Golf
“ 30 I PC APRIL/MAY 2018
When Tom Watson visited in 1981, he enjoyed the course so much he wouldn’t leave. He played the course three times and described it as “the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course”
inception, it has never hosted a major tournament, partly due to its extreme northern latitude. When Tom Watson visited in 1981, he enjoyed the course so much he wouldn’t leave. He played the course three times and described it as “the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course.”
How would you describe the course?
Typical links. There are two 18‐hole courses. The Championship course is 6748yds par 70, and the Struie course is 6265yds par 71.
We look after just under a total of 700 acres: the Championship course, 80 acres; Struie course, 70 acres; grazing land, 250 acres; grass airstrip, 10 acres; turf nursery, 10 acres; practice areas/driving range, 30 acres; three teaching holes, 25 acres; SSSI dune land, 150 acres; the rest is made up in car parks and the land that has buildings, i.e. clubhouse, maintenance buildings, soil storage buildings.
How many staff do you employ?
There are sixteen full time members of the team, plus four seasonal, making a total of twenty available for the season. These are as follows, with years at Royal Dornoch in brackets:
Eoin Riddell, Course Manager (32 years) Scott Aitchison, Deputy Course Manager (20) George Clubb, greenkeeper (20) Euan Macdonald, greenkeeper (16) Andrew Mackay, greenkeeper (15) Jamie Shepherd, greenkeeper (11) David Mackay, greenkeeper (11) Willie Nicholson, head mechanic (11) Alexander Richardson, greenkeeper (10) Andrew Houston, greenkeeper (7) Andrew Rose, mechanic (4) Steven Macleod, greenkeeper (4) Stuart Gillies, apprentice greenkeeper (3) Craig Mackay, greenkeeper (3 years) Jack Harrison, general worker (1) Nick Turner, general worker (1)
Do you employ a workshop technician?
Yes. Two: Willie, our head mechanic, and Andrew, who has just finished his apprenticeship and is presently doing his level 3 mechanics course.
All work is carried out in‐house. We have a fully kitted‐out workshop with all the necessary tools, hydraulic ramp, welders, grinders etc.
What additional help do you get (part time, consultants, agronomists, contractors etc.)?
We have a yearly visit to do data performance. If we are hosting any tournaments, they come more often.
How would you describe the soil profile generally?
Sandy. The greens and tees were constructed from the natural terrain with the same sandy soil rootzone.
We do a lot of in‐house data performance measuring. The moisture meter is one that is used most. Trying to keep a firm dry true surface on a links course is the main aim (if the weather permits!).
Do you have an irrigation system?
A full Toro SitePro irrigation on the Championship course. On the Struie course, it’s a bit of a mix of old and new that works when it wants to!
Does the course suffer from any regular natural occurrences such as flooding, high winds, excessive snowfall/frosts, drought etc?
We don’t often get snow. Frost is more common. Wind is just part of life on the coast. Flooding can be a problem on the Struie course, but this again is rare. We used to have a coastal erosion problem on the Championship course.
We continually monitor these wetter areas and do extra aeration whenever possible. The coastal erosion is not a problem anymore as we have spent a lot of time installing armour rock on these areas.
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