Sunday 26 February 2017

Clearing up after Doris....


Last Thursday we were subjected to a Storm named Doris, I'd just like to take you through some of the clean up operations that have & will be taking place to clear up the golf course.

I'm not sure if it's since the Met Office started naming storm's that were more aware of them, if that's possible, but we certainly seem to be getting more of them..

This is the first time we have lost a significant number of trees due to a storm in quite a while, after Thursday we lost poplars in between the 10th & 16th, alongside the 4th boundary line & the 6th boundary and a poplar on the 13th tee has also gone. Added to this a lot of debris, again mostly off poplars & silver birch.

The number of mature poplars we have on the course, and their height, means it is inevitable in strong winds some will suffer damage and ultimately fail. We have seen evidence of that on Thursday. That is why continuing with a woodland management program focusing on developing stable, mixed aged species of woodland will enable the continuation & growth of the woodland areas around the golf course.

So onto the clean up. In terms of time & manpower it takes about 5 men working 7 hour days each to clean up after 1 large tree. Bearing in mind we lost 6 tree's in the storm that means the focus for the forthcoming week will be mainly based around clearing debris.

Why does it take so long? The tree's have to be cut up and made safe & manageable before we can start the clear up. We then use our chipper to reduce the amount of volume we have to move across the golf course. The chippings will be used as a base for our dumping site & some will be incorporated into compost production. One average size tree will produce about 10 tonnes of chippings, quite a lot but much easier to move chippings around the course the more heavier bulk material. From an environmental impact it also reduces our reliance on burning material.

Once the debris has been cleared away the stump will need to ground out and the area will be over seeded or filled with cores.

Also to deal with is the amount of branches, limbs, twigs & leaves that have been deposited across the golf course. This will rely on old fashion methods of picking up with, namely Greenkeepers and their hand's... We will use blowers & some machinery but must will be picked up by hand.

Does this have an impact on what other works are carried out on the golf course? Obviously some things that were planned for this coming week will now be put back but clearing up & maintaining a level of presentation on the course is paramount. And when mother nature decides to blow, there's very little we can do.













Apart from wonder who gets to choose the storms names.......

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