Course Update
Work on the 9th fairway
If you have not played this week, you will be unaware of the work that has started on the 9th fairway and I thought members might find it useful to understand what is happening.
You may be aware that wet winters give us a challenge on the course where a few fairways are affected by waterlogging, but the most difficult on is the 9th which we would like to have as a fully operational hole, from the official tees, regardless of the weather. In recent years we have circumnavigated the waterlogged fairway by moving the tee significantly forward. This works to some extent but prevents us from being able to offer a qualifying 9 holes under the worst conditions – hence choosing this one to tackle first.
The water that seeps through the surface layers sometimes weeks after heavy rain comes from the mound between the 9th and 18th fairways which acts like a massive sponge, gradually releasing water over a long period of time. Our plan is to intercept this sub-surface flow with a French drain running down the right side of the fairway until it comes alongside the irrigation pond. At this point, the slope reduces and explains why historic attempts to drain the fairway have failed quickly as when water slows down it drops sediment and in a very few years, the pipes become clogged. The inset picture shows a short section of one of these pipes completely full of silt.
Our cunning plan is that the new pipe in the French drain will flow into an open swale that continues down the right side of the fairway and into the existing ditch across the fairway. This way, it is easy to regularly clear any accumulating silt. The swale will be grass-covered and has shallow enough sides to enable a ball to be played from it (yet another challenging lie though!) We will continue to mow the swale whenever water is not flowing.
If you are playing this weekend, you will see that we are making good progress up the hill, having started by cleaning the existing ditch.
The penalty area is likely to be extended , but only when we have been able to see how the new drainage features behave. Until they are fully repaired they will be marked as ground under repair.
As we are using glazed vehicles to carry out this work, you may notice that morning tee times off the 1st tee are unavailable during the week until we have completed it. This means we are not providing an additional unintended hazard for all concerned! Anyone playing 9 holes at the affected times will be able to book to play the back 9. If you are playing 18 holes, you will be starting from the 10th tee and doing the front 9 second.
We have plans for work on the 8th, 12th, 13th and 3rd, to help keep the final rise to up the green drier. The exact sequence and timing of works will depend heavily on ground conditions and the speed with which each one can be completed.
David Brimble
You may be aware that wet winters give us a challenge on the course where a few fairways are affected by waterlogging, but the most difficult on is the 9th which we would like to have as a fully operational hole, from the official tees, regardless of the weather. In recent years we have circumnavigated the waterlogged fairway by moving the tee significantly forward. This works to some extent but prevents us from being able to offer a qualifying 9 holes under the worst conditions – hence choosing this one to tackle first.
The water that seeps through the surface layers sometimes weeks after heavy rain comes from the mound between the 9th and 18th fairways which acts like a massive sponge, gradually releasing water over a long period of time. Our plan is to intercept this sub-surface flow with a French drain running down the right side of the fairway until it comes alongside the irrigation pond. At this point, the slope reduces and explains why historic attempts to drain the fairway have failed quickly as when water slows down it drops sediment and in a very few years, the pipes become clogged. The inset picture shows a short section of one of these pipes completely full of silt.
Our cunning plan is that the new pipe in the French drain will flow into an open swale that continues down the right side of the fairway and into the existing ditch across the fairway. This way, it is easy to regularly clear any accumulating silt. The swale will be grass-covered and has shallow enough sides to enable a ball to be played from it (yet another challenging lie though!) We will continue to mow the swale whenever water is not flowing.
If you are playing this weekend, you will see that we are making good progress up the hill, having started by cleaning the existing ditch.
The penalty area is likely to be extended , but only when we have been able to see how the new drainage features behave. Until they are fully repaired they will be marked as ground under repair.
As we are using glazed vehicles to carry out this work, you may notice that morning tee times off the 1st tee are unavailable during the week until we have completed it. This means we are not providing an additional unintended hazard for all concerned! Anyone playing 9 holes at the affected times will be able to book to play the back 9. If you are playing 18 holes, you will be starting from the 10th tee and doing the front 9 second.
We have plans for work on the 8th, 12th, 13th and 3rd, to help keep the final rise to up the green drier. The exact sequence and timing of works will depend heavily on ground conditions and the speed with which each one can be completed.
David Brimble