Golf
turn, created a number of springs that flooded the new course. Peter and Richard felt the only way to combat the flooding problem was to raise the height of the course in the prone areas. In some cases, this meant raising the land by at least three metres. With this in mind, he made enquires about sourcing local materials. Planning permission to redevelop the course was applied for, using landfill materials from local building developers. They would charge the developers a going rate for tipping their spoil, with this money being invested back into the course. So, in 2004, with the help of international golf course architect Simon Gidman, they began importing huge amounts of spoil to rebuild the course. The timing was perfect, the housing boom was in full swing and the developers could not move the spoil in faster than it was being used out on the course, even though thousands of tonnes of material were arriving on site on a daily basis. The original idea was to employ contractors to come in and rebuild the course, but Peter and Richard decided that the cost would be too prohibitive. They then looked at the hire rate of the machines but, again, over a six year period, at £700,000, this also proved too costly. In the end, Peter took the bold decision to buy the equipment himself, which was a much cheaper option, and do the work in stages,
aiming to rebuild three holes per year. The decision was made easier knowing that they could utilise the latest GPS technology to help set levels.
What was remarkable was that the course was kept open for play for the whole duration of the rebuild. This was achieved by building three additional holes at the start of the project.
So, for the next six years, not only
were they building three brand new holes a year, they still had to maintain the course for play. It was all hands on deck - a truly family affair with everyone either building or maintaining the course. The course rebuild was finally completed in 2010. As with any new build, the growing in and settlement of the course was paramount, getting the greens up to speed was a constant challenge, especially with the ever changing weather in the north-west. The services of agronomist, George Sheils, were employed to provide an independent view on the condition of the course whilst, at the same time, recommending a number of maintenance tasks to combat any problems. The greens are mown daily at between 3-5mm. Greens mowers are fitted with brushes and it is quite usual for the staff to brush them first with a GreenTek brush, and then give them another brush during mowing. Turf irons are also used to help firm
“The only way to combat the
flooding problem was to raise the height of the course in the prone areas”
Peter Roberts checks a soil sample
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