Advice and support secures the switch to Johnsons Sports Seed for Clevedon GC

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Backed with advice from two trusted industry contacts Richard Ponsford, course manager at Clevedon Golf Club, has been delighted with his switch to Johnsons Sports Seed. The combination of Johnsons J All Bent on greens and J Rye Fairway has now been in use at the picturesque parkland course for two years, delivering results that means that Richard would never go back to using any other seed.

When Richard joined the club in North Somerset just over two years ago, he very quickly built up a rapport with Johnsons Technical Manager Ian Barnett and Joe Hendy, his local distributor for AGS. “In this industry, the support and advice of colleagues goes a long way and knowing AGS is a key distributor of Johnsons, I was keen to explore the range.” With poa/bent dominated swards on sand-based greens, the first switch was to the Johnsons J All Bent mixture.

“We’ve overseeded with J All Bent, which contains Arrowtown and Manor, and it has done a fantastic job at reducing Poa annua invasion, increasing the bent content and thereby improving the playing speed of our greens. This autumn, I consulted again with my technical managers about one historical problematic green which was adversely affected by disease in the summer – the suggestion was rather unconventional, oversowing with J Premier Wicket. We needed something that would take well and become a nurse crop for the Arrowtown and Manor as we head into the cooler months. While we only put this perennial rye mix down at the end of October it has established well, giving us coverage and strength for the winter.”

For their divot mix and overseeding on other areas such as tees and collars, Richard is using the hard-wearing J Rye Fairway mixture. “This delivers really quick establishment making it ideal for repairs. Our members carry divot bags with them, and they enjoy seeing the quick response they get from using the Rye Fairway mix on divot marks.”

At the time of writing, a second COVID lockdown in England saw play suspended for four weeks giving Richard and his team time to complete a bunker renovation project which commenced in October. “We’ve seeded the new bunker surrounds with the J Rye Fairway mix, instead of turfing them, which will be established and presenting well by the time members return for play, and will save us both time and money.”