Southern golf trifecta

Great events thrive on three things: a worthy course, outstanding maintenance and a willing host.

Talented players and challenging conditions add to the excitement. Historical significance is created through time like bourbon aging in a barrel. The 118th Southern Amateur Championship at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, Kentucky, had it all.

Mind you, I didn’t intend to write about it. Even as I followed the last group, I wasn’t going to write about it. I was enjoying some July sunshine, unraveling the Donald Ross design, taking photos and trying to think like an architect: landforms, wind direction, degrees of difficulty, water features, high points, drainage, ecology, maintenance, club variety, hole locations, tees, routing and so much more.

But then, the level of golf was electric. More than 150 participants from 14 countries had qualified. The gallery grew and grew. The award ceremony felt intimate and classy. Why, when there are so many golf events hosted every year, did this one feel special?

Maybe it started with tradition and this event being a flagstone in the careers of well-known champions. Bobby Jones won this event three times — 1917, 1920 and 1922. Ben Crenshaw, Justin Leonard, Webb Simpson, Kyle Stanley and Harris English are all Southern Amateur champions.

Gene Pearce has extensively covered the first 100 years of history of the Southern Golf Association, which governs the Southern Amateur, in a book aptly titled “Southern Golf Association.” The SGA began in 1902 and the Southern Amateur is part of the Elite Amateur Golf Series. This is also the inaugural year for the Elite Amateur Women’s Series.

With several teenagers playing in professional events, the competitive level and undeniable talent of amateur golf is striking. Wenyi Ding, Quinnton Croker and Lance Simpson took first, second and third, respectively, and were a joy to watch. They were polite, respectful and acknowledged the crowd with a grace beyond their years but a sense of fun that felt just right.

They were absolutely striping it and even when they found themselves in trouble, they plotted a way out through mature course management. Some players saw more than others of the course that SGA executive director Andy Priest worked with Idle Hour superintendent Matthew Wharton to set up. Idle Hour golf professional Pete Garvey also contributed significantly and elevated the event to be everything that it was.

None of this is particularly unusual, but there was something about how it all came together. The Southern Amateur has been played on several Ross designs, including the Country Club of Birmingham (Birmingham, Alabama), Holston Hills Country Club (Knoxville, Tennessee) and Pinehurst Resort (Pinehurst, North Carolina). Idle Hour is now part of Southern Amateur history.

Views on the front nine are expansive and pastoral. Red gravel cart paths throughout the property are lovely. There is a double green at 2. Off the tees at Nos. 3 and 6, several holes can be seen.

The back nine had a different feel. Don’t miss the green on No. 10. Watch the water on No. 13 and be aware of the burns that wind through the property. Enjoy the rustic bridges. No. 12, named Man O’ War, is the longest hole on the course at 525 yards and No. 18 played the hardest.

Welcoming the players on the first tee and waiting there at the end of the day was the George W. Adair Memorial trophy, gleaming silver. It is elegant, sturdy, around four feet tall and named after a gentleman who was a benevolent sports enthusiast and closely associated with the legendary Jones. The trophy was first awarded in 1922.

The best thing was watching the crowd grow, reflecting the momentum of the day, as the leaderboard was finalized. The nearer everyone walked to No. 18, the more excitement could be felt. Ding had pulled away, but the excitement was not just for the golf. Idle Hour had a lot to be proud of. 

From hosting the players, to opening the grounds, to working through the logistics, the conclusion was something to celebrate. The course and the maintenance were the way the SGA intended. That takes planning and communication and execution.

Members of the maintenance team followed the last group, prepping the course for regular play and taking care of tournament accessories. A Substack post written by Wharton following the tournament noted that fall aerification was seven weeks away. The tournament had finished, but the grind never stops.  

It’s worth a break, though. For events at the property where you work, or golf tournaments nearby, maybe take the time to look up and breathe deep. Feel the energy as the leaders walk up No. 18. Watch some talented youth and see if you can spot the future professionals. Pick a hometown favorite. Enjoy the golf, appreciate your accomplishments and those of your maintenance colleagues.

Idle Hour made a commitment and hosted a great event. It all came together: a solid Ross design, the maintenance that showcases that design and the people of Idle Hour collaborating with the leaders of the Southern Golf Association. It was a true trifecta — a winning ticket to be remembered.

Lee Carr is a northeast Ohio-based writer and senior Golf Course Industry contributor.

Tartan Talks 98

Trees are the tallest features in golf, and they play an oversized role in how architects think about a golf course.

Stephen Kay, for example, says he can spend as much time thinking about trees as greens, tees, bunkers and fairways if he’s executing design work on a heavily wooded site. Kay performs the bulk of his work in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and he describes on a Tartan Talks podcast segment how mentalities toward trees have changed in markets filled with venerable clubs.

“Twenty-five years ago, it was very, very difficult to convince members to cut down trees,” Kay says. “I give thanks to Oakmont and Winged Foot for convincing members to cut down trees on their golf courses. That sort of gave permission to the golf industry that it’s OK to cut down trees to open courses up.”

Scot Sherman has seen similar changes in the Southeast toward tree management. He followed Kay’s appearance on the episode to discuss what he’s seen among the oaks, pines and palms on sites where he’s worked.

“We want to preserve the natural feeling of the site. Our clients, our owners and golfers demand that today,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be pure green grass everywhere, so trees are an important part of making it feel native and natural.”

To learn more about how Kay and Sherman handle the relationship between trees and golf, find the episode on the Superintendent Radio Network page of popular podcast distribution platforms.

Fescue party in New England

By Kelsie Horner

With the hopes of making better use of the course’s unique topography, The International Golf Club’s Pines course is completing a full-course renovation with the implementation of fescue on its fairways.

The project began at the club in suburban Boston in 2022, as architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw made the decision to grow and replace the fairways with fescue grass, a cool-season turfgrass. Maintaining a golf course with fescue is not a common task in New England.

The Pines, one of The International’s two courses, opened for play in 1955. The Geoffrey Cornish-designed course was named the longest golf course in the world at 8,040 yards. The property was purchased by International Telephone & Telegraph in 1961, and the course served as a retreat space and private club.

In 1967, ITT renamed the course The International Club and in 1972, Robert Trent Jones completed a renovation softening the bunkers and greens and lengthening the course to 8,325 yards. The club was purchased by Escalante Golf in February 2021. 

The decision to use fescue on fairways came from consultation from the entire team — designers, the superintendent, ownership, environmental consultants and the golf construction contractor.

“We needed to build a consensus and make sure everyone was on board as we would never want to dictate such a large decision,” Coore & Crenshaw associate Ryan Farrow says.

New York’s East Hampton Golf Club and Massachusetts's Old Sandwich Golf Club, both Coore & Crenshaw-designed courses, feature fescue fairways, and The International director of agronomy Michael Galvin has relied heavily on their experiences as well as other turf experts to help maintain the project. Dr. R.H. Hurley, Dr. Leah Brilman of Seed Research of Oregon and experts from Syngenta assisted in the formula decisions.

“Not being afraid to kind of reach out there to get some of the industry leaders to get their whole insight,” Galvin says. “Obviously, fescue is new to me. So just really leaning on some of the industry leaders throughout the process.” 

After consultation from industry professionals and Brilman, the course chose to use a fescue blend consisting of creeping red fescue and chewings fescue.

During the decision-making process, the team debated between fescue and bentgrass. Fescue has low nutrient requirements and thrives on less fertile soils. This means a lower need for fertilization and minimal watering. The grass will help decrease the course’s water budget, and lower its mowing frequency, Galvin says.  

“The fine fescue certainly has a slower growth rate than bentgrass,” Galvin adds. “And, how adaptive it is in varying conditions from full sun to deep shade, it makes it versatile for The Pines.”

Through using fescue, the course was able to design greens surrounded by short grass, allowing for a more links-like experience, Farrow says. Fescue also provides the opportunity to change mowing lines. 

“We like to start out trying to mow almost everything at fairway cut during grow-in,” Farrow says. “After the grass is established and we get a chance to look at each hole, we will get back out there and start to bring the mowing lines in and shrink the amount of maintained fairway. 

“The process can also work in reverse. For example, if a fairway section becomes too difficult to mow, then you simply stop mowing it and allow the wispy grasses to mature. This is also helpful if you get a spot of the course where shots are bouncing out of play or just rolling too far away from an elevated green; in that case we can simply let the grass grow up and that will help slow the ball down and hopefully keep it in play.” 

As the project was introduced to make better use of the course’s topography, Farrow says the “firmness and slick playing conditions” the fescue grass provides will lead to more interesting shot options.  

“We also like to leave openings to access our greens from the ground. Having fescue allows for a more consistent and predictable firm bounce so we can provide different playing options to get to certain pin positions of the green by landing the ball short,” he adds. “We think golf is more fun on the ground, watching the ball roll is one of the more thrilling experiences you can have on the course.” 

Galvin says the project is close to being complete, but not quite there yet. Eight bunkers need to be completed, cart paths need to be finished and cart path tie-ins need to be installed. Adjustments may still need to be made after opening. 

“Once we start to see some play, we will need to watch where tee shots or approach shots that land short of the green collect,” Farrow says. “If the height of cut is too low, we could see hot spots with too many divots in a concentrated area.” 

Kelsie Horner is Golf Course Industry’s assistant editor.

People news

TPC San Antonio assistant superintendent Andi Meadows won the 2024 Allan MacCurrach Jr. Award, which includes $10,000 from the GCSAA through the GCSAA Foundation. Meadows will be honored at the 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in San Diego … Robert Nielsen, the superintendent at Bedford Golf & Tennis Club in Bedford, New York, was named to the EPA’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee. He follows GCSAA environmental programs director Mark Johnson in the role and will serve though 2025. … Andy Jorgensen, the director of community maintenance operations for On Top of the World Communities in Ocala, Florida, was honored by the Florida GCSA during its recent annual meeting with the Distinguished Service Award. … Mapletøn Golf Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, hired its first superintendent and GM: Michael Nelson and Zac Gavlak, respectively. The course is scheduled to open next summer. Target Specialty Products hired Dr. Eric Miltner as a new product development manager for the Turf & Ornamental division. … Joey Childress is the new COO of Aspen Corporation. … Central Turf & Irrigation Supply is expanding its turf division, bringing in former superintendent Andrew McCormick as turf category chemical director. … Munro hired Jeff Prell as its new national sales director. … SePRO is expanding its presence in Florida with the hiring of Mark Prospect as golf technical specialist.

Industry buzz

Brazos Zoysiagrass (FAES 1319) is now available. Developed by the University of Florida’s Turfgrass Breeding Program, the improved grass variety is designed for the southern half of the United States and also extends the reach of warm-season zoysiagrass varieties farther north. It was discovered in 2006 during a family outing to the Everglades. … SePRO announced Stanley Capital Partners has made a strategic, majority investment into the business. Goldman Sachs Alternatives will also participate as a minority co-investor.

Course news

SaddleBrooke Two, a master-planned community located north of Tucson, Arizona, recently completed a full renovation of its MountainView Golf Course. The project, which started in May 2023, focused on replacing the old irrigation system, improved drainage, bunker complexes, and turf reduction and improvements, as well as adding new tees on the 27-year-old course. … Winnetka Golf Club in suburban Chicago reopened last month after an extensive stormwater management project and renovations to both its 18- and 9-hole courses. … Troon is now managing the City of Detroit’s three municipal golf facilities — Chandler Park, Rackham and Rouge Park golf courses. Troon recently started managing Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville, Maryland, as well. Opened in 1927, the course was designed by Herbert Strong and later twice renovated by b. … The Arthur Hills-designed Cross Creek Golf Club in Temecula, California, is now managed by the JC Golf division of JC Resorts.