The Open is an opportunity to sell greenkeeping to the world
Old Course at St Andrews Course Manager Gordon McKie is looking to use the 150th Open Championship to showcase the greenkeeping industry to a global audience.
A little bit of wind and rain can go a long way at The Open, writes BIGGA's Karl Hansell for GolfMagic ahead of the 150th Open Championship on the famous Old Course at St Andrews.
Just ask Gordon McKie, whose first Open at St Andrews in 2010 was marred by torrential rain that forced the cancellation of the pre-event Champions' Challenge and high winds causing a delay in play on Friday afternoon.
Gordon's second Open, in 2015, was even worse weather-wise as Saturday's play was suspended after just 32 minutes of action and, for only the second time in The Open's history, the championship had a Monday finish.
This time around, the course manager at the Old Course is hoping for something a little more moderate. A three-year rough management plan will culminate at the 150th Open and Gordon is hoping that this toughening of the course coupled with a little Scottish wind and rain will provide a tough test for the world's best golfers.
"That will be one of the big differences that people notice this time around, that there is a bit more rough at St Andrews than there has been before. There are double fairways all over the place, so there's plenty of places you can hit the ball, but there'll also be holes like 17, which will feel tighter because the rough is a bit thicker," explained Gordon.
"There's not a lot of defence on the Old Course, so we're relying on the weather and the wind to blow."
With 50,000 rounds on the Old Course each year and greater-than-normal traffic post-COVID, the rough usually takes a hammering. It may not seem much when you're wandering backwards and forwards searching for an errant tee shot, but all those footprints actually suppress growth in the rough - good for amateurs but bad if you're looking to set a tough challenge at a major championship.
Over the past three years, the team has roped off large areas of rough to protect it and with these ropes staying in place right up until the week before the tournament, it's going to make a noticeable difference.
"If it becomes the topic of conversation at the press conferences, that's never good," said Gordon. "But in terms of setting up the course, it's a major championship and so it should be tough. If you hit a bad shot you will be punished and the premium is to hit the ball onto the short stuff. If you do that, you'll score well."
Away from the rough, one of the biggest talking points at this year's historic 150th Open is actually taking place prior to play each morning. For the first time in history, the greens at The Open will be prepared using ride-on, fully electric 'triplex' mowers. It's part of a massive sustainability drive by the St Andrews greenkeeping team that is showcasing how golf can improve its green credentials and be a force for good in the face of climate change and other environmental issues. Golf clubs have long been making strides in a more sustainable direction, but there will never have been this level of exposure before and Gordon hopes the message trickles down through all levels of the game.
The greens on the Old Course measure 2.5 hectares, equivalent to around six football pitches. Each morning, starting at 4.30am, they would previously have been cut twice (known as 'double cutting') by 24 greenkeepers using petrol powered push mowers. That number of greenkeepers was required in order to get the greens ready ahead of the first tee time at 6.30am.
"People watching on television would see a great golf course that looks fantastic, but how sustainable is that?" said Gordon. "We asked how we could prepare the greens in a more sustainable way and the only option was to use triplex mowers. We can cut those 24 greenkeepers down to eight and that's an important message because we're all under pressure in terms of staffing numbers. I've said to fellow greenkeepers, if we're using ride-ons for an Open Championship, then it's good enough for club championships too."
The other advantage of using electric mowers will be raising awareness of how new, cleaner machinery will become more prevalent on golf courses over the coming years. The Carnoustie team used fully electric mowers at the Women's Open in 2021, but doing so at The Open itself will create a new level of awareness. The use of electric mowers on the Old Course's greens rather than petrol is estimated to reduce the carbon footprint of the process by over 10 times.
Gordon said: "This has always been a big focus for us and as soon as we could, we wanted to go electric with as many vehicles as possible. I never thought we would get to this stage, but if it produces the same conditions and the same surface that a pedestrian mower would with fewer staff and no fuel emissions, it's a great message."
Read more and view the original article from Golf Magic here