cockle shell paths

[General Fade]

Evening all

Just been thinking about all the courses I've played over the years and for some unkown reason thought about cockle shell paths. I remember waliking on these years ago and still today although most are now grit for one reason or another

Does anyone know why they are part of golf course design, when they were introduced and why? I remember walking on them before seeing buggies and they often lead from green to tee and then on occasions fairway. Is it to protect the grass around a certain area or just to guide you to the next tee? some courses dont employ them?

Cheers, Fade

 

[andycap]

in some areas its readily available and cheap , we have them on local courses and they do the job , may not last long , but as and when needed its topped up , other materials like planings from the roads or crushed limestone are far more expensive , also i think it helps to aerate the soil and stop it from getting too claggy , a problem more prevalent on heavy clay courses

 

[ColchesterFC]

As above I think that a lot of it is down to what is available. A couple of years ago a school close to me was replacing an astroturf football pitch. The cost of disposing of the old pitch was quite high so someone with links to the school and the local golf club got involved and the golf club took all of the old pitch as large parts of it were still in very good condition. They now have astroturf paths leading from greens to tees on quite a few of the holes. A win/win for both the school and the club as the school didn't have to pay to dispose of the old pitch and the club got new paths at a fraction of the cost of paying for new ones.

 

[3565]

We have she'll paths on our course and the worst thing is the shells get transported from your golf shoes onto the greens and it's horrible. Little shells on your line would make the speedsters seething with those who pick and brush off their line!

 

[Blue in Munich]

One of the lost aural joys of golf; metal spikes crunching down a cockleshell path to the accompanying chatter of a bag of blades……… I'm going misty eyed just thinking about it.

 

[CliveW]

Could it be because these were readily available at links courses?

 

[User62651]

One of the lost aural joys of golf; metal spikes crunching down a cockleshell path to the accompanying chatter of a bag of blades……… I'm going misty eyed just thinking about it.

So true..........sniff