January has been packed with activity at Hunley as we begin another exciting year. Work on the range field has paused for now as we wait for warmer temperatures to add the finishing touches.
The new swing room is complete and will be open for use in February for club fittings and lessons. The greenkeeping team has also been working hard to prepare the course for the new season, both on the course and in the workshop. We’ve also had the opportunity to continue our education by attending the British Turf Management Exhibition in Harrogate.
Driving Range Outfield
We’ve reached the stage on the range field where only drainage, sand capping, and seeding are left to complete. This will be done in March, which will not only reduce the chance of damage from winter storms but will also allow the grass to establish quickly once seeded.
In total, around 25,000 tons of soil has been moved to create the targets, surface drainage, and mounding. With a few good weeks of work left, we’re looking forward to seeing the finished product in time for the opening later this spring.
Swing Room
We’re excited to introduce our new golf simulator, which will allow teaching and club fitting to continue uninterrupted by the weather all year round. Going forward, there will also be the option to rent the room to play golf with friends in a warm and comfortable environment.
A big thank you to Chris Stalker and everyone else who helped create this fantastic facility in-house. Having these skills within our team makes it possible to add such great facilities.
Despite a few set backs along the way this facility will be available early February.
The Course
Thanks to this winter’s more reasonable weather, the course has remained in excellent condition, and our team has been able to keep things running smoothly despite the work being done on the driving range. We’ve also made improvements to various areas of the course to ensure we’re well-prepared for the new season.
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Bunkers
A large percentage of our resources go into maintaining the bunkers, which are the second most labor-intensive area of the course after the greens. Considering that bunkers cover less than 1% of the playing surfaces, it really puts into perspective the impact they have on greenkeeping operations.
Over the years, we’ve altered many bunkers to better suit the style of the course, improve strategy, and reduce maintenance needs. While this has been very successful, there’s still work to be done. Some of the older-style bunkers are being removed, and a few others will be altered to improve their visual appeal and overall value to the course.
These changes will also help us focus more time and attention on other areas of the course.
Jaws, Catersty (see above) & Brownies Bough have recently had bunkers removed and these were selected as their impact on the course was minimal, with each of the holes being ranked as some of the most difficult holes based annual scoring data.
We will monitor scoring on these holes going forward, but we don’t anticipate any significant change to scores or handicaps.
Feedback
Despite good conditions on the course, a small amount of feedback has been received regarding both the bunkers and the winter tees.
Firstly, with rainfall becoming more extreme, we’re experiencing more frequent washouts on the bunkers, which significantly affects their playing conditions. The sand often becomes compacted, giving the impression that there’s less sand than there actually is.
However, once the sand has had time to dry out and soften, the conditions improve over time. Additionally, the bunkers that see frequent play can sometimes run low on sand, but we do our best to replenish them whenever possible.
Regarding the winter tees, we acknowledge that they have become worn and don’t provide the perfect surface to play from. We’re planning to renew these tees in the future and will notify you as soon as we are in a position to do so.
Thank you for your understanding, and we appreciate your feedback as we work to improve the course.
Greenkeeping Operation
As mentioned previously, we’re taking a new approach this year to how we maintain the golf course. With rising financial pressures and the difficulty of recruiting new staff, we’re investing in new equipment to help our current team become more efficient.
Before April, we’ll be bringing in an additional tractor (above right) with two mowing attachments on a hire purchase. The biggest challenge we’ve faced has always been keeping up with mowing on such a large site (250 acres). Not only do we have 27 holes, but some of the fairways are also among the widest in the country, which puts tremendous pressure on our small team.
One of the new mowers (above left) will allow two people to mow the fairways and semi-roughs at the same time, while the second, a flail mower (similar to above right), will be used for cutting and collecting fringing roughs.
With this new machinery, we hope to overcome the challenge of a reduced team and actually improve overall course conditions.
BTME
The British Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) in Harrogate is a key event that brings together thousands of professionals from across Europe to attend workshops, seminars, and view the latest equipment and technology.
This year, our team took full advantage of a day of learning and I was extremely privileged to attend the 20th Anniversary of the R&A Greenkeeping Scholarship Program and to take part in a Q&A hosted by sports broadcaster Andrew Cotter.
During our visit, we were pleasantly surprised to see Hunley featured on one of the stands at the exhibition. It’s always nice to be recognized, and it highlights the appeal of our amazing course to the wider industry.
February
We have scheduled some tidying up of project work for February, which will primarily involve finishing the edges of the newly constructed ponds. The banks at Walker’s Gully Tee will also require turfing, but before that, we plan to install sprinklers and pipework to ensure the area can be irrigated moving forward, maintaining high-quality turf for play.
Additionally, several gorse bushes need to be cut back, particularly those that have been damaged by recent vandalism.
Once these tasks are completed, we will shift our focus to turf maintenance, with an emphasis on aerating the greens, approaches, and tees.
This work will help us prepare well in advance for the spring season, allowing us to carry out further improvements in the driving range come March.
Thanks for reading and your continued support.
Greg Fitzmaurice