Barenbrug roadshow reaches London GC

The Barenbrug team's tour of the UK continues, with the most recent of its roadshows hitting the London Golf Club in Kent.

Over 60 greenkeepers from around the region attended the seminar, which offered an insight into the latest grass seed breakthroughs and overseeding experiences from both a customer's and a breeder's perspective.

Golf courses manager Peter Todd kicked off the morning's presentations with a fascinating talk on the club's species exchange programme and course management techniques. He particularly focused on the improved quality of the course as part of its partnership with the European Tour as a flagship property.

Research and development manager Jayne Leyland then took to the podium to lift the lid on Barenbrug's breeding programme. Titled 'From a breeder's dream to an English green', she focused on the development of the company's Barlineus chewings fescue, which - following its 'birth' in the 1990s - is set for commercial launch in 2013.

Guest speaker Sam Rhodes, Woodhall Spa's courses manager, then added to Peter's picture of the practical challenges greenkeepers face with a presentation on maintaining a healthland course.

After practical outdoor demos courtesy of Keith Kensett, showing off Graden's overseeding machine, and Lely's Trevor Chard, with an exclusive demo of Toro's forthcoming new greensmower, the London Golf Club's assistant course manager, Glenn Kirby, rounded the day off with a course walk. This proved the highlight of the event, putting Peter's earlier presentation into context.

Commenting on the club's participation, Glenn says: "We really enjoyed hosting the seminar. It was a great day with a wide range of talks and demonstrations covering different areas of the industry. The guided tour of the Heritage course seemed very popular and gave us an opportunity to show how successful our fairway overseeding programme has been using Barenbrug's BAR Extreme mixture. Bringing an excellent education programme like this, and with such a good turnout, to the London Golf Club enables us to show our industry peers what we do, as well as provides an excellent networking opportunity."

Note to editors: Barenbrug UK headquarters is based at Rougham Industrial Estate, Rougham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP30 9ND. Telephone +44(0)1359 272000, fax +44 (0)1359 272001, email info@baruk.co.uk or visit www.barenbrug.co.uk.