Set in the foothills of the Peak District, Horsley Lodge has been offering challenging and picturesque golf since it was built in 1863 by the Earl of Sitwell – as a wedding present for his son no less! Having been recently acquired by investment group Charjen Capital, the club is undergoing a healthy period of investment, with a £500,000 investment plan already having been undertaken by Derbyshire-based entrepreneur Marc Bough in the months since the acquisition. “We saw an opportunity to own one of Derbyshire’s finest golf courses in a stunning location, and have grand plans to enhance the golf course itself”, said Bough, “as well as upgrade the hotel and venue space in a sensitive and sustainable manner.”
Central to the ambition to improve the course is the development of a long-term drainage strategy, which has been spearheaded by Turfdry. Following a full topographical survey of the entire course, key problem areas that are beset by persistent waterlogging were identified by the club’s management as priorities for improvement. Following numerous site visits to supplement the topographical information provided by the survey with ‘on-the-ground’ understanding of the areas in question, Turfdry developed drainage designs for the 6th & 7th fairways, as well as outlining key improvements to the adjacent ditch network that would be crucial in providing a proper outfall for the collected water.
Read MoreAston Wood Golf Club – an 18-hole championship course in Sutton Coldfield to the north of Birmingham – first contacted Turfdry in 2021, looking for guidance as to how best to tackle the widespread waterlogging issues that were undermining the playability of the course during the winter months.
During the initial site visit conducted by Turfdry’s MD Melvyn Taylor, the wide ranging scope of the drainage issues was revealed, with club staff indicating that some mismanagement by the previous ownership had likely contributed to the growing scale of the problems they were now facing. With this in mind, Turfdry recommended the club pursue a long-term drainage strategy, considering the entire site’s drainage holistically, rather than focus on the specific areas that were causing the most concern. This philosophy is central to Turfdry’s approach to golf course drainage improvements, but was particularly relevant in this case, where carefully considered investment would be required to deliver the widespread improvements necessary to achieve the club’s vision.
Read MoreDave Taylor - Course Manager at The Bristol Golf Club - first approached Turfdry regarding potential course drainage improvements in November 2021. Following a change in the club's ownership, significant investment had already been made into other key areas of operational activities, including new greenkeeping machinery and equipment, so the generation of a new drainage strategy was a crucial 'next step' in the club's continued development.
Read MoreThe use of Turfdry's unique Hydraway Sportsdrain is most often motivated by the superior drainage performance provided by its rapid water intake rate, or the longevity delivered by its high-quality construction; however, some sites have particular features that present additional challenges for successful, cost-effective drainage solutions, for which Hydraway is uniquely suited.
Read MoreSundridge Park Golf Club boast two eighteen-hole courses tucked away in a beautiful pocket of greenery in an otherwise bustling and urban part of Kent, and has been offering picturesque and challenging golf to members for over a century. In recent years however, one of the biggest challenges on the course – for both golfers and greenkeepers alike – has been increasingly waterlogged greens, diminishing an otherwise superlative golfing experience.
Read MoreThe Environment Agency’s Salmons Brook flood prevention scheme – constructed in 2014 in response to dramatic increases in high-volume storm events and residential flooding - was called into action for the first time in early 2021. As per the scheme’s design, this deluged the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & 18th holes, leaving them flooded up to 3 feet deep in places.
Read MoreAfter the resounding success of the greens drainage works carried out by Turfdry on all 18 greens of Sundridge Park’s West Course in 2015 & 2016, the club had engaged Turfdry to begin two phases of greens drainage to cover all 18 holes of the East Course. However, wet winters have contributed to increased fairway drainage issues on the West Course’s fairways, leaving many of the newly dry greens stranded. Consequently, the club opted to delay the drainage works to the East Course by twelve months in order to focus its efforts on the West Course, installing fairway drainage in key problem areas over four holes.
Read MoreTurfdry received an Initial enquiry from Lockerbie Golf Club in April 2018, when the club became aware of the possible availability of grant funding for much needed fairway drainage improvements. Turfdry responded with a submission of budget costs on the basis of a Google Earth desktop study.
Several quotes were received by the Golf Club, but as there was no specification issued the club had to try to compare ‘apples and pears’. The grant funder was keen for a local contractor to be used but the local contractor who had priced the works went out of business, enabling Club Captain, Elena Coppola, to approach Turfdry, who would have been the club’s first preference based on their specialism and track record. The club paid for a ‘refundable’ site visit by Melvyn Taylor (M.D.) and Stuart Wormleighton (Turfdry Site Manager) in December 2018, to assess the drainage problems and meet the management committee.
Read MoreAfter the resounding success of the greens drainage works carried out by Turfdry on all 18 greens of Sundridge Park’s West Course in 2015 & 2016, the club had engaged Turfdry to begin two phases of greens drainage to cover all 18 holes of the East Course. However, wet winters have contributed to increased fairway drainage issues on the West Course’s fairways, leaving many of the newly dry greens stranded. Consequently, the club opted to delay the drainage works to the East Course by twelve months in order to focus its efforts on the West Course, installing fairway drainage in key problem areas over four holes.
Read MoreGolf course drainage specialist Turfdry has installed comprehensive new drainage systems into the 11th and 16th greens at Shirley Park GC, Croydon, in late September 2017. Following re-turfing of the drain lines by Turfdry’s team, combined with care and attention from greenkeeping staff, the greens were back in play within 9 and 7 days, respectively. This beats a 15-year-old record relating to the 10th green at Sunningdale’s New Course, where re-turfing by the greenkeeping staff following installation of the unique Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain, enabled the green to be successfully returned to play in less than three weeks.
Read MoreWest Kent Golf Club, Orpington, is the latest convert to the Turfdry Drainage System providing the best long-term solution to the problem of waterlogged clay-based golf greens. Three greens (the 4th, 8th, and 15th) were drained in September 2017.
Read MoreTurfdry's exemplary reputation for delivering industry-leading drainage solutions has seen their list of satisfied golf course clients grow once more, with the Turfdry Drainage System being successfully installed at Selsdon Park Golf Club. Employing the advanced technology of Hydraway Sportsdrain, this drainage system offers increased performance over conventional plastic pipe, whilst simultaneously having a minimised installation footprint thanks to its being laid into 60mm wide trenches.
Read MoreFollowing successful works at Enfield Golf Club in 2014 and 2015, Turfdry was delighted to be invited back to the club for further drainage works in spring 2017.Impressed by the superb performance of the Turfdry Greens Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain since its initial installation on the course in 2014 as part of a flood mitigation scheme, the Golf Club has sought to expand drainage improvements across the course to help provide an optimal golfing experience for its members year-round.
Read MoreWith a heritage stretching back to the 14th century, Dyrham Park Country Club seeks to provide nothing short of excellence for its members, boasting a course designed by C.K. Cotton, and ranked by Top 100 Golf Courses. Given this desire to offer top quality golf, the continued issues with standing water on a number of the course’s greens have proven increasingly intolerable to members and greens staff alike.
Read MoreFollowing the successful installation of the Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain on a further 6 greens at Enfield Golf Club, Turfdry was delighted to sponsor one of the tees for club’s recent hosting of the Jamega Pro Golf Tour.
Read MoreDelighted with the effectiveness demonstrated over the winter by the comprehensive Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain installed on all 18 fairways of its South Course in 2014, The Rayleigh Club re-engaged Turfdry in 2015 to design and implement drainage improvements to the East Course, and expand the earthworks elements on the South Course.
Read MoreTurfdry carried out successful works at Enfield Golf Club in 2014, installing a flood mitigation scheme designed to return the course to play as quickly as possible following flood conditions brought about by the Environment Agency’s construction of a residential flood barrier at the eastern boundary of the course.
Read MoreLast year, Turfdry installed a comprehgensive remediation scheme as part of the Salmon's Brook Flood Attenuation Scheme (FAS) at Enfield Golf Club, where the Environment Agency had constructed a substantial flood defence structure to protect against residential flooding in the area - at the cost of transforming the golf course into a flood plain.
Read MoreGreat Barr Golf Club, Birmingham - one of Turfdry's many satisfied UK golf course clients - has brought the firm in again to resolve drainage issues on the 464 yard Par 5 opening hole. The landing area for the second shot has been a long-term drainage problem despite several unsuccessful attempts to find a solution.
Read MoreIn addition to their largest drainage project to date - the comprehensive installation of The Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain on all 18 holes of The Rayleigh Club's championship standard South Course - Turfdry is also constructing a number of new ponds, in addition to making modifications to existing water features to maintain a uniformly quality aesthetic across the course.
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