Golf
Recycling Dresser decompacting and topdressing
the Cavendish, Peter knew that their range of specialist equipment would be perfect for the work required. So, a week of intensive work was scheduled in and, with a full complement of machinery on site, and with the blessing of the owners, two machinery demonstration days were also arranged, so that greenkeepers and groundsmen could see the work being carried out at first hand. Visitors included the course designer, Donald Steel, contractor Barry Pace, now with Speedcut, who was involved in the original course build alongside Peter Smith, and the great and the good from greenkeeping and groundsmanship in the south east, all keen to view the machinery and location. Welcoming visitors was Campey’s Ian
‘Poggy’ Pogson who, in his inimitable way - he has made grumpy a lifestyle choice - handed out badges, lunch tickets, caps and general ‘bonheur’.
Visitor numbers for both days were
registered as close to one hundred, but Mother Nature stepped in to provide torrential rain the day before, resulting in a slight drop in numbers on the first day and a quagmire in parts of the course. Wellies were the order of the day, not the summer slip-ons that yours truly was wearing! Fortunately, Peter stepped in (excuse the pun) to provide me with some size 11 waterproof golf shoes. The second day was, sadly, a complete wash out, with Mother Nature adding strong winds to the torrential rain, Frantic emailing to the registered visitors did prevent most of them from turning up, along with an invite to attend the next day, when the forecast looked a tad better. The Campey team had worked late into the previous evening to achieve as much as possible but, even then, probably meant that some weekend work would be required. Peter Smith is an amiable young man,
and is delighting in the challenges ahead of him. Whilst the visitors took lunch, he showed me around the course explaining, as he went, what the priorities were. “The main focus is on tees, fairways and greens. They are the three most important elements to any golf course. If I’ve got those sorted, then visitors will still be able to play golf. I’m not worried, at this stage about reinstating bunkers, the rough or the paths. They can wait.” “There is obviously a huge amount of work to be done. I will need to be managing my time well so that I can keep the front nine up to a decent standard to allow play to continue, whilst also working on the renovations on the back nine. Koroing off these greens will give me a head start when it comes to seeding them.”
“Once Campeys have left the site, I will be working on my own, apart from a couple of lads who come in twice a week
JUNE/JULY 2012 PC 23
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 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148