Eco compost used in £6m Wentworth golf course makeover   (posted 11/12/2009)

High grade compost produced in Dorset is being used in the makeover of one of the world’s most famous golf courses.

Parley-based Eco Sustainable Solutions has supplied its Eco Mix Compost to a company involved in the £6 million transformation of the Wentworth Club’s West Course in Surrey.

All 18 greens and surrounds on the West Course are being dug up and relaid to USGA (United States Golf Association) specification. The work includes replacing the current poa greens with colonial bent grass.

Rufford’s, the sports turf brand of minerals company Sibelco UK, is using the Eco compost as a constituent part for its rootzone system, TurfStart.

The new greens are being constructed with TurfStart to encourage faster establishment and healthier grass. The rootzone system is a combination of graded sand, a blend of organic material including Eco Mix Compost, Devon lignite and a controlled release fertiliser.

It has been specially designed for the Wentworth project to full USGA specification.

Peter Hardy, Eco’s Sales Manager, said the company had supplied Sibelco UK with more than 1,000 tonnes of Eco Mix Compost.

He added: “Wentworth is one of the most famous golf courses in the world and we’re very pleased and proud to be playing our part in such a high profile project.”

The West Course transformation was originally scheduled to cost £4 million but has expanded into a total £6 million makeover. All 92 bunkers have either been moved, lifted or deepened while new swales and hollows have been moulded around the greens.

Construction work on the course, which is one of three at Wentworth, began in June and is due to finish this month. It is expected to open to limited play next Easter.

ENDS

Editor’s Note: Founded in 1994, Eco annually processes 150,000 tonnes of material on its 14-acre site at Parley, Dorset. End products include turf, enriched topsoil, compost and woodchip. The company, which employs 32 staff, was named KPMG Company of the Year in the 2008 Dorset Business Awards.

For more information please contact: Peter Hardy, Sales Manager, Eco Sustainable Solutions, on 01202 593601 or Andrew Diprose, PR Account Director, Deep South Media on 01202 534487.