H2Pro Maximise Solves Puddling Problems

The Wentworth Club, in Surrey, and Bishop’s Stortford Golf Club, in Hertfordshire have both used H2Pro Maximise to solve the problem of puddling on their golf courses.

H2Pro Maximise is a wetting agent most commonly used to reduce the need for turf irrigation but course managers using H2Pro Maximise have discovered that the product has a remarkable ability to percolate water through the soil, which means play can continue despite the inclement weather.

The BMW PGA Championship held at Wentworth, in May, was a memorable and hugely successful week. The immaculate West Course, recently remodelled and modernised by the Club’s Worldwide Touring Professional and Wentworth resident Ernie Els, had seldom looked better or played tougher. But it could have been a very different story. Rain threatened to cast a cloud over the event from the start, and golf courses manager Chris Kennedy was concerned that the standing water accumulating on the greens would interrupt play.

“It was a very worrying time and we didn’t want rain delays during such a high profile tournament,” explained Chris. “I had read about H2Pro Maximise and how successful it was at removing water from goal mouths, so on advice from Scotts’ John Noyce we sprayed the greens before the event and again on the Saturday evening of the tournament. Within three quarters of an hour of the second application all the water had gone, and there was no recurrence of puddling, even though we had at least 1.5in of rain on the Sunday. Once the turf had opened up it was like a sponge and just kept on absorbing the water.

The immaculate West Course at Wentworth was the venue for the BMW PGA Championship and thanks to the use of H2Pro Maximise escaped rain delays despite the inclement weather.

“We were very impressed with how well H2Pro Maximise performed in such wet conditions. I am convinced that using the product in conjunction with our aeration programme really helped disperse the water and ensure that a very prestigious event went as smoothly as possible.

“I will definitely carry on using the product,” Chris added. “It’s a very effective solution and I think it will prove an increasingly useful turf management tool as our weather becomes more unpredictable.”

Last November, Keith Rowley, course manager at Bishop’s Stortford Golf Club, was struggling to keep his 18 greens in play after an incredible 20in of rain had fallen in three months. “There was standing water in many places and elsewhere the turf was spongy and saturated,” he said. “As a result we only had nine greens open and one weekend we had to close completely. I was worried that any more rain would mean a longer period of closure.”

Scotts advised an application of H2Pro Maximise at the rate of 40 litres of product in 450 litres of water per hectare – and by the next morning all the greens were back in play. “There was a further 1.25in of rain over the next few days, but the H2Pro Maximise had done its work and there was no more puddling,” said Keith. “The greens had regained a firmness and we were also able to give them a cut with our triple mower. It was an amazing result.

“Since we started using H2Pro Maximise we’ve had no more problems. This year has also been extremely wet, but I now use the product every four to six weeks as a preventative measure, so I know that however much it rains the greens will be playable. I would like thank Michael Fance from Scotts for all his help and advice.”