Golf
“
The basic principles of the management haven’t changed that much, only that the improvements in equipment and resources have allowed us to do things quicker, more often and with less surface disturbance than previously
the Jubilee (1897) or the Castle Course (2008). On the day ahead booking system, people will gravitate to the course they feel may suit their game or their budget best.
The New, Jubilee, Eden and Strathtyrum all put through over 40,000 rounds a year, whilst the Old is nearer 45,000. Season ticket play still makes up the majority of rounds across all the courses, (around 55-60%). The Ladies Clubs in town play most of their competitions on the Eden and Strathtyrum, although they still have competitions on the others and their main events on the Old Course. The Castle has around 24,000 rounds in the eight months it is open.
How do the courses differ?
With the exception of The Castle Course, which is built on agricultural land and on a clifftop at the other side of town and has USGA spec greens, there is very little difference in the other courses apart from length and degree of difficulty. They all sit next to each other on the same sandy soil profile, (bar four holes on the Strathtyrum and two on the Eden which are on an old riverbed where the soil is more of a silt base).
They are all maintained in very similar fashion; fertiliser, irrigation and pesticide usage are all low and similar, typical of managing a links course. The STRI visit twice a year to carry out their performance management testing. Off the regular tees, the Jubilee is considered the toughest of the courses, along with The Castle, then comes the New, the Old, Eden and the Strathtyrum, but we have a great portfolio and there is something for everyone, no matter their standard, and the Balgove with no rough is ideal for beginners, the very elderly and for training the youngest members of our Junior Golf Association. Even the Strathtyrum can present a test for the good golfer as you can aim to shoot in the mid to low 60s and, with its elevated greens, it can be tricky.
Whilst green fees range from £120 on the 14 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014
Castle, £75 on the New and Jubilee and £42 on the Eden to £28 on the Strathtyrum, the quality of the turf is the same throughout. That’s something that is important to us as golfers will understandably be disappointed that they haven’t been able to secure a game on the Old. Therefore, it is important we provide the same quality on our other courses to help make sure they still have an enjoyable experience.
Are any new developments planned, for example an additional course to the current portfolio or changes to existing ones?
There are certainly no plans to build another course or to make any significant changes to the existing ones. Every year we will make a small change here or there to some of the existing courses; maybe a new tee or something.
This year, we plan to rebuild one of the greens on the Eden, which is very small and shaped like a bowl. We have been having drainage problems on it for the past few years, as well as a general shortage of pin placements. We have hired Martin Hawtree to assist as it is an original Colt design from 1914 and we don’t want to lose the character of the original greensite. We also plan to make a couple of tweaks to green surrounds on the Castle Course over the winter. All these changes go through an approval process by the Green Sub Committee and the Links Management Committee.
How has the management and running of the course changed in your time at the club?
The basic principles of the management haven’t changed that much. What has changed is the improvements in equipment and resources that have allowed us to do things quicker, more often and with less surface disturbance than previously. This has led to a marked increase in the quality of the courses. One of the key things we have changed is the structure of the team; before,
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 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164