67 be easier for Ewence and his team to encourage fine-bladed grasses at the expense of poa annual. There is other work under way too. The third hole, one of the best on the course, it is set to get even better, as Ewence intends to build a new tee high on the hillside behind the second green, replacing the present lower tees, improving the view from the teeing ground, and emphasising more strongly the dogleg on the hole. Over time heather will spread across areas of the golf course where there is currently little of it, though significant transplanting of young heather plants has already occurred in areas like the carry in front of the first tee, and more will follow. This increased focus on heather does have playability implications for the golf course, as heather is brutal for players with low swing speeds. I vividly remember playing a round with such a golfer on another heathland course. On many, even most, of the holes, he was unable to carry the heather from the tee, and unable to extricate his ball when he went in. For him the golf course was essentially impossible. The Woking team, though, is determined this situation will not arise on its watch. Ewence and Lobb have, over the last year, installed new forward tees on holes such as the par-three seventh and the par-four eleventh. Although these tees may not get much attention from a lot of golfers, for some they will play a crucial role in ensuring that the course remains playable, no matter how much heather growth ensues. Lobb says: “The first phase of the project, which began in early March, covers holes one, six, seven, eight, eleven, twelve and fifteen. These works were completed by the end of March and were handled by contractor MJ Abbott and Rain Bird irrigation as well as by Andy’s team. “Our heather restoration work at Woking has been a great success and is set to improve the course’s environmental impact significantly. Heather is beautiful and it is the appropriate choice for a heathland course, but it is a tough and unyielding hazard for players with slow swing speeds. Therefore, adding more forward tees is a sensible choice to make the course less penal for such players.” Woking’s most important defence is the remarkable set of greens created Heather-edged bunkering on the approach to the eighth green Photo: Jason Livy
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