Like many golf courses across the UK, Wrekin Golf Club in Shropshire has recorded extraordinary levels of rainfall over the winter of 2023/24. And yet Course Manager Gary Turner reports that they have emerged with free-draining fairways, which he attributes to a single pass with their Redexim Verti-Quake.
The timely purchase in the autumn has now been followed up by the delivery of a Redexim Verti-Drain 1517 to further improve aeration results and enhance drainage in other areas of the course.
Nestled at the base of the Wrekin and surrounded by both natural woodland and picturesque views, Gary is now into his 20th year at the Telford club. A lack of available resources has meant that no aeration has been conducted on the fairways for the last three or four years, which is why the delivery of the Verti-Quake 2516 by Charlies Ag & Turf in September 2023, has been hailed a ‘godsend!’
“They had begun to lay wet so we knew it would take something robust to break through those years of compaction. The budget we had at the time allowed us to purchase the 2516, which went out on the fairways almost as soon as it came through the gates and the results were astounding! We created channels at depths of four inches and transformed the fairways into the driest part of the course with just one pass.”
“The plan will be to utilise this during renovation weeks in March and September and complement the linear aeration with monthly passes of our new Verti-Drain 1517 on the fairways, as well as the greens and tees.”
The 1517 from the award-winning Redexim range offers a lightweight aeration solution with a 1.7m working width and 6-inch working depth – a combination that makes it a popular choice for sensitive turf areas. Its larger size and faster operating speed compared to Gary’s previous aerator presents more effective results, in less time.
“Matt Lewis from Charlie’s delivered the Verti-Drain at the start of March and, as soon as it was dry enough, we passed over all 18 greens with 12mm solid tines, in three and a half hours less than the task previously took. A few weeks on and we can still see the holes.” Gary adds, “We plan to follow the monthly verti-draining with applications of dressing, which will bring multiple benefits to the profile and help us manage the challenges posed by mother nature!”
He concludes, “The service we’ve had from Matt and the Charlie’s team has been excellent at every stage and the machines have already proven to be the best, and most timely, purchases we’ve ever made.”