Mikeod, excellent post from someone who has experience and understanding of golf course conditions and maintenance. I'll try to respectfully add my take on a couple of things. Executive courses here are built based on a master plan for real estate development. That doesn't mean that the site chosen are optimal for a golf course. Pushing dirt and sand around, laying out a few holes, and selecting tee box and green locations doesn't necessarily mean you are going to end up with pristine conditions. Soil conditions, heat, elevation of tees and greens (with respect to retainIng moisture and wind susceptibility ), foot traffic and player abuse are all factors in what we find on our golf courses. And at the top of the list is irrigation and a satisfactory amount of rain.
Our Executive Courses are located in proximity to Villages and population. They are an easily accessible amenity and convenient. With all that I mentioned above, the execs are never going to be lush and pristine. But we expect them to be decent, and for the most part they are. I played Red Fish Run yesterday, and Bonita Pass today. In my humble opinion, there wasn't one area of either course that was neglected with respect to maintenence. This statement wasn't true a couple of years ago. There were areas that would benefit and quickly recover with ample rainfall. And there were low lying areas that were a little squishy from the maintenance staff trying to get enough water on the entire course.
It appears to me we have a good staff doing the best they can to maintain our courses. If I thought for a minute this wasn't true, I would say so in a heartbeat. We need rain....
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