GORSE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

Nairn Dunbar has had an active gorse management programme for a considerable number of years. Gorse, or ulex europeaus to give its proper name, is a weed and is native to the UK. It is extremely hardy and fast growing, and young shoots resprout from stumps and sticks that remain in the soil. A mature infestation can produce a considerable number of seeds each year which allows the coverage to spread rapidly. In addition seeds can be spread up to 5m  away from the parent plant.  Gorse can spread into new areas from seed movement in water, soil, machinery and footwear. Birds and ants are also known to spread the seeds, which can remain dormant in the soil for up to 30 years. If left undisturbed it will grow to a height of over 3m. Lifespan can be anything from 15 to 30 years, with dead or dying bushes become brittle and unsightly.

Gorse management is a long term process and if it is not carried out on a regular basis will quickly become unmanageable.

We have received quite a bit of negative feedback on this years management programme. Whilst the majority of the areas cleared do not really affect play, we thought that it was appropriate to provide you with the rationale for the work carried out. There is no doubt that the areas cleared look unsightly as manual removal of the entire root system greatly disturbs the soil. However as we have seen in previous years this will settle down quite quickly.

Much of the removal has revealed natural dunes which should give the course more of a links feel.

Partial removal of plants is extremely difficult and can reveal unsightly bushes, with the longer plants liable to breakage and collapse. Ideally we are aiming to stop cutting in a natural break.

It should also be borne in mind that should you go back over the years then there is certainly more gorse on the course now than say 70 years ago.

1^st Hole RH Side of Fairway – Removed as a safety feature. To give a clear view of R/H side of 2^nd  fairway and rough from 2^nd tee. Initial plan was to remove only a portion of the gorse, however this was not practical and we had to remove all of this. It has revealed a natural dune.

2^nd Hole LH at yellow/red tees – removal of dead bushes

2^nd Hole Behind Green – Tidy up of area that look unsightly from Lochloy Road

6^th Hole LH Greenside – This area was overgrown with the gorse overgrowing on the green. There was a danger that we could start losing some of the green to gorse. The removal has revealed a deep hollow and opened the area up.

11^th Hole Behind Green – Much of this area behind green and along the path was dead or dying. Opens up green and reveal dunes and gullies.

Area between 17^th / 18^th fairway and RH of 17^th Green – removal of dead and overgrown bushes.