Jon Wiggets course

[Adrian_Stiff]

Jon- Whats the latest with your course?

[David_Tepper]

Jon W.'s course (Brahan GC), outside of Dingwall, Scotland opened this summer in early June. Here is a link to his blog:

http://brahangolfbuild.blogspot.com/

[Jon Wiggett]

Hi Adrian,

as David said the course opened in early June. Though the greens were still a little bumpy feed back from players was positive and we have had a lot of repeat play which would tend to suggest that people are happy.

We had two sets of flags out within the first week and a second set of tees in play shortly afterwards. The bunkers were filled with sand just before the official opening t the end of July.

The guest house opened beginning of July and has proven very popular. Up to this week we have always had one room occupied and had the second room occupied over 50% of the time so very happy with that.

I have had very little time for going on to GCA being sole greenkeeper and also being quite busy giving instruction. I should have some more time now though and intend to finally produce a piece on the course for the site. The blog David pointed out has not been updated for a while but will be taken up again shortly.

The biggest issue as far as the course has been concerned this first year has been the rough which was unbelievably thick. We were unable to cut it until beginning of September due initially to 14 pairs of Skylarks breeding in it and then due to it been simply too wet.

For through the winter the last few weeks have been very wet and I will be installing some drainage in the odd place. I will also be adding some forward tees to shorten the course a little as some have found a few of the holes a little long. The tees for the reverse course will also be built ready for the reverse course being introduced at some point next year. Finally there will be quite a bit of tree felling in order to open out the views, improve air circulation and for safety (wood will be sold as firewood).

Well got to go for breakfast and then finish mowing the greens.

Jon

[Adrian_Stiff]

Cheers Jon.

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Less than a month ago I visited Jon’s golf course and played there with my daughter.
 
Here’s a  photo which shows Jon’s interesting “Reverse Course” philosophy.




The elongated Green has a white flag for the main direction 5th Hole.The 5th Tees are situated to the left in the corridor of trees.
 The hole has multiple Tees between 110 yards and 150 yards.
 
Jon has left small clumps of reeds as hazards, which are very small in size but can make for a difficult recovery.
The reeds emphasise the natural environment as well as spicing up the hole.
 
The Reverse direction 4th Green has a blue flag. The Tee is well behind the camera position at the top of a long incline, providing a 525 yard downhill Par 5.
 
2 Grass Bunkers flank the green which help indicate the green from afar, and demand the golfers show off their skills on the approach.
 
At the moment Jon hasn’t finished all the Reverse Tees and the 2 Flags per Green offer alternative targets for the first and second round of 9 Holes.
 
Needless to say Jon’s Greens have been seeded with Fescue.
Jon is practicing the catch phrase “sustainable” to the full with no on-course irrigation, exceptionally minimal Fertiliser application and no use of Herbizides.
During the opening season the Fescue Greens are requiring time to “thicken” up, but by next summer they should be putting nicely.
 
Jon Wiggett and his wife Claudia deserve a huge pat on the back for creating a very interesting project and for their dedication to providing a truly environmental friendly golf course.
 
I recommend anyone who is passing through Dingwall, on their way to Royal Dornoch or Brora, to visit Brahan G.C. and play this fascinating golf course – even better stay a few nights at their B’nB directly on the golf course and get the best swiss Muesli in Scotland .

[Niall C]

John and Jon

Thanks for the update. The reeds in the photo, does that indicate a fairly wet and peaty/marshy ground and if so how playable is it come winter ?

As a mater of interest re irrigation, I got a newsletter in from the greenkeeper at Lossiemouth, which isn't a million miles away, and in it he stated that for the third year running they hadn't used the fairway sprinklers at all.

Niall

[Jon Wiggett]

Hi Niall,

how are you doing? The ground in parts of the course is quite peaty though it is usually dry if not always firm. At the moment the course is quite wet which is typical of most of the courses around here after the last two months of rain. Interesting that Lossiemouth has not used its irrigation despite it being in a very dry area (Scottish conditions) though really few courses in Briatin really need one.

Thanks for the post John,

Jon

[Garland Bayley]

Interesting looking course Jon. Hope you hang with this website better than Ryan Farrow.

[Jon Wiggett]

Hi Garland,

been part of GCA for a few years now and intend to stay a few more if the rest can put up with me

Jon

[Niall C]

Jon,

Just about managing to keep my head above water, hope you're doing rather better. Looking at these photos I doubly sorry I haven't had the chance to make it over this year as planned, looks fantastic. Interested in the reverse course idea which I didn't realise you were going to do. Was that always the plan or was that something you thought of latterly ? and how does it work, John refers to a different coloured flag.

Niall

[PCCraig]

Jon,

Forgive me as I don't know the details of your course or the project in general, but judging from the photo above that course looks fantastic and like one that I would want to spend a lot of time on! Very neat "look."

[Adrian_Stiff]

I wanna play it. Looks very inviting.

[Jim Eder]

I can't wait to play it. I felt like someone listening to the Beatles for the first time when I heard about this course. So impressive to do the reverse course. It will be interesting to see if half the people like the one way and half the other. That would be total success.

And the way the course came to, the story is really impressive. Congrats Jon!!   

[PCCraig]

Dumb question: where is it located?

[Jim Eder]

Here is a link that shows where it is.  NorthWest of Inverness.  Great location.

http://www.brahangolfclub.ch/index.php?lang=en&content=4&sub=map

Here are a couple of other links:
http://www.brahangolfclub.ch/index.php?lang=en&content=3&sub=0

http://brahangolfbuild.blogspot.com/

[PCCraig]

Here is a link that shows where it is.  NorthWest of Inverness.  Great location.

http://www.brahangolfclub.ch/index.php?lang=en&content=4&sub=map

Here are a couple of other links:
http://www.brahangolfclub.ch/index.php?lang=en&content=3&sub=0

http://brahangolfbuild.blogspot.com/

Great, thanks for posting!

[Jon Wiggett]

Hi Niall,

It has been very wet here. In the last 8 weeks we have had only four days without rain and much of that has been in rather heavy downpours. As such the course is quite wet. The reverse is something that I always intended doing. The piece of land is quite a big one for just nine hole at just under 60 acres but I did not want to squeeze to much in making the course short and cramped. As a result the decision for nine holes meant that fairways could be quit wide and the course quite flexible in the length.

Due to safety the course is only playable in one direction on any particular day though if a group of players were to hire the course for the day then reversing it in the afternoon after a morning round would be possible. What I have is quite large greens (about 9000m2 for the 9 holes) with two flags per green and two sets of tees so the player has a different challenge each round. First 9 is to the white flags and second nine is to the blue. This also means that five of the holes change their par from one round to the next. A good example of this would be the clockwise 6th which plays as a 550yard uphill par five but then as a 440 par 4 as the 15th.
When the course is reversed the next day the player plays to the same pin position but from a completely different angle. Played at its longest length both rounds the course plays just over 7000 yards.

Adrian, Jim & P.Craig,

Thanks for the kind words. Maybe we should organise a GCA day next year where we play the course in both direction in the one day.

 P.Craig the course is in the Highlands of Scotland just north of Inverness. We have a lot of really good golf up here much of which is not so well known but well worth playing.

Jon

[Jim Eder]

Playing the course each way in the same day (or even on the same trip) would be an amazing experience and learning opportunity. I really would love to experience that in my lifetime.