February has brought blustery but mostly dry conditions, and the course is in the best condition it’s ever been at the end of winter. Many golfers have been able to enjoy playing 27 holes throughout the winter season, thanks to the hard work put in by our maintenance team. We are now nearing the start of the new season with all preparations almost complete.
With the season upon us, I thought we’d take a closer look at the course this month and changes made over winter.
Greens
Aeration is a crucial part of turf maintenance to ensure healthy growing conditions. In February, we used our deep tine aeration machine to “verti-drain” the greens. This process involves inserting half-inch tines deep into the soil to break up compacted layers beneath the surface. While this can disrupt the playing surface, the use of smaller tines minimises the impact. Afterward, all greens were rolled to smooth the surface.
The spring months (March and April) are typically the most challenging for the greens due to grub activity. However, we applied Acelepryn in the autumn, which we hope will be as effective as last year in controlling leatherjackets, an issue we’ve faced in the past.
In recent years, low spring temperatures have slowed growth, and combined with grub activity, this has led to surface imperfections. Last year, we saw a significant improvement, and with the greens in excellent condition currently, we’re optimistic that we can maintain this quality throughout the year.
Course Changes
We’ve made several changes to the course this winter, and here’s a recap:
Walker’s Gully
Consistent feedback indicates that Walker’s Gully has been a source of frustration for golfers, so we’ve looked into ways to improve the hole. The topography and severe slopes present challenges for both golfers and the maintenance team.
Over the next few years, we’ll be making a series of changes to address this, some straightforward, others more challenging. This winter, we’ve started by creating a new tee, moving it forward by about 25 yards. This change provides golfers with a better view of the hole, making it easier to view and therefore locate wayward shots.
For maintenance, the new tee is larger, built with a sandy rootzone, and includes irrigation, all of which will improve year-round playing conditions.
We’ve also widened the fairway on the left side by mowing the bank shorter. This will allow golfers to aim further left and still have their shots gather onto the flatter part of the fairway also reducing the risk of losing a ball down the steep bank on the right.
Catersty
Catersty has also posed challenges for golfers due to its length and narrow playing width. The hazard on the right side of the hole has always made it difficult to maintain and as such was a constant source of lost balls.
We’ve addressed this by installing a wetland habitat (where financial support from the Wildlife Trust enabled work to go ahead) and a piped culvert on the right side of the hole. The wetland is located closer to the tee, so it’s less in play, while the culvert allows us to fill in the main playing area, making it easier to maintain and allowing for much easier ball retrieval.
These changes will make maintenance more effective and give golfers a bit more margin for error, reducing frustration and speeding up play.
Around the green, we’ve altered the bunkering to improve presentation and playing conditions. The previous bunkers were shallow and large, which made them of little diffculty, unsightly yet labor-intensive to maintain. The right bunker has been turned into a grass bunker, while the left bunker has been reshaped, its damaged liner removed, and its base smoothed.
Bunker Removal
At Hunley we have removed a good number of bunkers over the years that weren’t offering much value to the course. This is becoming more common across the industry now, with courses acround the country adopting a similar approach. Even with recent changes we still have 55 bunkers across the courses!
Bunkers require substantial resources for maintenance in terms of both cost and labor, and they make up less than 1% of the overall course. Additionally though, individual bunkers present other factors:
Cottage Corner: The bunker on the dogleg corner was surrounded by hazards, including a wetland, long rough, and scrub. Given these existing challenges, the additional difficulty posed by the bunker was unnecessary. Its removal reduces maintenance without compromising the holes strategy.
Brownies Bough: The bunker on the right side of the green was removed due to the hole’s topography. If a golfer misses the green to the right, the recovery shot is still very difficult. Therefore the addition of a bunker is unnecessary in defence of the hole.
Jaws: The bunker at Jaws was only introduced a few years ago, but has been removed for different reasons. While it was a popular hazard, it has caused problems since a natural spring above it has produced lots of surface water after prolonged wet weather. This also created a safety risk to staff operating machinery around the bunker. Last summer, a mower slid on the bank, causing the bunker’s edge to collapse. Given these challenges, we decided that removing the bunker was the best option.
Statistically, Jaws plays the 3rd hardest hole on Imperial and the 4th hardest on Morgan’s course, so we’re not sure the loss of the bunker will have a huge impact.
However, if we notice a significant change in the hole’s difficulty after this adjustment, we’ll reassess at the end of the season.
March
One thing not mentioned in this month’s update is the driving range upgrades.
Mid-month, we’ll be bringing in plant hire to complete work on the field and plant grass seed. We hope the grass will establish quickly, although to a large extent we are in the hands of the weather!
Finally, the new swing room has been a huge success for coaching and club fitting. Its capabilities have exceeded our expectations, and it will soon be available for hire. With over 400 courses to choose from, we have no doubt you’ll enjoy this new addition.
Thanks for reading, and as always we welcome all feedback, so feel free to get in touch with any questions!
Greg Fitzmaurice
General Manager/Course Manager