Why stormy seas and torrential rain and winds are no match for Barenbrug's grass seed solutions and the determinationof head greenkeeper Alick Mackay at Furness Golf Club in Cumbria

As golf club locations go, Furness Golf Club's on the Furness Peninsula on the Cumbrian coast is nothing if not dramatic. And difficult - especially when it comes to grass-growing conditions.

The Walney Island course in Barrow-in-Furness - thought to be the sixth oldest golf club in England - is perched on an exposed tip of Cumbria that sees its west-side thrashed by the Irish Sea and subject as a whole to some of the heaviest rainfall and winds in the country.

So it goes without saying that head greenkeeper Alick Mackay has a difficult job on his hands producing and maintaining grass cover on this, the most demanding of locations.

Having joined the club five years ago - when fairways 11 and 12 were almost bare and there was talk of tearing some areas up for returfing - the course's transformation is testament to his perseverance and teamwork with experts at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) and specialist grass seed breeder Barenbrug.

Sticking with seed

This is a very difficult course subject to extreme conditions," Alick says of the 18-hole course. "We're not a true links course, but we are rugged seaside course and we also get a heck of a lot of rain here. In 2007 we had over 30inches of rain and last year over 48inches. So we're at the beck and call of the weather - it dictates everything."

Alick has been consulting with STRI turfgrass agronomist Henry Bechelet on a bi-annual basis since 2004. But it was when the pair combined their strengths and expertise with that of Barenbrug's research and development manager, Jayne Leyland, in 2007 that proved the turning point in improving the course.

"We have an STRI visit twice a year," Alick continues. "In the past, we've tried different mixtures and had other seed companies involved, but to no avail. The problems got so bad three years ago there was talk of returfing, but myself and the green's chairman, Gordon Walker, were adamant we were sticking with seed. That's when we decided to involve Jayne."

Henry says that Jayne's "specialist knowledge and skills were invaluable", as he explains: "Furness Golf Club is a difficult site and environment - it's subject to relentless rainfall, wind and salt-spray. It was after a lot of grass cover was lost down one particularly sandy end of the course that they turned to Jayne."

As Henry continues: "Alick wanted to reseed to get better cover, but we needed to bring in a specialist who knew about the different grass types and how they would perform in this environment after seeing them perform in trials. Alick invited Jayne to offer advice on seeding solutions for the more environmentally challenging parts of the golf course. We really appreciated her input."

Barely a calm day

Soil tests conducted when Alick first joined Furness confirmed that fescue and bent grasses were in general best suited to the course's sand and clay soil. However, the introduction of unique, site-specific species would also prove essential in order to cope with some of the extreme environmental stresses identified throughout the golf course.

"The clay tends to dry out in the summer and the ferocity of the wind on the sandier parts of the course also makes for difficult conditions," Alick explains. "There's barely a calm day here! We're also without irrigation on the tees, which is a factor. But the mixtures Jayne came up with have been a success and we now have full coverage."

A prime example of finding a mixture to suit Furness' extreme conditions is the use of Barenbrug's ultra low-input drought- and salt-tolerant BAR 40 on a very exposed, problem tee. "This particular tee, the eighth tee, is battered by wind, rain and salt-spray - it's very exposed," says Alick. "There's no shelter from dunes or anything. But the BAR 40 is working a treat."

The remaining tees have been sown with the fast-establishing, fine-leafed BAR Platinum, which combines perennial ryegrass with slender creeping red and Chewings fescues. The greens, meanwhile, have been sown with a variety of mixtures to suit their different needs - seven are benefitting from BAR All Bent, which Alick says is "working well", a further three have been sown with BAR Fescue and the remaining greens with BAR 2.

"Our greens range from being wet to being very dry," Alick explains, "hence using the different mixtures. The weather really does dictate everything for us. Jayne has recognised this and so if a mixture isn't working we re-jig it to suit."

In addition, a solution has also been found for Furness' wind-burnt fairways in the form of BAR 20, a 100 percent fescue mixture containing Hardtop hard fescue that delivers superior sward density with excellent drought tolerance, salt tolerance and recovery. Perennial ryegrass mixture BAR Extreme, with its outstanding wear-tolerance and recovery, has also helped improve Furness' fairways in heavily trafficked areas.

BAR 30 RTF (Rhizomatous Tall Fescue) has also been used to keep cover on some mounds and problem areas around the course. Selected for its deep-rooting capabilities, together with its prolific rhizome (underground stem) production, RTF offers superb tensile strength and recovery. While red fescue roots reach just 15 to 20cms into soil, RTF roots delve a staggering 1.5metres underground, also equipping it with excellent tolerance to both waterlogging and drought.

Open-minded

Alick is clearly delighted with the improvements to the course. "It's been a lot of hard work - I've been here five years and it's taken all that time to get it right. Including myself, we're only a staff of three maintaining 18 holes and, together with Jayne and Henry's input, we can all be really proud of what we've achieved here."

But the hard work doesn't stop here. Alick continues to work with Jayne on a species exchange trial on a practice green, something that will in the future help him - as well as his fellow greenkeepers trying to achieve grass cover in similarly adverse weather conditions.

"We have six different mixtures on trial," Alick continues. "The trial was seeded in early June and overseeded in September, and they're looking pretty good. We plan to start playing-quality trials in spring 2010, plus players sometimes putt on this green now, so we've already got a good indication of how well they'll perform with wear. We can't use the same mixture on all our greens, so the only way to find a solution is through trials - plus I'm also happy to help Barenbrug help courses with similar problems in future."

Alick's willingness to try new mixtures and cultivars has, in fact, been key to the success of this project. "Some people sit on the fence and just use traditional mixtures, but it's important to try new things to see what will suit different conditions and climates," he argues. "Personally, I'd like to use just fescues and bents throughout the course, but some of the mixtures have other species in and so this just goes to show that you can't always have what you want. You have to look at the alternatives available. The mixtures have been a success and we've now got full grass cover. You have to be open-minded."

In the spirit of this, Alick is also set to be one of the first to try new 2010 introduction, BAR Rubra, a new 100 percent fescue mixture specifically designed to produce fast-establishing semi-roughs and open, deep roughs with attractive seed heads, excellent persistency and disease tolerance.

"I have some bare areas on roughs and moundings as well as an area coming off a fairway towards a green that I think it could benefit from BAR Rubra. I'm looking forward to seeing the results when we do try it. It's always worth trying these things. It was a blessing that Jayne was brought in to help - she's certainly opened my mind about what could be used and I'm very grateful to both Henry and Jayne for their enthusiasm and inspirational input."