IU Golf Course

[stollcpa]

Bent takes a lot of care/water during the summer heat....and Bloomington is really a transitional zone. Can get really easy to fry bent fairways if you get rain and then humid heat (normal S Indiana summer).

I have zoysia in my lawn.... it's the most maintenance free lawn ever.... grows slow, needs very little fertilizer, loves the heat and requires very little water. I love playing on good zoysia fairways.... ball just sits up like it's on a little tee.

I think this will be better than most any others in that 2nd grouping. Thinking wolf run V2....being a good bit more playable.

I am guessing that the cost to maintain zoysia is half the cost of bent. Probably even bigger difference than that. I know Victoria National has considered changing their fairways from bent to zoysia a couple times. I think they’ve talked about recouping the cost in maybe three years. We only get to play firm fast fairways there a few weeks out of the year. In the summer heat they have to throw down a lot of water. We complain about not having firm fairways all the time.

They can put down zoysia like they have at Bellerive in St Louis. It can be cut so low that it’s almost like playing bent. They hosted the PGA Championship in 2018. I’ve played there twice. The lies are as tight as bent.

Bloomington is right on the northern edge of being able to use zoysia because of winter freezes. It’s been several years since I played Bloomington Country Club but I beleive their fairways are zoysia. I think zoysia is a great choice for the new IU Course.

 

[twenty02]

I am guessing that the cost to maintain zoysia is half the cost of bent. Probably even bigger difference than that. I know Victoria National has considered changing their fairways from bent to zoysia a couple times. I think they’ve talked about recouping the cost in maybe three years. We only get to play firm fast fairways there a few weeks out of the year. In the summer heat they have to throw down a lot of water. We complain about not having firm fairways all the time.

They can put down zoysia like they have at Bellerive in St Louis. It can be cut so low that it’s almost like playing bent. They hosted the PGA Championship in 2018. I’ve played there twice. The lies are as tight as bent.

Bloomington is right on the northern edge of being able to use zoysia because of winter freezes. It’s been several years since I played Bloomington Country Club but I beleive their fairways are zoysia. I think zoysia is a great choice for the new IU Course.

Exactly.....I used to play down in TN at a track called Stonehenge. It's been long surpassed, but was once the best rated non-private in the state. They were known for having bent grass... but the heat required them to water like crazy from June-Sept....so much that they couldn't even allow carts off the path, ever....on a mountainous, un-walkable golf course. It was only a couple months a year the place was in good condition because of poor turf choice.

 

[stollcpa]

Exactly.....I used to play down in TN at a track called Stonehenge. It's been long surpassed, but was once the best rated non-private in the state. They were known for having bent grass... but the heat required them to water like crazy from June-Sept....so much that they couldn't even allow carts off the path, ever....on a mountainous, un-walkable golf course. It was only a couple months a year the place was in good condition because of poor turf choice.

My wife and I spent a week at Fairfield Glade resort with 3 other couples around 30 years ago. The guys played golf 4 days. We played Stonehenge twice and Druid Hills and Heatherhurst once each. Stonehenge was great. The time period we were there the course was firm and fast. The other two courses were pretty good but Stonehenge was the gem of the three.

 

[Hoosier71]

New article from Golf Course Architecture magazine with some additional info regarding the renovation. Echoes a lot of what was covered in the Hoosier Network interview with Smyers. Really, really glad to hear that they are making a major effort to limit the irrigated turfgrass.

http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.n...roaches-completion-of-new-course-construction