Greenkeeping

A total of seven greenkeepers look after our 135 ha Timmendorfer Strand Golf Club all year round. They are made up of landscape gardeners, farmers, agricultural machinery mechanics and trained greenkeepers, and are coordinated by Head Greenkeeper Gunnar Freese and his deputy Frank Schrörs. Even if you don't see them that often, they are permanently on duty to make our golf club and especially your round of golf a great experience.

On the two 18-hole golf courses, aerification and scarification must be carried out in addition to everyday maintenance. But why actually? Head Greenkeeper Gunnar Freese explains: The more the courses are played on and additional weather influences are added, the lower the permeability of the turf for water becomes. In addition, lawn thatch, which is caused by the natural formation of new shoots, also compacts the lawn. The overloading of individual play elements leads to increased compaction and this makes the mechanised measures imperative. Thus, due to the increased growth of the grasses, we have to scarify every month from May to October, during which the natural material is cut vertically and then removed.

We aerify our pitches twice a year. The soil is aerated by making 5-12 cm holes in the turf base layer and loosening the soil by means of so-called hollow spikes. The remaining soil cores must then be collected and the holes sealed with sand.

These are only the larger measures that all seven greenkeeping employees carry out. In autumn, our old-growth tree population has to be thoroughly examined, cut back and replanted, and the grass on the greens and fairways has to be mown and the ponds maintained.

"Our working day is never the same, which I think is great. But it's especially nice when we drive onto the course very early in the morning in spring and autumn and see a group of wild animals standing on the drives," Gunnar Freese explains.

See our unique golf club for yourself – whether it's the driving range, the Oeverdieker See or our two 18-hole courses, our guys will keep everything in good shape for you!

We are delighted to introduce a member of our family – Manni the sequoia!

It moved into its new home on the tee of hole 3 of our golf club’s Südplatz in the deepest fog on 24 October 2016 with the help of the flower and plant market Ralph from Schürsdorf, and it now clearly feels at home. In the future, the tree will be another point of attraction for our golfers

– and it is, by the way, the perfect selfie hotspot!

The sequoia is considered the mightiest tree in the world's flora, reaching heights of over 100 metres. The population of these trees used to be much higher, but thousands of specimens fell victim to the gold rush and were ruthlessly felled in the 19th century. The remaining stocks are now in national parks and now also our golf club under strictest nature conservation.

At around 20 years old, Manni is still a sapling, as redwood trees can live up to 3,400 years, although much older specimens have also been discovered. All our golf friends were allowed to vote for his name for over a month, so that in the end "Manni" became his chosen name.

Regeneration measures become all the more important the more the golf club is used and the less favourable the weather conditions are on the course. One important prerequisite for maintaining and using lawns, or for playing on them, is that the turf is sufficiently permeable to water. The frequent overloading (by footfall, as well as by maintenance machines) of individual playing elements of a golf club, especially the tees and greens, lead to compaction. This compaction makes the use of mechanical measures (e.g. aerification) absolutely necessary in order to keep these stressed lawns functional. (Source: DGV)

Temporary course closures, restricted use of carts and trolleys and the switch to so-called winter greens show how the usability of golf club often has to be considerably restricted in wet, frosty, icy and snowy conditions. This is because playing, especially on the sensitive greens, often leads to lasting damage in adverse weather conditions. In some cases, these only come to bear years later and their removal is associated with increased maintenance or even conversion measures. This is because, at temperatures below 4° C, lawn growth no longer takes place, but such growth is essential for the regeneration of the area. (Source: DGV)

More info underr Winterspielbetrieb or Winter-Auszeit-Spielzeit