At Airdrie Golf Club, Course Manager Jordan Cameron has taken a clear, back-to-basics approach to turf management, and with the support of Agrovista Amenity and growth regulator Attraxor®, the results are speaking for themselves.
Jordan joined the club, which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, nearly three years ago after a varied career in greenkeeping that began when he left school.
The opportunity to take on the course manager role at Airdrie was one he couldn’t ignore.
“I could see the opportunity to implement my own ideas and take things to the next level,” he says. “Everything we said from day one that we were going to do, we’ve managed to achieve so far. It’s not just the greens; we’ve improved all aspects of the course.”
One of Jordan’s key objectives from the outset was to reduce disease pressure through solid agronomic fundamentals.
“The main goal when I came in was to go as disease-free as we possibly could,” he explains. “We achieved that in the first year. It’s really just about going back to basics – keeping the plant dry, keeping the surface open, and doing the simple things well.”
With a team of four maintaining the parkland course, those fundamentals include regular aeration at varying depths, scarifying, slitting, and winter use of a sarel roller to keep surfaces open and healthy.
“I always say there isn’t just one thing that makes the difference,” Jordan adds. “It’s everything working together.”
Alongside those mechanical practices, Attraxor has become a central part of the greens management programme. Originally introduced to help reduce Poa annua seedheads, the plant growth regulator quickly proved its value across the growing season.
“In my other roles I have used it briefly, but I really started using it properly here,” says Jordan. “It was mainly the Poa seedheads that we were targeting. I trialled it and it worked wonders.”
Attraxor contains the active ingredient prohexadione, which regulates turf growth by inhibiting the gibberellic acid pathway, reducing vertical growth and biomass while maintaining turf colour and quality. It also encourages root development, helping create stronger and more resilient playing surfaces.
For Jordan, the most noticeable improvement has been the consistency and density of the greens.
“The density of the turf is unbelievable,” he says. “It’s almost like a carpet. It’s thicker, tighter and sits a lot straighter without that lateral growth. It just creates a much nicer playing surface.”
Jordan has even experimented with winter applications of Attraxor – a decision that has delivered positive results on Airdrie’s free-draining, sand-based greens.
“We took a bit of a risk the first year trying it through the winter, but we noticed the ball roll was so much smoother,” he explains. “Coming into the season the surfaces were already in a much better position.”
Another key factor behind the programme’s success has been the support from Agrovista Amenity’s Technical Sales Manager Stewart Carbray. The relationship has developed to the point where the club now operates a full course programme with Agrovista as its sole supplier.
“We’ve got a full programme with them now for greens, tees and everything else – granular fertilisers, wetting agents, fungicides, the lot,” says Jordan. “Using Agrovista as a sole supplier just makes sense for us.”
More importantly, Jordan values the advice and honesty he receives from the team.
“Stuart is fantastic, he’s a huge help. Because he’s been a greenkeeper previously, he understands what you’re going through. It’s not just a sales relationship.”
He adds: “Stewart isn’t going to sell you something just for the sake of it. If he doesn’t think you need a product, he’ll say so. That level of trust is massive.”
With a growing portfolio of products and continued technical support, Agrovista Amenity is helping Jordan ensure that Airdrie’s historic course continues to move forward.
“As a course manager you need products that perform and people you can trust,” he says. “With Agrovista Amenity, we’ve got both.”