Belfry greenkeeper reveals secrets of success

Director of golf courses and grounds at The Belfry, Kenny Mackay, has revealed just how much effort goes into making The Belfry the class venue that it is, and admits that its world famous Brabazon course is prepared each day as though it's about to host a European Tour tournament.

"It's as close as possible to Tour conditions as we can get it on a daily basis," reveals Mackay.

"The greens are set up on a 10.5-11 stimp reading every day, which puts The Brabazon among the top ten courses in the country.

"Therefore, anyone playing the course is getting a golfing experience similar to the one the leading Pros would get, and expect."

Mackay has a staff of more than 50 people and he admits that he's fortunate enough to have such a dedicated team.

"The greater the number of greens staff, the better the quality. Our green staff mow the greens, the collars, the fairways, the approaches and the tees every morning," adds Mackay.

"They also hand cut the greens and approaches on a regular basis. They spend both Saturday and Sunday cutting and rolling too, as well as raking the bunkers seven days a week - something most clubs would do only at weekends.

"We also have three specialists working part time just to replace divots on course between 6am and 12 noon three days a week.

"It's known as'‘sand patching' at St Andrews, but involves filing the hole with a mixture of sand and seed, while taking the old turf away."

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