Reconstructing Greens . . . The Right Mix is Important

Reprinted from the July/August 2003 issue of Mountain West Turf Magazine -- by Ryan Peacock, Editor, Mountain West Turf

In 1922 a few people built a new golf course in the old oil town of Tyler, TX.

The nine-hole course rerouted some of its existing holes and added nine more during the 1940s.

In the 1980s a lot of work was done on the course and three holes were added and three others were abandoned to make a practice area.

But in all that time, although the greens had changed, they were still sitting on the same basic greens from the 1920s.

There were people in the community who refused to join the country club because of the shape of its greens.

When Gene Dahlen was named superintendent of the Willow Brook Country Club about four- and a-half-years ago, he started working to get the course into better shape.

A couple years ago he dredged the irrigation lake and put in a new irrigation system. In 2002 he closed the course down for about six months in order to reconstruct all 21 greens. Soon he will be putting in a new lake. New tees go in after that.

The course is a work in progress, but the giant job of reconstruction has proved very beneficial to Willow Brook Country Club in the past year.

Why Reconstruct? - Dahlen had to justify shutting the whole course down from March to August to get the reconstruction done. There were plenty of reasons that justified the stoppage of play and the membership was willing to invest time and money into a vastly improved course, so the decision was automatic.

“The greens were never built properly,” Dahlen said, “they had poor drainage. They just depended on surface drainage.” Even when the course was renovated in the ‘80s the greens were not demolished and reconstructed. Workers just put more covering on the existing course so the drainage problem was never fixed.

The greens didn’t feel like modern greens, which is why people complained about Willow Brook and stayed away in droves. In order to make the course better, every green, surround, bunker close to the hole and the whole practice area would need to be rebuilt from the ground (or below the ground) up.

Getting It Done - The first order of business was to get a plan for the completed greens. Willow Brook chose Mark Hayes to be the architect. He is a long-time tour professional now competing on the Senior PGA Tour. With his experience and plans on board, Dahlen was ready for the next step.

One of the most important decisions was who to trust with the sand, peat and mixing needs. Dahlen called on the two companies in that industry he trusted the most—Dakota Peat and Wright Brothers Specialty Sands.

Wright Brothers is only about 10 miles from Willow Brook but that’s not the main reason Dahlen chose the company. Wright Brothers owner Scott Wright is the only sand provider in the area that has real silica sand. The silica sand is better for a golf course’s needs and so Wright Brothers sent a total of 7,700 tons of sand to the Willow Brook Golf Course. Dahlen was pleased with the choice. “That sand gave us the perk we needed,” he said.

Dakota Peat - But before the sand could be put in place, it had to be mixed with organic material in precise amounts. Dahlen wanted a 90-10 mix of sand to organic material. He liked the service that Dakota Peat provided and was especially impressed that Dakota could provide the peat, mix it and test it at a lab. Dakota’s mixer was so precise that it measured the mix at 90-10.

Just to make sure, Dahlen sent a sample of the mix to another independent lab and the results were nearly identical to those from Dakota’s lab. That type of consistency is impressive and sometimes hard to get.

Dahlen was amazed at the thorough mix he got from Dakota. “When you pickup some mixes there are clumps in it,” he said. “I ran my hand through this stuff and couldn’t find any clumps. None at all.”

Just as impressive as Dakota’s mixing ability is its peat product, according to Scott Wright. “Dakota peat is cleaner, finer, adheres better, retains more water and gives better results,” he said. Wright does a lot of business with Dakota between Dallas and the Louisiana border, mostly with mixing. “They’re real good to work with,” he said.

A Success Story - Almost a year after the reconstruction, more than just the greens have changed. Membership is way up as people strive to be a part of such a nice course. As the membership grows, so does Dahlen’s budget. “The membership bought about $200,000 worth of equipment for me this year and we have even more projects to do. They’ve taken care of me, now I just have to do my part,” he said.

How are the greens doing a year later? “The greens are still perking great,” he said. “As a matter of fact, they can’t get any better.”

All the success is important in an area like Tyler. It is a city of about 100,000 people and within 10 miles either way there are at least10 golf courses so the local market for golf is very competitive. So is the regional market. Dallas is 100 miles west of Tyler and Shreveport, LA is 100 miles east of there. Dahlen knows he has to present a great product in order to attract members and with the reconstruction complete, it’s working