Brian Dunne celebrates 20 years as course superintendent at Adare Manor

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This summer Brian Dunne celebrates 20 years as course superintendent at Adare Manor Old Course GC in the southwest of Ireland.

He has built a long-established relationship with local Wiedenmann dealer Seamus Weldon, at nearby Killarney.

“We go back years; they’ve always been there for us,” he said. “When we purchased a new blower back in 2008 or thereabouts, Michael Weldon pointed us in the direction of a Wiedenmann Whisper Twister. It was new to the market, and we were among the first to buy.

“You can’t fault it. Aside from a new belt and some wheel bearings, it’s never missed a beat. We’d be lost without it.

“From October to December, it’s out every day of the week on leaf clearance duty. Our course is lined with beech and oak trees so there’s plenty of work. One of the team on our small tractor blows the leaves into lines and our collector follows behind. It has dozens of tasks; we use it to dry off the fairways or tee boxes, it helps year-round with presentation and tidying and, of course, when we’ve had storms, it’s come into its own.”

“We used to bring contractors in to help with deep aeration on our fairways. It was always a struggle to book the right week: and balance weather and the needs of golfers. It was also getting very expensive.

“I asked Michael if he could source a second-hand aerator so we could do the job ourselves. He came back with a beautifully refurbished Wiedenmann Terra Spike XP, and we haven’t looked back.

“Your own machine makes such a difference.  We try to do our fairways twice a year. We just pick when the conditions are right and do two or three at a time. We’ve got twelve acres in total, as well as walkways and tee boxes, so it takes us around a week and a half normally to do all the split sessions.

“We were out in late January and with 20 mm diameter tines down to 250 mm. In some choice places known to hold water, we went a little deeper, so around 300 mm and we might revisit these more frequently.

Brian’s team, three at present, with a vacancy about to be filled, takes on two summer workers to help them cope. The friendly parkland club is constantly busy, its history and dramatic setting, marking it out as not your typical golfing experience, so enjoys lots of visitors.

Very few clubs can boast anything as spectacular as Desmond Castle (1200 AD) which nestles in the background of the 1st and 15th greens. Move to the centre of the course and the ruins of the Franciscan Abbey (1464 AD) let you know you’ve arrived somewhere extraordinary.