Work is to start in the next few weeks on the installation of a new state-of-the-art irrigation system at Leighton Buzzard’s Plantation Road golf club following the signing of a contract with a company specialising in major ground work projects.
The project is scheduled to take around 20 weeks to complete and will cost nearly £500,000.
Contractors LS Systems will be moving plant, equipment and materials on site by the start of November to start work on replacing the existing and unreliable 35-year-old system with new supply, storage and distribution facilities.
Over five miles of piping delivering water to tees, greens and approaches, 11 kilometres of cabling and around 500 sprinkler heads will be installed, with watering being provided on 10 of the fairways on the 6,000 yard course.
Additional pipework will also be laid to ensure that water is available should the system need to be extended to include other playing areas, a borehole capable of delivering 20 cubic metres of water a day and a storage tank capable of holding 500 cubic metres of useable water.
Members at the Leighton club, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025, approved the scheme at a general meeting in August, since which time a project team headed by former Club Captain and ex-President John Preston has completed research and analysis needed before contracts could be finalised.
And last week, Club President Brian Carter signed the contract with LS Systems project manager Tim Griffiths that gives the green-light to the long-anticipated project, advising the Club’s 600 members: “We have every confidence, bearing in mind the professionalism they have demonstrated and the prestigious clubs for whom they have completed project.”
LS Systems, based at Tarleton near Preston, have successfully installed scores of similar systems at golf clubs and other sports facilities around the country, including Royal Birkdale which has hosted many major golf tournaments including The Open on ten occasions since 1954.
For the 600-member Leighton club, is the second biggest project since the club was formed in 1925, the most costly being the construction of its impressive club house facilities completed 20 years ago.
PICTURE CAPTION:
CONTRACTS SIGNED… (left to right) John Preston, Leighton President Brian Carter, LS Systems project manager Tim Griffiths and installation manager Peter McKean.