Golf
Because bunkers were not permitted, spacious tees and mature trees create the playing difficulty
year on the greens. However, he is keen to invest in more material in the coming years and take his annual total up to around 120 tonnes. The greens have a high percentage of bents and fescues, so are quite resistant to disease. “We undertake a fairly robust cultivation and feeding programme which helps keep the sward healthy and free from disease. Playability is put before presentation, but the latter remains important at such a high quality venue, so a balance has to be achieved.” “I like my staff to be multi-skilled so that each member of the team can carry out most tasks but, inevitably, each has a preferred job. Having no bunkers is a bonus as it means we have more time to
An old lawn tennis court is still popular with guests - especially during Wimbledon fortnight
spend on other parts of the course.” Playing difficulty is created by good tee and hole positioning, with the physical presence of both the rough and trees - many of them large and mature - often making it difficult to play a clear shot into the green.
The spacious tees have been cleverly designed to give a wide variety of lines of play. They are mown two or three times a week at 12mm using a Jacobsen TR3 The rough is cut at 35mm, semi rough at 25mm and the fairways are kept at 15mm. It usually takes around three hours to cut greens, six hours for tees and surrounds, and nine hours for the fairways. The rough generally takes between three or four hours depending
on how fast things are growing. The long rough gets cut and collected in late August, usually taking between three to four weeks to complete. “We are also required to cut some of the
large lawns around the house, along with a very old grass tennis court which is a feature of the house gardens. It is unusual in that it is surrounded by a huge circular yew hedge. It is still well used by the hotel clients in the summer months, especially when Wimbledon fortnight is on!” With so many mature trees on the course, most of the winter work is centred around tree works; crown lifting, thinning and dead wooding. One member of the greenkeeping team is a fully qualified tree surgeon and Avon is keen to train other
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013 PC 31
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 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156