INSIDE WHAT IS LINKS GOLF? MANAGER’S REPORT COASTAL EROSION
The County Sligo Golf Club Issue 4 – March 2015
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Coastal Erosion Report Jim Flood
The Coastal Erosion problem is of concern to the club and is one which we have been working on throughout the year. It is complex, and potentially very costly, and the Club cannot solve the problem effectively on its own. It has to be part of a wider solution involving the County Council who also have a strong interest in the beach given its importance as a social and tourist amenity, not to mention its economic significance for the area. Throughout the year Club representatives have had a number of meetings with the Council to explore the best options to achieve a long term solution. Both Club and Council officials met with former Minister Brian Hayes in February 2014 and with Minister Simon 2
Harris on Friday 13th February 2015 to outline at first hand the threat posed by the elements to this vital resource. Simon Harris TD Following this meeting a report is being prepared by the Council to the Minister seeking funding for a study to identify once and for all the optimum reinforcement solution and the specific responsibilities of the Council and Club in this regard. In the meantime, the Club will do what is required to address the safety issues in the dunes by maintaining appropriate safety measures.
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Course Manager’s Report Mark Millar
Hopefully that’s the end of the cold weather and we will get a little growth in the next week just in time for the West of Ireland. The Greens are coming on well and are recovering from damage suffered earlier in the year. Greens 4 and 7 would be the slowest to recover. There has been around 30 tons of top dressing sand put on the greens in the month of February, with another 10 ton to date in March and the possibility of another 10 ton the week before the West. I have been keeping a close eye on the
nutrient status of the greens and have treated them with a liquid feed that will really boost condition. The greens are a little slow at the minute, due to helping with recovery, but I am a firm believer in getting grass on them first and then working on their speed. Stimp speed is 9ft which is acceptable at this time of year. Work has now been completed around the 5th Green which has been turfed. There is some seeding left to do on the surrounds and that will be take place in early May. The next couple of weeks will be spent prepping for the West.
The monthly Links Committee meeting was held in the clubhouse on Tuesday March 16th. 3
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March Links Program Work completed this month
General
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• Pat Ruddy reshaped the 5th Green surrounds. • The 5th Green surrounds have been turfed. • The new bunkers on the green side of the 5th have both been completed. • The irrigation cables have been connected and are working on the 1st, 2nd and 5th greens. • All bunkers on the Championship course have been edged, and are free of weeds. • Divot boxes have been put in place around the course and will be filled with Divot bags only – no loose sand. • Wear areas (paths etc) have been turfed and repaired with a little left to do. • The drains have been cleaned out on 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th and 14th holes. • Sleepers have been added under the divot bins on the 1st and 5th tees to protect turf underneath. • An Astro turf path has been added to the slope in Christy’s Farm for ease of exit. • All the course shelters have been cleaned out and sprayed with disinfectant.
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Work Pending in March Prepare greens for the West of Ireland at Easter. Ensure they are running true and up to speed. Greens will be hand cut from next week (mid March). Greens may be treated with one more light top-‐ dressing -‐ around 10 ton of sand. Hand pick weeds on putting surfaces. Grass sward on the tees is a little thin. They will be hollow cored, seeded and top dressed. This will prepare them for the new season. Granular Fertiliser will be applied after seeding. Grass Pathways will also be seeded and treated with granular fertiliser.
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Fairways • All fairways have been divotted with sand by a group of junior members.
Greens • Around 40 tons of topdressing sand has been added. • Brushing/mowing of the greens is giving a nice clean cut. • Spraying with seaweed and a small amount of sulphate ammonia is on-‐going to help push the greens and speed up recovery. • The new areas on 1st and 2nd greens have been cut down to 6mm and should be ready for the West of Ireland. There will be no pins cut on these areas
Tees • Tees are being kept forward for another couple of weeks and will return back to normal positions the weekend after the West. • The new 1st tee has had its first cut and top dressing. It may be available for use during the West of Ireland.
LINKS TEAM 2015 Mark Millar William Acheson -‐ Sean Melly -‐ Michael Gillen -‐ Colm Hargadon -‐ Donal Egan -‐ Peter Connolly -‐ Ben McGarry 5
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Work Pending in March A small amount of sulphate ammonia and Iron will be added to fairways to maintain colour during the West of Ireland. Roll area at the driving range which was seeded for replacement turf last year. Sleepers will be placed across the new drain at the 5th. Plant Marram Grass on the left side of new 1st Tee and also around the new 5th Tee. Bunkers to be topped up with sand. Make sure the ball will run into the centre. Strim and tidy up around tees and steps. Weed beds around 1st tee. 6
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Work on the extension to the 5th green is nearing completion.
Divot boxes are in now place at various locations around the course.
• Conor Nolan STRI Consultant visited the course on Wednesday March 18th. • • A meeting of the Revitalisation Committee took place on Thursday March 19th.
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What is Links Golf? Fergus Bisset
For many, your author included, links golf delivers the game in its purest form. The links is where the sport as we know it originated, and it’s where you’ll find the ultimate test of your golfing skill and mental fortitude. It’s on a links course each July that The Open Championship is contested and the champion golfer for the year decided. The links can be harsh and unpredictable, but also wonderfully forgiving. Links golf is golf at its best.
So what is a links golf course? “The links” isn’t a term specific to golf courses. It is simply a strip of generally undulating, but always sandy, terrain linking the sea and the arable farmland around the edges of the British Isles. As it often went unused, save for the odd rabbit farm, this was ideal ground for sporting pioneers on the east coast of Scotland back in the 15th and 16th centuries, as they experimented with a new stick and ball game. It was over these narrow corridors of gorse-‐covered, sandy dunes that rudimentary “courses” were first carved out and golf, as we know it began. The ground on the links is firm and sandy, populated by indigenous bent and fescue grasses that are extremely hardy. When cut, these grasses provide an ideal playing surface that’s easily maintained. The terrain on the links is rolling and this means there are incredible natural contours to create unique features on golf holes, without the need for any earth to be moved.
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Traditional links golf courses have simply been laid out over the natural terrain. The holes weren’t built in the same way they are on a modern inland track. A teeing area was selected then a suitable spot for a green. They, and a path (or fairway) between the two, were cleared of gorse and other forms of impenetrable greenery and the grass kept short (by sheep and latterly mowers.) Over the years the odd bunker was dug at key points. Links courses sit comfortably, rather than being forced upon the land. The wind is almost ever-‐present on the links and this is one of the principal challenges to the golfer. Playing with the wind behind, the ball can travel huge distances, bounding along the hard, sandy turf propelled by the gusts. But when the wind is against or from the side, the challenge is rather different and a short hole on the card can become a monster.
“An ever present wind”
Almost all the true links golf courses are found in the UK and Ireland, although there are layouts with links-‐like playing characteristics around the world, particularly on the North Sea coast of continental Europe.
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What are the keys to playing links golf?
The fundamental key to playing links golf is acceptance. You have to learn to accept the rough with the smooth. You must accept it is different and learn to embrace the differences. You must accept a good shot may go unrewarded owing to a cruel bounce or an ill-‐timed gust of wind. Similarly, that an opponent’s poor shot may end up being just fine as it re-‐ bounds towards the target off a severe contour, or chases 200 yards across the hard turf despite never getting airborne. Remember – it could be you next time! Many who play the links for the first time can’t fathom the appeal and it can take a few visits to appreciate the nuances. Links legend Tom Watson admits he just didn’t get it on his first trip to the links. But he persevered, went on to win five Opens and discover a passion for seaside golf – one that has made him hugely popular with golf fans on this side of the Atlantic. The first time he played St Andrews, in the 1921 Open Championship, the great Bobby Jones walked off in disgust after 11 holes. It wasn’t a popular move at the time, but Jones would later learn to love the links and the Old Course at St
Andrews in particular. The locals appreciated his change of heart and in 1958 he was given freedom of the city. The challenge you face on the links is very different to most inland courses and this is largely due to the wind. From the tee you must keep the ball low and under the breeze. The high bomb is not the shot of choice as the higher a shot gets, the more the wind will move it. The low ball with little spin that hits the fairway and scampers on is the ideal links drive.
”A passion for seaside golf”
Tom Watson at Rosses Point 9
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From the fairway, the low penetrating iron shot clipped neatly off the firm ground is the objective. Watch the best links players and you’ll see they barely take a divot, picking the ball cleanly off the surface and sending it forward, again with as little spin as possible so the ball doesn’t balloon into the wind or disappear on a cross-‐breeze. Around the putting surface, once more the low shot is preferable. The chip-‐and-‐ run is the links short-‐game shot of choice; keeping the ball close to the ground, hugging and following the natural contours. Throw it up and the bounce could be hugely unpredictable. The ball might stop dead if it pitches on an upslope or ricochet violently in the wrong direction if it strikes a side slope.
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Overall, links golf is about patience and strategy: understanding when to attack and when to keep your powder dry. You must keep control of your golf ball, don’t persist in sending it skyward, offering it the chance to be blown off course. You must study the slopes and consider how they might affect your shot, and you must avoid the cavernous pot-‐bunkers that pock mark most links courses, as well as the unforgiving gorse that bounds them. Above all though, you must simply enjoy the experience of playing golf as it was meant to be.
“Golf as it was meant to be”
Radisson West of Ireland 2015 Volunteers Required
There will be an extensive divotting of the fairways on the Championship Course prior to the start of this year’s Radisson West of Ireland. All help would be greatly appreciated. The dates and times are as follows:
Wednesday the 1st of April at 16.00 and Thursday 2nd of April at 17.00.
Links News Editor: Vincent McGee Please contact me with any comments or Links issues.
The views expressed in contributed articles are not necessarily the views of the editor of this publication or Co Sligo Golf Club. Editorial content and photographs cannot be reproduced without prior permission from the editor.
The County Sligo Golf Club 2015 ©