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Barenbrug to Cooperate with St. Andrews

June 16, 1998

Barenbrug is going to cooperate with the St. Andrews golf course in Scotland. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf courses in the world - the Dutch company Barenbrug is a world leader in grass seed. The cooperative relationship was officially confirmed on Monday 8 June during the tenth Barenbrug Golf Day in Nunspeet, The Netherlands. The first objective of the cooperation is to bring the 'holy grass' of the Scottish golf course to optimal condition for the British Open Championships in 2000.

Alan McGregor, general manager of St. Andrews Links Trust, came to the Netherlands to sign the cooperation contract. Prior to the golf tournament he held an introductory speech for the over 200 golf course specialists who attended the Barenbrug Golf Day. The philosophy about what an ideal golf course should look like does not hold for courses such as St. Andrews as it does for the prestigious American golf paradises of Augusta (Georgia) and Pebble Beach (California). The Scottish course is an original, centuries-old links course. Contrary to the situation in America, where the golf courses have attained an almost artificial perfection, in Scotland they are seeking to maintain the original grass vegetation as much as possible.

Existing vegetation

A few technical employees of Barenbrug have listed the grass species present at St. Andrews and are faced with the task of making sure that newly sown sections blend in seamlessly with the existing vegetation. At the same time, the Scottish golf course managers want to benefit from the advantages that the newly developed grass varieties offer. The majority of grass types are variations of 'red fescues', commonly used in the Netherlands. The Barenbrug breeders have developed a range of top varieties within this type of grass, which have become very popular in the United Kingdom.

The requirements which are set for golf course grass are extremely stringent. The greens are mowed every day to a height of 4 to 6 mm. The ball may not roll over it too quickly, nor too slowly. The grass must be able to withstand attacks by moulds and other plant diseases. And it must, of course, look perfect.

The contact between Barenbrug and St. Andrews has existed for some time. This spring the six head green-keepers of St. Andrews visited Barenbrug. After a tour in the processing site in Oosterhout they visited the National Sport Centre in Papendal and Barenbrug Research in Wolfheze. They looked at the trial fields and discussed the developments in the area of grass breeding with the Barenbrug experts.

Six centuries

The St. Andrews golf complex has five courses with eighteen holes and one course with nine holes. The 'Old Course' in particular is much loved by golfers. This unique course was not designed by an architect, but acquired its current shape 'naturally' over the past six centuries. The first and last holes lie in the town. The greens are extremely large: it does occur that a golfer sometimes has to make a putt of 100 metres.

What happens at St. Andrews is often emulated at other golf courses. When the site managers of St. Andrews decided in 1764 to make their golf course 18 holes, this number became the worldwide standard. The Scottish golf course is a leader in other areas too.

Barenbrug was originally a Dutch breeder and producer of grass seed. The company is active in breeding work in all important climactic areas and supplies from twenty sites, spread out across the entire world, to some 100 countries. With almost 500 employees and a turnover of 350 million guilders, Barenbrug is the biggest grass seed supplier in the world.

For more information please contact:
Lex van der Weerd, Barenbrug Holland. Tel: +31 (0) 481 488100

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