GOLF
That’s a very good thing for the area, as well as the golf course. Without the golf course doing that, the Common could have been built on, it could have
”
started to scrub over with unwanted tree growth
undertake a greater number of management-level tasks: “It gives me the time to make sure we have the necessary machinery, and that it is fit-for-purpose, that our health and safety is up-to-date, that our materials and budgeting are sorted, and to liaise with the management.” “We have twelve greenkeepers, which sounds a healthy number, but over fifty-four holes, it’s actually not that many. You can do something like this tournament very well, but when you’ve used up ten of those staff members to prepare eighteen holes, you’re left with two covering two entire courses.” “This year, we were very grateful to have
Steve Lloyd along with Adam and Josh from the Worcestershire as a Support Team. They were fantastic guys and we had a great day with them, and I’d like to record my personal thanks.” We decided we would head over to the Old Course, the links, for lunch: “There are holes over there which would not be out of place on any championship links course in the country.” “It’s just an astonishing ground. And it’s survived this whole time - 130 years - completely intact and unchanged over the years.” “That’s a very good thing for the area, as well as the golf course. Without the golf
course doing that, the Common could have been built on, it could have started to scrub over with unwanted tree growth. So, the golf course has helped the Common, rather than steal space from it.”
“Golf has had a real positive effect on that landscape and that’s something we have to make the public realise, because it’s not obvious unless you’ve really thought about it.”
We also headed down to the third course, the Cherington, and the scenery changed yet again. This course looks the newest. It is perhaps the one with the most frequent design similarities with the average inland members’ course. “We have about thirty hectares of wildflower meadows around this area,” Paul said. “There is a rotational system to preserve those grasslands around the edges of these two bottom courses.” “Managing those and maintaining that diversity has been key, because we were under regulations to have this course in keeping with the existing local environment.” “The course was only allowed to have a certain number of bunkers, and features which were purely manmade were to be ‘scarcely visible’; that was the wording of the requirement.”
“There were to be no pine trees either, because any trees were to be the species
- Treat Your Turf
PC August/September 2018
echneat 35
already found on this section of the site.” Because of this course, like the Old
Course, being very driven by that natural mindset, it is the site where the composting for all three takes place.
Copious quantities of what might be termed ‘unwanted waste’ is produced by the cattle roaming the Old Course, which is then transported to the Cherington and piled with grass clippings and other bits of natural matter. This is then recycled and used to fertilise the club’s surfaces. Finally, due to the fact both clubhouse restaurants were bursting at the seams, we headed over to the pub (the ex- Minchinhampton clubhouse which was sold to fund the new acquisitions), and the food in there was also excellent. And it must be considered excellent beyond the local area because, whilst we were tucking into a couple of pretty huge minute steak ciabattas, Jamie Oliver strolled through the front door with a large television crew. They ordered about thirty sandwiches too, so it was lucky we got in there first!
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