Second Smithco Greens roller for ST Annes GC

St. Anne's Golf Club, located on the beautiful Bull Island, a world famous nature reserve on the outskirts of Dublin, has taken delivery of a Smithco Tournament Ultra greens roller from local Ransomes Jacobsen distributor, Kevin Broderick Ltd.

St. Anne's Golf Club was founded in 1921 and began life as a nine-hole course, until around 25 years ago, when a further nine holes were added to make it the 18-hole links course it is today. Stephen Aylmer is the head greenkeeper and recently took delivery of a new Tournament Ultra greens roller, replacing a previous Smithco machine he'd had for many years.

"The improvements in this new roller have made it even better than before," he said. "It's very smooth to drive, there's more room for the operator, so accessibility has improved. Best of all is the hydraulically driven rollers; they improve manoeuvrability and there's much less maintenance required.

"I'm definitely a believer when it comes to rolling greens; I think it produces smoother, truer and fairer greens, which is a real benefit for the golfer. We iron all 18 greens and the putting green looking to maintain a speed of between 9 and 11 on the stimpmeter.

"We purchased through Broderick's, our local dealer, and their service has been excellent; they're a very professional outfit."

The Bull Island Nature Reserve at present is 5km long and 800m wide, and the area above high tide is about 300 hectares. It contains a wide range of natural habitats, which include intertidal mudflats, salt marsh, freshwater marsh, dunes, and beach area. It is home to St Anne's Golf Club and Royal Dublin Golf Club

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Head greenkeeper Stephen Aylmer and his Smithco Tournament Ultra greens roller