Played GD on Sunday 3 removed link Was fully aware of the problems from last year with the Winter Kill and they had to replace there greens and closed to rework some other areas, removing trees fixing bunkers etc. I really looked forward to a seeing the changes and enjoying a good round at a course I have always loved.
With that Said as a Passport rate of $65 I expected that the course was ready for play, but when I called to make a tee time I was told "Course is in excellent shape" I asked how the new green are doing and are they rock hard still (as usual with new greens), the employee said they are great.
I was totally disappointed with the condition of all the greens. It was as if there was no grass at all on them. They were hard to hold even on chips from the fringe. Didn't see anything changed except a tree removed on the first hole. I would have been ok if the employee said the greens are still new and very hard to hold but he lied and having spent prime season rate for a sub par conditions made it even worse.
I went in after the round and talked to the employee at the counter and explained how bad I thought the greens were and all he said was "that's your opinion" I will probably never go back based on these two employees.
STAY AWAY FROM GLEN DORNOCH
Sounds like the greens are still mostly dormant. Did they dye them?
It may take a month or two to find out how good they may become.
It's bad enough when a pro shop doesn't disclose problems, but far worse when they lie
about conditions after being asked.
Thanks for reporting!
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Thanks for the update on GD. All we ask for when we inquire about conditions is an honest answer. Receiving otherwise leaves a bad taste and does the reputation of the course no good. In my experience pro shops are unwilling to say anything about their courses that could be viewed as a negative. This is one reason I find this forum so valuable as I can get a pretty accurate feel for how a course really is.
We've had soo many courses install new putting surfaces in the last year that this thread can be used for all of them.
You can't over seed new greens the first Winter they are in the ground. The over seed root structure will compete with the dormant Bermuda, guess who wins, not the new dormant Bermuda? So with no over seed and and the rest of the beach over seeding, they are definitely not the same as the over seeded green courses, or well established dormant Bermuda. So they'll look a little blue/purple until they green up and more than likely be fast as hell.
All Pro Shop's #1 complaint for a year to 16 month post green replacement is that they are very firm! In the process they take out a foot or 2, some cases the top 3 feet of the "dirt" under the greens. Then they replace it with fresh new organic nutrient and mineral rich layers. The are layers are built up back to grade, then they are sprigged. New soil, new seedlings developing tight root structures, then you have to be patient until thatch starts to build up and they soften. Like a car - when you buy a new car - the suspension is tight, but after 10 years and with older tires - the car's suspension is looser and not like it was when it was new. Greens are like that - all of them are very firm for the first year to 16 months until they develop some thatch and soften up.
The courses are following a proven method for green replacement. No one is straying away from the norm or what is known to work, and work well. There are too many $$$ at stake to stray from the norm and fail. green replacement is a huge expense. Close for 4 months and lose revenue, plus spend about $400-500K +/- on the process ... if the green replacement fails, people lose jobs and in some cases can cripple a company having to redo the greens 2 years in a row. So these are the issues you'll face when playing courses with brand new greens.
Brian Noblin
Myrtle Beach Golf Talk
My direct line at work 888-272-7263
Thanks for your report... and your advice!
Denis Gilbert
Quebec City, Canada
New greens do take awhile to be in good shape, last year Crow Creek was hard but greens were good to putt. Hopefully this is a one time bad experience as guys in our complex who have played it recently have a far nicer take on the course.
Over the years of hybrid greens conversions, I have played most of the upgrades
in Oct of the year they upgraded. Most of them have been very good, like they
were there for years. I haven't played any of them while they were dormant.
I got hurricaned out last fall, so I will play some of the new 2018 greens this
spring.
*** Please Show Your Appreciation For MB Advice/Info In MBGT With Your Course or Trip Report! ***
New greens do take awhile to be in good shape, last year Crow Creek was hard but greens were good to putt. Hopefully this is a one time bad experience as guys in our complex who have played it recently have a far nicer take on the course.
Good to hear. We are at GD in a little over 3 weeks. We played CC last spring, & like you say, they putted ok, but you had to play for a BIG 1st bounce when (if) you hit the green with an approach.
Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle.
Thanks for the updates, always nice to hear why it is that way. I understand new greens will be firm but didnt know about the overseed.
Let the Big Dawg Bark!!!
