9th Path

The severity of slope to the 9th path, which exits the golf course to the main car park has long been problematic for many of our members. In addition to this, during periods of heavy rainfall the path would wash out, become rutted and deposit granite dust onto the course rendering the area unsightly.

Steep incline to car park

Washout onto semi-rough

To remedy these problems the path had to be completely reconstructed. The angle and position had to be changed to allow for ease of exit through a longer, gradual slope and to be blended into the existing land.

Short, steep and unsightly

In all 100 tons of sand back fill, 20 tons of hardcore, 10 tons of hogging, 50 square meters of bod pave and 5 tons of granite dust were used on the project. The bod pave is the product we used to address the issue of washout, it is laid on the finished path and filled with granite dust, this stabilizes the surface preventing ruts and washout.

Sand backfill

Path and bank foundations

Bank turfed, hardcore and hoggin infilled. Bodpave laid

Bodpave back filled with granite dust

Completed view from car park

Completed view from 9th walk off

Completed view from 9th fairway

Walkway Refurbishment

We are constantly trying to improve the artificial pathways on the golf course. Over the years we have tried various materials with varying results. For the first time last year, we experimented using rubber matting placed over turf. The main advantage with this approach is that paths look much more natural with a grass covering, the rubber matting prevents the grass from wearing out under the heavy wear from foot traffic and golf trollies etc. Areas on holes 3 and 8 were completed in early 2016, these performed well throughout the 2016 season so this approach is being used in a number of other locations.

The images below show the path on the exit from the 18th hole being converted from granite dust to a hard wearing grass surface.

Unsightly granite walkway from the 18th green

Granite path and worn turf stripped out

Levels re-established and graded with sandy soil

Turf re-laid around main walkway

A hard wearing turf is laid in main walkway with a rubber mat pegged on top

Walkway complete with the addition of a storm drain to ease flooding in this area

Within 3 to 5 weeks the grass blades have grown through the holes in the mat rendering it almost invisible to the eye

Bunker Renovations

5th Green side bunkers before refurbishment

Completed bunker refurbishment 5th green side

In total 9 bunkers will have been refurbished this winter. Two at the 1st, Three at the 5th, Two at the 14th and the two chipping area bunkers. All bunkers have been rebuilt in the revetted style associated with links golf, bunker bases have been raised to aid with access/egress and lined for a consistent sand depth.

12th Tee Reconstruction

The original par 3 12th tee surrounded by rank non native species

Scraped back to sand, shaped and transplanted natural dune grasses

Original enclosed view from Championship tee

New tee complex enlarged by 25%, irrigation installed, turf laid and open vista

12th Tee Reconstruction

We have recently started work on the levelling and enlarging of the 12th white/yellow tees.  The area around the tee has been stripped of vegetation in order to create a more natural sand dune type setting for the new tee. New irrigation will  be installed during this project as overthrow from the old sprinklers was the cause of the rank vegetation in the surrounding land. The path to the side of the tee will also be rebuilt towards the end of this project.

Course Update

As we move towards the winter months the tasks being undertaken on the golf course become more varied and unusual. The post will discuss some tasks that have taken place recently.

Sub-Surface Aeration

All putting surfaces have been solid tined using a 9.5mm diameter tine to a depth of 75mm. This improves the movement of air and water through the rootzone. In the coming weeks we will solid tine greens again this time using a 12mm tine working to a depth of 250mm. Beyond greens we have also solid tined all tees, surrounds and green approaches. Work on fairways is ongoing with nine completed so far.

Turfing of Path Ends

Worn path ends are in the process of being stripped, rotovated and returfed. This year we are using the turf from the 1st tee complex as this matches well with the surrounding areas. Turfed areas are roped off to ensure they can establish properly. 

Bunker Construction

Every year we refurbish a number of bunkers across the course and this year we have selected one bunker on each of holes 10, 11, 12 and 18. Work on the 18th has been completed although the bunker will remain out of play until the end of the winter months.

1st Tee Renovation

We have started to renovate and re-shape the teeing areas on the 1^st hole to improve this tired looking area of the golf course. Within the scope of this project we aim to address a number long standing issues with this tee complex the most obvious of which is the consistently poor performance of the yellow tee box. This tee is too small to cope with normal levels of play so it will be extended into the area currently occupied by the back half of the red tee. The three tee surfaces will have surface levels restored to ensure all shots can be taken from an even stance. We will also replace and reposition all of the irrigation pipework and heads as this tee was not included in the irrigation system replacement project in 2007/8. While this work is going on we will take the opportunity to change the tee banks on the road side. The hedge is being removed as this has become rather unsightly with gaps and dips along its entire length. Marram grass will be used on the new banking which will provide a natural looking finish. The steps to the new ladies tee will be reduced in size and a new set of steps will be built to access the yellow tee. As this project progresses, the tee will eventually have to close to allow the work to be done. Arrangements have been made to move the red tees to the site of the green tees and to move the yellow/white tees to a temporary tee located on the hill beyond the bottom car park. When this work is complete we will remove the hedging located at the top of the slope to the bottom car park as shown in the image below. This will improve visibility when entering or leaving the bottom car park. Where the hedge has been removed we plan to create an attractive planted area with the bronze Mythical Fish currently located in the foyer of clubhouse relocated outside and used as a centrepiece of the newly planted area.

 

Clearing the hedge from the 1st tee

Rough Grassland Management

We have recently undertaken work in some of the roughs with the aim of thinning out the grass to improve playability. In selected areas on holes 2, 3 and 18 the grass has been cut short, arisings have been removed and the areas have been scarified. This process will be repeated annually which will enable these areas to become progressively less dense and thus easier to find a ball and then play out of. We hope to extend this operation to cover many more rough grass areas in future with the aim of creating well defined, wispy rough that frames each hole without it being overly penal from a playing perspective.

18th rough before

18th rough after

Course Update

Project Work

This winter we have a number of construction/renovation projects planned across the links with the aim of further improving the quality of the golf course.

The 8^th tee will be levelled, new irrigation added and re-turfed. The existing turf from this tee will be used on the side of the 11^th tees, an area that is subjected to high wear. A temporary tee mat is in position on the 8^th hole and will be in use until March next year. Similar levelling work will take place on the 15^th yellow tee. No tee mat will be needed in this area however as alternative grass tees will be used instead.

Bunker renovations will take place on holes 3 and 8. This will entail rebuilding the revetted wall and topping up sand levels. Larger scale bunker renovation work will take place on the 17^th hole. The two bunkers on the left side will be completely reshaped with the aim of drastically improving both visual and playing characteristics.

A path extension is underway on hole 12. This work, which includes drain installation, is being done to further fine tune traffic management in an area that is subjected to high levels of wear and tear. Some planting of Marram grass has taken place nearby to ensure the new path section remains out of site when viewed from the tee.

We have almost completed our first winter project. Reshaping and contouring of the walkway from the right side of the 10^th tee has been undertaken to widen the access towards the 11^th tees. This area had become rather worn over the last two seasons due to the way the ground contours caused a bottleneck when players were exiting the green complex. A considerable amount of material has been removed from the end of the mound in this area and shaped to ensure consistency with the surrounding land. Green surrounds quality turf has been used to give the best match with the surroundings. Turfing work has been extended up to and beyond the 11^th tees which means the whole area will need to be protected while the turf beds in. All players are being directed to the left of the 10^th green and the 11^th hole is being played from the ladies tee.

Winter Work Review - 15th Bunkers

Another task completed over the winter was the refurbishment of the two bunkers next to the 15th green. Over the years we have found that the faces in these bunkers degrade quicker than average due to the high levels of play they experience coupled with the fact they're in direct sunlight for most of the day. On this occassion we decided to use a bunker liner during construction to minimise sand contamination from beneath and to help maintain a good shape in the sand on the bunker floor.

 Bunkers before

Reshaping around bunkers

 

Liner fitted

Finished bunkers

Winter Work Review - 7th Hole

To improve the visual characteristices of this hole we have taken measures to dramatically reduce the footprint of artificial paths on the 7th hole. The path from the tee has been shortened by approximately 30yds. Beyond improving the look of the area, this allows the chance to extend the fairway towards the tee thus reducing the distance of the carry. As a result, we hope this makes this hole more enjoyable to play.

The path in the centre of the fairwayy leading to the green complex has been removed. The area has been completely reshaped and turf from the old 5th and 10th tees used to provide a good blend with the surrounding ground.