George Paterson

We have removed the centre fairway pot bunker and created a swale in its place. In addition to this a new right hand side fairway bunker has been created some 35 yards past the first one. The reasoning behind this is to reward a good drive that holds the fairway in a prevailing westerly wind and in turn tighten up the landing area for the longer hitters. The depth has been kept fairly shallow to offer a longish recovery shot should you go for it.

The splash bunker between the 6th and 12th fairways has been largened with a small grassy island installed within.

The approach to the green has been tightened up with the re introduction of the left side approach bunker. This has been set a little closer to the green than previously and the front lip lowered to allow easier access.

The coffin bunker to the left of the green has been removed and a grassy swale developed in its place. This will be cut at fairway / surround height and allow for a variety of recovery shots from within and through it.

Right hand greenside bunker – Hole 2

This is one of the bunkers very prone to sand blow and it took up a lot of our time having to re shape during dry and windy weather. The depth of sand was also an issue leading to plugged balls when the sand dried out and the unpredictability of the recovery shot within.

So much of the fine sand was dug out and the base re shaped with the use of old revets /turves before a fleece bunker mat was cut and pegged in. We added back in some fine sand and topped up with a 3” layer of new sand from Balachladich quarrie Muir of Ord.

The new sand once settled and weathered in should offer a more consistent depth and firmness allowing a more predictable bunker shot.

Like all of the turfing work it takes time to knit in and establish therefore we will hope to have all newly completed bunkers open around the middle of March.