Winter Projects update - January 2024

Winter Projects

Before and after the Christmas period the work has continued on the golf course, despite the weather. We have gone from very wet conditions, to dry and frozen, and then back to wet again. Each type of weather condition throws up different challenges for the work we are trying to conduct, and below is a summary of the work we have been able to achieve over the last few weeks.

Bunkers

The main focus when the weather turned dry and cold was to continue to work on the bunker redevelopments on the first three holes. Actually getting to the bunkers was the main issue during the wet weather, however when it was frozen we could drive the digger and materials such as soil and drainage components to each site, without too much disturbance.

Figure 1: Snow didn't stop us!

This work on the bunkers is ongoing, with the new bunker liner being installed in February. We still have a couple of bunkers to check the drainage on, but 6 of the 8 bunkers being worked on have had their drainage refreshed and cleaned out ready for liner installation. It was good to see after 17mm of rain over the weekend that the drainage was all working very well.

Figure 2: Fresh drainage put into the bunkers.

The bunkers at the 1st greenside are more or less ready for liner, we just have to create the final shelf for the outside of the turf edge. This will be done as close as possible to the installation date so as not to disturb the soil too much.

At the second, we discovered old clay drainage deep under the right bunker, which once released, has not stopped flowing ever since. We are not sure where it comes from, probably an old land drain. However, we have connected it up to our existing and freshly topped up bunker drainage, so it has somewhere to go in future.

Figure 3: Connecting up old field drain to new drainage.

The three bunkers at the third hole have also had plenty of work done. The short-left bunker has been made smaller as it has no real value to the difficulty of the hole, as agreed with the slope rating scoring team. The front left bunker has had fresh drainage added and the right bunker has been made smaller.

Figure 4: 3rd bunker made smaller and more maintenance friendly.

There have been no significant changes to the depths of the bunkers, however when the new turf is added after the liner installation, they may seem deeper due to a lower turf edge.

Figure 5: Shaping at dusk.

Trees

The club have employed a tree contracting team over the last week to carry out some much needed tree work around the course. They have worked on areas on the 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 12th.

At the 1st, the tree line to the left of the out of bounds area has been cut back. Anything overhanging was trimmed back as it was encroaching and interfering with the tee shot. If left any longer, then it would have caused more issues for the opening tee shot.

Figure 6: Tree work left of 1st Fairway

The same was happening at the 3rd, where trees were encroaching and interfering with the hole. A large sycamore was removed on the right-hand side, and a bit of trimming was done on the left, to open the hole up again. Whilst there, the team took the opportunity to trim up the hedges around the 3rd tee and the toilet block. This will make them more manageable in the future.

The 8th tee was also closing in and so more work has been done to trim back high branches which were interfering with the tee shots. And on the 12th, the green has always suffered with heavy shade issues. To alleviate these issues, a couple of trees have been removed from next to the 13th tee, as well as tidying up some of the other trees in the area. This work will have massive benefit to both the 12th green and the 13th tee areas, allowing more light and air to pass through.

Figure 7: Storm damage on 16th.

The recent storm has caused a small bit of damage, blowing over a couple of weak trees on the 16th in the out of bounds area, which have been removed. There are some other small bits of debris around the course, however this will be picked up as we go.

2nd Tee/18th tee

During the last week we also had another contractor in to conduct some work in various areas. Two of the primary areas of work were at the 2nd and 18th tees. At the 2nd, the old and small grass tee and winter mat were an eye sore and so this area has been redeveloped. Karl from KPM Contractors came in and stripped off the surrounding wild areas before turning his attention to the tee itself.

Figure 8: Rough area in between the tees removed.

Figure 9: Old second tee looking in a sorry state.

The decent rootzone material was stripped off first and stockpiled, then the whole tee was lowered in height and made larger. Then the rootzone was put back on and spread evenly.

Figure 10: Existing material stockpiled ready to go on redeveloped tee.

This will provide us with a much more usable tee to be used in the summer. A new winter mat will be made for the front area, where the ground has been remodelled, so that there is no longer a need for any steps. The wild area to the side of the tee will be worked on so that we can have wildflowers there in the future.

Figure 11: 2nd tee base work complete.

At the 18th tee, the whole right-hand side up towards the halfway house was very untidy and provided the wrong impression for the last hole. This hole area has been stripped of all vegetation and is now ready for the rotovator to go through it. Again, this is an area where I think we can sow wildflower seed into it, although it is such a large area, and we will need time and patience to achieve the best results.

Figure 12: Right side of 18th cleared for development.

Also at the 18th tee, a large section of earth at the left side has been removed ready for the installation of a sleeper barrier, similar to behind the tee. This will prevent any golfer from clambering up the banking to the tee.

Figure 13: Ponds at the 1st widened.

Whilst at the 2nd, Karl widened the inlet between the ponds so that the area could hold a larger volume of water. This will help with the drainage from the surrounding areas, as well as helping to alleviate any issues with flooding in the neighbouring gardens.

Finally, many thanks go to the working party who have put a lot of time and effort into upgrading the path from the second tees to the fairway. It is still in development, but many hours have been spent so far in creating a new edge for the path. Once completed a new layer of MOT will be put down on top of the existing path.

Figure 14: new path edge going in at the 2nd.

There is much work still to do all over the course, however everything being done at them minute should help to improve many of the areas and issues that the membership have been bringing to the club’s attention. We will continue to work through the winter on these areas, as well as keeping an eye on the build up to the playing season, with all that this entails with regard to the playing surfaces.

Steve Hemsley

Head Greenkeeper