John Jennings, Course Superintendent at Castleknock Golf Club in Dublin, historically had to struggle with achieving longevity from the outfield fertilizers he was applying to his Golf Course– that was until he started applying ICL’s Sierrablen Plus range of controlled release fertilizers.

Located in the leafy suburbs of Dublin, Castleknock Golf Club is an outstanding parkland golf course. There are a number of memorable holes on the course, most notably the 9th and 18th, and two par 3’s over water that share a double green, with the clubhouse providing a stunning backdrop.

Tasked with keeping the course in impeccable condition is John Jennings. John started his career at Castlebar Golf Club before moving to the Grange Golf Club in 1984 – where he worked for 16 years. In 1999 John accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent at Carton House where he worked under John Plummer. During this time he undertook the responsibility of the grow-in of the O’Meara and Montgomery Courses. He spent four years in this position before taking the role of Course Superintendent at Castleknock Golf Club in 2004 – which corresponded with the opening of the course.

The club currently stands at approximately 900 members and can see up to 40,000 rounds of golf a year played on the course. As you would expect, to cater for this high amount of usage the course is maintained to the very high standards.  

“I have used many controlled release fertilizers over the years and struggled to get longevity and colour due to the high sand content in my fairways. However the Sierrablen Plus fertilizers that I switched to a couple of years ago have been a real game changer.”

John is one of many greenkeepers who has benefited from using a range of products in the Sierrablen Plus portfolio. This is largely thanks to the Poly-S and PACE technologies which are contained within each analysis. They have been scientifically proven to provide consistent feeding, enhanced longevity and a low-scorch risk. Furthermore, its small-sized granules allow for even coverage and equal nutrient distribution. These fertilizer products offer a wide choice of analyses for proper nutrient input for every growth phase of the turf, and John has certainly noticed significant improvements since the product.

Featuring high potassium content to strengthen cell walls, John applied Sierrablen Plus Stress Control 15-5-22 +2MgO. to his fairways in September 2017 and despite the incredibly harsh winter, the application was still having a positive effect in March 2018. John was so impressed with the product that this year he applied Sierrablen Plus Stress Control to his tees and was pleased to see remarkable progression so soon – again in unfavourable weather conditions.

“I am extremely impressed with the early response and sward density achieved when using the product, giving uniform growth that lasts 6 – 7 months. I will continue to use it and would highly recommend it to anyone,” he said.