Wiedenmann Double All In A Day’s Work At Historic Adare Manor Old Course
This summer, Brian Dunne, celebrates 20 years as Course Superintendent at Adare Manor Old Course GC in the southwest of Ireland. He has built a long-established relationship with local Wiedenmann dealer Seamus Weldon, at nearby Killarney.
“We go back years; they’ve always been there for us,” he said. “When we purchased a new blower back in 2008, Michael Weldon pointed us in the direction of a Wiedenmann Whisper Twister.
It was new to the market, and we were among the first to buy.
“You can’t fault it. We’d be lost without it.
“From October to December, it’s out every day on leaf clearance duty. Our course is lined with beech and oak trees so there’s plenty of work. One of the team on our small tractor blows the leaves into lines and our collector follows behind. It has dozens of tasks; drying off tee boxes, presentation, tidying and, when we’ve had storms, it’s come into its own.”
“We used to bring contractors in to help with deep aeration on our fairways. It was always a struggle to book the right week: and balance weather and the needs of golfers. It was also getting very expensive. “I asked Michael if he could source a second-hand aerator so we could do the job ourselves. He came back with a beautifully refurbished Wiedenmann Terra Spike XP, and we haven’t looked back.
“Your own machine makes such a difference. We try to do our fairways twice a year. We just pick when the conditions are right and do two or three at a time. We’ve got twelve acres in total, as well
as walkways and tee boxes, so it takes us around a week and a half normally to do all the split sessions.
Brian’s team, three at present, with a vacancy about to be filled, takes on two summer workers to help them cope. The friendly parkland club is constantly busy, its history and dramatic setting, marking it out as not your typical golfing experience, so enjoys lots of visitors. Very few clubs can boast anything as spectacular as Desmond Castle (1200 AD) which nestles in the background of the 1st and 15th greens or the ruins of the Franciscan Abbey (1464 AD) in the centre of the course.
