Course Updates

April 2007, the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the grass on the golf course is growing vigorously and is in pristine condition. On days like this it’s all too easy to forget the winter past with its prolonged rain and wind, when the grass lay dormant and we longed for the better weather. What is not forgotten is the effort and dedication of our Golf Course Superintendent Aindriu Jackson and his team throughout the winter and early spring. The growing-in and maintenance of a golf course is a year round job whatever the weather, and the work done by the team, under the technical supervision of Frank Dargan, has laid the foundations for the quality of turf that has emerged and is evident today.

The lead-in to the opening date is, and will continue to be, busier still with a daily task list of mowing, topdressing, weed control, aeration and tidying. Our team will most definitely play their part but the positive input of Mother Nature is also vital; her supply of sunshine and rainfall are integral ingredients necessary for the proper growth of our greens, teeing areas, fairways and all other areas of the course.

The Spring has brought us an abundance of wild flowers and shrubs, from yellow primroses to foxgloves and many more. The gorse is now in full bloom and with many new seedlings beginning to grow this will further populate some of the out of play areas around the course. The existing trees are putting on their new growth for the year and the deer, pheasants and other animals and birds pay us a daily visit to make their own check on progress.

Famous author Mark Twain once said that ‘golf is a good walk spoilt’. Had he ever had the opportunity to visit Macreddin he may well have never made this comment.

Whilst Aindriu and his team concentrate on the 9 holes that will open for play, our Shaper/Supervisor Terry Jeffrey, with a team of machinery and personnel, is back on site to complete the other 9 holes. By the end of last year the earthworks and shaping of seven of these holes was done. We had also formed five of the new greens and teeing areas. The remaining heavy construction work is well underway and will be followed by the re-spreading of the topsoil, cultivation and seeding throughout the summer.

As our golf course design has come to life on this side of the land it is very evident that these holes are just as spectacular and interesting as the others, and there are undoubtedly several contenders for ‘the best hole on the golf course’. What is absolutely certain is that the care and attention to detail that went into the design and construction of the holes finished last year is being maintained as we move towards the conclusion of the construction phase of the course.


13th Tee May 06	13th Tee November 06	13th Tee February 07

13th Tee March 07	13th Tee May 07