Bromsgrove, Redditch and Droitwich golf clubs 'struggling to maintain courses' during the heatwave - The Bromsgrove Standard

Bromsgrove, Redditch and Droitwich golf clubs 'struggling to maintain courses' during the heatwave

Bromsgrove Editorial 12th Jul, 2018   0

GOLF clubs across the county have been struggling to maintain their courses due to the heatwave as a lack of rain has affected grass growth and made the fairways near to unplayable.

Members have expressed their frustration at the course quality at this time but admit there is not much that can be done.

One member from Bromsgrove Golf Club said “The condition of the fairways are not ideal, however they remain playable and you certainly cannot expect much more given the conditions.

“The greens remain well looked after.”




Mark Laing, manager of Bromsgrove Golf Club, said: “The fairways are looking like a baron desert.

“We are not overly concerned for the course condition as a small amount of rain in the next few weeks should aid the recent problems.”


A smoking ban has been introduced to the course because of the dryness of the grass and waste collections have increased in case items such as glass lead to fires starting.

Clubs, such as Bromgrove and Gaudet Luce, use chemicals on the greens to retain moisture at the roots and both say the greens are in a healthy state due to this.

Gaudet Luce is currently attempting to repair parts of its course before upcoming events despite recent drops in water pressure.

It has an automatic irrigation system that operates between 10pm and 5am when heat stress is minimum in order to reduce evaporation from the water placed on the course.

Andrew added: “Often we retain the grass colour well, however recently the course has been looking very brown.”

He said the club was good at conserving water and only used it when necessary.

Redditch Golf Club also said it waters as little as possible to keep the grass playable and only at dusk.

It has a bore hole it uses to relieve pressure on the mains water supply and the main concern is protecting the greens with a centrally controlled irrigation system.

While the problem continues for many golf clubs as the heatwave beats on, all the clubs said they had done all they could.

Story by Sophie Hind.

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