Following a pilot project in March 2016, Course Manager Iain Wakeman decided to commit to a full golf course renovation starting in December 2016.
Founded in 1905 , Rosslare GC is a well respected traditional rugged links that is highly ranked at Number 49 in Ireland. However, in the past the club has been ranked higher and was consistently considered to be among the top 25 courses in the country. So why the change? The club is located in the driest part of Ireland, and with the influence of strong coastal winds, the effects of erosion are magnified. The revetted bunker faces, in particular were crumbling. However, the club decided to take action and set out to restore the club to its rightful place, higher up the rankings.
One of the first things they did was bring in highly experienced and well respected greenkeeper , Iain Wakeman . With many years under his belt at Brora GC, James Braid’s home course in the Scottish highlands, Iain knew a thing or two about links golf course maintenance. Iain recognised that the golf club were spending a huge amount of labour and resources on the never-ending cyclical construction of revetted bunker faces. To put an end to this unsustainable and expensive task he identified ecobunker as a solution that could deliver consistent, natural aesthetics and also release staff time for the many other jobs needed as part of a much larger whole golf course renovation programme.
In early 2016 Richard Allen from EcoBunker Ltd travelled to Rosslare and built two bunkers with Iain’s staff, providing training so that the club could continue to build on a DIY basis, using a licence from EcoBunker Ltd. The first two bunkers were a great success and the club has since completed a further 20 bunkers with plans to complete the whole golf course, 77 bunkers, finishing before 2020.