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Mark_Rowlinson

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Flooding - British courses in danger?
« on: February 11, 2014, 10:19:29 AM »
With the current flooding in a number of areas in the south and west, are any courses likely to be lost for ever given the length of time they are underwater? Have the high tides and strong winds brought serious erosion to any of our coastal courses?

Jon Wiggett

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2014, 10:23:16 AM »
Mark,

at this time of year grass can spend at least three months under water with no real problems except possibly if it is salt water.

Jon

Bill_McBride

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2014, 10:26:35 AM »
I was wondering about the Channel Course at Burnham & Berrow.  It's really low out there.  Anyone?

Adrian_Stiff

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2014, 11:30:52 AM »
I am in the south west, I don't know of any real low-lyers. Mendip Spring is pretty flat and in Somerset it has 13 holes open. Many SWUK courses are closed because it is just too wet. Burnham gets puddles and the 16th can end up an acre in size lake, gets wet first few on the channel and 7th and 8th on the main course. Saunton has a few wet places but nothing much. Weston Super Mare could get flooded, 4 and 5 used to be lakes sometimes.
A combination of whats good for golf and good for turf.
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Thomas Dai

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2014, 12:03:24 PM »
Saunton East is closed today - quote from their website -

"11th February 2014 
East Course is closed. A review of teh course conditions will be carried out on Thursday to try to assess whether it will be possible to run the competitions on Sunday. Most of the middle part of the East Course is unplayable.
Needless to say with the extraordinary amount of rain over the last couple of months the courses are saturated and any rain tops up the standing water on some low lying fairways. For the next few days use of the courses will, at best, be restricted to carrying only, (No trolleys or Buggies). If conditions deteriorate any further the both courses may need to be closed."

Suspect some holes near the clubhouse at Westward Ho!/RND may also be impacted.

Any posters in southern England actually played any golf recently?

atb

Adam Lawrence

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2014, 12:06:41 PM »
I have, but it was in the US  :)
Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Principal, Oxford Golf Consulting
www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Author, 'More Enduring Than Brass: a biography of Harry Colt' (forthcoming).

Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

Tony_Muldoon

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2014, 12:26:09 PM »
Dawlish Warren GC has the trianline run by the clubhouse. ~all the papers have carried images of half a mile down the line where the bank under the tracks have been swept away.

Can't help but worry about the course, short but fun and very low lying.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dawlish+warren+golf+course&hl=en&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADFA_enGB470GB472&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=i1z6UrejO8bAhAf_84CIBA&sqi=2&ved=0CFMQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=874
Let's make GCA grate again!

Sean_A

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2014, 12:37:14 PM »
Yes, Saunton has serious issues with prolonged rain/high tides.  The water gets trapped and takes ages to disperse.  Last year practically the entire course was a series of pools.  

WsM will certianly have some problems over the road, nothing new there - those holes usually close down in winter.  

Burnham will have issues with flooded bunkers, the 16th, maybe the 10th (shy of the green) and various odds n sods of puddles.  The course plays incredibly well given the amount of water it can hold.  The new pumping system has worked wonders for the 8th.  Many greens are on high ground so stay quite firm despite rain.  While we can complain about too many plateaux greens, Colt was no fool, he knew what he was doing.  

Most of the Channel Course will be quite wet with a lot of standing water.  The last three holes should be fine.

Played Cleeve Cloud last Friday and even it had a handful of puddles on a few greens.  The course was rammed with visitors  :D.

In England, Brancaster is far more at risk of floods.  Anything anywhere near The Wash and quite a ways south will always be suscpetible to slipping into the Channel.  How much larger was The Wash before draining started?  I think it extended to Cambridge many, many moons ago.

Ciao  
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Mark Pearce

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2014, 12:40:14 PM »
Silloth was flooded a couple of years ago.  I don't know if they have had problems this year but although it hasn't been as wet in the NW as the SW I think there are long term concerns for Silloth.
In June I will be riding the first three stages of this year's Tour de France route for charity.  630km (394 miles) in three days, with 7800m (25,600 feet) of climbing for the William Wates Memorial Trust (https://rideleloop.org/the-charity/) which supports underprivileged young people.

Mark Chaplin

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2014, 04:51:52 PM »
Deal is like a Florida course the flat part of 16 is under 18" water, 1st and 3rd greens flooded. 10-12 closed. But course open!
Cave Nil Vino

Brent Hutto

Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2014, 05:14:20 PM »
Deal is like a Florida course the flat part of 16 is under 18" water, 1st and 3rd greens flooded. 10-12 closed. But course open!

On the plus side, the flat part of 16 is about the size of my dining room table.

Craig Disher

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Re: Flooding - British courses in danger?
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2014, 04:29:00 PM »
Littlestone - no damage but the greens are so soggy that play has been suspended for the time being.

http://www.littlestonegolfclub.org.uk/files/littlestonegolfclub.org.uk/71/LGC_Flood_2014.jpg