FULFORD and the STRI
RICHARD STUTTARD reports on the STRI’s ten year association with Fulford Golf Club
T
he STRI’s Ecology and Environment Unit have been working with Fulford Golf Club for almost a decade. In that time significant changes have been implemented over the course. Since 1999 work on the course has been guided by an Ecological Management Plan, produced by the Ecology and Environment Unit. Recognition has been given to course/turf condition, playability and the ecological value of the habitats that are such an important and integral component of the course. Indeed, it is the relationship and proximity of the rough along individual holes that has elevated the prestige of this wonderful course.
A lot of work has been focused on
improving light and airflow to the greens and tees which, in turn, has significantly improved their health and reduced the need for pesticide use. The back of the 6th green is a good example. Problems can arise with turf surfaces when they have insufficient access to light and air movement. The turf surface remains damp for much of the day and this can lead to weak, thatchy, disease prone turf. The encroaching wood edge to the back of the green has been pushed back and selective tree thinning has been employed under the guidance of the STRI’s Bob Taylor, so reducing the cauldron effect of the trees. Fulford have implemented tree thinning
programmes around several tees and greens in order to increase the passage of light and airflow and this has served to improve the health of the playing surfaces. To the left of
20
the 6th green, a glade has been cut through the woodland in a south easterly orientation to allow early morning sunlight onto the green, and to create views through to neighbouring holes. This has both improved turf quality and has created a more open environment within which to play golf. Golfers now regularly see deer crossing the ride into the different section of the woodland.
Sufficient woodland has been retained to accommodate barn owls which return to nest in one of the two boxes provided in the woodland. Interestingly, both boxes at different times within the same breeding period tend to be used by the owls. Chicks have been seen to be moved from one box to the other and this is perhaps as a means of ensuring security and safety. Heather regeneration has formed a significant part of the work carried out at Fulford over the last seven or eight years and is still ongoing. Heather trials have involved turf stripping and scarification to disturb the dormant heather seed lying just a few centimetres below the surface. Heather seed will remain viable in the soil for many years and the action of vegetation clearance, coupled with the disturbance of the surface, is often all that is required to encourage heather germination and establishment.
The heather trials initially put in place on the 11th hole have been very successful and have since been expanded to increase heather elsewhere. This now forms a significant visual feature on the course.
Heather is in rapid decline on UK golf courses through a combination of inappropriate management and trampling pressures and, as such, the work being carried out at Fulford is certainly worthy of commendation. The provision of deeper rough grassland
around the course has markedly increased over the last few years. Its presence serves to add significant definition to each hole and is a striking visual feature. Rough grassland is also extremely beneficial for wildlife. The team at Fulford have implemented a rigorous programme of cutting and scarifying these areas, with a collection of all arisings, in order to create a sward that is open and fine in nature with only a small presence of any courser grasses. This has created rough grassland that is, although penal and an added challenge, still practical in terms of ball retrieval and playability. Overall, the changes at Fulford have
created a course that is not only more visually appealing but is also more strategic for the golfer and more challenging. Wildlife value has also increased markedly. The prestigious status of Fulford Golf Club is well known and here, as elsewhere, prestige is closely related to course condition, playability and the aesthetic contribution that the rough has on each hole.
The above is directly attributable to ongoing proactive and directed management planning and intervention. A programme that is well enshrined at Fulford.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115