Course of Action

The Club’s 5-year financial plan has assigned the majority of the capital spend to the golf course. The Course Manager has come up with a plan of action.

“At long last Liphook has a long-term plan covering every aspect of our course.” Chairman of the Green Committee Ralph Carver sets into context the impressive document written by David Murdoch and accepted, in principle, by the Committee.

Matching the 5-year Financial Plan, which was produced by Richard Freedman and reported in the Spring edition of the Newsletter, David’s 5 Year Course Plan sets out a programme of activity both for the current financial year (already budgeted) and the following five years.

“The amalgamations of holes which were recommended in the Mackenzie Course Audit do not form part of the plan” says Ralph. Some suggestions from the Audit have been adopted, including the creation of five tiger tees over the period of the strategy. The plan also draws heavily on comments made by members following the Mackenzie Audit and the input of the specially-formed Course Design Sub-committee.

“Routine course maintenance isn’t included either” says David. “Aeration, mowing regimes, fertiliser, chemical applications and so on are covered in the Course Policy, the framework set by the Committee.”

Players waiting to tee off at the 10th. The tee will be moved closer to the 9th green, the waiting area moved to the far side, the wood palings removed, and natural contours reintroduced.

David has divided his proposals into seven headings, Greens, Tees, Fairways, Bunkers, Heathland and Woodland, Paths/Steps/Bridges, Ditches/Streams/Ponds and Screening. “The most important part is the management of our heather – woodland also plays a part in this. This is the work of scraping the existing ground to remove organic material, expose mineral, acidic sand and spread with heather seed.
In the current financial year major alterations will be made to the 10th tee (above), introducing a path and waiting area on the far side of the present tee, removing the wood panelling and the existing path and landscaping grass contours back to the 9th green.

A new tiger tee will be introduced twenty to thirty yards behind the present 12th tee, to be used in the major competitions which Liphook hosts.

On the 14th, the smaller trees to the right will be removed and a bunker introduced, to allow big hitters to go for the green.

No fewer than nine bunkers will be re-built or introduced in the current year, including a new bunker to the right of the fourteenth which will replace the younger pine trees planted in the ‘80s on the direct line from the tee to the green.

“Bunkers are the most contentious thing on a golf course,” says David. “You can get the greens and everything else right, but when a thunderstorm or a serious rainstorm displaces the sand in bunkers you get inconsistencies in depth and texture and golfers complain.” This year, David will be researching bunkers in depth – lining, sand and
banks. All the steps on the tees will be covered in Astroturf, to make them safer particularly in wet weather.

The budget allows for contractors to be brought in both for specialist work and to work alongside Liphook’s hard-working greenkeeping team. “We shall learn a great deal as we go on,” says David “Plans for future years will be adapted in the light of experience and of course the weather will play a big part.” The financial situation of the Club will also be taken into account. Revisions will then be submitted to the General Committee for approval each year.

Ralph pays tribute to support from this year’s Captain. “Keith said that he wanted the legacy of his captaincy to be a long-term Course Plan and I believe we have produced just that.”