Vandals Target Castlerock GC

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Vandals Target Castlerock GC: Police are appealing for information following extensive criminal damage caused to Castlerock Golf Club’s course and green hut during the early hours of this morning.

A police spokesperson said “Those responsible have caused damage which will cost thousands to repair.  A deliberate fire was started on the long grass on the course and we believe smoke and flames would have been visible from Circular Road and further afar.

Please if you have any information which you believe may assist us in our investigation please contact Limavady Police on 101 quoting ref CCS 731 of 15/7/18.”

Commenting on the vandalism Councillor William McCandless said “The vandalism at Castlerock Golf club has not just been an attack on the club itself, it has a serious detrimental effect upon our Tourism Industry.

Our Council area relies heavily upon Tourism for jobs and revenue and golf is an important factor in this. Golf tourism is a key priority at Tourism N.I. and courses like Castlerock are crucial to this strategy.
Castlerock Golf Club established in 1901 is located at the mouth of the river Bann with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, the hills of Donegal and Islay.

A tough links course Castlerock can certainly compete with neighbouring Portstewart and Royal Portrush for an enjoyable days golf. Recently extensive work has been carried out by the club to improve many of the holes.

I would appeal to anyone who noticed anything unusual to contact PSNI to assist in apprehending those who carried out this damage. Arson and breaking windows are serious crimes and must not be tolerated.”

A spokesperson for Castlerock Golf Club said “Anyone with information please contact the PSNI or to the club direct by emailing bert@castlerockgc.co.uk.”

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Rugby Club Devastated By Pitch Fire

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Rugby Club Devastated By Pitch Fire: A Swansea rugby club’s bosses are “devastated” after one of their pitches was set alight in a suspected arson.

The second pitch belonging to Vardre RFC, based in Clydach, was badly burnt during the fire on Sunday.

South Wales Police are investigating the fire after Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue service were called at about 13:30 BST.

The club spends up to £5,000 a year over the summer to fertilise and reseed the pitches.

“We are worried that it will affect our season and prevent players from all ages enjoying the sports they love,” the committee said.

By the time fire crews arrived, the committee said the pitch was “completely burnt.”

“We are extremely proud of the quality of our pitches,” a spokesman said.

“These facilities are used by the mini, junior, youth and senior section of not only Vardre RFC, but Clydach FC as well.

“The second team pitch is also our only floodlit pitch so is vitally important in the season when the evenings are darker, and we require the floodlighting to train.

“It’s completely heartbreaking and frustrating when so many good people volunteer their time and effort to improve facilities and provisions for the local community and a mindless, selfish few continually vandalise the Vardre RFC playing facilities.

“Currently, we are unsure how long and how much it will cost to get the pitch back to its original state.”

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£2.6m Pledged For Trees And Green Spaces

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£2.6m Pledged For Trees And Green Spaces: Trees and green spaces will feature in a number of projects which will receive an investment £2.6 million from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) over the next two years in order to improve Wales’ environment.

The projects were selected under the four themes of reducing the risk from environmental hazards; improving habitat management, biodiversity and connectivity; improving access to the outdoors; and using the environment to support the economy and develop skills.


Among the successful bids are:

  • Roots and Water, a project by Severn Rivers Trust with the Woodland Trust to raise awareness of the importance of tree planting for multiple benefits such improving air quality, reducing flood risk and creating habitats for wildlife in the upper Severn area of mid-Wales. They will work with landowners, volunteers and community groups to plant native hedgerow trees and propagate the black poplar tree.
  • Shared Spaces, a project run by Hay-on-Wye Town Council to create green corridors in and around the town to link wildlife habitats and so tackle the decline in biodiversity, with wooden sculptures and interpretation boards on the route’s wildlife.
  • Nature for Health, a joint venture by Denbighshire Countryside Services and the Denbighshire County Council Housing Department, which will use environmental social prescribing and GP referrals to encourage communities to access and enjoy their local green spaces.
  • Gower Hedgerow Hub, to address the over 800km of hedgerows on the Gower peninsula recorded as in poor condition, by engaging and training landowners and volunteers to create an intact, continuous hedgerow to act as a wildlife corridor.

Chair of NRW’s Strategic Funding Board Rhian Jardine said: “We need to make the most of our resources and we must find new, innovative ways to deliver the best outcomes for the environment, for wildlife and for people.

“Our commissioning approach, where we set out the challenges for specific areas of Wales, generated interest across all sectors, and we have several partners who will receive funding for the first time.”

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Arrests After Golf Course Vandalism

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Arrests After Golf Course Vandalism: Two men have been arrested and charged in relation to vandalism at a golf club in Oamaru.

The North Otago Golf Club was vandalised overnight on Saturday when a 4WD vehicle was driven over several of the club’s fairways and greens.

Sergeant Blair Corlet confirmed men, aged 25 and 22, had been charged with burglary, and unlawfully interfering with a motor vehicle.

The 25-year-old, the alleged driver of the 4WD, had also been charged with intentional damage.

Club secretary Julia Knight said security footage showed one person appearing to try break into the club’s green-fee box.

“Luckily our green-fee box is very well secured so they couldn’t get into that,” she said.

The footage then showed what appeared to be a man trying to unsuccessfully hotwire one of the golf buggies.

Knight said a 4WD could then be seen driving about the clubhouse side of the course.

“It’s a substantial mess,” she said.

“Then they got in their big 4WD and broke down one of the fences and got onto to the course.

“They ran over greens and snapped about four pins that are in the greens and knocked over about three or four signs.

“Then they demolished one of the sheds … and then they did donuts around the course and made a real mess. The ground’s very soft at the moment because of all the rain.

“They’ve probably driven over at least half the fairways on that side of the course. We’ve got 14 holes on that side and they actually went to the furthest point, which is where the shed was.”

Knight said the club only has one greenkeeper, and the rest of those who look after the grounds are volunteers. Pleasingly, she said the course was still usable.

“It’s very pleasing too that we’ve got good cameras and we picked the two guys up on the cameras.

“We’ve got our greenkeeper assessing the cost at the moment.”

Corlet said the men will appear in the Oamaru District Court next Wednesday.

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Golf Club Feels The Heat

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Golf Club Feels The Heat: The impact of the UK’s current heatwave can be seen at Oxford Golf Club.

Just a month ago Oxfordshire’s oldest golf course resembled a lush green oasis, but after the driest June on record, the fairways have frazzled.

Now the most verdant parts of the course on Hill Top Road, Headington, are the greens and tees, which are watered via an irrigation system.

Doug MacGregor, the club’s head greenkeeper, said: “I’ve been a greenkeeper for 25 years in Oxford and Scotland and these are some of the most extreme weather conditions I’ve experienced.”

Meanwhile in Oxford University Parks, walkers are likely to have blamed falling water levels in the pond on the scorching weather.

It is thought hundreds of fish died last week after levels plummeted rapidly, but the water loss was not the result of evaporation – the university suspects river gates on the Cherwell were opened to increase depth of water downstream, without realising the implications.

Golf club worker Mr MacGregor took a photo of the course one month ago and again this week from the 10th hole, to demonstrate the impact the weather can have.

The experienced greenkeeper and his team of five are working to keep the course in good shape amid sizzling temperatures of up to 30 degrees C, with the hot spell set to continue this week.

Mr MacGregor added: “We had a tough winter but came through it and then had a very wet period and a lot of grass growth before the heatwave.

“The course has looked magnificent in recent months and now the weather has changed the fairways and rough have really struggled to maintain moisture levels.

“This, coupled with the lack of a mains irrigation system at the club, has meant that they have suffered in terms of grass density and colour but they are still playable.

“The weather has a massive impact on the course and we have to adapt daily -we live by weather reports.”

The team’s day starts at 6am with an analysis of data from the club’s weather station.

The information informs them which areas of the course have lost moisture and enables them to establish where to focus their efforts.

“With the heatwave we have adjusted our tactics significantly,” said Doug.

“We also have a high-tech moisture meter which we use by hand to take readings on different spots of the greens.

“Wind is a big factor and different parts of the green will need more water than others.

“The readings enable us to focus on areas which require attention and apply the necessary levels of water accordingly.

“The soil is very warm and dry, and we continually aerate it. We have reduced the amount of grass cutting we do.

“I love looking after the course and it’s great when people comment on the quality.”

Met Office forecasters said today’s temperatures would be cooler than yesterday.

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