Stuart Kearon to CHAIR OF GREENS
Your Suggestion / Comment
Hi Martin,
Can I ask why we are chopping trees down what seems to be needlessly around the course.
As far as I can see there is no benefit aesthetically or otherwise.
All over the planet people are planting trees not chopping them down.
Stuart
HGC Response
MARTIN ANDREW
Good Stuart
Many thanks for your enquiry.
Please be reassured we are not chopping down trees needlessly around the course, a great deal of thought and discussion goes into removal of any trees.
Many of the trees we have removed and those we still intend to remove are either dead, dying or diseased. Too many of the trees are overcrowded due to a lack of long term management, resulting in regarded growth of healthy trees.
Some trees, especially those near to tees and greens adversely affect the growth of the grass by restricting sunlight especially the morning and early evening which is essential to cultivation of healthy grass.
We are also embarking upon a programme of management of the deep rough around the course i.e between 6th and 8th and 8th and 9th and to the left of 9th fairway, as part of this work it has been necessary for us to remove self seeding trees (of which there were many) to allow us to maintain the grasses with an agricultural rake thereby encouraging fescue grasses and elimination of course grasses and weeds, it is impossible to undertake this work with all the self seeding trees in situ.
Removal of some trees is necessary to enhance the spectacular views we have across the estuary, e.g the array of random trees growing in the hedge to the right of the 5th.
Failure to manage the trees effectively has resulted in trees being uprooted during high winds and large branches which are often dead or diseased falling and representing an issue around health and safety.
We have also been working with the Wirral Wildlife Trust during last year who advised that we removed some trees around our ponds as the leaves were adversely affecting the pondlife.
We are also transplanting some native species, such as pines., on the course. There are several self seeding pines to the right of the 3rd and to right of 10th which can and will be transplanted into playing areas when appropriate.
If necessary we will plant more native trees to appropriate areas on the course.
I hope the above provides some reassurance in respect of this activity and highlights the thought and reasons behind removal of trees by the green keeping team.
Best regards
Martin Andrew