Who we help
OPM management for golf clubs
Golf courses combine everything that makes OPM awkward: large numbers of mature oaks, members and visitors walking beneath them all day, and a greenkeeping team working under the canopy with strimmers and blowers.
Site pressures
What makes this setting different
Play must continue
Closing holes is commercially painful. In most cases local roping-off, temporary local rules and route adjustments manage exposure without losing the hole.
Greenkeeper exposure
Your team is the most exposed group on site. Strimming, mowing and blowing beneath an affected oak disperses hairs directly into the working area.
Specimen and heritage oaks
Signature oaks are often the oldest and most valued trees on the course, so management has to protect the tree as well as the players.
Reputation and member communication
Members notice cordons. Clear, calm communication prevents a proportionate precaution being read as an outbreak.
Our approach
How OPM management works for golf clubs
Scaled to the number of oaks on site and the way people actually use the ground beneath them.
- 01Course-wide oak mapping tied to hole numbers so records are usable by the greenkeeping team
- 02Risk classification prioritising tees, walkways, car parks and clubhouse surrounds
- 03Seasonal inspection scheduled around the playing calendar and competition dates
- 04Greenkeeper briefing and a simple no-work-under-marked-trees protocol
- 05Nest management where exposure justifies it, planned outside peak play where possible
The framework
The seven-step management framework
The same structure applies across sectors; the emphasis and timing change.
- Step 1
Oak Tree Inventory
Establish what you actually have: every oak, its location, approximate size and the ground use beneath it.
- Step 2
Baseline OPM Survey
A first full inspection across the inventory, recording activity, nests and feeding damage tree by tree.
- Step 3
Risk Classification
Rank trees by exposure and observed activity so attention concentrates where people and trees meet.
- Step 4
Seasonal Monitoring
Repeat inspection at the life-cycle stages that matter, with findings recorded against the same tree records.
- Step 5
Intervention Where Required
Act where exposure justifies it — exclusion, nest management or professional removal — not everywhere by default.
- Step 6
Documentation
Keep a defensible record of what was inspected, what was found, what was decided and who was informed.
- Step 7
Annual Review
Review the season, adjust priority trees and inspection timing, and carry the record forward.
Next steps
Identification and official reporting
Not sure what you've found?
Ask an OPM Expert
Send clear photographs of the tree, the caterpillars or the suspected nest and our team will give you an initial visual opinion to help you understand your next steps.
Photo identification is preliminary and may not always be conclusive. A professional site inspection or official confirmation may be required.
Think it may be OPM?
Report Suspected OPM
Suspected Oak Processionary Moth sightings should be reported through TreeAlert, the official tree pest and disease reporting service. This is an external official service and opens in a new tab.
Sending us photographs does not replace official TreeAlert reporting.
Golf Clubs: common questions
Supported by
OPM Advice & Management UK is supported by Hertfordshire Pest Control, who provide the professional inspection, monitoring and nest management capability behind the advice on this site.
OPM Advice & Management UK is an independent information resource and is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by Defra, the Forestry Commission, Forest Research or any local authority. Official organisations and resources are referenced to help visitors access authoritative information. Suspected OPM sightings should be reported through the appropriate official reporting channels.