Last year, Epping Golf Course made some moves to improve the quality of the turf for its players by introducing compost to the soil and better quality fairways were the immediate result. However, results this year have been far more dramatic. With a very dry winter, spring and summer, golf courses across the country have been turning a nasty shade of brown. This has not been the experience at Epping.
The Epping Golf Course has suffered from poor quality turf ever since its construction from land left over from the building of the M11. Owner Neil Sjoberg wanted to find an environmentally friendly way to enrich the quality of the course’s 15 hectares of fairways and improve the playing of the course for members. After some research he decided that the use of compost would be the best way to improve the turf. Approximately 200 tonnes of compost was bought in bulk from Tree Fella, a local composting company on The Composting Association’s certification scheme for BSI PAS 100.
The results were visible just four weeks later with darker colour growth and noticeably thickening grass. The fairways are now in far better condition than before. The moisture in the compost has meant that the course has stayed in great condition throughout one of the driest spring and early summer periods in recent memory and there has been favourable comment from the members.
Neil Sjoberg is thrilled with the results. “We appear to be one of the few courses in Essex to have completely green fairways with no brown patches. Other golf courses across the country are asking us how we have managed to do this and we are more than happy to share our secret!”
Further information on compost and details of local suppliers are available from www.wrap.org.uk/organics The Freephone helpline is 0808 100 2040
Epping Golf Course www.eppinggolfcourse.org.uk
A green experience at Epping
