Written by: Jon Keepen
The time comes once a year at the end of summer to cut the areas of long rough grassland that separate fairways, tees and greens around the course, but what to do with the mountain of grass afterwards?
At Cumberwell Park we have forged a partnership with a local farmer and neighbour to see that all this grass doesn't go to waste. At the end of summer, the large expanses of rough grassland on the course are cut using our in-house machinery before being bailed and collected by a neighbouring farmer to be used as winter feed for his herd of beef cattle. Before this partnership the grass had to be left to decompose and had no use to us on the golf course.
The long grass provides a fantastic habitat for wildlife during the summer months including skylarks that breed here, but must be cut annually to thin the sward for golfers to find their ball and play from. It's fantastic for us to see the grass be used and the farmer is grateful for the extra feed.
