Tree Felling:

Our Tree felling programme is to commence in January 2012, whereby a number of trees will be taken out from the golf course. This will improve the health of our remaining tree population and also assist in cutting the grass areas amongst the trees. Tree Stumps will also be removed in this programme.

 

New Tee Boxes:

Two new tee boxes are proposed for the ladies 7th and men's 16th holes. The new ladies 7th tee box is near completion and will turn this hole for the ladies from a par 4 to a par 5. The new par 5 will be 413 yards from the back tees and subsequently the ladies 8th hole will change from a par 5 to a par 4. The ladies tee box on the 8th hole will be moved forward to accommodate such a proposal. The effect of these changes will mean that the ladies par on theses holes will coincide with that of the men’s. This in turn means that the fairways on these two holes can now be easier to manipulate cutting down on time spent mowing fairways.

The new 16th tee box has been mapped out and work on same is due to commence in the coming month. The length of the new hole will be the same. The current 16th tee box struggled to get any consistent quality of grass. This is due to the positioning of the trees preventing enough sunlight to impact on the grass area. The new tee box will have sufficient width to allow a more frequent use of the very back tees. It will also be raised to the same height as the current tee box.

We also intend to move the teeing area on the men's 13th tee. The new teeing area will be on the women's old 9th tee box. For those who are unfamiliar with this location, it is up further from the existing white tee box. The new teeing area will be up on a higher level to the right giving the golfer full view of the hitting and landing areas on the 13th fairway.

 

 

 

Irrigation System:

The current irrigation system in the Curragh is over 40 years old and is obsolete. Wastage of up to 40% of water occurs due to leakages on a system that struggles to do its intended job. This in turn leads to a considerable amount of time spent by our ground staff repairing and maintaining the existing pipes and sprinklers. A new irrigation is badly needed and we are hopeful that it could be implemented in the near future. The benefits of this proposal are two fold. It means that our ground staff spend more time involved in course maintenance and it will also improve the standard of our greens and tees boxes dramatically.

 

Buggies and Driving Range:

All golf buggies will be moved to a new location. No longer will they be stored behind the fenced area. They will be moved to the rear of the building beside the back entrance to the kitchens. All buggies will be numbered and more easily accessed. This again means less time by our ground staff moving buggies in the morning and at night time. The driving range will be roped off in specific areas to concentrate hitting areas and thereby improving the standard of turf.

 

 

Fairways:

All fairways will be cut to the same standard as last year. It is acknowledged that some fairways became too narrow in 2011 and this will be addressed. There will be two cuts of rough and fescue grasses more evident on holes 11 and 17.

 

General Maintenance:

General year round maintenance of the course will continue in the same mode as 2011. Aeration procedures on greens, such as hollow-coring, slit tining, pencil tining, sand topdressing and verti-cutting will be on-going throughout the year. Aeration of other play areas such as fairways, tees and surrounds will also be undertaken. A program of nutritional inputs, growth regulators and disease inhibitors on greens, tees and surrounds is also part of the maintenance plan.