Complex greens

Jeff Lee has renovated greens twice during his 31 years at Valley Hill Country Club in Huntsville, Alabama. The first switch overhauled all 27 holes from Penncross bentgrass to A-1/A-4 bentgrass starting in 2000. The second, 19 years later and originally unplanned, updated them to AU Victory bentgrass.

The newer variety is perfect for a superintendent in the South — Lee says AU Victory has handled peak heat and humidity a little better than previous selections — especially one who also happens to be a proud Auburn University alum and the father of three more alums.

“But I don’t care what kind of bentgrass you have,” he says. “When it’s humid and hot for an extended period, it can still be a little tough.”

Lee has faced challenges on and off greens this season. He hired a new second assistant superintendent in April, then lost his first assistant in September thanks to a family move north. More rain than normal has poured on Rocket City. And, of course, summer temps were about as high as ever.

Nothing he can’t handle, though. At 61, Lee has now worked more than half his life at Valley Hill.

Lee interned one summer and worked five more at The Country Club of Birmingham, and when he arrived at Valley Hill on Oct. 4, 1994, “I was thinking this is going to be my stepping stone,” he says. “I’ll go somewhere bigger, possibly do a Tour event and all that good stuff.” Three sons and more than three decades later, he’s still here. “I loved the city,” he says, “and the club has just been very good to me.”

Lee says long tenures are not uncommon in the Yellowhammer State. He worked alongside Lee McLemore and Tim Kocks, now in their 39th season and 40th seasons, respectively, at The Country Club of Birmingham, and his spray technician, Dan Trevino, is closing in on that number at Valley Hill. “Getting to 30-plus is probably a little bit of an outlier,” he says, “but I would call 15 to 20 years fairly common. … Most of the guys just find a comfortable spot and they don’t want to leave.”

Family has helped keep Lee in one spot since Terry Bowden was still coaching the Tigers. So have plenty of projects. He has renovated bunkers with Better Billy Bunker, and renovated all par-3 teeing areas and the driving range with Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass. He has not been able to snag new irrigation — he’s working with a 41-year-old single row system that was installed during a 1984 John LaFoy renovation — but remains hopeful he’ll work on that project before retirement. And, of course, those two greens renovations.

Lee keeps his greens sharp with a blend of products. He introduced SePRO Legacy plant growth regulator three years ago, applying at an eight-ounce rate in April and by growing degree days the rest of the season through October. The PGR, he says, “has improved my greens in that I’m not getting flushes and I can be a little bit more consistent in getting the amount of clippings that I want to get. I’ve been very pleased with it.

“If I have to be a little late — like this summer my sprayer broke down for two weeks — the clipping volume will go up a little but it doesn’t go crazy. I just don’t have those big flushes if I’m late that I used to have.”

Lee’s PGR application season is just about finished. Before his next spray, he’ll celebrate his 31st work anniversary and watch the 90th Iron Bowl. Perhaps that game, scheduled for Nov. 29 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, will share at least one trait with Valley Hill’s greens: AU victory. 