On February 16, New Life Turf of Norway, S.C., began stripping the old grass off the greens at Belvedere Country Club in Hampstead, N.C. Over the years the greens had become smaller from renovation projects and just the normal course of maintenance. The greens also had become a mix of grasses from bermudagrass, bentgrass and annual bluegrass. The soil was not capable of providing the base needed for bentgrass but was excellent for bermudagrass. The new owners of Belvedere Country Club continued their commitment to improving the golf experience for the members and guests. The smaller size of the greens did not present well to the golfers and made the greens complexes appear out of balance.
The greens are being converted to Tifdwarf bermudagrass. Tifdwarf is a widely used variety of bermudagrass that has shown its ability to provide quality putting surfaces. The process of stripping and using sod was done to allow the greens to be converted quickly and at a time of the year when the course was not as busy.
“Our goal was to renovate the greens with the least impact to our clientele,” says Dave Downing, CGCS of Signature Golf Group. “We are looking forward to being able from this year on to be able to provide for more consistent putting surfaces while reducing use of water and other inputs. The old greens were a hodge-podge of grasses and the maintenance issues were very difficult to deal with, therefore the golfer did not have the best putting surfaces.”
A number of upgrades have been made at Belvedere over the last year, including a new fleet of Yamaha golf carts, added new bridges, replaced sand in all of the bunkers, added a deck to the clubhouse and renovated the swimming pool and pool house.
