NEW 3rd TEES

Due to the ongoing coastal erosion and the need to safeguard the 1st green and 2nd tees, which were very much under threat, the decision was made to move the rocks protecting the 3rd tees and move them to help protect the 1st and 2nd. Although not ideal as it meant sacrificing the 3rd tee, it was the only option available to MGLL at the time.

Below is a photo gallery of the work carried out to create the new tee complex.

The existing top tee eroding away.

The view from the site of new bottom tee prior to work being carried out..

View from the site of the top tee prior to work being carried out.

Removing turf from the old winter tee.

                                                       Post going in to mark the boundary of the new tees.

JCB levelling the site.

Looking towards the 3rd green.

3rd green in the distance.

Sub soil roughly levelled.

Irrigation pipework being installed.

                                                                 The first section levelled with root zone.

Ongoing levelling work.

Top tee levelled.

Turfing underway.

Turfing progressing well.

Tee nearing completion.

 View of the completed lower tee.

Top tee complete.

Topdressing surfaces with sand.

Sprinklers in use for the first time.

The work that has been carried to create a new tee complex together with the extra rock protection at the 2nd tees will ensure that golf can continue to be played over these opening holes. However this is not a long term solution but it will give us a bit of time, with  the hope that something more permanent can be undertaken to stop the erosion that is eating into our historic links.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

WINTER WORK - UPDATE 2

The second winter work report showing some of the work carried out over the final few months of the winter.

Paths

Paths at the 7th and 8th Medal tees were levelled, edged and astro-turf laid down. The finish looks a lot better than the previous quarry dust material.  A number of astro-turf rolls were given to us by Montrose Youth fc and it is planned to complete more paths over the next few years.

7th tee looking forward towards the fairway.

Looking back towards the 7th main tee.

Preparing the path from the 8th medal tee.

Edging the path prior to fitting the astro-turf.

Turfing along the sides of the astro-turf.

PRACTICE AREA

After discussions with our golf professionals work was carried out to increase the size and include varying heights to the face to one of the practice bunkers. This will help when they are delivering lessons to the different standard and ages of golfers. At the same time we built a teeing area to accommodate tee mats and can be used for general practice and when the professionals are using their TrackMan teaching aid.

Cutting and edging the turf.

Stripping the turf.

New bunker built and preparing the adjacent ground.

Astro-turf laid down on the new practice tee.

The completed are with the new practice tee to the left.

GORSE MANAGEMENT

Gorse work continued throughout the winter months. Gorse around all tees were checked and either trimmed back or removed to stop encroachment and improve the sight lines. In the past we have transported all the gorse back to an area behind the 4th Medal hole, this was very time consuming. This year we borrowed a chipper from Carnoustie Links and we considerably reduced the number of trips back and forward.

The chipper in use.

 Gorse clearance was also undertaken using chainsaws between the 8th Medal tee and the fairway and also in front of the ladies 10th tee, this should result in much better visibility to the fairways and also help speed up play.

The view from the 8th Medal tee prior to gorse clearance.

The much improved view of the 8th hole.

Gorse impacting the playability of hole from the 10th ladies tee.

The 10th hole after gorse clearance work.

Gorse trimmed back in front of the 18th ladies tee.

A contractor was also hired to clear a number of areas. On the Medal gorse was cleared from the left of the 1st, left of the 6th and also to the front of the 9th tees which often causes a problem for the shorter hitters or when a strong wind blows from the south.  Gorse removal to the right of the 9th on the Broomfield was also undertaken.

Starting clearance work to the left of the 1st Medal hole.

Large area cleared at the 1st.

Working at the 9th Medal.

NEW 3RD TEE

The new tees at the 3rd, which was one of our major projects this winter, has been completed. A separate blog regarding this work will be posted very soon.

The new 3rd tee complex.

GENERAL WORK

Along with the normal day to day work such as raking bunkers, divotting tees and removing dew from the greens, a few of the other tasks that have been carried out are highlighted below.

Vertidrain - All the greens were vertidrained in March, this will help minimise the flooding that we experienced last summer. The increased rolling that now takes place has certainly had an impact on surface compaction and we may have to relieve the surface using our Aercore and micro tines as we see fit throughout the season. 

Topdressing - The greens and a number of fairways were topdressed during the back end of the winter, this will continue throughout the coming season.

4th tee retaining posts - A number of the post that were rotten have been replaced and the whole length stained.

The retaining posts at the 4th Medal tee.

Fencing along the 2nd Medal hole - The safety fencing along the length of the hole has been removed, it was well past its best and took away from the look of the hole. Although the dune face is far less steep than it used to be we also erected warning signs that the Council paid for.

Course furniture -  Tee markers, benches and out of bounds posts have all been painted. The shelters and fences will be done in due course.

Rabbits - Continue to be a major issue on the links. George our seasonal labourer was appointed a month earlier than planned with his sole duties for that month being that of patching rabbit holes. Shooting also takes place to try and keep numbers down.

MACHINERY

Our course mechanic has been servicing our large fleet of machinery as well as repairing any day to day faults. We have recently purchased 2 brush attachments for our ride on greens machines. These will help lift the grass prior to cutting and will result in a better finish.

One of the many cutting units in the process of being stripped down.

One of our new brushes attached to the front of our greens mower.

Repairs have taken place to various faults relating to our irrigation system. Due to faulty aging pumps we were unable to irrigate at all, which has been a problem as the end of March and into April has been exceptionally dry. The new pumps have now been fitted and we are in a position that we can water if its required.

The newly fitted pumps.

I hope that this together with my previous winter work update gives you an idea of some of the work etc that has taken place throughout the winter.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited.

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE - WOODLAND TRUST TREES

The Woodland Trust have been running a " Free trees for schools and communities" scheme which offered  a variety of different tree packs to applicants that fitted their criteria. Fortunately Montrose Golf Links was successful and we recently received a Wildlife pack. In total it contained 105 trees, spiral guards and canes. 6 different species of trees were included in the pack.

Trees, spiral guards and canes arrived by post.

105 Trees, 6 different varieties.

An area of rough ground to the right of the 10th Medal hole had previously been planted out with a mixture of native trees including Silver Birch, Rowan and Hawthorn. The pack from the Woodland Trust also included these 3 species so we planted around 70 of the trees in this area to compliment what was already there. 

Ricky starting the planting to the right of the 10th Medal fairway.

The area to left of the 18th Broomfield fairway was chosen for the remaining trees. We already have a couple of small stands of pine trees which help screen and protect the adjacent houses and nursery school. This area is also home to our bug hotel and a number of bird nest boxes so hopefully these new wildlife attracting trees will enhance this area.

Planting to the left of the 18th Broomfield fairway beside our bug hotel.

Rompers nursery school and their children have previously helped sow an area with wild flower seed and were keen to involve their kids in the tree planting. We chose Silver Birch to plant next to their nursery. We had 8 helpers aged 3- 4 who were all very keen to get involved and showed a great interest in the planting.

Watching how its done.

Getting a helping hand.

Another tree planted.

Firming up around a newly planted trees.

More firming up around a tree.

Putting a guard and cane around one of the trees.

As the children left to go back to their class they could be heard telling each other which tree they had planted and that it was their one.

 Hopefully the enthusiasm that the children showed will continue and they will want to discover more about the outdoors. the golf course and the wildlife that is on their doorstep.

Les Rae,
First Assistant,
Montrose Golf Links Limited.

BEACH WORKS NOV 16 - JAN17

Between November 2016 and January 2017 Angus council, together with their contractors, carried out rock moving work adjacent to the 2nd and 3rd holes of the Medal course.
 Prior to the recent work both the 2nd and 3rd tees had been protected by rock armour, however over time the area to the front and rear of the 2nd tee had been eaten away by the sea, while at the 3rd it was cutting in behind the main tee and threatening the medal tee.
 If the rocks at the 2nd had been left the way they were then the first green would soon have been under threat. With no other short term options available to Montrose Links Limited it was agreed that the rocks from the 3rd would be removed and re-sited to the north and south of the 2nd tee to help protect the 1st green and protect the area to the rear between the tee and the beach access ramp
Unfortunately, it was acknowledged that by carrying out this, the existing 3rd tees would soon succumb to the sea and new tees would have to be built slightly further in land.

Work starting beside the access ramp.

Rock armour from the 3rd being moved to the ramp area.

Increased protection to the access ramp.

Looking back from the 2nd tee towards the access ramp. Rock from the

3rd was used to protect this area.

With the area to the front of the 2nd tee severely under threat it was agreed to extend the rock armour approximately 30 yard further north to help protect the 1st green and out towards the start of the 2nd fairway.

An example of how bad the erosion has become. this photo was taken

looking back towards the 2nd tee from what was the path to the 2nd fairway.

Rock protection to the front of the 2nd tee prior to work.

Starting to protect the front of the 2nd tee with the rock from the 3rd tee,

which can be seen in the distance.

Continuing work to the front of the 2nd tee.

Rocks now in place.

After the rocks from the 3rd tee had been removed it didn't take long for the sea to start eating away and the erosion has already crept onto the back of the main tee. It had been hoped that we would still be able to use these tees for a few months at the start of the season however this is now highly unlikely.

Erosion to the rear of the 3rd tee.

Work to create new tees is in progress and it is hoped that these will be completed sometime in February.

 All of the above should ensure that golf can still be played over these threatened first 3 holes in the immediate future. However it is far from ideal and is only a short term solution as the erosion will continue to bite into our historic old links if left to its own devises.

Les Rae,

First Assistant,

Montrose Golf Links Limited,