Flags go missing and greens suffer surface damage from the roaming cattle
Play it as it lies!
The club have developed a Management Plan in conjunction with Natural England, the National Trust, and the Minchinhampton Committee of Commoners which is designed to maintain the golf course to more modern standards, whilst protecting the diversity and fabric of the common. This may eventually lead to permission being granted to spray the fairways which, in recent years, have been infested with composite weeds such as daisies, dandelions and plantains. They have become so infested that the only viable solution will be to apply a selective herbicide. Weeds in the greens and tees are
kept under control by hand weeding, but this is impracticable across the whole course. With so much public access, plus
main roads has resulted in some remodelling of the course
The Old Course’s proximity to
main roads alongside, the course has undergone recent modifications in concert with the National Trust, the primary aim being to make the course safer for the general public. This has resulted in some greens, originally close to the roads, being relocated. With its open access the Old Course does, however, suffer from occasional vandalism - from both humans and animals! Flags tend to go missing on a regular basis whilst greens suffer surface damage from the roaming cattle. There has also been the odd, abandoned car on the course. With little or no water available Paul
Fairways on the Old Course have been infested with composite weeds
Rough areas are ‘maintained’ by the cattle encouraging wild flowers like these cowslips
and greenkeepers, Nigel Crewe and Ian Shaw, are careful with the timing of renovation work, with much of it done in the spring when there is plenty of moisture in the greens, but being mindful not to be too severe with aeration and scarification works. Feeding regimes are kept to a minimum with a dose of spring and summer fertiliser (12:0:12) applied in April, followed by applications of compost-tea throughout the growing season. A decision, based upon general condition of the greens, is then taken as to whether to feed again in the autumn. Greens are kept at a height of 5mm during the summer and 6mm in the winter. Tees are kept at 12mm all year round and fairways at 20mm. Golf has been enjoyed on the common for 120 years and, despite two World Wars, has not suffered too much disruption - although during the D-Day build-up there were one thousand allied servicemen temporarily housed on-site!
The new courses
Natural contours and the absence of bunkers give the Old Course a special character
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The two ‘new’ courses are the Avening and the Cherington, both named after nearby villages. The Avening was opened in 1975, with the Cherington
following twenty years later. The two courses sit side-by-side some three miles from the Old Course. The Avening (a parkland style course) comprises fifteen holes of the original layout, plus three new holes which were created when the Cherrington course was developed. Holes 1,2 and 3 of the original Avening course were included into the Cherington course layout. When designing the Cherington course Martin Hawtree was requested to work towards an inland “links” and the character of the course is signficantly different to the Avening. By 2002 the course had been selected to be the South West Regional Qualifying venue for the Open Championship. This suggests that he was successful in his aim.
The facilities also include a covered practice range, chipping green with bunkers and a well-stocked professional shop that is the base for the club professional, teaching professional and a thriving junior academy.
The two courses are rich in wildlife and, amongst other species, it is common to see hares, deer, skylarks, swifts, woodpeckers, many different songbirds and birds of prey. Numerous wildflower species, both common and rare, are also found on the courses. Minchinhampton Golf Club won the National Golf Environmental Award 2004/5 in recognition of the works carried out on the courses, and the way in which they are managed. Guided ‘flora and fauna’ tours are
arranged for the members. This helps them to to view the golf courses in a slightly different way and understand the environmental work that Paul and his team undertake. Paul is committed to running the courses in the most sustainable way possible. For the last ten years, a greenkeeper with special responsibility for environmental issues has been employed. He helps develop the number of projects which are underway with the aim of maintaining local features and allowing the courses to be run in an ecologically friendly way. These include:
• Developing maintenance regimes which can maintain quality playing surfaces without the overuse of chemicals, fertiliser or water.
• Reducing the amount of waste produced and recycling as many materials as possible.
• Developing a machinery fleet which produces minimal emissions.
• Enhancing wildlife opportunities by producing and maintaining small
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