Golf
At over 400 yards, the 3rd - Whale’s Back - is one of the longer holes on the course
cutting. Once they are completed, we move on to the tees, fairways and semi rough. Bunkers are raked and edged daily and we overseed the tees as required. The greens are hollow tined regularly, followed by two tonnes of straight sand.” Joe says that, with so many visiting golfers,
presentation is high on his list of priorities. The course has a full irrigation system,
with water being drawn from the Minniemoer, the larger of two small lochs at the northern end of the course close to the highest point on the island. At this juncture, it is worth making mention of the curling pond at Wee Minniemoer. This is an area where water is controlled via a sluice gate and allowed to freeze. It remains shallow for safety reasons and is the traditional way of creating the playing surface for curling. As recently as 2010, the Dumfries Cup was played on the pond and it was also made available for public use. It is currently drained, but remains a rare example of a traditional curling pond, complete with a bothy.
Joe is responsible for setting the greenkeeping budget, but this has to be “
approved by the greens committee. To keep down the costs, some machinery servicing is undertaken in-house and machines are purchased when the last one has been paid for. “As we are on an island, we don’t have many salesmen that come knocking at our door,” states Joe, “so I have no particular loyalty to one manufacturer.” The current machinery list includes a Toro 6500 Reelmaster fairway mower, two Toro 3250 Greensmasters, a Lastec Articulator semi-rough mower, a John Deere pedestrian mower, a John Deere ProGator, a Kubota Grand L series tractor, a Kioti tractor and a utility vehicle. “It’s pretty basic stuff,” comments Joe, “and, if I had a wish list, it would simply be to have a fleet of new machinery.” “It’s been very noticeable here that the
winters have become much milder,” states Joe. “This means that the dreaded fusarium has to be watched and controlled, which has an affect on my budget. Weeds are generally spot treated.” Great Cumbrae is snake free, allegedly
driven out by St. Mirin on his return from Ireland. “But there are plenty of rabbits,”
bemoans Joe. “It’s like Watership Down here!”
The island is a haven for wildlife and
polecats, owls and eagles can be seen regularly, as well as a large seabird population including fulmars, cormorants, oystercatchers and many more. Marine life includes seals, basking sharks, porbeagle sharks and dolphins. Joe lives on the mainland and says that the half hour ferry crossing gives him time to relax before beginning work. “It’s lovely to not have to get up and get straight on with the job. It allows me time to gather my thoughts.” Equally, I suspect, the isolated location and
beautiful scenery in this sometimes overlooked corner of Ayrshire go a long way to helping make Joe’s working life content. One thing is for sure though, there are far worse places to be working.
There are plenty of rabbits. It’s like Watership Down here!
Wee Minniemoer - one of the last remaining traditional curling ponds in Scotland
30 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016
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