Strathaven Golf Club winner: Greenkeeping Project AWARD sponsored by Sports Turf Data Solutions

BIGGA members: Stephen Hunter (head greenkeeper), Andrew Armit, Craig Black, Iain Turner

In 2019, after discussions with a neighbour and the club's insurance company, Strathaven Golf Club in South Lanarkshire was forced to stop playing its 7th hole, to avoid golf balls entering a neighbour's garden.

Head Greenkeeper Stephen Hunter suggested redesigning the hole to become a par 3 that aimed away from the property.

In order to maintain the par of the course, Stephen also suggested extending the 9th hole from a par 3 to a par 4 by moving the tee back and pushing the green forward.

His vision was accepted by the management committee and the club began a two-year project. The six-strong home greenkeeping team carried out the design and construction themselves, with the project being completed in April 2022.

New 7th hole - par 3, 138 yards

A forested area was cleared to be the site of the new green

Despite the typical Scottish winter weather, the team installed drainage for the green

Rootzone was put down prior to laying the new turf

The team cut and lifted the turf from the existing green and relocated it to the new site

The new bunkers were constructed around the green

When the green area had been prepared and turf laid on the green and surrounds, Stephen and his team turned their attention to the teeing area.

As the tee was designed to be on two levels, railway sleepers were used to maximise the available space

Despite more snow, the work of constructing the teeing area continued

With drainage installed and turf taken from the fairway of the existing 7th hole, the tee was completed

New 9th hole - par 4, 324 yards

The ground earmarked for the new green was a fairly steep slope in front of a spinny of fir trees. Stephen was the first to suggest this area could be used for a new green.

Due to the steepness of the slope, significant earth moving had to be achieved to give a reasonably level surface for a new green.

Turf was transplanted from the existing 9th green

Sprinkler irrigation pipework was installed around the apron. All drainage, sprinkler and penalty area pipework was prepared and installed by Stephen and his team.

An EcoBunker was created to the right-hand side of the new green

A penalty area in the form of a stream was created directly in front of the new green

At the planning stage of the project, head greenkeeper Stephen suggested the area for the new green with the knowledge there was already an underground stream in the area. It seemed natural to utilise this flow by creating a penalty area and Stephen envisaged he would use sleepers to bank the penalty area. All the excavation work was done by the Strathaven greenkeepers.

Once the critical work of laying the new green was complete, the team moved onto the work of levelling the ground of the existing raised green and turfing the area that would form part of the landing area on the new par 4 fairway.

With the successful completion of this by the Strathaven greenkeepers, the new 9th hole opened for play on Friday 29 April 2022.

congratulations to Strathaven Golf Club, winner in the Greenkeeping Project Award sponsored by Sports Turf Data Solutions

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