[AndrewB]

Under what conditions is it possible to create heathland and does anyone know of cases where this was done specifically to build a golf course (rather than for grazing long ago)?

Does heathland imply firm ground conditions, or is that just a characteristic of the heathland where certain golf courses have been built?

Aside from Surrey, England, what are some other areas well-known for their heathland golf courses?

Sorry for the both vague and distinct questions, but I know little about this.  Answers and pointers to good resources on heathland and heathland golf in general are appreciated.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Andrew there's quite a lot on here

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=20383

[Rich Goodale]

Andrew

My guess is that we'd need a helluva lot of acid rain for at least a century or two to create any anthropogenic heathland.  As far as I know, the key is really crap soil where nothing but gorse, heather and fine golfing grasses can grow.

Rich

[Tony_Muldoon]

This map is trying to indicate where Heaths are to be found in GB&I.  It exagerates the size of various areas so they show up better, otherwise Dornoch, Portrush and Penard wouldbe three of our finest Heathland Courses.

[Rich Goodale]

Tony

I think that some of the upper areas of Dornoch (7, 8 and 17) are heathish.  They have heather growing there, which is (I think) a key criterion.  Golspie, just up the road, has 6 heathland hole

Rich

[Marty Bonnar]

Andrew,
you can do no better for information on the vegetation of the UK than to consult the NVC (National Vegetation Classification) documents.

Here's a link to the 'Field Guide' version as a pdf. The full version is, ahem, somewhat drier...

http://www.jncc.gov.uk/PDF/Mires_Heaths.pdf

FBD.

[Adam_Messix]

Andrew--

I would describe Morfontaine just northeast of Paris as being heathland.  The soil may be a touch heavier in texture, but it creates a great playing surface and thick heather abounds.  

[Steve Okula]

Queenwod Golf Club in Surrey designed by David Kidd has tried to duplicate a heathland course carved out of heavy clay forest by capping everything wall to wall with sand (I'm not sure how deep) and introducing heather. I saw it in 2004 when it was still new, and though well done it still looked not quite natural. Outstanding green complexes, however.

I believe James Edwards who sometimes posts here has seen it more recently and says it has improved with further heath plantings.

[Marc Haring]

Heathland is a man made environment and if not managed will quickly revert back to woodland. Walton Heath is actually clay over chalk so therefore would appear to buck the trend of sandy/acid, but I think the key is low fertility (or the grass just takes over) and free draining. If you've got that in place then get out there and plant your calluna, erica and ulex species and hey, you have heathland.

[BCrosby]

I've always thought that there were great swaths of GA, SC, NC and maybe other SE states that have heath type geology.

The sandy band south of the fall line (in GA, that's south of Macon, north of the coastal area. Valdosta is a town in that zone) seems to satisfy all the criteria. Mostly sandy soil. Low fertility.

It is too hot there for gorse and heather. But the area always struck me as an interesting heathland type terrain for golf.

Bob

[Steve Okula]

I've always thought that there were great swaths of GA, SC, NC and maybe other SE states that had heath type lands.

Now that you mention it, the North Carolina sandhills area isn't far off heathland, as I recall. I remember seeing broom growing there.

[Marty Bonnar]

Heathland is a man made environment

Marc,
that statement really got me to thinking. And that's never a good thing in the feeble toy-filled attic of the FBD cranium!

I can think of only maybe two, maybe three landscapes of the UK which are not, at least in some way, man-made. I guess it could be argued that, since the receding of the glaciers, man has indeed 'made' the British landscape.

True natural wilderness is maybe only now the preserve of the high hills, which even themselves have not been totally immune from man's hand in the shape of deforestation.

I am beginning to appreciate more why I feel such disquiet at golf course development in landscapes which I consider unsuitable for such.

Ta!
FBD.

[Norbert P]

The calluna and erica genuses are fairly adaptable with adequate drainage. I'd like to see more of it in hillsides, out of play, as lost golf balls are annoying.  They also help in erosion control - Chambers Bay potential?

Like horses, cattle, etc., if man wasn't around tending to them, there woud not be nearly as many. I know that's obvious, but unless we appreciate something for some popular benefit, it surely will not be cultivated in the popular vernacular to be invested in. Perhaps more exposure would help.  I know flowers on golf courses are becoming taboo (at least here at GCA) but heather is rather understated even in full bloom.


"The Suffolk, the Clydesdale, the Percheron vie
 With the Shire on his feathers floating.
 Hauling soft timber into the dusk
 To bed on a warm straw coating.

 Bring me a wheel of oaken wood
 A rein of polished leather
 A heavy horse and a tumbling sky
 Brewing heavy weather."   IA
 

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