CHALK DOWNLAND RESTORATION

Guildford Golf Club is situated on chalk downland, which is a very rare feature in the British landscape. The club works hard to ensure that the unique delicate flowers and species such as orchids and small blue butterfly are able to remain and colonise the area. 

Working closely with the landowners, Guildford Borough Council, the greenkeepers ensure that around each tee, fairway and green the headlands are carefully tended. 

Grass is allowed to grow long in the summer, letting those important flowers and grasses mature and set seed. Areas of bare earth enable these seeds to germinate. These plants are the food source for the larvae of butterflies, glow worms and a myriad of other specialised insects.

In places invasive scrub and the Turkey oak dominate and shade out the fragile grassland so these are selectively removed to protect the downland.It is essential to maintain links across the chalk downland and the areas around the fairways is perfect for this.

There are also some islands of chalk grassland areas deep within the wooded valley that are isolated from the remainder. To link these areas up and thus protect them from extinction a wide path of scrub and trees is being removed. The ground will then be scraped to remove the woodland detrius (fallen leaves, twigs etc) to expose the bare chalk soil. Grasses cut at the end of summer will then be spread across these areas and the seeds from these grasses and flowers will colonise and the downland will, over time, be restored.

All this takes time and is an ongoing task that will take many years. If you would like more information about specific operations please contact the Head Greenkeeper, Ashley Allpress, via the club house. Alternatively if you would like to know more about the management of Merrow Down please contact Hendryk Jurk at Guildford Borough Council