Golf


ready for summer. The greenkeeping challenges


at this course are altogether different to those of a busy golf club. Pete knows exactly what life is like with the daily and commercial pressures of membership and committees from his time at the Selsdon Park and Cavendish clubs, and there’s many a day, he admits, that he misses the hustle and bustle and rough edges of the golf club environment. Dealing with the sort of challenges Birch Grove provides would be cost prohibitive at many courses, but Pete is afforded the tools he needs to bring the fairways back each spring. That may be heaven, but Pete would rather not have to deal with it. He’d rather have a decent fairway all year round! His other fairway issue over


winter is duck damage, Birch Grove golf’s collateral from estate shooting. There is no such thing as a


rest day. Pete and his colleagues, Rob Wallis and Matthew Paragreen, never get caught out. The course has to be ready for play every day, and is. “It is strangely motivating,”


says Pete. “Not seeing anybody for weeks on end, with a perfect course around you could demotivate you, but we are always on top of things and never fall into the trap of letting things go, even temporarily. That would be an unprofessional vicious circle to avoid at all costs. If that’s your style, Birch Grove isn’t for you. You need to keep your energy levels up.” The day I’m there, Pete takes


me to see Rob and Matthew hard at work building a revetted wall around one of the bunkers. Twelve months ago he


brought the owner’s attention to the shortcomings of the original splash-face bunkers. They were frequently puddling and washing out and it was inefficient and time consuming for a small team to keep pushing sand back into bunkers after rain. More especially, if there was heavy rain the day before important guests played the course, the sight of thirty water- filled bunkers was far from impressive. He suggested taking a couple out altogether and the rest to have revetted walls to reduce the drainage slope. The winter breaks, last year and this,


Macmillan Bridge, a premier feature if ever there was one


AS GOOD AS NEW AT A GREAT PRICE!


FACTORY REBUILT


Ransomes Jacobsen’s Certifi ed Pre-Owned equipment is completely rebuilt at our Ipswich, UK, manufacturing facility.


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CONTACT OUR CPO DEPARTMENT FOR MORE INFORMATION:


Tel: 01473 270 000 Web: www.ransomestrader.com


PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 I 15


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