Local Golf Courses Take a Mulligan On Season

The first half of 2001 has been akin to the Great Depression for Washington County golf courses.

The three-week stretch of ice on the grounds in December led to a killing-fields effect from Springdale Country Club to Fayetteville Country Club. And cool nights well into the spring added insult to injury as courses scrambled to get green grass back on their fairways.

Bill Agler, a longtime golf professional at Fayetteville’s Paradise Valley Athletic Club and currently Stonebridge Meadows Golf Course, said courses are in uncharted territory dealing with such devastating grass kills.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Agler said. “I’ve never seen this much grass lost in this area. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.”

Agler said Stonebridge’s budget has taken a beating with the cost of new grass and the labor to install it. And some golfers have stayed away simply because of the poor conditions. For those who have played during the tough times, Stonebridge has offered a free round of golf for later in the summer when conditions improve. “We’re biting the bullet,” Agler said.

Other course pros and superintendents echo Agler’s sentiments.

“It’s been stressful for the superintendents,” said SCC assistant pro Neil Stafford. “They want to pull their hair out.”

Washington County courses suffered more than Benton County because when the ice storm hit there was no moisture on the ground in Fayetteville and Springdale. The ground froze and killed all roots. But the problem didn’t end there.

Courses with Bermuda grass, which is the most common in the area, had trouble getting new sod to grow. For Bermuda grass to grow it needs nights in the 60-69 degree range and days in the 80s and 90s. In Stonebridge’s case, after new grass was laid, Fayetteville experienced one night of 39 degrees and another as low as 40.

Meanwhile, SCC closed its course for three weeks prior to hosting the annual Chick-A-Tee Invitational, the area’s most prestigious tournament. The course is still in very poor condition, and SCC plans to close it again once the tournament is completed. The course was also shut down for two months during the winter.

SCC has spent $35,000 completely re-sprigging its fairways this summer. Resodding the course would have been much more expensive.

Private clubs can afford to close their courses, risking only angry monthly dues-paying members. But public courses such as Stonebridge and Valley View Golf Course in Farmington get their revenue from greens fees.

Rogers’ Pinnacle Country Club has zoysia grass on its fairways. Zoysia, native to Korea, is a much tougher and cold-tolerant grass. The course has only suffered small patches of kill. Nevertheless, course Superintendent Greg Jones said he’s never seen such tough conditions during his experiences from Indianapolis to Atlanta.

“I’m sure some courses are wondering what next winter is gonna bring,” Jones said.

Jones said he usually doesn’t irrigate his fairways until late February, but this year he was forced to do so more than a month earlier.

“We had three weeks of ice on ground,” Jones said. “I don’t guess you can prepare for that. Snow is good. Ice is bad.”