Mike MacGillivray
Director of Agronomy
& Grounds
Turf Targets:
LONG TERM MASTER PLAN
The concept of a “Master Plan” or “Long Range Strategy” for the golf course and property has long been considered and decisions that have been made have always brought into
consideration their effects on the future enjoyment of the property. It is now that we look to formalize this process by creating a road map for the future of the Clubs main asset, the golf course. The Bayview Golf and Country Club Long Term Master Plan (LTMP) will allow the Club to anticipate and schedule maintenance and renovation of critical course infrastructure. Rather than risk falling behind and being overburdened by major overhaul requirements, having a plan in place allows for budgeting of both time and money and keeps the membership “in the loop” during the process.
The first step in the LTMP is underway with the renovation and addition to our practice area offering- creating a “best-in-class” practice and warmup area that replaces an undersized and poor quality area that was not fitting for a Club of Bayview’s standards. Next, the golf course undergoes a detailed hole-by-hole or area evaluation to determine what needs renovation or maintenance. Focus will be on prioritizing major infrastructure items such as bunkers, tees, and drainage.
Life Cycle Planning is an important component of the LTMP which specifically looks at the infrastructure and feature items of a golf course and considers how long they will last. Our goal is to ensure that the property remains relevant and competitive as one of the best Clubs in the GTA- having a timetable in place for infrastructure replacement and feature updating will ensure proper budgeting and planning resulting in efficient execution with limited disruption.
How long should various components of a golf course last? (Derived from USGA and ASGCA Data)
Tees – Tees are a prime target for improvement. Our current tee surfaces range in age from more recent renovations to the valley holes to tees that have been in play from day one of course opening back in 1960. The size of the tee dictates the quality of the surface. Our tees are undersized for the amount of play they get which results in less than ideal surfaces due to divots. Over time, the tees will become uneven due to crowning of the middle areas compounded by the sloughing off of the perimeters. This is a function of the shape- long, narrow tees end up with most shots taken from the middle, therefore more divot mix is added which leads to crowning. (5th tee as an example) Circular shape tees end up “falling off” around the edges and are generally a very poor shape when it comes to maintenance. White tees at #16 as an example. Ideally, tee surfaces are large and wide enough to allow tee markers to be placed on two axis’- front to back and side to side.
Fairways – In general our fairways are quite good, major overhauls are not required although we do incorporate new generation bentgrass into our fairways year after year to ensure we work towards having a turf stand that requires less inputs and provides an improved playing surface. What we are evaluating is the grass lines- where the fairways meet the rough. In many instances we see fairway bunkers that are set too far into the rough. If a ball needs to travel through 20-30 yards of rough to end up in a bunker this is an opportunity to re-grass that area of rough into fairway turf and make that bunker more in-play (Left fairway bunker on #9 as an example). The fairways were re-grassed from bluegrass to Penncross bentgrass back in the early 80’s and underwent a grass line renovation in the 90’s which resulted in the “cape-like” edges which was fitting for the time. This wavy style creates major challenges to efficient maintenance whereas a more classic grass-line design with straight edged fairways that widened at landing and shot line areas would be much more manageable and aesthetically pleasing.
Bunkers – Bunker evaluation includes a review of placement, strategy, playability, the quality of sand and drainage, and also methods to minimize labor and other expenses. New liner and drainage technologies are currently being tested in the newer bunkers on the golf course and have proven to be major improvements over the dated construction methods of the course bunkers. The last full bunker renovation took place in 2002 and we are well past the life expectancy of the current bunkers. We were able to buy time with new sand installed over the years but the general infrastructure of the bunkers (liners and drainage) are declining and must be addressed. Through this process we will be looking at redundancies to ensure we can maintain them efficiently and up to the standards of our Club as well as placement as they relate to how the golf course is played.
Water hazards – These features will be evaluated for visual impact, water quality and utility as storm water retention and irrigation sources. Our stormwater retention ponds on 3,4,7, and 8 suffer from poor water quality and weed growth due to their shallow depth. Options for improvement include bottom dredging, installation of diffusers, increased biological treatments, and complete overhaul. Our irrigation reservoir in the valley has improved over the years with the implementation of new weed management technologies, however we must now deal with the degrading fairway edge. Options for improvement include installing a bulkhead along the fairway edge with armour stone or similar.
Irrigation System –Technology in the irrigation industry is constantly improving the efficiency and efficacy of systems, and the importance of responsible water use can’t be overstated. Thankfully, the Club made the wise decision to upgrade our irrigation and pumping system in 2015 with state of the art technology that we will benefit from for many years to come.
Drainage – Few things are as important to turf health and playability as water management. The common misconception is that water, regardless of quantity, is good for turf. The reality is that too much water is detrimental to turf health and playability. Therefore, an efficient drainage system is essential to maintain high-quality turf that golfers demand. Removing excess water from playing surfaces in a quick and effective manner will improve turf health and allow play to quickly resume following rain events. Ultimately, successful drainage translates to fewer lost rounds because of saturated course conditions. Through this process we will be identifying areas on the golf course that would be improved through the installation of drainage and creating a road map for completion. More severe areas include the fairway landing areas on #3, #9, #13, and #14.
Greens – The size, shape and cupping areas of each green will be evaluated. The age of the greens and the soil structure will be examined. There are a number of ways to improve issues when it comes to greens, from simply adjusting grass and mowing lines to the more drastic rebuilding. In general our greens are of sufficient size and slope to provide enough pinnable locations. However, there are a small number that require a closer look when it comes to this main factor due to ever-increasing green speeds. For example, the 5th green was built in 1960 and the 14th was built in the 70’s- in 1978 the USGA did a study that found the average green speed at hundreds of courses throughout the US was 6 feet 6 inches, these severely pitched greens made sense at those speeds. Now, our target daily green speed is 10 feet 6 inches. As speeds continue to go up we will lose pin areas on those greens and a plan will need to be in place when your 3 foot put comes back 10 feet on #14.
Tree Management - One of the most emotional elements of golf course management is trees. Trees and turf can coexist, but an overabundance of trees — especially poor-quality trees — can increase maintenance costs and negatively affect turf quality. This golf course was built on farmland and at the time there were a total of 36 trees on the property. After construction, a massive planting effort took place where hundreds of non-native trees were planted close to the fairways for maximum impact. The newly planted trees consisted of Ash, Austrian Pine, and Norway Maple- all of which have had major disease or pest issues over recent years resulting in their required removal. Our Tree Management Plan is focused on planting the right trees in the right locations and removing dead, dying or diseased trees to further improve the aesthetics and playability of the golf course. Too often golf courses are overplanted with trees in an effort to create separation between holes, direct players around an obstacle, or add difficulty. In reality, many “in-house” plantings detract from the original architecture.