. Tennis legends Angela Mortimer, Christine Truman, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong all won Open Hard Court titles here, and Andy Murray started winning grass court titles from the age of fifteen in the Club Med Championships.
Golf, tennis, croquet and squash are the four core sports. Two swimming pools, a state of the art gym, five squash courts and a fitness studio complete the facilities.
Members are extremely proud of their impressive golf course, grass tennis courts, croquet lawns and gardens, which are immaculately presented by John Lockyer and his grounds team.
John has been in the post of Course and Grounds Manager for two and half years. Prior to that he was employed by the STRI for six years where he specialised in golf course management, advising at a number of the top golf clubs across the south of England, Wales and Europe. He also managed a large number of consultancy projects for various clients including the ECB, FA, LTA, UEFA and FIFA.
After spending many years travelling the world, John was keen to settle down. Taking the job at Roehampton Club was a perfect opportunity to do this, whilst still being able to deliver playing surfaces of the highest quality. His role sees him sitting on the senior management team which is responsible for the strategic development of the Club.
He is in charge of the day-to-day management of all external facilities across the site. These include the 18-hole golf course, twenty-eight tennis courts (both natural grass and synthetic), four croquet lawns, a rugby pitch (which is currently home to 1st division Rosslyn Park RFC), formal gardens and all infrastructures. The club is in a strong position with 5,200 members and 800 on a waiting list
As well as monitoring the annual cost of the course and grounds maintenance budget, John's remit is to significantly raise quality standards in all areas, whilst developing and managing a team of nineteen full-time staff - nine greenkeepers, five groundsmen, an equipment manager, two gardeners and two seasonal staff.
I first encountered John at Cranfield University, some ten years, when we were both taking a masters degree in Sports Surface Management.
On my arrival at Roehampton, John introduced me to his assistant Head Groundsman, Chris Hughes, one of the longest serving members of his staff with twenty-four years under his belt.
With John having to attend a progress meeting for an hour, he left me in the capable hands of Chris who was keen to show me around the grounds and introduce me to John Entwistle, the Head Greenkeeper.
The meticulously managed course features back to back par 5s - the 9th and 10th - and par 3s on the13th and 14th holes. The final three holes offer probably the most challenging finish of any course in the locality, culminating at the 18th with a tight dog-leg requiring a narrow drive between two stands of trees. Even Gary Player, the legendary South African golfer, commented that it was the most difficult course that he knew on which to score well!
He certainly likes a challenge, especially knowing that John Lockyer's expectations and standards are very high; a lot of effort and emphasis is based on good cultural practices, attention to detail and 'making a difference'. Plant health is key, followed by presentation.
The feeding programme is tailored to suit the needs of the grass plant, which is often influenced by a number of other factors, time of the year, weather, soil and air temperatures, topography and construction type of the green. Out of the eighteen greens, two are USGA full specification, three are sand ameliorated and the rest are still the original soil push up construction.
Aeration is a key maintenance task, with the club investing in three Toro models, two ProCore 648s and a HydraJect 3000, for carrying out work on the tees, greens and approaches. The ProCore is fitted with 10mm tines and used on a fortnightly basis, whilst the HydraJect is used weekly.
Hollow coring is undertaken four times within the growing season and scarification twice. An overseeding programme is carried out annually using browntop bent (Agrostis capillaris) drilled in four different directions, ensuring there is good seed to soil contact.
The mowers are fitted with brushes to help stand the grass up. Turf irons are also used twice a week to help firm up the greens.
John rejoins us to explain that the club has now embraced a detailed performance strategy for monitoring the condition of all the playing surfaces around the site.
The golf greens, specifically, have weekly checks on their performance, testing for hardness (firmness), smoothness (ball roll), speed, moisture content and soil temperature. Stimpmetre readings are averaging between 10 and 13 feet depending on the time of the year and competition calendar.
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Whilst walking around, I observed vases of flowers on the ladies' first and ninth tees, a new initiative brought in by John for special events which is very popular with the lady members.
The rough is maintained at between 50mm-60mm, whilst the four hectares of native rough is kept at a height between 200mm-300mm and scarified three times a year in February, July and October.
The club has installed a fully automated irrigation system for greens, fairways, approaches and some areas of the rough, along with some landscape plant misters used in the bunker faces.
John has changed the presentation of the course by simplifying mowing patterns, which has reduced the time taken to cut fairways and approaches. Previously, two units were sent out to 'stripe' in a chequered diamond. But that generally took from 6.00am until midday to complete whereas, now, one unit can 'half and half' them by about 10.15am.
Ecological Delevelopment Area signs are placed around the course which explain the work being undertaken at each site, the benefits they will bring to the local flaura and fauna and, where applicable, what wildflower species have been planted.
In 2012, Roehampton Club won the Water Management category of the Golf Environment Awards for the provision of a sustainable drainage system. Reconstruction of the pond on the golf course's 11th hole formed the final outlet, with all drainage from the golf course now feeding into the pond acting as a filtration mechanism.
John designed the layout of the new facilities, ensuring they would cater for the needs of the staff. Not only are there the essentials such as toilets, showers and mess facilities, there are also rooms set aside for training purposes. It is all part of the Club's visions to be London's premier multi-sports venue.
As we moved on to look at the croquet lawns and tennis courts, John explained that £20,000 had just been spent on end of season renovation on a block of courts. The work involved fraise mowing off the vegetation, pl
The remainder of the grass courts were fraise mown to remove surface vegetation, scarified, aerated, localised levelling of base lines and then topdressed with 10-12 tonnes of GOSTD loam and seeded.
The croquet lawns remain in play all year round, so any renovations have to be done within a nominated four week window, this usually sees them scarified, hollow cored, topdressed and overseeded. A new primary drainage system has recently been installed along with some work to improve the boundaries.
Other work being done at the club is the relaying of eight of the artificial tennis courts and installing a second airhall to provide winter protection.
The groundstaff have also recently taken on the maintenance of Rosslyn Park Rugby Club's home pitch adjacent to the site.
Roehampton Club is certainly in good hands in terms of its maintenance and presentation of its sports facilities. John Lockyer has brought a wealth of experience and passion to the club and would appear to be the perfect man for the challenges that lie ahead.