Conservation & Ecology
I
Having worked in golf for nearly thirty years, John Nicholson is the leading independent consultant on habitat and landscape management. It interests him that certain plants become fashionable and the recommended advice for them changes, often radically, as the years go by. Plant A Tree In ’73 became Plant Some More In ’74. Then, a few years later, the dreaded cypress and poplar became the fashion, being both quick growing and cheap! In this article, written in collaboration with FineGolf, he looks at ‘Gorse on the Course’
f cypress and poplar were ‘fashionable’, gorse (Ulex europeaus) followed a slightly different path. It was originally introduced on poor agricultural land to increase productivity. Golf, historically, was played on the links and then developed on to the heaths once architects like Harry Colt had identified the similarity in the two ecosystems where low fertility and free draining soils favoured the fine perennial grasses; the best surface for golf. This meant that such courses were often bounded by gorse and were, therefore, vulnerable to invasion.
Landscapes evolve, often undetected by those who view them on a regular basis, and gorse is very good at sneaking up on you! It also became fashionable to plant gorse and it does have advantages; it is robust, flowers for a long period in winter, when other plants are dormant, and provides an evergreen screen.
It is also surprising that many people cannot accept that change has even occurred. I have, many times, been told that a plant has not grown in size when, if you think logically, the only time a plant does not grow is when it is dead! A member once announced at a presentation “I have been a member for forty years and the trees are the same as when I joined.”
Gorse can also conflict with strategic design as it causes lost balls and slow play and removes any chance of recovery. Both Harry Colt and Dr Alistair Mackenzie, two of the most respected golf course architects, shared the same opinion: Back in 1920, in his book Some Essays on Golf-Course Architecture, Harry Colt said: “Gorse and water share the disadvantage that it is practically impossible to play out of them and they are a frequent cause of lost balls. It would appear, therefore, that that they should not be used to any great extent as hazards.”
“The characteristics of a hazard are that it should be difficult but not impossible to play out of; that it should not cause lost balls; and that strokes played out of it should be calculable as regards strength and direction, and should depend for their success on skill
and not brute force alone.” Also from 1920, Alistair Mackenzie stated
in Golf Architecture: “There should be a complete absence of the annoyance and irritation caused by the necessity of searching for lost balls.”
The golf courses of the UK are colonised by three types of gorse, the most populus being Common gorse (Ulex europaeus), which was imported in the 18th century to plant on poor quality agricultural land. The new growth was harvested and made into a ‘porridge’ to feed livestock as it was nitrogen rich. It is the largest species, reaching 2‐3 metres in height.
Common gorse flowers in late autumn and through the winter, coming into flower most strongly in spring. Interestingly, it was declared a noxious weed over 100 years ago in Australia and New Zealand!
The second type of gorse ‐ which is native ‐ is Western or Welsh gorse (Ulex gallii). This, as its name suggests, is found predominantly in the west of the country. It is smaller in size but can still grow to a height of 2 metres. It flowers in late summer and autumn. It can be identified by its smaller softer thorns than common gorse. Common and Western gorse are invasive plants that, as legumes, naturally fix nitrogen from the atmosphere causing enrichment of the soil. They spread rapidly through seed and will regenerate vigorously. Gorse can fire its seeds up to ten metres from the mother plant.
In a golf course situation, this rapid growth causes invasion problems as the thorny spines are avoided when mowing. The plant will invade the unmown area and, once established, will then force the mowers wider still. This invasion can be quite rapid as gorse can grow up to three feet per annum. Both varieties are also tolerant of fire. The less problematic of the gorse family is Dwarf gorse or Dwarf furze (Ulex minor), which is less widespread and native to lowland heaths. It grows normally to a height of around ten inches and is often found within heather beds and adds to the diversity of the heath. It has softer short spines that allow the plant to be grazed by
Heathland with invasive gorse ...
... the same heathland only three years later PC APRIL/MAY 2018 I 131
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