Having spent 38 years at Grimsby Golf Club, Head Greenkeeper Scott Vincent has seen every challenge the British climate can throw at a golf course – particularly during wet winters. With member expectations for year-round play, and only four greens equipped with drainage systems, achieving consistency and keeping on top of organic matter accumulations was becoming a particular problem. That was until Scott trialled ThatchEater from Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS).

Built in 1922, Grimsby Golf Club provides players with a parkland challenge – the 18-holes traversing rolling hills and valleys which is rather unique for the area. With a small team of just three greenkeepers, Scott has traditionally focused on tried and tested practical solutions to common maintenance challenges, with hollow coring forming a major part of the club’s thatch management strategy, often carried out three or four times a year. While effective, the disruption caused lead Scott to a conversation with OAS Technical Manager Greg Milton about potential, less invasive alternatives.

“Being completely honest, having done the job for a long time and using products that haven’t turned out to deliver what they say they would, it takes a lot for me to try something you can’t physically see working”, admits Scott. “Greg did a great job of explaining how the product works, which encouraged me to give it a try.”

“I think the fact that Greg was a greenkeeper in a former life and was armed with all the information regarding the product really reassured us that he’s not just trying to make a sale. He has our course’s best interests at heart.”

ThatchEater is a biological solution designed to degrade thatch with bacteria, causing minimal disruption to play. Traditionally applied in spring, the humus, humic and fulvic acids produced convert thatch into plant-available nutrients, creating a freer-draining rootzone and encouraging sustainable plant growth through the season.

After just one application, and another very wet winter, Scott says the results became quickly noticeable. “We definitely saw a marked reduction in thatch accumulations compared to previous years and I strongly believe ThatchEater played a role in keeping us off temporary greens for the first year in a long while.” He continues, “The members also noticed the difference, especially because we haven’t been conducting the disruptive hollow coring.”

Independent sampling carried out by Greg echoed the results seen by the team, showing continued improvement in the greens’ condition and giving Scott further confidence of the longer-term benefits. “Now into the second year of the programme, we’re excited to build on the results and, all being well, see this becoming a key component of our wider OAS nutritional programme which is already delivering fantastic results in other areas of the course.”