COURSE RENOVATION: Bentgrass in a Poa world

Last December the Monterey Peninsula’s Bayonet Black Horse reopened all 36 holes after completing a three-phase, multi-year renovation.

Bates Golf Design designed and Landscapes Unlimited built the $13-million, two-year project, making dramatic alterations to hole routings, corridors and view sheds, and installing new tees, bunkers and green complexes.

Architect Gene Bates says the two courses are now complementary – challenging and on level with each other aesthetically speaking – but each with its own features.

"The style of the greens and bunkers make the courses distinctly different," he says, explaining Bayonet has traditional, deep bunkers and tamely contoured greens; Black Horse features large bunkers with serrated edges and greens with a lot of movement.

While the courses are different, they have one thing in common, which may be the most interesting aspect of the renovation: The decision to replace all kikuyu and Poa annua grasses with Jacklin T1 Bentgrass. Both courses feature the Jacklin bentgrass on all tees, fairways and greens. The entire facility has rough consisting of bluegrass and ryegrass; Black Horse has Aurora Gold fescue secondary roughs.

"The goal was to provide the best putting surfaces in the market to help attract and appeal to players from areas of the country who are used to putting on truer-rolling bentgrass surfaces," says Dick Fitzgerald, project director for Seaside Resort Development, the entity directing the renovation. "It’s a point of differentiation in this area, in that the majority of courses have kikuyu and Poa annua grasses and the putting experience is often compromised."

Bayonet Black Horse, a high-end daily fee, is one of only several golf facilities on the Monterey Peninsula with bentgrass playing surfaces. Others include Carmel Valley Ranch, Monterey Peninsula Country Club and The Preserve, according to Michael Donahue, Bayonet Black Horse’s director of course maintenance since 2006. While maintaining bentgrass isn’t commonplace for the region, Donahue says it’s pretty straightforward.

"Proper fertility levels, water management and timely cultural practices are key," he says. "We have a philosophy of keeping the playing surfaces as firm and as fast as we can so we constantly monitor soil moisture, fertility and clipping yield to ensure a premier playing surface and to keep thatch development and disease pressure to a minimum. That philosophy also helps with our biggest challenge of keeping Poa annua out of our bentgrass stand."

The Pacific climate is conducive to Poa growth, so Donahue keeps the golf courses on an aggressive Trimmit program and has had some early success with limiting Poa growth.

When Fitzgerald and the architect decided to go the all-bent route, future maintenance costs were a key consideration.

"We consulted with numerous agronomic experts regarding the conversion, in-house and external," Fitzgerald says. "The conclusion was that the upside reward greatly outweighed any financial risk."

Though Donahue wouldn’t specify the maintenance budget, he says it’s in line with industry standards for a 36-hole facility in the region or "more than $2 million." He doesn’t believe that having all bentgrass golf courses costs much more than a different type of turf.

"Certainly some fertility needs and seed costs would fluctuate, but when it’s all said and done, maintaining bentgrass in our environment isn’t much different than maintaining a Poa/rye/kikuyugrass facility.

"In fact, in many ways, bentgrass will in the long run not only provide a better playing surface, but might prove to be the one turf that’s the best choice for a year-round facility and may prove to be the most economical."

Because the all-bent surfaces are uncommon for the area, the facility is marketing the benefits and hopes it will be a draw for golfers. Among the selling points the team is touting are superior playability and aesthetics.

"We actively market the bentgrass putting surfaces and overall superior conditions from tee to green that the bentgrass on both Bayonet and Black Horse provides," Fitzgerald says. "This strategy will enable us to carve out a market niche and attract golfers from hundreds of miles away who are coming to Monterey and want to play two affordable golf courses with bentgrass putting surfaces."

In addition, Bayonet Black Horse has improved its tournament-attracting capabilities, which was proven earlier this year when PGA officials considered it for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am rotation.

Though the Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course was added for 2010 rather than Bayonet, the facilities’ officials were happy to be considered.

"We recognize that it’s a difficult process and we were pleased that the renovation work done on Bayonet was recognized by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and the PGA Tour," Fitzgerald told the Monterey Herald in June.

"Certainly it would be nice to have a PGA Tour or USGA event, but my satisfaction comes from providing our daily guests with an experience found in very few locations," Donahue says. "Our goal is to provide our guests with tournament standards on a daily basis and if the course, because of its location and design along with the bentgrass playing surfaces, attracts any sort of tournament, I think that will be some degree of reward." GCI