Parkland or heathland or moorland golf course? 

Many courses which were originally heathland courses (with fewer trees and typically heather in abundance) have evolved into parkland golf courses over the years. So how does a heathland course become a parkland course? The addition of trees, and once they get started, they self-seed and before you know it there are trees galore and it becomes hard to stop them. The changes are gradual, and it is difficult to notice things like heather disappearing and trees appearing when you play the golf course regularly. However, if you compared a picture of a golf course such as Reddish Vale now, to how it looked a mere 30 or 40 years ago you would notice a massive change. Have a look at this picture taken from the 9th tee and looking over the 11th green and up to the top 5 in 1972. You can see the top 5 clearly as there are virtually no trees. The overhead aerial picture shows the trees that have grown since then.

During the 1980's and into the 1990's it was very fashionable to plant trees. Everyone was at it, the Green party became a force and the 'plant a tree, save a life' decade resulted in new trees all over the place. So 30 years later we are trying to get them under control again!

So, some golf course changes are by choice, and others are necessary to counteract previous fashions. At present many top courses (such as Moortown golf club in Leeds, a fellow Mackenzie designed course) have and are removing a vast amount of trees, especially silver birch, in mainly the central areas of the course and trying to rejuvenate the heathland/moorland course that the name 'Moortown' would suggest. Surprisingly, heather seeds can lay dormant in the ground for up to 85 years. Let's put this into perspective, this is nearly as old as Andy Hart! So remove the trees that have appeared over the years, and very often the heather comes back. Moortown's heather is coming back, and they have also had a major bunker restoration project, and deliberately planted heather on the lips of some of their bunkers.

I would say that Reddish Vale has always been a combination of partly moorland, and mainly a parkland golf course with plenty of large mature trees. Many of our trees, particularly the large mature trees and those around the perimeter of the course, add beauty and are an asset to us. We do have some heather on the course such as in front of the 13th tee. But as you can see from the pictures over the last 40 or so years, the course has swung from perhaps 50/50? More towards 95/5 parkland as the trees have grown. So some tree removal, particularly of silver birch and scrub, is a step towards restoring the balance. 

By the way, the large trees that have disappeared from the left of the 18th tee have been removed by Northwest Electricity as they were considered dangerous being too close to the pylons.


 

Increase back spin  

The greens are so dry and so good that you may benefit to review your choice of ball. A urethane covered ball such as a Titleist Pro V1 or a Callaway Chrome Soft will generate more back spin which will help stop the ball on the green, and provide better feel and control on and around the greens. Reddish isn't a course that you can easily run the ball in on many of the approaches, so remember your groove cleaner too and keep those grooves clean, it makes a big difference.

We are so used to the rain keeping the greens receptive that the ball is often overlooked. This week a player using a Srixon AD333 (two piece ball) hit a magnificent shot from the fairway which was all over the pin, but to his horror the ball landed on the green and bounced straight through the back.


 

Here to help 

We can do lessons inside our studio and we still do lots of lessons outside too. Come and see us if you want to improve any aspect of your game. If your short game is costing you shots please come and see us for help as we will quickly put you right.

Click here if you're in need of a lesson.


 

Junior Coaching

Junior Coaching will be on Sunday at 1pm -2pm and 2pm - 3pm. Please contact the shop to find out which group your child is in.




Friday's 9 Hole Qualifier 

Duncan Hayes took victory with 20 points with Dave Sanders just behind, in second place, with 19 points. Dave Flanagan had the only two which was worth £20.


Saturday's 4BBB Medal 

The dynamic duo of Joshua Tunnicliffe & Marc Singleton triumphed with a score of 62, Chris Perkin & Franc Brown came runner's up with 63, Graham Warburton & Bernard Murray came in third place with 64, and Ray O'Sullivan & David Platt came fourth with 65.


Sunday's Pro's Stableford 

Dean Martin took the winner's spot with an even par 36 points,  Martin Boocock came in second with 35 points, and Jason Leech (3rd) beat Dave Hamilton (4th) on countback 34 points. 

Two's = £13.33 each. Click here to see the full results.


Mixed Open 

We had 42 couples in this year's Mixed Open. Michael Chrimes and his partner Lisa Duffy, who are both single figure golfers, came in with a massive 48 points winning by just 5 shots from Mr and Mrs Bywater. Jeff Stockton and his partner Tracy Slater finished 3rd with 42 points.


Wednesday Section 

Div 1 - Winner - Pete Connolly - 74-6=68 
Div 2 - Winner - Ian Mottershead - 78-12=66 
Div 3 - Winner - Ray O'Sullivan - 88-16=72 

Two's = £28.10 each.