The green secret of the Royal Antwerp Golf Club

Fairway and green perfection with raai and ostrich grasses

An attractive golf course with perfect fairways and tight, uniform putting greens is usually the result of carefully selected grass seed mixes. Also at the Royal Antwerp Golf Club. There, the preference is for mixtures that can withstand extreme weather conditions as well as achieve an appearance of class and quality. The club finds its ideal mixtures from grass seed producer DLF, the undisputed #1 worldwide.

Barry Williams, the dedicated greenkeeper at Royal Antwerp Golf Club, stresses the importance of the right grass seed mix: ''Our golf club is the oldest in Belgium, founded in 1888 and recently voted number one in Belgium and number twenty-two in continental Europe by Top 100 Golf Courses. I am therefore very proud of our excellently maintained course." 

"To keep the quality at this level, we rely on grass seed company DLF - through supplier Greenmix. We achieve optimal results by working with different mixtures, each with their own specifications. The Arrowtown and Cobra Nova ostrich grasses, along with the Masterline Golfmaster, are the most widely used grass seeds."

Arrowtown and Cobra Nova shine around the holes

Williams explains the choice of Arrowtown and Cobra Nova varieties: ''During the year, we work with two types of ostrich grasses. In the cooler months, I choose Arrowtown. This variety was developed from exceptionally fine and dense plants collected from the greens of the Arrowtown Golf Club in New Zealand. Arrowtown is distinguished by an exceptionally high density of shoots and fineness of leaf, even with the most precise pruning. These characteristics provide maximum ball speed and precision, making it particularly suitable for use in golf courses.''

''During the warmer months, we sow the white ostrich grass Cobra Nova. This is because of its excellent seed germination and rapid germination, essential for our intensive seeding program. In addition, Cobra Nova has a high tolerance to fusarium.''

Williams emphasizes that Arrowtown and Cobra Nova have a beneficial impact on the quality of putting greens. 

As at the Royal Antwerp Golf Club, many golf courses experience problems with Poa annua, a grass that can affect the speed and direction of golf balls during flowering. Poa is susceptible to drought and disease. An effective strategy to suppress Poa is to sow ostrich grasses, which, because of their high density, help fight Poa. Ostrich grasses are also more resistant to more aggressive treatments, which helps suppress Poa on the greens.

Golfmaster for a green fairway

"The Royal Antwerp Golf Club, located on a wooded moorland course with sandy soil, requires a grass seed mixture that can withstand dry and hot conditions. 

DLF's Masterline mixture GolfMaster, with its 4turf® grasses - tetraploid ryegrass - is the mixture of choice for this purpose. 4turf® is known for its strong drought tolerance thanks to a deep and robust root system. 

The combination of high sod density and resistance to disease and treading makes GolfMaster ideally suited to the club's greens, tees, approaches and fairways. The mixture, consisting of 4turf® and fine red fescue grasses, therefore perfectly meets the high quality requirements of this challenging golf course," concludes Barry Williams.