The winning formula for Rosemount
Brian Scott, Course Manager at the Rosemount course at Blairgowrie Golf Club in Perthshire, Scotland, believes he has found the winning formula.
He attributes the success of his greens to a tank-mix combination of ICL’s Vitalnova Stressbuster and Syngenta’s Primo Maxx II growth regulator.
The Rosemount Course, venue of Greg Normans first European tour victory was designed by James Braid with influences from Dr. Alistair McKenzie – the renowned architect of the Augusta National course. It has played host to a number of prestigious professional and amateur tournaments and provides a challenging test for golfers of all abilities.
This heathland course is set through mature pines, silver birch and heather and has many admirers across the world. One of Rosemount’s greatest attributes is its immaculate greens which are frequently praised by members and guests alike.
For the past three years Brian has been applying a tank-mixture consisting of Vitalnova Stressbuster and Primo Maxx to the greens – which was a combination recommended to him by Jamie Lees, ICL’s Technical Area Sales Manager in Scotland.
“A few years ago; we were looking for something we could use consistently instead of mixing four or five products. Jamie suggested the combination of Stressbuster and Primo Maxx and in the first year we had such good results it made sense to continue with it.
Brian applies a mixture of both Vitalnova Stressbuster and Primo Maxx II at half rate (0.2 L/ha Primo Maxx II & 20 L/ha Stressbuster) every two weeks from May through to September and believes the two products perfectly complement one another. While Primo Maxx II helps keep excessive growth at bay, Vitalnova Stressbuster pre-conditions turf against stress and helps generate a quick recovery. Featuring iron which provides an instant colour, Vitalnova Stressbuster also contains a unique combination of macro and micro nutrients, wetting agents, biostimulants and amino acids which help to fight off unwanted stress as well as stimulating the good bacteria in the soil.
With a hectic maintenance schedule and the un-predictable Scottish weather, Brian believes that flexibility is key to keeping the greens in impeccable condition throughout the year.
“I particularly like how you can be so flexible with this tank-mixture. Depending on how your growth is, we might up the Primo application, add an extra bit of nitrogen or if it is dry then we might add more wetting agent.
“Since we have been using this formula we haven’t suffered with any disease or loss of colour – in fact after applying it we see colour up in just a couple of days. We wanted longevity and it provides us with exactly that.”
