Machrihanish Dunes

[thecraw]

Oh dear where do I start!

Sorry lads but the Dunes will once again not be ready for the GM Forum outing. It is in appalling condition at present. I thought that they were exaggerating when they told my how bad they had got it over the winter due to storms and rain fall however it was clear that they have been bombarded. Its an absolute tragedy as it must have put the course back 2 years!

Its quite worrying when the starter has enough of a sense of humor to say to use "please dont feed the dolphins"!!! He wasn't far from the truth either with some parts of the course still having over 2 feet of standing water on it. I guess you don't really understand how bad they have had it until you hear that they had 2 metres, yes 2 metres of rain fall in 36 hours! To me thats biblical proportions. They also had 3 storms, one with winds of over 105 mph and the other two brought a mere 90 mph wind! This drove the sea up over the dunes and shifted sand onto the course plus the water. The devestation to the course is plain to see and its so sad.

The owners are doing all they can at present and are employing a further three green staff tomorrow to aid the recovery work but I fear its a bridge too far to get the majority of the work done and bedded in for the 2012 season. I do wish them well though as the course lay out and variation is magnificent. The quality of the course can't be disputed in my opinion.

1st green is a mess.
2nd green will still be a winter green in two weeks
3rd is good
4th is poor
5th is poor
6th is new so should be ok, possibly a little slow
7th is new, as above
8th is new as above
9th best green on the course. Excellent

10th is fine
11th is fine
12th is fine
13th is new and poor
14th wont be on for us. Destroyed by the storms
15th is newand looks good if a little slow.
16th is a mess
17th is new looks ok
18th is good, a couple of bits of patchwork but fine.

I guess you realise how bad a winter its been when Machrihanish Golf Club next door are still on 18 winter greens as well. Links golf which is struggling due to the weather, unheard of from me until now!!!!


I'll put some pictures up later. Early shift beckons!

 

[fat-tiger]

oh dear, that dont sound good

 

[DCB]

Nightmare scenario for a course that's trying to get itself established in a very competitive marketplace. We had an exceptional run of stormy weather in Dec/Jan and a location exposed to the full force of an Atlantic storm was bound to come off second best.

Hope it doesn't spoil things for you all next weekend.

 

[Farneyman]

That's a shame. All that effort planning and Mother Nature is going to spoil it all.
Still two weeks to settle down.

 

[stevek1969]

That's a shame. All that effort planning and Mother Nature is going to spoil it all.
Still two weeks to settle down.

Fabian, i think some will need more than 2 weeks , its such a shame as its a fantastic layout, but you can't hold mother nature back,they've spent alot of cash on the infrastucture but i think the storms have put the course back a few years.

We got a fantastic day there yesterday, with sun and no wind,it was still worth the 400 mile round trip.

 

[fat-tiger]

mother nature can be a right bitch at times,was other course affected as bad,? feel sorry for people like craw who have put alot of time and effort in to get this thing up and running,

 

[Dodger]

Any thoughts of me filling the spare spaces have now left my head.....

 

[CMAC]

Thats a shame, was looking forward to seeing the pics of glorious Links golf in Winter.

I don't think England realises how bad it was here last year, I had 14 (yes 14) competions either cancelled or abandoned mid round, thats not counting the friendlies that were called off on the day due to torrential rain or waterlogged course.

Shows how bad it was when a Links course is affected. hope its a long warm one this year and they get some recovery

 

[thecraw]

I'll put up some pictures shortly.

It is a real shame whats happened and I am saddened by how harsh they have had it. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm a huge fan of the Dunes and think it is potentially a stronger course than Machrihanish. The management are clearly not afraid of hard work however they also need a bit of assistance from mother nature, hopefully she will oblige this time.

Keith at the Dunes took time to email me again this morning stating he will do his best to ensure the course is as playable as possible at the end of the month. Not many people would care enough or be bothered enough to do that. Lets hope they get some decent weather for the next two weeks and hope minor miracles can happen.

 

[Val]

Not so good, here's hoping for some good fortune weather wise

 

[thecraw]

Andy after his eagle on 12!

Steve Kemlo putting out.

The storm wrecked 14th, in process of being re-laid.

The second fairway, that is all storm water on the left, not a lake!

Bobby on the 3rd tee

thecraw on the 6th tee.

Proper coastline and dunes!

Not sure if thats the Bee Gees or my playing partners yesterday in that photo!

 

[thecoltproject]

Thank you for the pictures! The course just looks great!!

 

[SammmeBee]

http://www.meteoblue.com/en_GB/weather/forecast/tab/machrihanish_gb_18451/b/54

 

[stevek1969]

Some more photo's of a fantastic piece of golfing land, not a bloody tree in sight , the way golf should be,ha

 

[thecraw]

Some beauties there Stevie.

No doubting the quality of the place, fingers crossed it all comes together this year. The course is fantastic. The people who have not playedit are in for a treat if they approach it with the right attitude, just enjoy it!

 

[Farneyman]

http://www.meteoblue.com/en_GB/weather/forecast/tab/machrihanish_gb_18451/b/54

I see it going to be roasting :-0

Great pictures lads.

 

[thecraw]

Glad to say that Machrihanish Dunes is slowly but surely turning the corner. The greens today were true and firm and really starting to come. I would suggest that by June they will be back to normal except maybe 2 & 14 which will require a bit longer to bed in as they have just been re-laid.

The fairways are now dried out, running true and firm. A great transformation in a short period of time. Keith and his team deserve a lot of credit as its clear they have been working their butts off to get the Dunes back on track after the severe winter storms.

Really enjoyed the Dunes today, great company, great weather and a great comeback from thecraw saw me leave with £1 in my pocket thanks to a back 9 and game victory. Martin started like a train and was 2up through 9.

 

[Val]

I hope you frame that quid

Have to say it's coming on very slowly, still a magnificent track and the views were simply awesome yesterday with much better visibility than we had 2 weeks ago. Craw and I pretty much agreed 2 & 14 could do with being off all year, I can't beieve the improvement on the 1st, an amazing change in such a short time.

A true test of links golf and as good as any links course I have had the pleasure of playing, I even had the factor 30 on yesterday which stopped the sunburn.