Bearwood Lakes Golf Club

Bearwood Lakes Golf Club
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Monday 30 May 2011

You have to take the Rough with the Smooth

When I first arrived at Bearwood Lakes the rough was ridiculous. Although, it looked fantastic it was totally unplayable. I knew it would be a long term project but I really feel that we are turning the corner. Having walked the course today, I was able to walk through the rough without cursing a lost ball, a bad shot or that bloomin' Course Manager.

We have worked hard to ensure that we cut and collected the rough each year. The bales have got smaller and smaller in number and the rough was cut back in places to make the course a little more playable. This year with the improvement in the fineness of the grass sward and the emergence of a new chemical, Rescue  we are able to provide a much finer, more attractive looking rough which is more playable. It isn't the finished article but it is definitely a good work in progress.

The rough on the left of the 2nd tee has now been sprayed twice with Rescue and we recently sprayed the rough  on the 15th, 4th and 5th fairways as well as other areas around the golf course for the first time. The rough on the side of the 2nd has really thinnned out but still looks good and is really playable. Some weeds have come through in the bare areas but we will be spraying them off this week.




The recent spray will hopefully reduce the population of broad leaf grasses such as yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus). You will probably notice that it will start to go a little yellow and brittle. This should happen and hopefully the fescue height at this time of the year will mean you will only be able to notice it if you have hit your ball in the rough. You can see an example in the picture below.


There will be some large areas which die off and will need to be reseeded but we will manage these as we see them.

I hope you are finding the rough better this year, both aesthitically and from a playability standpoint. We are hoping to reinstall more areas of the rough to native grass as in years before, but with improved playability. It is a slow process but please bear with us as our work is paying off.

Saturday 28 May 2011

JCB

Not only have we invested in two new rollers, a digger and a sprayer recently - we are now the proud owners of this little beauty !! Although it is old it will be of great value to us. The front loader, forks and back actor will save time and money. A little bit of time in the workshop and it will be good to go. In difficult times Bearwood Lakes is really moving forward.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

A sneaky peak

I dont really want to post a blog update everytime we move a bit of turf, but we hope to have the area by the first tee looking great by the weekend.  We have been shopping and hopefully with another trip tomorrow and it will start to look fantastic.




Tuesday 24 May 2011

First Tee

I think when the architect suggested putting the first tee back by the putting green, I was not sure that it fitted into the landscape. I believed this was the only occasion in the new design that we were trying to shoehorn something in for extra wow factor that did not really fit with the flow and look of the golf course. I couldn't have been more wrong. We have made great progress this week and the tee fits in so well with the golf course. Not only does it makes the hole so much better to play (and even better when the two new bunkers go in), but it has made the whole area by the putting green come alive with light and vigour. Not only do we have a new tee but a much better looking landscape around the clubhouse.  Those who were hoping it might not be open for the club championships might be a little disappointed! It will be a real elevated stage for the start of big competitions in the future.

The work has also really exposed the fabulous pine by the eighth tee. Once the horticultural planting has gone in around the tee, the whole area will look great. I am off the the RHS gardens at Wisley tomorrow to choose plants (tough work if you can get it) and the turf for the new irrigated lawn down to the driving range will arrive on Thursday to ensure we are nearly there for the bank holiday. It was a great opportunity to returf the lawn and install irrigation and we have taken the opportunity and im sure it will be worth it.

I have included a  few pictures below to show how we are getting on. Try to compare these with the images in the previous post to see the rapid changes. Not long to go now and focus will shift to turfing the new bunker on the fifth.




Monday 16 May 2011

Tee on first hole really gets going

As many of you who were here today might have witnessed, the work on the first tee continued at pace with the removal of the silver birch around the first tee. This has been done for several reasons and I believe the golf course will be much better for it. We are aware of the negative environmental impact this work has but below I have highlighted reasons why this work is vital

1. With excessive shade the grass on the new tee will not root and survive play thereafter. In order to get grass to establish it is vital we must maximise natural light to the tee. An example of where this has not been managed properly is the 13th black tee. We are unable to use this tee as the light is so poor, we are unable to grow suitable grass in this area.
2. The roots of the silver birch have gone under the putting green and always cause quite a bit of damage to the green. The roots remove an incredible amount of moisture from the green and the area by the birches needs much more water than any area on the golf course to keep in good condition.
3. The tree work will imporve the quality of the 8th tee. The extra light this tee will get will massively improve the grass quality and improved air flow will keep the surfaces dry.
4. The quality of the putting green will imporve. The extra light and air flow will reduce the susceptability of the  green to winter disease by keeping the surfaces dry. This is one of the greens on the course which is most affected by microdochium patch.
5. The silver birch trees also dropped leaf litter all winter on the putting surface. The removal of these trees will improve year round quality of the putting surface and save man hours blowing greens which could be utilised elsewhere on the golf course.
6. The addition of a new tee will provide a new and exciting challenge for our membership.

I have taken quite a few photographs of todays work and have included some of them below chronologically as the work was undertaken. I hope you enjoy looking at them, especially if you have not be able to be at the golf club today.













Sunday 15 May 2011

Ash Tree on 14

As many of you know we like to make sure that the work we do at Bearwood Lakes is recycled and environmentally positive. I know this involves removing trees on the golf course but this is generally because;

  1. They are decaying and pose a Health and Safety concern to our members
  2. They are affecting the architecture of the hole Many trees have grown significantly since the course was originally designed and many have grown naturally on the site - predominantly silver birch.
  3. It has been incorrectly planted - there are many trees on the site that have been planted poorly both positionally and in term of species selection
  4. We are removing the tree to replace it somewhere else on the hole where it might look better 
In the case of the Ash tree on the 14th hole, it was removed as it made the hole look much better. It was also not in the best condition, probably due to its proximity to the water. However, the wood was collected and it has been given to Richard Maynard one of our members at BLGC. I have attached his email about what Richard will do with the wood as I thought it might be of great interest to our members and also may be a worthwhile purchase!! If you would like Richards details for any of the work you see please look at his website trees2timber at the bottom of the email or contact him at the club.

Dan
I picked up the wood on Monday, thank you very much.
The wood will be given to members of my club, The Berkshire Woodturners Association, and will no doubt be used to make a wide variety of full range of what we do at our website... http://www.berkshirewoodturners.org.uk/

Some of the wood will be used straight away and turned wet, some allowed to dry and season. Ash is a light strong timber, resistant to shocks and was widely used in the pre-war car industry to make the body frames. I believe Morgans still do.


Given that that tree would catch any wayward ball to the left on the 14th and throw it in the lake some members might want a momento. We take commissions so that could be something else to put in your blog. 


Regards

Richard Maynard

Saturday 14 May 2011

First tee begins

While we are waiting for the fairway bunker shape on the fifth to be agreed by the architect (this sunday), progress has not abated and we have begun the construction of the new first black tee. We hope to have it in play for the club championships, but it will ultimately depend on how well we can establish the grass to ensure stability. Below are a few pictures of the early stages. The trees will be felled this week to ensure we have enough light to the tee to grow the grass. This will also help the quality of the putting green.  Drainage will be installed, rootzone ordered and graded, irrigation installed and then the area will be turfed. This should be done over the next week or so.  Landscaping around the area will be undertaken after, as priority will be to get the turf down. The total yardage will be approximately 430 from this tee and it will bring the fairway bunkers really into play for the low handicapper. We hope you get to enjoy playing it soon.






 Tough shot this one !!


Wednesday 11 May 2011

How are we doing?

Construction

As many of you have noticed, work on the golf course has been progressing at a steady rate. Our intention with the remodelling is to ensure that it is a surgical process and we dont want to turn the club into a building site.  

The sixth hole is finished and I think you would all agree that the hole looks and plays much better. There is a renewed feeling of maturity to the hole.   Some additional fairway reshaping will take place in the autumn and will improve the playability further. The bunker sand is in, but I must reiterate that the sand will take 3 months to bed down so be prepared for some soft lies for the forseeable future. 

The bunkers on the 3rd hole are also completed. The hole is a little tighter and the green looks a little more raised and imposing, especially from the yellow tees. The sand again will take a little while to bed down so please be patient.

We have now started to rough grade and remodel the bunker on the fifth. This hole has changed quite a lot from 1996 and the aim is to take it back to the original design plans of the architect whilst also adding in some changes to further improve the hole. The bunker is now waiting for the final architect approval before we begin turfing and installing some irrigation. Below is a picture of the work so far. I have also included some old shots of the hole before, so you can see the improvements will really suit the hole, especially when the trees are re profiled and the fairways is re-cut. We will be undertaking the second bunker in the autumn as it includes some fairway reprofiling which is best carried out in the autumn/winter.





















As many of you have noticed we have also completed some excellent woodland work on the 7th hole. This hole is having no work on the redesign other than the extensive cleaning and re-profiling of the trees on the left hand side of the hole. It has been a real success. The tree work has allowed a wider variety of recovery shot be be played from the left side of the hole and also the removal of the willow trees has exposed the rhododendrons behind which will provide a lovely beackdrop of flower over the coming months. The quality of the grass under the trees will also improve.

I believe the best complement to the work  is that many members have hardly noticed the work has been done.  This is testament to the care and attention of the WTC to prune and manage the trees as sympathetically as possible. Below is a before and after view. 






As soon as the work is nearing completion on the fifth we will be making a start on the new first black tee. We hope to have this work completed in time for the club championships but it will depend on the weather and the ability of the turf to root in time. 




Golf Course management


The management of the golf course is progressing well. The greens have recovered quickly from the hollow coring and we are nearly at optimum playing conditions. The abundance of poa annua seedheads is a little irritating from a speed and roll point of view, but they should start to reduce soon. 


We are up to a full complement of staff. We have taken on three summer staff and also Rob Patton has joined the greenstaff to replace Steve who has moved over to full time construction. The guys are doing and excellent job and we hope to keep the course in optimum condition through the summer. 


We have had such a dry spring and the hottest April for 353 years. As you might know we are short of water and we are currently in the process of working toward securing more for the long term. During this dry spell (and also in the summer) we have been watering the tees,greens, approachs and green surrounds. If there is any more water left we will water the fairways but for the most part they will have to fend for themselves and rely on natural rainfall. We will be able to irrigate landing areas and dry fairways such as 6,16 and 17. Future plans will allows us to be able to water all surfaces year round and will be the biggest single improvement to the condition of the golf course. 


If you would like to know any more about the changes and general maintenance of the golf course please let me know, write a comment or email me at the club. I will continue to up date you on this site as soon as more information become available


Daniel Lightfoot 


Golf Course Manager