A course closes for a year long renovation...

[Ben Hollerbach]

A course closes for a year long renovation. The primary scope of the work is moving/rebuilding all 18 green complexes, rebunkering the whole course, and a little bit of adjustment to mowing lines. When the course is reopened in the spring would you expect to find the condition of the turf not touched during construction in better, the same, or worse condition than how it played before construction began?


During a typical full course renovation how much time is dedicated towards every day maintenance? Is the untouched turf often neglected as man hours are needed elsewhere? During the grown in period of the new turf, is attention typically paid towards the rest of the course?

[Jaeger Kovich]

Ben - How much will the irrigation system be effected by the construction work? What time of year and what climate? How much will the super and his staff be involved with the construction?

[Ben Hollerbach]

Other than around the new greens sites there should be little work needed on the irrigation. Work time frame is from the end of spring through the fall. Climate is moderate, course is grassed with bent and bluegrass. The super and the greens staff will be heavily involved with the construction

[Jaeger Kovich]

Wait... So you want the maintenance crew be heavily involved in the construction in the middle of the summer, with no automated irrigation to greens and keep the turf at primo conditions?... If I were those poor boys who have to work the shovel all day, and then drag a hose, not just to syringe bent grass greens, but newly sodded ones... I'd ask for you to triple my pay!... Expect less than ideal results because that is an incredible amount of work.

[Ben Hollerbach]

A construction company was brought in to do the majority of the heavy earth movement and shaping, the grounds crew was on site to assist the construction company. I understand that the turf is going to suffer during the construction and grow in phase. But once the turf becomes established in the fall is it expected that the care for the neglected portions of the course is re-established or will the needs of the infant turf still dominate the grounds crew's time?

[Adrian_Stiff]

From a UK point of view it would be a bit like this. The existing course will require about 40% of the work to maintain it. Most tee and fairway mowing can be done ever other time that will keep you about where you are now condition wise. Mow every day it will be better. The semi-roughs still probably need the same sort of cutting frequency (prob weekly). Probably different in the US, I am in China atm and at a course not open currently but it is maintained just as with the exception of bunkers, hole change, tee furniture, they are still vertically mowing, hollow coring, spraying for disease prevention, this looks more than 40% prob near 60%.

[Jaeger Kovich]

Why rush for the fall when the growing season is over? If they are gonna be really involved, you should honestly be thinking May June for normal conditions once it comes out of dormancy and is really growing. Why stress the staff and the work for a few extra late fall rounds while it's torn up? Let it come back strong and you will never even remember 2 years down the road when the place looks great.