In early September 2020, Exlterra installed the GEPS system on the Saint-Omer Golf Course (Pas-de-Calais), voted “Golf of the Year 2016” for its excellence and dynamism.
The club management, very sensitive to environmental issues, is always looking for innovative solutions for the quality of its course, labeled Challenge Tour and hosting an Open each year. It has been won over by the benefits of the GEPS system, which is not limited to improving the infiltration of rainwater into the ground. Indeed, GEPS also allows greenkeepers to eliminate some laborious work such as aeration or topdressing and reduce costs. Thanks to the GEPS system, the soil is remediated and increases its natural physical properties while maintaining a balanced moisture level. As a result, watering can be reduced during dry periods. All this with increased playing time due to the course’s enhanced infiltration capacity in all seasons.
A fairway and a bunker on the course have thus been equipped with GEPS. Mrs. Aurélie Morandin, Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club’s superintendent, will independently collect her observations over the next 18 months. She will cease some operations to let the GEPS demonstrate that they are no longer necessary and will compare infiltration rates with historic data and with other control areas.
Mrs. Morandin’s report will help communicate how GEPS can help a golf course to perform well while being managed in a sustainable and ecological manner.