Old, worn work clothes, unshaven and eyes only for lawn care - this is how greenkeepers are often perceived. Behind this facade there is a qualified specialist responsible for:

• Plant-friendly, environmentally friendly and sustainable lawn care
• Proper application of fertilizer and pesticides.
• targeted use and control of irrigation
• communicative personnel management of several employees
• cost-effective care and maintenance of the machinery
• professional competition preparation

Golfers' demands for faster greens and limiting maintenance times at the expense of playing time isn't just causing stress for greenkeepers. Plants and soils also suffer from overload and lack of rest.

We therefore advocate an open-ended discussion on this topic. Lawn diseases can occur again and again but cannot always be completely prevented. Damage is not nice to look at and affects the game, but it is part of this outdoor sport. Associations, operators and players must learn to cope with the natural circumstances.

The EU guidelines only allow a few fungicides (agents to combat lawn diseases). In the foreseeable future, even fewer will be available and there may be a complete ban. Everyone involved in golf bears responsibility for the flora and fauna and must face political and social reality. A large gap is emerging in the area of tension between the increased demands of players and the possibilities and permissibility of crop cultivation. The greenkeepers on German golf courses are well trained. They do everything they can to make it possible to play on good and, above all, healthy lawns (not contaminated with chemicals). But their resources are limited and nature has its own laws.

We greenkeepers are not responsible for:

• Climate and weather
• EU, federal and state legislation

That's why we need more tolerance: tolerance towards the occurrence of diseases and pests, tolerance towards the climatic and biological conditions on site, tolerance and, above all, respect towards the course, the greenkeepers and the necessary maintenance work they carry out.

We wish and expect more understanding!

Heinrich Sievert HGK; Norbert Lischka The Lawn Fox www.der-rasenfuchs.de