My course is closed still, thank goodness for country membership, otherwise I’d be having cold sweats and twitching.
How's your course bearing up in this exceptionally wet weather?
- Thread starter JohnnyDee
- Start date
Slime
Tour Winner
It means that, if you insist on using a trolley, you have to carry it.
can't help thinking he's now picturing loads of guys carrying their trolleys as well as the clubs
Played yesterday. The fairways are fine, excellent drainage, but the rest of the course, semi, rough, walks between holes is a quagmire. When it does eventually dry out the areas between holes are going to need some serious TLC.
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
Imagine those areas - that's what our fairways are like
And they have people walking and pushing trolleys on them.....
I predict the odd bad bounce during the summer..
?? That really is not good. I presume your course is privately owned, not a members club.
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
One of the greenkeepers as good as admitted they were told to keep it open at all costs..
#72daystogo
GasMan
Assistant Pro
Shut again and rightly so. Only a couple of downland courses down this way are coping.
I’m moving later this year to between Chichester and Southampton. I’ve looked and apart from Goodwood which has a horrible credit membership system, I can only see myself joining Alresford, Hockley or Royal Winchester. This winter has convinced me that downland is the only way to make membership value for money.
Fair play to the green staff at my club - it’s in amazing condition considering. The problem is that the water table is now so high that we need 3 months of dry weather to give it a chance to dry out.
Has anyone else noticed that with new build estates popping up everywhere around courses, the drainage issues have become massively worse?
Wherever new houses have been built around my course the natural runoff is gone and these are now the boggiest areas.
I’m moving later this year to between Chichester and Southampton. I’ve looked and apart from Goodwood which has a horrible credit membership system, I can only see myself joining Alresford, Hockley or Royal Winchester. This winter has convinced me that downland is the only way to make membership value for money.
Fair play to the green staff at my club - it’s in amazing condition considering. The problem is that the water table is now so high that we need 3 months of dry weather to give it a chance to dry out.
Has anyone else noticed that with new build estates popping up everywhere around courses, the drainage issues have become massively worse?
Wherever new houses have been built around my course the natural runoff is gone and these are now the boggiest areas.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
Sorry but surely you knew about Whipsnade before joining there ? It’s a members club which struggles during the winter because of the ground it’s on- but it recovers well in the summer , they try and keep it open as much as they possibly can for the members to at least get out and play but when you join somewhere like Whipsnade then you should know what’s going to happen.
One of the greenkeepers as good as admitted they were told to keep it open at all costs..
#72daystogo
JohnnyDee
Tour Winner
We've been closed since Wednesday and it's one hundred percent the right call. Now there's heavy frost to deal with and -3 forecast for tomorrow morning when we're due out (if we actually open).
This is the first period in my golfing obsession that I just can't be bothered. I have better things to do and I have never felt like this. Roll on March!!
This is the first period in my golfing obsession that I just can't be bothered. I have better things to do and I have never felt like this. Roll on March!!
Bigfoot
Tour Rookie
I agree with this. I spoke to the pro at an established club before Christmas, he said that their course had got worse over the last 40 years (according to long established members) as the houses had gradually got closer.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
It also depends on the course and the green staff. Have they been updating the drains? Are the drains still old clay pipes that have broken and become clogged?
Lots of courses only react to problems instead of being proactive in preventing them.
Bigfoot
Tour Rookie
I've no idea but that club has plenty of money so should not be in the position where they don't keep up with maintenance. Your suggestion is perfectly feasible though.
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
Err...
Theres a massive difference between a course being soft but playable in the winter and a course being so soft that walking on the fairways leaves 2 inch deep footprints and access to some tees is through a 3 inch deep puddle of mud
I know exactly what parkland courses are like around here, I've been playing them for the thick end of 30 years. Whipsnade is no different in how it handles excessive rain than Aylesbury Park was - its lousy and should be closed
And any sensible course closes when damage is going to occur.
By having Whipsnade open now they are damaging the course and it will take longer to recover - all so a couple of dozen members can go out on a Sunday morning with temperatures barely above freezing. They'll be the first to complain when a drive bounces off the remnants of a deep footprint and goes out of bounds this summer.
Why was LB closed for a day or 2 recently?
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
Whipsnade has always been like that , it was the same 8 years ago when the heavy rain was around - if the greenkeepers feel that it’s ok to open and they can recover it then surely their experience is what matters is it not ? They get paid to do the job and if the course suffers then they are the ones the fingers are pointed towards
If the course is that bad then you won’t get many people play it so any damage will be minimal - the course will take care of itself
But it’s Whipsnade - the ground isn’t great in wet conditions and every winter it’s the same with the clay underneath
And we closed because the greens were flooded due to 1 inch of rain and even the rope drainage couldn’t handle it and every course was closed
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
By your logic every course should have been open but as there would have been so few playing it wouldn't have damaged the course...
If a course is playable and having people on it isn't going to damage it then the course should be open
If the course is so wet, like LB and everywhere else was, then going on it is going to damage it.
So you dont open it.
Whipsnade was closed Friday and Saturday
From my experience, if its closed for 2 days due to water logging it isnt going to miraculously drain enough to be playable a day later.
It just isnt.
I dont see what you're not getting..
Do you think a course is playable when you leave 2 inch footprints on fairways and greens.?
GasMan
Assistant Pro
There has been an inordinate amount of money spent on course improvements but they only seem to have mitigated the issues caused by the rampant development of surrounding areas.
I speak regularly to environment agency staff and their concerns are always overridden by the need to meet the housing plans and the backhanders from developers.
If anybody is familiar with where Hassocks Golf “Course” was, you’d know that the only thing draining the surrounding area was the course. Now it’s gone for development and I fear for the surrounding area.
Burgess Hill Golf Centre is going to make way for the Northern Arc development and that’s going to lead to all of that area up to Ansty becoming even worse flooded than it already is.
If the development of the current site for Hayward’s Heath Golf Club goes ahead Mid Sussex will have some new rivers to name as it floods every winter.
clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
There is / was a very top end course not far from me .
It was always in lovely condition .
Had many lessons there ,but couldn’t get in as the waiting list was long.
Now it’s underwater every winter because of the housing development all around the course.
I don’t know what they have done ,it had a river going through it once but it was piped under the houses and it’s not been dry since.
It was always in lovely condition .
Had many lessons there ,but couldn’t get in as the waiting list was long.
Now it’s underwater every winter because of the housing development all around the course.
I don’t know what they have done ,it had a river going through it once but it was piped under the houses and it’s not been dry since.
Crow
Crow Person
We were open today, overnight frost meant even the wet areas weren't too bad, but we seem to have missed the worst of the most recent downpours.
Mostly temporary greens but definitely playable.
Mostly temporary greens but definitely playable.
PJ87
Journeyman Pro
Local course I play in this weather just because it's always good in winter and great condition was closed 3 days and now pull trolly or carry only
Very very rare
I'm playing there weds will just leave the electric trolly at home not worth the agro
Very very rare
I'm playing there weds will just leave the electric trolly at home not worth the agro