The ‘pond’ on the 3rd
times have been significantly reduced. There is method in my madness.” One bunker, on the third, was particularly wet and, rather than renovating it, Tim decided to turn it into a pond. “It was trying to become a pond on its own, anyway,” says Tim. “So we dug it out, expecting the native clay to hold water. But, that didn’t work as it was a gritty clay. We’ve now lined it with blue clay, and that hasn’t worked either! So, one of Mark’s digger drivers is going to come in and dig down four metres to the really heavy clay, and we’ll line it with that. If that fails, we’ll have twenty-four bunkers!” The bunkers need to be raked daily, due to damage by deer. “We have four species on the course - sika, roe, fallow and muntjac - and they all seem attracted to the bunkers. The muntjac are especially damaging to the trees as well, eating the bark close to the ground.”
New competition tee area on the 9th
I ask if the rabbits cause much damage? “We don’t have any rabbits,” says Tim. I am surprised by that reply. What, none? “I put it down to the amount of buzzards we have around the course.” says Tim. “It is not unusual to find as many as a five on one fairway, some mornings.” And the foxes too, I suggest. “We don’t have any foxes either, although I did see one trot across a fairway a few days ago.” Maybe badgers? “No, none of those either. There used to be a set, but that now appears to be dormant.” The numerous streams that wind their way across the course are home to kingfishers, sand martins and water voles. “Natural England do not allow any work to be carried out on the streams,” explains Tim, “as all three species are temperamental about their habitat. The only time we get involved is if a bank collapses and needs clearing out.” The battle with drainage appears to be
Drainage ditch
working, but is still ongoing. “There are areas of the course where I still want to channel more water off. So, this winter, using our own digger, we have dug more trenches that should do the trick and, in some places, will also act as further hazards for the golfers. Although they look a bit ‘hard’ in the landscape at the moment, they’ll be allowed to overgrow naturally.” A fact borne out by older trenches that now look a natural part of the course.
Other winter work has been the
extension of the buggy paths around the course. Neither the paths or ditches take the shortest route. “I like curves,” says Tim. “They look more aesthetically pleasing.”
The spoils from the trenches and buggy paths are being used to create competition tees on the 5th and 9th, and give some additional definition to the fairway on the 15th. Tim is also overseeing a major project
PlanetAir MINIMUM Surface Disturbance
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36
parent plant, resulting in greens with finer texture and better colour.
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