5th Green Bunker Refurbishment

Starting next week,we plan to refurbish the five bunkers around the 5th green. The bunkers on the left side of the green will be subject to fairly major reshaping work with the aim of making the bunkers more visible from the fairway,  improving aesthetics and making access and egress easier. 

As can be seen in the above image, the current look of the bunkers is rather uninspiring. The bunkering around this green should have a far greater visual impact so to achieve this we will remove material from the back of the bunkers and reshape the faces. We will use a revetted style of bunker face in keeping with the style on other areas of the course.

The image below shows extensive soil erosion at the point of exit from the bunker. This is caused by the steep slope which leads to people slipping and skidding as they try to get out of the bunker. Access to the bunkers will be greatly improved by the reshaping of the land at the point of exit from each of the bunkers.

Work is scheduled to start here on the 1st of November. To enable the work to proceed in a safe and timely manner it will be necessary to use a temporary green on non-competition days during the project.

Maintenance Week Update

Greens are recovering well from the work carried out during the maintenance week. Following a period of inclement weather we have managed to apply the final 20 tonnes of top dressing material to the putting surfaces. In all a total of 50 tonnes was applied in the ten days following the hollow core operation and the material has been worked into the sward nicely.

Germination of the new grass following the seeding operation is now clearly evident. Rows of new bent grass where the seed drill has passed over can be seen in the image below taken of recently of the 12th green.

More Marram Planting

Following on from the work carried out last year, we have planted more Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) on the left side of the 11th hole. Since the Holm oak (Quercus ilex) trees have been removed from the dunes in this area we have identified the need to stabilise the shifting sands. There can be no doubt that Marram is perfect plant for this purpose. Recent heavy rain has provided ideal soil conditions so hopefully most of the plugs will establish successfully.

We carry out most of this work by hand. We carefully select the best plants then we tease them out of the ground and collect together in large tubs ready for replanting. Through trial and error we have found that the plants that survive the process best are those which have the most fresh looking small white roots. The large rhizome that extends deep from each plant does not help a transplanted specimen to survive. We would consider the plants shown in the image below to be ideal for transplanting as they have a good number of fresh looking root hairs.

  

Tiny root "hairs" clearly visible

We aim to complete as much of this type of work as possible over the next few weeks as this is felt to be the best time of year to ensure success. Areas on the left side of the 13th hole will be planted out next.

All planted areas have been white lined and fenced off. No play is allowed from within the lined areas and players are requested to take care not to trample the plants when retrieving their ball.

Course Maintenance Week

Work scheduled for our autumn maintenance week has been completed on time. Hollow coring, verti-cutting, overseeding and top dressing work has been carried out to all 18 greens and surrounds and the two practice putting greens also.

Coring The 15th Green

Half Inch Holes With 2x2 Inch Spacing

Verti-Cutting On 15

Some Of The Material Removed During Verti-Cutting

Broadcasting Seed Into Tine Holes

Applying Top Dressing

Around 30 tonnes of dressing was applied to the putting surfaces. Once the material is fully worked in, another 20 tonnes will be applied. The holes will take 2-3 weeks to disappear.