For a period of 6 weeks beginning on Monday 24th April, we will have the alternate hole in play to allow us to carry out some important course works on the 8th, 13th and 15th holes of the East course, which includes installation of bunker drainage and the replacement of turf around the collars of the greens as a treatment for couch encroachment.
Beginning with the 13th, we will be installing herringbone drainage lines similar to the pictured example of the 5th carried out in 2015 through all 3 bunkers on the left of the green, along with the first 2 bunkers on the right, running them back to a sump that will be located on the approach where there is an existing soakage pit.
Due to the low nature of this local area, we will be installing an electric sump pump to move the water from the sump to the waste in front of the 9th tee. Drainage will also be installed through the carry across to the 9th black tee while we are moving through the area to deal with the boggy conditions we see at times through winter.
Whilst this is occurring, we will be removing the old turf from the collar of the green, excavating to a depth that removes the visible couch vegetative material, replacing the sand and resodding with new bent turf from the nursery. In the week prior, the area of turf will be sprayed with non-selective herbicides to cause as much harm to the couch as we can in an effort to impact any root/rhizome material under the surface that could be missed during soil removal. The application of non-selective herbicides will obviously impact the visual presentation of the area, however is an important part of the process.
Once we have completed these works, we are moving to the 8th green, where, similar to the 13th we will be installing bunker drainage into the left and right greenside bunkers, running into a hidden sump complete with submersible pump in the hollow to the front right of the green. Similar re sodding of the bent collar will also take place on the 8th as was carried out on the 13th.
The final green to be treated during this phase of work will be the 15th, where the primary objective will be to replace the turf on the collar to remove the couch that has encroached over the 5 years the green has been in existence. Whilst a couple of the bunkers do become a little damp on the hole, they are not at the point where we feel drainage is necessary.
So it is going to be a busy 6 week period for the ground staff carrying out this important course work. We appreciate your understanding during this time, and hope it doesn’t create too much inconvenience.
Richard James
Course Superintendent
Course Works
Due to the works as described above the following holes on the East Course will be out of play with the spare hole 37 in play:
- 13th is out Monday 24th April – Friday 5th May
- 8th is out Monday 8th May – Friday 19th May
- 15th is out Monday 22nd May to Friday 2nd June