FR321 on course experience

Dorian Ansell, Head Greenkeeper at Clacton Golf Club in Essex, had used both Medallion TL and Heritage in the past, but welcomed the convenience and specific combination of products for renovation timing, along with the colour of the Ryder application in the FR321 one box solution.

He reported the club’s renovation programme has focussed on reducing a historic thatch build-up, which had led to inevitable microdochium patch problems.

“The challenge is getting a bit easier every season, as we reduce the amount of thatch, using micro-tines and thatch-specific chemicals,” reported Dorian. “We have also increased the amount of sand we are introducing too.”

Last season he applied the FR321 in one mix, around a week after the renovation work, during a difficult period for turf growth.

“The intention was to help whilst the grass was recovering and stressed,” recalled Dorian.

The results saw very good levels of disease control, even after seeing a few infection spots at the time of application. Furthermore, he believed the Ryder had given excellent results in protecting turf during the stress period.   

“We saw great results from the FR321 combination of all round coverage and the colour from Ryder really helped,” he added.

“The Ryder gave a lovely green tint and gave great visible coverage to help distinguish spray lines, for greater control of overlapping and to help cover all the green.”

Dorian also advocated applying a small amount of fertiliser a week before renovation, which in his experience can help to pull greens through the effects of any work.

“We liked the fact the FR321 was packaged in one easy box, to help distinguish what it was and that it’s easy to carry with less packaging,” said Dorian. He is looking forward to more issue-specific one-box solutions in the future.

Find out how to get the best from FR321 applications, with top tips from Andrew Pledger of ICL