Apache Stronghold Update

[Craig Sweet]

Don, it sounds as if the biggest difference between Bend and Globe is water....the water coming out of the ground and the water (or lack of) that falls from the sky.

[Tom_Doak]

They did set aside some money to spend on the course recently, and Jim Urbina was up there over Spring Break to advise them on how to spend it.  I hope to go back myself in May, as I have not been there for several years now.

Don described the turf dilemma accurately.  There is no "ideal" grass to grow at that elevation (it's 3200 feet) ... too hot in the summer for cool-season grasses and too short a growing season for the warm-season grasses.  It would take a good superintendent on top of their game.

The soils are also fragile.  It is certainly different than what I saw recently at Pronghorn in Bend, Oregon where they are sand-capping the whole golf course at a cost of several million dollars.  But then the Apaches aren't selling million-dollar second homes.

[Darren_Kilfara]

Tom - funny, when I was out at AS in late March, I was told that Jim had been out there the day before. I wished I'd have had the chance to meet him! (But I was certainly pleased to have noted that he was out there, checking up on things...)

Cheers,
Darren

[Steve_ Shaffer]

From reading this thread, it seems to me that the best time to play AS would be in the warmer months as turf conditions seem to be better than in the cooler winter. Maybe I'll move to AZ full time and enjoy early morning summer golf at AS.