Bridgend & District Golf Club

Course transformation for
Bridgend and District Golf Club

Bridgend Golf Club is a 9-hole and 18-hole golf course in West Lothian. The golf club is still a relatively new parkland course located in the north of West Lothian, just 2.5 miles outside the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow and is designed to provide a good test of a golfer’s all-round game.

The club was formed in 1994 and was built mainly by the kind voluntary work of some local Bridgend people on land which was formerly used for shale-mining works. The Haughburn Course was opened in April 1999.

The challenge

Good aesthetics are an important part of the maintenance of fairways and greens, which in turn are essential to ensure golf-club members are encouraged to join and play at the course. With the grass appearing dull and without vigour, the Bridgend & District Golf Club wanted to investigate the cause and restore the look of their courses.

The solution

Through the recommendation of a local farmer, the golf-club owners heard about Veolia’s fertiliser products and contacted our expert team. After testing the soil, it was found to have a pH of just 4.5, which made the grass appear dull and without vigour.

Our team advised the golf-club owner which products may help improve the appearance of the greens and fairways and was recommended that Veolia BioCal and CopperCal products would successfully restore the appearance of the courses.

The BioCal product was applied at 500–600kg/ha to increase the soil pH by 0.3 to 0.6 units. The 1–2mm granules were spread over the course using a standard, tractor-mounted fertiliser spreader that evenly distributed the product over the target areas.

Veolia’s products are made by using high-quality calcium carbonate which quickly alleviates soil acidity. The standalone limestone product is called BioCal. There are also various other combinations of limestone with trace elements, such as copper (CopperCal) and lime with cobalt and selenium.

Value delivered

Veolia’s expert advice identified the problem and used high-quality natural materials to transform the appearance and condition of the courses. This also avoided the use of synthetic products.