Winter Works, Woodland Thinning and Vandalism

Over the winter, as well as the drainage work already completed, we also have filled in the bunker on the 7th, which was always flooding and was full of weeds. Mounding was created, using the spoil taken from various drainage sites and consolidated.

 

The shape of the mounding was thought through, to try and blend in to its surrounding area as much as possible, as well as making it easy to maintain with a mower in the upcoming season.

New turf was brought in to cover the area, and this will be cut regularly from now on.

 

 

 

 

As the weather turned colder, wetter and wilder, our attention turned towards the trees and carrying on the work like we did on the left hand side of the 5th hole.

 

We agreed to work on the area between 6 and 14, as well as the area between 5 and 15. We have removed as much dead, decayed or dangerous timber as possible, but there are still stumps to be removed.

I have provided some examples of the work inspected and undertaken.

 

On the 14th, it was clearly visible that the lack of sunlight and air movement was having a profound effect on the quality of the surfaces. Also, the playability of the hole was also becoming harder as the trees on the right were hindering shots, hiding the right of the green and the right bunker.

 

 

 

 

Now the whole right hand side of the green and bunker is back in play.

 

Below is a prime example of the issue with shade, especially in the winter. By giving the surfaces more light, they have the chance to improve.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Now looking after the surfaces as best we can in the winter time is very important, especially when they are not in full sunlight in winter time, and so it was very disappointing to find out that a motor bike had entered the course and caused damage to the 13th fairway, approach and green.

 

 

 

 

 

There are some areas of the green which were repairable with minor damage, however the bike caused significant surface damage in three main areas. A decision was made to remove the turf in those areas, replacing it with similar turf at the side of the green.

 

 

 

 

 

The turf cutter was used to strip off the turf, and then small pieces were exchanged, bit by bit, in order to fill in the space.

 

 

 

 

 

The green will be brought in on the left hand side to allow this area, which has been dressed and seeded, time to recover.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Green Drainage and 7th Green Drainage Prep

At the end of October we broke ground on the 2nd green in order to install new drainage. We hope to drain all the remaining greens over the next couple of years, starting with the 15th at the end of the season.

We used the turf cutter to cut the lines of turf. Then a trencher was hired to cut the trenches down to a depth of around 450mm.

A small amount of gravel was placed along the trenches so that the pipe could sit cleanly on top of the trench floor.

Then 60mm pipe was installed into the trenches from left to right along the length of the green. A main deeper trench was installed at the lowest part of the green, a long the right hand side, and all the 60mm pipes were connected into a larger outlet pipe, which then ran out into the nearby ditch.

Gravel was then placed on top of the pipe and firmed.

Then rootzone was placed on top of the gravel and firmed to avoid too much consolidation.

The turf was then replaced and levelled. It was important to take time with the crucial relaying of the turf as then the turf edges have a better chance to knit back together.

Regular checks were made to make sure there was no siginficant drop in turf levels and the green is now back open for play.

This particular green missed out on the autumn renovation and so will be cored as soon as possible. We will also be running a machine called the Sandcat over it, which slices the ground and installs dried sand into the profile. More about this when it happens in February.


In preparation for draining the 7th and 11th greens at the end of the season, we have already installed an outlet drain to carry the water from the area. This will be tapped into next time and gives us a good reference point for where the main greens drainage needs to go.

 

We used the digger to remove the material, including a massive boulder right in front of the 7th green. Then, with a similar process to the 2nd green, drainage was installed in front of 7, between the 7th and 11th greens, as well as putting a drain at the back of the 11th to catch the run off.

New rootzone was placed on top of the gravel before adding turf.