Macdonald Hotels & Resorts have conducted between May and August 2015, a comprehensive quality audit (or we can call it also: a quarterly benchmarking audit of their golf courses) on 7 of their golf courses (including: Macdonald Spey Valley Golf and Country Club in Aviemore, Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa in Cheshire and Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Spa in Peebles).
The focus of the benchmark study was about set up, bunker preparation and cutting regimes, would be introduced, with the 5 course managers agreeing on the brand standards. I missed in this study the measurement of water consumption, conservation and optimization. It would be great to see how these golf clubs are utilizing such technology solutions as GreenIQ (their Smart Garden Hub controls irrigation scheduling based on current and forecasted weather, and saves up to 50% on the outdoor water consumption) and others.
The findings of the benchmark study you can find them below the picture (on the picture Macdonald Spey Valley Golf and Country Club)…
Findings of the benchmark study were:
3 main areas of improvement included overall consistency – the cut of the grass, height and frequency standards; agronomic quality of the greens – such as the soil profile, aeration, drainage and turf quality; and additional spend – identifying spend needed for training and capital expenditure.
Macdonald Spey Valley Golf and Country Club in Aviemore came out top with an outstanding score of 79%, up some 21%.