three of the best holes on the course have only 2 bunkers between them. A small Links Review Panel was set up with careful Terms of
Reference, and with the task of selecting a Course Architect. An early step was to invite the membership to put forward its ideas for change or not as the case might be.
Irrigation system
Meanwhile it was becoming clear that another very
important part of the links was in most urgent need of attention. Our irrigation system was over 30 years old, well past its sell by date, and letting us down badly. An Irrigation Audit by STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute)
in July 2007 made clear just how bad the situation was. In summary: “The system is undoubtedly near the end of its lifespan and requires immediate rectification and modernisation”. The control system was unreliable and the
“A new irrigation system is a huge investment for any golf club, and Hoylake is no exception”
pipework (some of it at a depth of only 5”) prone to damage from modern green-keeping equipment. The sprinkler performance and coverage was poor, and the sprinklers often had to be manually activated, thus wasting a great deal of time and money. It was emphasised that although on the west coast, Hoylake has a very dry climate. This astonished our Links Manager, Craig Gilholm, when he arrived from Muirfield and found a comparable or at times lower rainfall than the East coast of Scotland, a situation exacerbated by the pure sand substrate and 4” root zone found on the Hoylake links. Technology in this whole area of irrigation control has
moved on in leaps and bounds in the last 30 years, and there is no longer any reason why even a seaside course should have soft green hollows and hard brown bumps. Nor is there any reason why greens should not receive the amount of water they need exactly where and when it is needed. But the benefits of a new system are much more than those
of a modern replacement of an old one. Three years ago we established a turf nursery, which has flourished thanks to a couple of unusually wet summers; a new system would cover this area too to ensure the future. Our water usage in the long
term would undoubtedly be lower as a result of an up to date state of the art system eliminating waste, and giving proper control over the distribution of water round the course. Not only would we be making better use of our water resources, but our efforts to improve grass quality would be greatly assisted. A new system would also allow us to substitute turf paths for many of the noisy and unpopular shale paths which so often have to be washed off trolley wheels at the end of play. Perhaps less obviously, a most important benefit of a
modern system as against the old one, would be cost savings of £40,000 per annum in man hours and spare parts. A new irrigation system is a huge investment for any golf
club, and Hoylake is no exception. Eventually after a close examination of the pros and cons, the membership agreed with Council and the Green Committee that it was vital to go ahead. The means of doing so was finally decided in September 2009 and the work was to be done during the winter ahead. Adrian Mortram, author of the 2007 Audit, is the Irrigation
expert associated with STRI. He has been retained by the Club to manage on our behalf, everything to do with the new irrigation project. The exact position of every sprinkler and the piping system which feeds it is his design. He deals in flow rates, evaporation rates, precipitation needs, sprinkler types and positions; and all the information necessary precisely to specify over 20 miles of pipe in six sizes from 2” to 6”, together with 1283 sprinklers of 7 different types, all controlled through 22 miles of electric cable. There is a new glass lined
tank with a capacity of 120,000 gallons and there will also be
a new computer to enable the precise distribution of over 5 gallons of water every second. The software is provided by Rain Bird, supplier of the sprinklers themselves. The contractor for the installation is MJ Abbott & Co.Ltd
which company was selected after a strict tendering process. They already had some experience of Hoylake and this has been most useful to them and to the Club. Site Foreman for Abbotts is Simon Hatcher who is rightly proud of the quality of the work being done and of the extraordinary machines doing it. Work was started in November 2009, and at the time of writing (January 2010) despite the weather Simon expects to be clear of the course by the end of March. Thereafter the system will be exhaustively tested before completion.
Links Review
The members of the Club responded with enthusiasm to the
invitation of the Review Panel to put forward views on possible changes to the links. The shape and quantity of bunkers came in for criticism and it was clear that the 17th and 18th holes
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