Bunkers
My earliest golfing memories go back to the mid 1980's when I began playing golf, and joined Ulverston Golf Club, aged 10, as a junior member. Ulverston is a nice course if you have never played it, quite scenic with a few good holes, but things at your average golf club were very different then to what they are now. Far fewer places still enjoy the following 'luxuries'.
Golf clubs had waiting lists to join. Golf clubs had a joining fee in addition to the membership cost. Labour was cheaper with no minimum wage. Golf clubs could be more choosy about who they allowed to join. Golf clubs simply had more money.
I can remember a bunker renovation project at Ulverston back in the day. I can remember greens staff adding sand to a newly refurbished bunker, and then four of them 'heeling' the sand in by balancing on their heels and moving very slowly around the bunker, covering every inch of it to compact the new sand. Then another layer of sand was added and the process repeated, they were there for hours and hours as another, and another, and another (you get the idea) layer of sand was 'heeled in'. A bunker was considered fit for play when a solid sand base had been established, and the final layer, about half an inch of loose sand was added and raked. Slightly monotonous and time consuming work - yes very much so, but this is an example of how manual 'greenkeeping' was back in the day, and how golf clubs could afford it.
I cannot remember the last time I heard of or saw greens staff heeling in sand. It must have died out by the 1990's, and not even at Moor Allerton or Moortown golf club in Leeds (where I worked for 10 years between them) was this ever a thing I saw.
These days sand is added to new bunkers in a larger quantity, and left to golfers to compact it with use. It is normal that a new bunker requires time for the sand to settle and until the firm base has been established - that is the reality of 2017 compared to 1985. Even at top courses such as Stoke Park, which has recently undergone a major bunker programme and where cash isn't such an issue, new bunkers still require time to settle - please read the article here.
Bunker play
The firm base is what makes bunker play predictable. If you can feel your sand iron thumping against and bouncing off the firm sand base at impact, you can feel what is happening and you have a far greater chance of playing a good shot. When the sand is new, deep and loose it is far more unpredictable what your sand iron will do when it goes in there. A bladed sand iron is more desirable to most players out of solid bunkers, whereas a larger cavity back wedge may perform better from looser sand. Please come in and speak to us about wedge types, bounce angles and how they perform with different situations in a bunker.
Because we have many newly refurbished bunkers at Reddish Vale, we have a mixture of the old bunkers (where you can definitely feel your sand iron striking the base) and the new bunkers where at present, you can't. The new bunkers simply need time and use for the sand to settle. In this picture you can see the contrast between the old and the new bunker - it is easy to forget how the bunker on the left looked a year ago - flooded during mid-summer with stale water and marked as GUR.
Incidentally, in 1985 we also had a very active junior section at Ulverston which I was lucky to be a part of. We are trying hard to build a junior section here at Reddish Vale, because these players will be the future of the club and the game itself. When another 30 years have passed, golf may have greater issues to contend with than the amount of sand in bunkers.
Junior Comp This Sunday
Sunday 9th July, we are having a junior top 5 competition. 2pm arrival for a 2.15pm start. This usually lasts a couple of hours. There will also be a putting competition with prizes for each group.
Please can everyone sign in with The Pro and meet on the putting green. Everyone is welcome; please let us know if your child or grandchild will be there on the day. Parents are encouraged to attend and mentor groups around the top 5 holes. The cost is £4 per child.
River erosion
Alan Bell and Bill Coll have been in the river 'willow weaving' yesterday, just in front of the 7th tee where the river has eroded some of the bank. What you can see in the picture is a natural form of river bank protection - branches of willow is cut from nearby trees, the ends shaped to a point, and then they are hammered into the riverbed, creating a structure which more willow branches are then woven between. This is a living barrier which traps silt and debris behind it when the river level rises, creating a new river bank and protecting the existing one. This method has proved extremely successful on other parts of the river, such as close to the 16th green and behind the 15th tee where the erosion has been halted. Thank you to Alan and Bill.
Jubilee Trophy - Overall 2017
Overall Winner - Paul Sloane - 280
Well played to Paul Sloane who won the 'marathon major' with four excellent rounds of golf. For Lewis Cooper it was a good competition, but a case of what might have been if it wasn't for a 7 on the 17th in the final round.
Overall 2nd - Lewis Cooper - 281
Overall 3rd - Steve Smith - 283
Jubilee Trophy Day prizes Round 1 - Saturday 24th June
1st - Mark Watkins - 76-9=67 (CPO)
2nd - Derek Simpkins - 75-8=67
3rd - Lee Heginbotham - 86-18=68
Lowest Gross - Adam Stott - 66
Lowest Gross (Over 55's) - Dave Hamilton - 73
Jubilee Trophy Day prizes Round 2 - Sunday 25th June
1st - Lee Addison - 77-9=68
2nd - John Ebbs - 77-8=69
3rd - Ryan Jackson - 71-1=70
Lowest Gross - Ryan Jackson - 71
Lowest Gross (Over 55's) - Steve Smith - 75
Jubilee Trophy Day prizes Round 3 - Saturday 1st July
1st - Andy Moss - 75-8=67
2nd - Franc Brown - 80-11=69(CPO)
3rd - Alan Finney - 83-14=69
Lowest Gross - Ryan Jackson - 71
Lowest Gross (Over 55's) - Steve Smith - 73
Jubilee Trophy Day prizes round Round 4 - Sunday 2nd July
1st - Lee Heginbotham - 88-18=70(CPO)
2nd - Craig Davies - 77-7=70(CPO)
3rd - Rick Dobbins - 88-18=70
Lowest Gross (Shared) - Paul Sloane & Ryan Jackson - 73
Lowest Gross (Over 55's) - Steve Smith - 76
Wednesday Section Stableford
Div 1 Winner - Dave Hamilton - 39 pts
Div 2 Winner - Chris Connolly - 38 pts
Div 3 Winner - Geoff Brookes - 41 pts
Two's = £3.37 each.
