Improvements Made to Seve's The Shire London Course

The Shire London is one of the most highly regarded venues on Golfshake and is known for its Seve Ballesteros signature golf course, which has undergone a series of improvements under its owners The Bridgedown Group who enlisted the skills of the Dye Design Group. 

This programme of enhancements is the latest example of Bridgedown’s growing relationship with the globally-renowned golf course architecture specialists, who are also the primary consultants on two highly-anticipated venues being developed in the capital, West London Links and The Dye London.

Through the recommendations and under the guidance of the Dye family, The Shire London has undertaken the task of inter-seeding its greens with leading bentgrass developer, Tee-2-Green’s, Pure Distinction, used on some of the world’s most famous and respected golf courses.

Now a feature of the 18-hole Masters and nine-hole Academy courses at The Shire London, this uniquely bright green grass is dense, and grows upright and aggressively. It also has exceptionally strong resistance to disease, extreme temperature changes and general wear, making it easy to maintain, as well as providing a truer role than species more typically used in the UK. This initiative makes The Shire London one of the very first golf courses in the UK to introduce Pure Distinction bentgrass and places it within an exclusive class globally.

Over the next few years, the golf course will also see the full renovation of all green-side bunkers. These will be lined with ‘Capillary Concrete’, a sustainable cement-based polymer material that solves all drainage and moisture problems, greatly improving year-round condition. This will significantly reduce the occurrence of wash-outs, soil contamination, plugged lies and other bunker maintenance problems.

In addition, following an inspirational visit to the prestigious Medalist Golf Club in Florida, the bunker faces will be constructed from recycled artificial turf. Traditional ‘revetted’ or ‘sod wall’ bunkers are typically made using stacked layers of organic turf and require extensive and expensive. This new technique alleviates much of this issue, allowing for better conditioning and golf course maintenance time to be spent elsewhere.

Ceri Menai-Davis, Director of The Bridgedown Group, said: “We are hugely excited at the start of this golf season about introducing our golf course improvements to members and guests at The Shire London. The golf course remains true to Seve’s design, but, with the assistance of the Dye family, we will be able to ensure our quality of conditioning shines through all year round. With the continuing developments at West London Links and The Dye London, 2019 is shaping up to be a landmark year.”

Cynthia Dye, daughter of Pete Dye’s late brother, Roy, said: “We are delighted to be introducing EcoBunker technology to The Shire London. The maintenance will become a lot cheaper and a lot less time consuming, meaning more can be invested in other parts of the club. So far, I have redesigned the green-side bunkers on holes 8, 9 and 13 and I am confident the new changes will impress members and guests, alike.”

Dye Designs has also designed the new short game and putting area at The Shire London and has helped green staff with green keeping practices to ensure only the best techniques are used on the course.

Further to this, the Dye family has consulted on the final shaping and green surrounds of the West London Links, due to open in 2020, and introduced the Group to companies and practices that only the best courses in the world utilise, ensuring the quality is world-class.

To book a tee time and experience The Shire London for yourself, please follow the link: http://theshirelondon.com/book-tee-time/.