5th, 11th and 13th bunkers during construction
Winter Programme Update
13th Tee
Winter Programme Update
13th Tee
I have purposely left turfing as late as possible to allow the new rootzone to consolidate as much as possible, this will identify any subsidence that has occurred over the winter period. Also releveling that may be required prior to turfing. The original turf was laid pre Christmas and is now showing signs of rooting due to the milder temps of late, however if the new turf has not rooted sufficiently in time for the April competitions we will install a temporary tee mat until the new turf has rooted sufficiently to take normal play.
Rooting will only occur as the temperature increases to approx. 6oC upwards, (Hopefully Spring will be kind to us !!). Regular sand topdressings will be applied to ensure turf stays dry, firm and level. Non competition play will continue from the astroturf or small grass winter tee's on the R/H/S. I am sure you will agree that once all the renovation is complete this will be of significant improvement to the hole and well worth the money and effort spent on it's upgrade.
Bunker Renovation
We have recently began the reconstruction to various greenside bunkers throughout the course at holes 5,11,13 & 16. I have chosen a revetting style bunker face due to the steep severity of these bunker faces and I am aware this style of bunkering is common practise on links style courses, however this type of construction encourages the balls to roll into the middle of bunker and not having them stuck up the face and in some cases no shots!. This type of construction is not for life and will require refacing in the future approx 5-7 years, however it has labour saving benefits from a maintenance level.
I am expecting delivery of new turf w/c 10/03/14 and will have bunkers at 5 & 16th complete by the end of this week, however construction to the 11th and 13th is still on going although progress is being hampered by poor weather of late. I expect to have them complete by end of w/c 17/03/14. New turf around the bunkers will require some time to root in, therefore in the meantime bunkers will be marked GUR. Long handled ball scoops will be provided to retrieve your ball from the bunker. Please exercise extreme care not to stand on the newly land turf as this will only hamper it's recovery. Thank you.
Drainage
R/H/S 18th
New drainage is now installed and has been significantly tested over the last month, I can positively report it is working well. I have purposely left a small inspection area near the 18th greenside as we intend to install new drainage to the front of the 17th gents tee connecting it into this pipe. Once all turfing to bunkers, tee's and drainage areas are complete we will be attending to the front of 17th gents tee area. As I have mentioned in previous blog reports we do have high thatch problem areas and I have outlined necessary control methods to aid drainage throughout the course, however these controls ie. hollowcoring, scarifying & sand topdressings can only be carried out until we have the appropriate main & lateral drainage in place to remove high quantities of surface water, which in this climate is essential.
Hole closures
2nd 15th and 16th holes
Q - Why has it been necessary to close these holes?
A - It has been noted & commented that the course has held up particularly well this winter especially our greens. This of course is due to the investment in aereation equipment and the hard work carried out by the staff to ensure our putting surfaces remain in play and in the best condition possible and I thank you for all your positive comments.
Regrettably it has been necessary to bring in some control measures to protect certain areas of the course that are under severe pressure to drain properly. 2nd hole in particular is low lying fairway therefore rain water will naturally accumulate here. With rain fall increasing it is now identifying faults in our older clay tile drainage system incapable of supporting this amount of water, also and unknown to us the new irrigation pipes has cut through older clay tiles causing areas to flood. Unfortunately no plans of clay tile drainage exist. Our green staff are now attending to these bursts, therefore it is for health and safety reasons we require this hole to be closed until repairs are complete.
This will also give the small landing area some rest bite/ recovery prior to the onset of a busy season ahead. I anticipate these repairs to last for approx a few weeks, however if the high rain fall continues and there is no improvement surface water drainage then the hole may remain closed until further notice. Information on hole closures via course info sign & tee signage, pro shop website. As you know the club has invested heavily in new drainage system to 14th & 16th fairways and as you have noticed this has been extremely successful throughout last summer and certainly put to the test this winter.
Unfortunately the areas to the right and especially the L/H/S of the 16th green and in front of 17th tee are now becoming impossible, therefore to prevent further damage to the ground surface and personal injury we have implemented these control measures. Additional drainage to the L/H/S 16th & 17th gents tee is required. We will be directing the flow of water towards the 18th fairway connecting to the new drainage mentioned earlier, unfortunately these areas are lower than the new drainage on the 16th otherwise we could have connected into this. Tree removal will be inevitable to allow new main drainage through these areas. Damage to the turf will be kept to a minimal.
Work on this area will begin once all the renovation to the bunkers is complete, hopefully by wc 24/03/14. I will update you via the course information sign, pro shop and website.
Flagpole
We have recently taken delivery of the new 8m fibre glass flagpole. A large concrete foundation has to be installed prior to erecting the flag pole. Installation will start once I have completed all the bunker renovation and our aim is to have it installed in time for our competition session beginning on the 5th April.
Thank you,
Douglas
