Conservation & Ecology
THE North Foreland Golf Club started out as just a wealthy man’s playground filled with gothic ‘ruins’ and castles but, after the land, which sits on the Kent coast at the point where the English Channel meets the North Sea, was passed between several different landowners, it transformed into the golf club seen today.
Lord Avebury and William Capel Slaughter were responsible for the founding of North Foreland Golf Club back in 1903 and, with Sir Luke Fildes and Clifford Brookes, sat on the first committee of the new club.
Within a few years, thoughts turned to enlarging the course to 18 holes and it was then that the committee looked to another member, Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, later Lord Northcliffe. Harmsworth was the owner of a nearby large estate. Taking a lease on this additional land gave the course a view of its most outstanding landmark - the North Foreland Lighthouse which has since become the emblem of the club.
Flora & Fauna information boards have helped to get the members excited about the project
North Foreland Golf Club, is an unrivalled chalk downland free draining course offering all-year golf coupled with stunning scenery and breathtaking views of the sea from every tee and green.
The ‘Main’ course, also known as the ‘Long’ course, offers four par 3, three par 5 and eleven par 4 holes, spaced over rolling cliff-top terrain.
In addition to the main course, there is a challenging 18-hole par 3 ‘Short’ course, the Northcliffe, which provides the opportunity for members to hone their short game on holes that vary in distance from 50 to 140 yards. It could be assumed that a course with par- three holes can easily be tackled but, over the years, the Northcliffe course has lulled many players into a false sense of security.
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insects. We’ve established areas of pollen and nectar rich wildflower habitat that will provide essential food resources and nesting habitat for pollinators. Pollinating bees are an essential part of the natural ecosystem, both for pollination of food crops and to maintain ecological biodiversity. Bumblebee numbers have declined over recent years due to loss of habitat, with some UK species now on the verge of extinction, and I believe golf clubs can really make a difference. Independent research trials have shown that even the creation of small areas of dedicated habitat can significantly increase the numbers of pollinating insects. Obviously, change is not always welcomed by everyone, and the work carried out certainly raised a few eyebrows initially. Communication, as always, is key, but also, by sticking to your good practice beliefs and getting these across to the membership, helped to put out a few fires! All the work carried out by any turf team needs to be published and communicated to the customers and general public. To help promote the work we have been undertaking, we have had two ‘Flora & Fauna’ information signs
made up at the entrance to the club. These are similar to those you might see in a National Trust park or English Heritage site. They consist of simple text outlining the work carried out, along with colourful photographs to really draw the customer in and hopefully get them as excited as the team.
These, along with us making up Operation Pollinator beer mats for the clubhouse, all help in getting the word out there that golf courses are at the forefront of protecting many of the endangered species in this country. Yes, we are a business. However,
improving the course’s environmental and ecological value only further enhances the golfing experience and becomes a selling point of the club. Getting local organisations on board, such as the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT), certainly helps to put more confidence into the sceptical public out there. We have been corporate members of the KWT for eight years now and this is something I would recommend to anyone looking to raise their environmental profile within the club/community. We are turf managers first and foremost and we need the expertise of individuals within the environmental/ecology world, so don’t be too proud to ask. They have
One of our home made bee hotels
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