Eight out of the nine Open Championship courses now advocate relief grinding

Eight out of the nine Open Championship courses now advocate relief grinding and own a Hunter Grinder to keep their courses up to the required standard for hosting the Open.

Royal St Georges Golf Club in Kent will be hosting the 2011 Open Championship and is the most recent club to change from spin to relief grinding, with the purchase of a Hunter fully automatic Jupiter ATI and Amazon bottom blade grinder. Located near Sandwich in Kent, this beautiful links course was established in 1887 and was given Royal status by King Edward VII in May 1902. The Links provides a severe test for even the greatest of golfers and the fact that only three Open winners, Bill Rogers in 1981, Greg Norman in 1993 and Ben Curtis in 2003, have managed to be under par after the 72 holes speaks for itself.

Course Manager, Neil Metcalf is responsible for preparing the course for the Open and has recently implemented a complete change of grass maintenance policy. "As Course Manager for an Open Championship course, I naturally consider methods of preparation and maintenance operated by other Open venues". said Neil. "All my fellow course managers I have spoken to have recommended changing from spin to relief grinding methods. I have also read a lot of research on the merits of relief grinding particularly in relation to longevity of the blades. We have predominantly dry, sandy conditions in this area and advocate non-contact mowing to avoid heat build-up. By using relief grinding as our main operation we have noticeably increased the life of our blades and reduced significantly the times we have to re-grind. I believe it is definitely the right way forward."

For further information please contact:
Hunter Grinders Ltd
Ian Robson
Tel: 01207 270316