Fairways and other updates

Each season, we look for ways to refresh and enhance your golfing experience. While we can’t move bunkers or greens, or make any drastic changes to the design of the course, one impactful change we can make is to adjust our fairway and approach cut lines.

This summer, you’ll notice some fairway widening taking place throughout the course. This decision wasn’t made in response to transition, but rather as a strategic move to improve both playability and course conditions year-round.

A bit of background: Two years ago, it took roughly 12 man-hours, three days per week, to mow all fairways. Because, typically, fairway mowing frequency is more critical to daily course quality than rough mowing, we elected to narrow the fairways last season. This allowed us to increase mowing frequency and create a different type of challenge: more rough and tighter targets.

However, based on trial and error, along with a great deal of member feedback, we’ve now decided, alongside the Green Committee, to widen select fairways. This adjustment will provide a more playable layout for most golfers while allowing us to shift some resources back into mowing rough a bit more frequently.

It’s important to note that this work is not a reaction to the summer transition from ryegrass to Bermudagrass. Rather, it’s simply the ideal time to make these changes so the Bermudagrass can be properly prepped ahead of fall overseeding. That timing just happens to coincide with transition season.

As you see some scalped or thin areas during this widening process, know that this is expected and temporary. These areas will recover over the coming weeks with no long-term impact.

Additional Updates:

• The buckled cart paths on holes 4 and 10 were repaired today. These areas will need one more day without cart traffic but are scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.

• The remaining cart path repairs are on schedule to be completed by the end of the month.

• The weather forecast this week leaves something to be desired... we are expecting extremely high temperatures, likely reaching the high 110s. During conditions like these, it becomes critical that we apply enough water to maintain turf health. While we always aim to balance firm playing conditions with agronomic needs, in weeks like this we will err on the side of more water rather than too little.

• You may also see us creating brief maintenance gaps in the tee sheet (using otherwise unused windows) to allow our team to run sprinkler heads or spot-water with hoses. These efforts help ensure we don’t lose ground during this upcoming heat wave.

  
  

Thank you for your continued support and thoughtful feedback. We’re excited about what these changes will bring to your playing experience!