The Winter programme of course improvements is near completion. The works this year have been considerable. Due to an unseasonably warm autumn we were cutting grass right up to January so the winter projects were delayed. Most noticeable in recent months has been the ongoing tree and gorse removal policies and bunker work. Irrigation and fairway management works have also been considerable (see pictures attached of some of the challenges from blocked drains and tree roots).
Trees
The policy of removing and pruning trees is designed to prevent excessive tree growth and to brighten up key parts of the course. This also assists with grass growth and playability. Front 9 trees have been pruned and crowns raised to increase light and grass quality under them with further plans for the 6th and 9th holes. The back 9 work is ongoing.
Bunkers
Extensive bunker work was undertaken to repair areas damaged through wear and tear. We have also added definition to various bunkers and the large bunker on 16 will be split into two.
We removed sand from bunker tops and replaced with soil to reduce drought stress on the 1st 2nd 6th 8th and 11th. We repaired and re-sodded entry/exit points on all bunkers
We will remove a bunker on the 5th and 7th as these are underused and are costly to maintain.
Fairways and Irrigation
We installed new irrigation on 4th & 5th approaches and the 17th surround. All fairways have been shockwaved and verti-drained twice (aeration).
We rebuilt 2 sets of drains between the 12th and 15th which were damaged due to tree roots.
For the 17th we will begin to widen the fairway once the growing season starts.
Paths and buggies
We built a new path through the trees to the right of the 1st to take course traffic away from interfering with golfers on the 1st tee and the 6th green. We also hope to repair some of the other paths on the course.
As always (eg 13 and 16) please use paths for trolleys and buggies where feasible.
Social media
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