GOLF


Excavation of one of the new bunkers shows the extent of striking chalk substructure


Strong and distinctive shaping shown by the turf block contouring


whole bunkering system and one or two especially tired holes, so he came up with what became a blueprint for a grand scale update. After a presentation to the whole membership, the idea caught fire.” “The decision was made to tackle three holes a year in order to keep the project under control, both practically and financially. MJ Abbot, already engaged in the irrigation upgrade, was appointed contractor for the entire course bunkering project.”


“It made sense to have a single contractor carrying out all the work. Equipment synergy, I suppose you could call it, everything under one roof so to speak.” “Our new irrigation was completed in


The aim of the project was simply to bring things up to date. The challenge was to meet the expectations of younger golfers with their club strength, yet


”


retain the original charm of the Colt course cherished by so many of the older members


18 PC August/September 2018


Where Colt had used horse and cart labour for cut and fill work on the course, Abbott’s heavy machinery enabled speedy importing and exporting of material


2012-2013 and, during this time, Abbotts also reconstructed the 18th green and upgraded the 5th.”


“These two holes were the beginning of the new bunker project. It gave the members an idea of what the whole course was going to look like. It was a radical change.” “We are blessed at Effingham in having a lot of land and a great layout, and in the rare position of owning it all too. There are never any limitations to any of the holes.” “The aim of the project was simply to bring things up to date. The challenge was to meet the expectations of younger golfers with their club strength, yet retain the original charm of the Colt course cherished


by so many of the older members. Tom MacKenzie was very sympathetic to Colt’s original intentions, and we think that the right balance has been more than achieved.” “Abbott’s work was pretty well uninterrupted throughout. Managing the members’ day-to-day was what required special care and attention, because they still had golf days and competitions where they wanted the whole course to be available, so keeping the contractor’s scheduling flexible, but up-to-speed, was occasionally testing. Goodwill all round saw things run smoothly.” “Abbotts were always totally understanding, as you’d expect from a firm whose life is in and around golf courses. They were used to being moved here and


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