Headland’s 20/20/30 approach significantly reduces fungicide costs for Oakridge Golf Club

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A successful trial of Headland Amenity’s 20/20/30 tank-mix over the winter of 2019 has seen it become a staple in the nutritional programme at Warwickshire’s Oakridge Golf Club.

Having previously fallen victim to costly Fusarium outbreaks on the greens for a number of consecutive years, head greenkeeper Ben Copson has been really impressed with both the condition of the greens and reduction in fungicide costs achieved by switching to Headland’s Enhanced Plant Health (EPH) strategy.

“Every autumn greenkeepers always worry – wondering how you’re going to fair with disease over the upcoming winter period and how much it could cost to rectify” says Ben, who has been at Oakridge for 20 years. “I sat down with our Headland Regional Technical Manager Andy Lane who suggested the 20/20/30 approach and the potential benefits this could bring for the greens.” After hearing how the tank-mix of Liquid Turf Hardener, Turfite^® Elite and Seamac^® ProTurf Fe, together with Mantle, had worked effectively at other clubs, Ben commenced monthly applications in October.

“We could see after the first couple of applications how strong and healthy the plant was by its colour, and how much better the greens held up when we conducted our mechanical maintenance. We also received some fantastic comments from both our members and pay and play golfers on how great the greens looked and played, especially considering how wet the winter was.” The 20/20/30 also kept disease occurrence in check, with just a single fungicide application required over the whole winter period.

Ben added that the EPH strategy contributed to the smoothest transition from winter to summer, with the greens emerging stronger and healthier than they ever had previously. “With USGA greens, we’re open for year-round play which means the pressure is on my team and I to keep them in good enough condition to cope. We used to secretly hope for a bit of snow to give the greens a breather before the start of the new playing season, but with this 20/20/30 EPH approach keeping the greens stronger than ever, we won’t be hoping for snow anymore!”