Conservation & Ecology
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
moth, which scatters its eggs over wet grassland, often alighting on the dune ragwort, or there’s the pretty barred- yellow that pupates in the rolled up leaves of the dog rose. Another of the brightly coloured moths that haunts open areas is the garden tiger. Its bright colours act as a deterrent to predation. It is toxic, as is the hair caterpillar known here as the hairy brottag.
A moth sometimes found drawn inside the clubhouse by the lights is the large yellow underwing; with its wings folded, it is unobtrusive but, if stirred into fluttering, the bright colours of the underwing are startling.
This is only a small sample of the Reay moths and many more are to be found.
The Living Dunes
The dunes, on which the golf links are laid out, have taken thousands of years to grow and stabilise. They are the end product of a long battle between the force of the prevailing wind and the powerful waves of the Pentland Firth. Sand is blown off the beach beyond the reach of even the highest spring tides. As the sand moves, it tends to collect together and is formed into ridges and mounds. Marram grass, which thrives in the dry sandy conditions, stabilises the dunes allowing other grasses and plants to establish themselves. The grasses and plants grow and gradually overpower the Marram. The depressions within the dunes provide shelter and attracts animals, which graze the established vegetation. The browsing of these animals is partly responsible for the existence of a smooth surfaced fairway mat, which needs little or no mowing. A prized asset.
Turf Management
Limited resources necessitate that inputs into management of the turf are kept to a minimum, yet the ultimate objective of providing a series of playing surfaces suitable for the game of golf is satisfied. There is dominance of finer grasses, particularly fescue, indigenous to the site. The fescue and bent grasses dominate most of the playing surfaces across the course. As such, recently and much championed ‘sustainable golf course management’ is easily followed.
Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
Turf management is geared towards retention of the finer grasses. Sensible cutting heights are employed
throughout the year. The high content of fescue grasses through the sward means that winter heights of cut need little adjustment from those employed during the season. Greens, therefore, remain consistent and uniform for long periods of the year. Fertiliser regimes are frugal. Ammonium sulphate based fertiliser is delivered to the turf in liquid formulation with seaweed. Nutrient is applied to greens on only two or three occasions during the season. Aeration usually takes the form of solid tining. Predominantly slow growing grasses, coupled with the sensible approach to feeding the turf, renders thatch build up minimal. Consequently, there is only need for occasional verticutting through the season. Below the playing surfaces, the soil
profiles are consistently sandy and uniform; the need to hollow core greens is rarely necessary. Topdressing through the season keeps the surfaces firm and smooth, allowing fast and trueball roll. Turfgrass problems of disease and
drought are rarely encountered, largely due the favourable botanical composition and sensible husbandry of the playing surfaces. Associated input of fungicide and water are, therefore, kept to a minimum.
Organic Waste Composting
Disposal of the fine leaved greens and tees clippings, which arise from the maintenance of any golf course, always pose management problems. This material does not compost well in its own right given its fine texture and lack of air spaces between particles. Its dissipation into areas of rough grassland often leads to their nutrient enrichment giving rise to a thickening of the sward and the loss of wildflower interest.
The club have developed a system
whereby greens and tees clippings are temporarily stored in discreet bays around the golf course before being collected and taken to a central composting facility to the left hand side of the 6th hole. Here, they are mixed with cuttings from areas of deep rough
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 PC 85
Waxcap (Cuphophyllus virgineus)
grassland and other organic waste from the golf course.
This material is turned on an
infrequent basis until useable compost is created. The compost is then screened and applied where necessary to the golf course as a topdressing, for example for tees and other heavy wear areas.
Grassland Fungi
Often overlooked and unnoticed within grasslands, fungi are actually one of the most significant of wildlife groups. The type and diversity of grassland fungi noted within a particular area is directly related to the health and status of that habitat.
Species rich, unimproved grasslands will typically support several species of fruiting fungi specific to the environment. The windblown calcareous sands which dominate the links support several species of fungi which indicate a high quality, ecologically rich grassland. Many of the fungi have not been allocated an English name. However, the wax caps, such as Hygrocybe splendidissima, Hygrocybe conicoides and Camarophyllus virgineus, are all interesting grassland fungi which can be noted fairly widespread throughout the course during late summer and autumn. The Japanese umbrella toadstool (Coprinus plicatilis) is another fungi which is widespread throughout the dunes and is particularly associated with heavily rabbit grazed grasslands.
All images ©Reay Golf Club/Evan Sutherland
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