Golf
We cut at 6mm in the summer and increase the height to 7mm in the winter. We rope off the greens in the winter months to stop the animals grazing, and they look after the fairways for us!
Cattle and sheep still graze the land
half days to cut the fairways. We keep it as natural as possible, overseeding the greens every year with a 50/50 mix of creeping red and chewings fescues from our seed supplier, Johnsons.”
“In the initial reconstruction phase, we
used the AR250 rotary mower to take down the indigenous grasses to recreate the fairways, which we now manage in the summer with a Fairway 305. Although a basic greens mower, the Greens King IV has been superb and the quality of cut is second to none.”
“We cut at 6mm in the summer and
increase the height to 7mm in the winter. We rope off the greens in the winter months to stop the animals grazing, and they look after the fairways for us!” We were soon joined by Ralph Thompson,
who recently relinquished the job as club chairman, but who is still heavily involved as a board member. Ralph, who was once light heartedly described in the US magazine Sports Illustrated as “chairman and liar-in- chief,” is, without doubt, the main reason why the unearthing of Askernish has
happened. A native of South Uist, he lived in Aberdeen from the age of 16 to 32, returning to the island in 1988 upon the death of his father. “We now have over 200 members and
thirty-four Life members”, he says, with obvious pride. “We have around a 1,000 rounds a year and, at the end of August, we host the Askernish Open. This is the highlight of our year and, over three days, we enjoy a great golf course, friendship, hospitality and one of the best golf experiences available; but I’m biased. We entertain visitors from as far afield as mainland Europe, Scandinavia, the Americas and Africa; our half-way house has quickly made its way into Askernish folklore!” “This year, we hosted the first Life Members competition with over twenty members attending from all over the globe. For some of the members it was their first trip to Askernish, even though they had made a monetary contribution to the restoration work years earlier.” “The weekend was a fantastic success and is now going to become a bi-annual event.
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Tom Doak, the world renowned golf course architect and his associate, Eric Iverson, were in attendance and Tom told me that he mentions Askernish in the latest edition of his Confidential Guide to UK Golf Courses as one of the three best courses in Scotland. That is some accolade for our humble course!”
My time on the island was coming to a
close as I needed to get to the airport at Benbecula for the return flights to Glasgow via Stornaway. I bade my farewells and on the drive through the majestic landscape of South Uist had time to reflect on my visit. That chance conversation between
Gordon Irvine and Ralph Thompson was the beginning of a remarkable restoration project; probably one that will never again be experienced in the world of golf. Martin Ebert said that hole 8 at Askernish was the “most natural par 4 in the world” and it would take a brave man to disagree.
Q&A with Allan MacDonald on the following pages.
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