Members will have noticed work being carried out on the 13th hole, this starts with the new tee being built and finishes with the softening of the mounds across the path on the righthand side of the fairway.
The new tee is being created to counter miss hit balls hitting the farmhouse on the 5th hole, ( 13 broken slates this year alone), the architect has advised, moving the tee forward and angled towards the bridlepath will mitigate this, players will also have better visibility from the tee to identify when the path is clear to take a shot.
The mounds have been highlighted as being a problem, unfortunately as they are tightly spaced together these had to be mown by hand which meant they didn’t get cut as often as the rest of the course, the decision to return to the ridge and furrow contours with a softer rise in the centre, will correct this. The entrance to the ditch is also going to be raised a little.
These changes should bring consistency to the hole and mitigate the possible safety concerns going forward.
Jez Perry
