Re the sandy waste areas, at my club up the coast we did some quite extensive gorse removal over the winter to leave some lovely sandy waste areas. Already they are beginning to self seed with grass (no gorse as yet but I'm sure it will come). Adam recently did a piece or an editorial in Golf Architecture mag about not enough sandy waste areas in UK courses but the question I have is how do you stop them going back to grass or whatever
Niall
This is something that has puzzled me for some time. When I look at really old pictures e.g British Golf Links I am amazed how the sandy areas stayed grass free at a time when there were minimal green staff. Some of these features were famous for years. They were not all coastal, Royal Eastbourne and Sandy Lodge had significant sand areas. Today as you say grass growth seems to happen instantly.
I can only conclude that we have introduced MORE varieties of grass that will quickly colonise such areas. About the only places where you see significant 'blowouts' today are off the golf courses in large areas of natural Dunes. e.g. the West of Ireland in particular Donegal. I presume there is a type of fescue that dominate and newer varieties haven't' been introduced.
Without wishing to get into difficult discussions it should be pointed out that pure sand is inert and does not support much in the way of nature. Insects and plants do not survive and you will only see birds at the waters edge. The only other possibility I can think of is that rain today contains more nutrients that feed the grass growth? However with prevailing winds I can't see how the rain that falls on Western Ireland is significantly different from that falling on Eastern Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales?
Anyone know more?