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