Per Christensen, head greenkeeper at Fredensborg Golf Club, is a loyal customer of the Jacobsen brand. The club, which opened in 1992, is situated overlooking Lake Esrum in the north of Denmark and boasts a large fleet of Jacobsen course maintenance equipment.
Due to the cold climate a lot of golf rounds are played in a contracted period, typically 20,000 in the period from late April through to October, peaking at 100 rounds per day in high season. This puts a lot pressure on Per’s team – there are only four of them and one seasonal – so versatile and reliable machinery is of the utmost importance.
“We are a very busy course and from around 100 members when we opened, we now have over 1,200,” he said. “The performance and the reliability of our Jacobsen equipment is paramount to ensure we continually meet the needs of the members and the support we receive from local dealer Svenningsens is very good.
“We have two Jacobsen seven cylinder LF4677 wide area fairway mowers which are really productive, leaving a great finish, while our HR-5111 is an excellent rough mower.”
Care for the environment is high on Per’s agenda and he has significantly reduced the fertiliser and nutrient inputs to the greens and fairways. One of his most recent additions is an Eclipse 322 diesel-electric hybrid greens mower; now in its second season it is using just two litres of diesel to mow all 18 greens, resulting in an impressive reduction in fuel costs. There are almost 200 bird boxes on the course and a professional ornithologist monitors the bird population and has created a chart which is displayed in the clubhouse detailing all the birds that can been seen in the vicinity. There are also feeding stations for Red der and pheasants during the winter months.
Per has worked at Fredensborg since February 1998 and was previously assistant head greenkeeper at Hillerød Golf Club for 12 years. On leaving school he initially trained as a blacksmith, which is surprising when you appreciate that he is a very accomplished golfer. He has won the Danish Greenkeeping Association’s championship seven times, has played in the European and World greenkeeping championships, had a handicap of one and is currently playing off four.
Ransomes Jacobsen www.ransomesjacobsen.com.
Fredensborg Golf Club www.fgc.dk