Rya Golf Club has a long and proud history dating back to 1934 starting with a 9-hole course. In 1956, the 18-hole course in Öresund was inaugurated.
As the club has developed, the course layout has been refined. Latest in 2019, an extensive remodelling of holes 12-14 was carried out.
The course is in fantastic condition, and you hardly notice the differences from the construction phases. Green 7 and the Putting Green are built as a California green. A California green is a construction method where 30–40 cm of straight sand is laid directly over the native soil.
The Putting green is very sandy and located only 50 meters from the sea.
Green 15 is a push-up green. A push-up green is a traditional style of putting green built by shaping and compacting the existing native soil. Typically topped with 10–15 cm of sand or amended soil.
With the recently installed monitoring system, the Greenkeeping team can adapt irrigation cycles better to the actual needs and optimise the performance of the putting surface. It became obvious that the use of TourTurf® FTE greatly helps in penetration of irrigation water deep enough to keep the putting surface firm and dry while retaining enough water for turf roots reaching deeper.
See some examples:
The moisture on the Putting Green stays consistently at 15% moisture at 5-10 cm and at around 13% moisture at 10-20cm.
From 0-5cm the moisture spikes from irrigation May 13 and May 15 but quickly returns to low levels of around 7% moisture.
The same general effect can be seen for Green 7 west and Green 7 south.
Moisture at 5-10cm and 10-20cm stays almost constant at 17%, 12% moisture respectively while the moisture in the top layer 0-5 cm quickly reduces down to 7%.
The surface stays firm. Poa annua with its shallow root system is discouraged from invading. Deeper rooting grass species can easily reach available soil moisture.
On Green 15 you can again clearly see the spike at 0-5cm from irrigation on May 13.
On May 15, it’s nearly back down to where it was to begin with.
You only see a tiny spike from irrigation deeper in the soil. It's remarkable how consistent the soil moisture is at depth.
Comparison of FTE vs. TourTurf® REO on the Putting Green – September 2025
In September 2025, a trial was conducted on the putting green, comparing one half treated with FTE with the other half treated with TourTurf® REO, our fully organic wetting agent.
REO acts as a traditional wetting agent with strong water-retaining properties.
The graphs show that under REO treatment, soil moisture in the top 0–5 cm remains high after irrigation.
In contrast, with FTE, moisture in the top 5 cm decreases rapidly, resulting in reduced water retention in the surface layer of the putting green, allowing water to penetrate much deeper into the soil profile.
The water is precisely where the roots are, as seen in this 20cm deep cup cutter. Desired grass species are encouraged to grow. The putting surface is true, consistent and very firm.
Initial results from Rya Golfclub are very promising: improved moisture control and more consistent greens.
As Sean and his team continue to monitor performance, TourTurf® FTE is proving to be a key tool in delivering perfect playing conditions while promoting sustainable water use.