Gary Rodger aiming to have Braids at its best for Dispatch Trophy

New head greenkeeper says historic Edinburgh team tournament is ‘close to my heart’

New head greenkeeper Gary Rodger is excited to be preparing the Braids for this year's Dispatch Trophy.

Twenty years after playing in the final of the Dispatch Trophy, Gary Rodger is just as excited to be getting the course at the Braids in tip-top condition for the 124th edition.

The 2024 event, which starts on 18 May, is the first one to be held since Rodger took over as the head greenkeeper at the Edinburgh Leisure venue.

“Since I began at the Braids back in early January, it has been an extremely testing period weather-wise with record -breaking rainfall figures,” he said.

“However, Edinburgh Leisure have really backed me with new equipment and materials to help take the course to the next level, and the greenkeeping team have been excellent and really buying into what I hope to achieve both on the course and off it.”

Duddingston will be defending the historic team trophy and, that weather aside, Rodger said it has been “really exciting” to get the opportunity to implement some of his own ideas in terms of how the course both looks and plays.

“Early on, I got soil samples taken from the greens and we put together a comprehensive site specific nutrition programme for the Braids,” he added. “This means the materials used on the greens are perfectly matched to our greens and we get top results for the cost.

“This has seen an early increase in surface quality. We also looked at some internal gorse and made a few changes, some were from a safety point of view and some from a playability perspective.

“Over the next few weeks we will be ramping up efforts to dial the course in for the tournament. I worked many tournaments in my time at Muirfield, including the 2013 Open and the Amateur Championship. There's nothing quite like preparing a course for a big tournament and the Dispatch is no exception.

“This will be a different set up for the team this year as I am massive on fine details and new working processes have already been implemented, so hopefully everyone will enjoy the course come tournament week.”

Entries close on 28 April and Rodger is encouraging as many teams as possible to experience one of the best events in amateur golf.

“The Dispatch is a tournament close to my heart, having played in it back in my younger days for the BIGGA (British International Golf Greenkeepers Association) team and we were finalists around 2004,” he said.

“The history of this tournament runs deep and it mirrors exactly what I'm looking to achieve long term at the Braids and my target is I want golfers to walk of the course feeling like they have stepped back in time, the course and the tournament are so special and I am extremely privileged to be the latest custodian of this fantastic golf course.”

The entry fee is £80 and teams can click here to be part of the 2024 event https://forms.office.com/e/37g3PmMshs