In another thread we talked about some issues arising from the 6 million dollar plus renovations at the North course. No question, it opened with a flurry of positive comments. At the last couple of board and exchange meetings the director of golf has done a good job of answering queries of golfers frustrated by some quirks that have developed. I'm no expert on golf course grow in so rather than babble on, here's the latest email blast from the RCSC: Due to concerns expressed by RCSC Cardholders about the conditions on the North Golf Course, Director of Golf Brian Duthu toured the course with United States Golf Association agronomist Brian Whitlark to assess the condition of the greens. Whitlark has made the following observations about the North Course which we would like to share with the Sun City AZ golf community: Not overseeding the greens was definitely the correct decision and as a result, the bermuda grass is healthy and emerging from winter dormancy. During the first year after such renovation, regardless of the grass, the greens will be firm. It is part of the maturation process and will take at least two years for the greens to be more receptive to incoming golf shots. Some of the north facing regions on the greens and tree shaded areas displayed thin turf cover. This is to be expected given the immature turf stand and the poor growing conditions in these areas. For example, the Eucalyptus tree east of No. 10 green shades the back portion of the green and this tree should be removed once funds become available. Increasing nitrogen fertility to encourage growth is one suggestion, but the nighttime temperatures have not been consistently conducive for Bermuda grass growth. The RCSC should remain confident that the right decisions were made and eventually (once temperatures exceed 70 overnight) the bermuda grass on the greens will resume active growth. It was also suggested that mowing more frequently and slowly and incrementally lowering the mowing height to produce smoother ball roll. Whitlark will continue to monitor the conditions of the North greens and make recommendations to RCSC staff to continue to improve the surfaces. Good on the RCSC for sending out the explanation, but it is cause for pause. In all likelihood we will be facing the same issues once Riverview opens. That's another 2 years of concerns by the golfing community. It does beg the question: Do we really want to go through more of the same at the 2 Willows courses? I haven't played in 5 years, but when I did play I found Willowbrook and Willowcreek to be quite nice (and they've already upgraded them since I played). I think it's a fair question to ask, especially given I don't recall ever hearing about this 2 year grow in period when we were planning these major renovations.
