As the April showers give way to the start of the great British summer, two of SGD’s client clubs are enjoying learning new putting lines on rebuilt greens.
East Berkshire Golf Club is back playing on their rebuilt 8^th and 9^th greens, with the 10^thgreen due to return to play over the coming weeks. This follows their rebuilding, undertaken by John Greasley Ltd under the guidance of Swan Golf Designs. This process included new drainage, rootzone and turf following subtle modifications to the design of the greens to enhance the putting challenge.
In Essex, the members of Bentley Golf Club are enjoying the ahead of schedule opening of the redesigned 17^th green. The project, led by Howard Swan, saw the complete renovation of the penultimate hole with major tree work opening up the site for the raised green, sweeping surrounds and three new bunkers. Early reports suggest that the remodelled hole presents a formidable test with pars at the long par-3 at a premium.

Whilst much of the UK has been basking in fine spring weather the greenkeeping teams at Ely City and Ripon City Golf Clubs have been working hard to prepare their renovated courses for the new season. The SGD led projects undertook the first and fourth phases of renovation respectively in late 2011 and have now been brought into play well before the Easter target.

At Ely City, Howard Swan designed and oversaw the implementation of a new bunker strategy on nine holes of the Henry Cotton designed course. This work represents the biggest change to the Cambridgeshire venue since the layout was extended to eighteen holes in 1973.

At Ripon City, William Swan continued his close work with the golf club and greenkeeping consultant Peter Wisbey as part of a long-term development plan which has seen design changes to seven holes over four phases along with dramatic improvements to course conditioning and the landscape setting.

Swan Golf Designs is working with Gerrards Cross Golf Club to improve their par-69, 6243 yards course.

Situated just twenty miles north-west of London, and set within the historic Chalfont Park on Buckinghamshire’s Chiltern Hills, the 1922 layout benefits from a mature landscape of mixed woodland with many of the holes winding their way along the Misbourne valley. The course at Gerrards Cross is renowned for demanding accurate play, placing a premium on control rather than the flattery of distance.

As the club prepare for their centenary, SGD has been chosen to make improvements to the golf course to enhance these historic characteristics whilst ensuring that the course is protected against recent advances in playing equipment.

Working alongside Course Manager Lee Robinson, SGD’s William Swan has overseen the implementation of new bunker strategies for the 16^th and 17^th holes, with the construction being carried out by an in-house team from the green’s staff. After two weeks of shaping and drainage, final prep and turfing is now underway. The works are scheduled to be brought back into play before the start of summer.

William Swan adds:

“The course at Gerrards Cross has a little bit of everything that we look for when designing a golf course – including variety in hole lengths, several changes in direction, topographical features and a strong landscape context. We are delighted to have the opportunity to refine its challenge, improving aesthetics and playability through the working with the club on the implementation of their long term course development plan.”

February saw SGD venturing south to work with one of South Africa’s leading charities on the provision of a golf and learning facility close to the centre of Cape Town.
Amy Biehl was an American anti-apartheid campaigner who was killed during a mob riot in the township of Khayletisha. This community, together with Nyanga and Mitchell’s Plain alongside it has a population of close to 3 million disadvantaged people and after her death her parents campaigned for universal access to better education and to greater social and employment opportunities in the townships of the Cape. The Amy Biehl Foundation presently runs outreach programmes for over 2000 young children including a comprehensive sports programme … but not yet golf.
Through the FirstGolf initiative SGD, together with the Mayor of Cape Town, local MP Leonard Ramatlakane, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, the South African Golf Association and the representatives of the communities, the project will see a driving range, golf academy, a children’s course and a nine-hole public course developed for those who currently have no chance to enjoy the game. As an extension to the project the facility will be linked to the adjacent False Bay College, which will develop a curriculum of vocational training linked to the golf industry with the direction and help of the Greenkeeper Training Committee and FirstGolf partners, Ransomes Jacobsen, Rainbird and SnagGolf.

Swan Golf Designs has become a Greenkeeper Training Committee (GTC) Quality Assured Training Provider, building on a long term aim to comminicate the role that golf course design has in improving the game within the UK.
SGD, primarily through its Principal Architect Howard Swan, has for many years shared experience and knowledge through seminars, workshops and case studies on golf course design best principles and renovation work. These have included events for the English Golf Union (now England Golf), the Golf Club Managers’ Association, the FEGGA and BIGGA. Most recently, Howard Swan ran two oversubscribed golf course renovation seminars at BIGGA’s Harrogate Week, covering topics such as bunker reconstruction, golf course safety and how to communicate renovation projects to members.
The GTC and SGD are now preparing a series of seminars throughout the UK, beginning with a Spring Renovation Seminar using the renovation project at Ripon City Golf Club as an ongoing case study.

Strengthening existing relationships has always been as important to Swan Golf Designs as building new connections. Whilst new projects are always met with enthusiasm, we work hard to ensure this is not at the expense of our existing and valued clients. This is borne out by the fact we have renewed several long term projects over the previous twelve months, such as at Ely City Golf Club and Bentley Golf Club which have had links with Swan Golf Designs since the early 1970s.

2012 is set to begin in similar vein, with SGD returning to work with Stoke-by-Nayland, Saffron Walden and Brickendon Grange golf clubs on improving their courses and extending their facilities.

Five years on from Swan Golf Designs’ initial golf course audit Ripon City Golf Club has implemented the next phase in the improvement of their course.

The 2011 works have included the rebunkering of the 15th and 2nd holes, introducing new fairway and greenside hazards to improve the playing strategy, modification of moundwork to reduce maintenance costs, and the extension of the 2nd green to offer new pin positions on the two-tier green. The greenkeeping team, led by Richard Spensley, has carried out the works in-house over the past two months under the guidance of SGD’s William Swan.

This fourth phase of renovation builds upon previous improvements to the course and its landscape setting, which has now seen enhancements to seven holes alongside a comprehensive rolling programme of tree and grassland management.

It is undeniable that there has been an unprecedented change in the way golf is played over the last 25 years. Driven by the professional game and major manufacturers, we have witnessed a revolution in golf club and ball technology that has irrevocably altered the game.

Much of this change is of great benefit to golf and the golf industry, making the game much more accessible to newcomers without reducing the challenge for the very best golfers. Modern equipment now enables less able golfers to hit good shots, thereby encouraging many to stick with the sport when once they may have given up.

However, a less positive effect of the technological advances has been that many golf clubs now face concerns over the safety of their courses. This is largely due to the fact that golf balls now travel further and are hit at much higher trajectories than previously, causing wayward shots to become more wayward than would have been the case in the past. This has placed course boundaries in danger of breach, with an increased risk of golf balls landing in adjacent properties or thoroughfares and the potential to cause injury or damage.

Swan Golf Designs, through its advisory work with golf clubs, has seen these issues become more prevalent over the past few years, and has carried out five safety audits for client golf clubs within the past twelve months alone.

Whilst making changes in such context is not ideal, it is essential that golf clubs analyse the risks inherent in their golf courses to ensure the safety of both their customers and neighbours alike. In most circumstances a reduction in the identified risks can be achieved by tweaking the design of certain holes, allowing courses to remain safely in play for the enjoyment of future generations.

It was Alex Swan who laid out the original course at Bentley Golf Club, Essex in the late 1960s, with the design opening for play in 1972. Some forty years later Alex’s son and grandson find themselves back at Bentley, now owned by its members, to look at the redevelopment of the par-3 17th hole and to help the club formulate a ten year plan for the overall improvement of the course.

Building on his experience of designing and building courses with Henry Cotton, Alex took on the challenging site at Bentley which was situated just a few miles from his home in Brentwood, Essex. Since its opening, the course has stood the test of time well and now thrives as a private members’ club in a tough market. However, advances in technique and technology now mean that the layout requires updating to remain a test for golfers of all ability.

The work to the 17th will encompass a raised green with new bunkering, drainage and irrigation, and construction will begin in early October 2011. Howard Swan will oversee the implementation of his design supported by Bentley’s experienced Course Manager, Mark Stopps. John Greasley Ltd have been chosen to execute the construction, with the new hole due to return to play in spring 2012.

Whilst the new 17th takes shape, SGD will be working with the golf club to formulate a comprehensive renovation plan to be implemented over the coming years. Much of the focus is on rejuvenating the bunkers, relocating some to take into account the effects of changes in playing equipment and improving their appearance throughout the course. In addition, an assessment of Bentley’s landscape setting will be made as, having benefitted from 40 years of maturation, a new approach is required to ensure the golf course and its natural environment continue to benefit each other.

Swan Golf Designs is delighted to have been chosen to assist Gerrards Cross Golf Club, Buckinghamshire, with the improvement of their golf course. Set within the old English estate that now makes up Chalfont Park, the 1922 layout benefits from a mature landscape as it winds itself through the ancient oak woodland before returning to the Misbourne valley.

Appointed in July this year, SGD has already submitted a detailed report into the existing bunkering and given recommendations for how it can be renovated to have a greater impact on the course whilst also reducing maintenance requirements. Construction work will not begin until 2012, with Swan Golf Designs continuing to advise the club’s greens’ committee on how the project can be phased to fit within their long term financial plans.