Belgian FEGGA-student in Sweden: June update

A first time for everything
June was an important month for us FEGGA-students. The first of three big tournaments was scheduled this month, and it was a historic one. At the Scandinavian Mixed, which was played at Vallda G&C, men and women battled for the very first time on the European Tour for the same prize money. All of this on the same golf course with mixed flights, only the tee positions were different. It was a challenge for the organisation to keep things competitive between men and women, but they succeeded very well. After the cut on Friday the top 20 looked very “mixed” indeed. The heavy wind on Saturday however proved to be a big advantage for the men and it knocked a lot of women back. In the end Alice Hewson grabbed the 3rd place as the first woman, only two strokes behind the champion Jonathan Caldwell. Henrik Stenson, Annika Sörenstam and the entire organisation were very pleased about this successful experiment and we’ll definitely see more of this in the future.

For me personally the Scandinavian Mixed was also a milestone. It was the first time I was at a big, international tournament as a greenkeeper. I’ve visited the Belgian and Dutch Open in the past as a spectator. To be part of it as a greenkeeper however let’s you see the course from a different perspective. On Sunday prior to the tournament week we were welcomed by course manager and former tour player Johan Axgren and his assistant Niklas Andersson. As I wrote last month in my blog, Swedish tour players find their way into greenkeeping more easily after their playing career than what we’re used to in Belgium. Obviously that’s a big advantage if you’re in charge of the maintenance of the course during such a big event. During the welcoming speech and the subsequent tour I immediately noticed the relaxed atmosphere. The expectations were high but with over 30 greenkeepers we were well prepared to tackle these challenges without too much stress.

Vallda G&C, Valhalla for fescue
Thirty may not seem that many for a big tournament like this, but Vallda is a very particular golf course. It opened quite recently in 2009 and was designed by Martin Hawtree, who found inspiration for this course in the Scottish heathland courses. It was seeded wall to wall with red fescue. The maintenance is done in a sustainable way with minimal input, all to preserve these fine leaved grasses. Inspiration was found in the ideas of Jim Arthur, who wrote them down in his book “Practical Greenkeeping”. Do we have to fertilise now? Should we irrigate now? Is cutting necessary now? In doubt: don’t do it. Regarding the fine leaved grasses that we love on our golf course, the wrong maintenance could cause a lot more damage compared to not enough maintenance.

Because of this low input strategy there is a lot less cutting to be done, even during the tournament week. The biggest challenge was not letting the greens get too fast. Considering the open environment and course design, the ideal stimp reading was 10 feet. Faster speeds on these hard fescue greens could be troublesome, especially during windy weather. Three to four times a day the moisture content and surface hardness were measured on the greens. With this data and considering the weather forecast the daily maintenance was determined. During the tournament week all greens were cut on Monday morning and Saturday evening. On Tuesday only 6 specific greens were cut and another 5 on Wednesday. If you compare this to the average golf course, you’ll see that 30+ greenkeepers is plenty. This also meant that we could focus on the finish of the bunkers and the overall presentation of the golf course. As Eddie Adams, Director of Agronomy of the European Tour, told us: “the difference between good and great is in the details”.

On Sunday Eddie Adams was very pleased about the maintenance during the tournament. Needless to say the atmosphere among the greenkeepers was very good that last day. We all could watch the conclusion of the tournament in a laidback atmosphere, and that’s more remarkable than it seems. Because of Covid there were only a couple hundreds of spectators allowed on the course. That meant that we, the greenkeepers, had front row seats when Jonathan Caldwell gained his first victory on the European Tour. The Northern Irishman praised the golf course and talked about how it reminded him of the courses back home. Vallda is the kind of golf course that I really like myself, so I agree with him completely: it was a great week on a beautiful golf course. I’d like to thank Johan, Niklas and the entire team at Vallda once more for the hospitality and the amazing experience!

A new goal
Of course a lot more has happened this month. We visited Malmö FF for instance, the biggest football club in Sweden, where we got an excellent tour by head groundsman Johan Kellerman. There was also the confirmation that the Creekhouse Open (LET) will take place beginning of September at Kristianstad’s Golf Club. Because of Covid it was unclear for a long time whether spectators would be allowed or not. Now that we’re certain the tournament is on, we have a nice goal to work towards. I am done for the day however. It’s Midsommar here in Åhus, home of the Absolut distillery, and that means vodka and pickled herring. It would be rude to ignore these local traditions, so I’ve got no choice but to take part… Hej så länge!

Michel Van Uffelen was head greenkeeper at Golfclub Beveren and Koksijde Golf in Belgium. In the past four years he was responsible for the pitch of the Belgian national stadium and several professional football clubs. Since April he works and studies in Sweden through the FEGGA scholarship programme.