The pay-off of these initiatives has been a marked increase in wildlife
pond by the 13th tee, introduced a few years ago by a member with a mischievous sense of humour. Steve’s maintenance regimes are as follows: Greens: This is tailored around
with local conservation groups to create new breeding habitats for butterflies, moths and barn owls. Four-metre margins of insect-rich grassland run alongside the boundary hedgerows, one of which is known to be 400 years old, and Steve’s woodland management recognises the importance of dead or decaying timber as hosts for the invertebrates that provide food for many birds and mammals. The pay-off of these and other initiatives has been a
marked increase in wildlife. The course has more birds, bees, butterflies, bats and badgers than ever before. It even has a crocodile … of sorts. The wooden silhouette of a croc’s head floats ominously among the reeds on the
increasing the population of finer grasses (bents and fescue) in the greens. This is achieved with careful control of feeding, watering and cultural practices on a little and often approach, along with a dedicated oversowing programme that begins in April and ends in September. Feeding is kept to a bare minimum. Aeration is carried out every fortnight using a combination of micro tines and slit tines. The greens receive regular applications of topdressing, usually around 0.5 tonnes per green. Steve has been reducing the amount of dressings being applied. In 2006 he applied 120 tonnes, 110 tonnes in 2007 and, this year, is hoping to get below 100 tonnes. Watering is kept to a minimum with Steve preferring to hand water. However, he does rely on wetting agents to help improve water infiltration rates. The greens are hand mown daily cutting to a height of 5mm (4.5mm for tournaments) using Toro Greensmaster 1000s. Holes are changed twice a week and each day during tournaments. Surrounds are maintained between 8- 10mm using a Toro 3250. Tees: As with the greens all the tees are maintained to establish and maintain
the finer grass species, bents and fescues. Tees are cut three times a week using pedestrian Toro Greenmaster 1000s or Toro 3250 triple mowers maintaining a height of cut of 10mm. Tee and green banks are cut twice weekly at 30mm with a Toro Sidewinder. Tees are topdressed throughout the year and repaired with a divot mix. Tee remodelling is ongoing during the winter months to improve their alignment and design. Fairways: Fairways are, again, oversown with the more desirable bents and fescues to help improve their playability and to reduce the amount of feeding and watering required to maintain grass cover. They are cut with a pair of Toro 5400s (grass clippings are boxed off) to 13mm in the summer and between 15-17mm in the winter. Semi rough: Is mown at 40mm and
provides an 8-10metre wide swathe of grass. These areas are mown two or three times a week depending on growth. Fringing rough: (infrequently managed rough). Intermediate rough is cut at 100mm up to 8 metres wide on a fortnightly basis. A scarification treatment, included within the cutting regime either in spring or in late summer, has a significant beneficial effect in thinning the sward and promoting a much more desirable grassland structure. This management programme is applied to the course, well off the
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