The South course, which opened in 1954, has undergone a series of renovations in recent years to improve playing conditions.
After staging the 1998 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at a time when drought conditions resulted in dry, unsatisfactory rough grass, the club in 2000 installed a new irrigation system, restored the bunkers to their original configurations and re-grassed the fairways.
In 2003-04, all of the tees on the South course were rebuilt in anticipation of staging the 2005 U.S. Senior Open. Now the club has decided that it’s time to update and improve greens that have begun to show stress from the heat.
Bolerjack pointed out that NCR South’s greens were not built to the modern United States Golf Association specifications, which require sand bases that allow percolation of water. The South’s greens are soil-based and do not drain as well.
Over the last two years NCR has installed new drainage in 10 of the greens. The remaining eight greens will get new drainage systems in March of 2013. Bolerjack explained that the procedure will not require shutting down individual greens more than a day or two.
At the end of the 2013 season, shortly after NCR Country Club hosts the U.S. Women’s State Team Championship Sept. 17-19, the existing sod will be stripped from the greens, a thin layer of sand/soil mix will be put in place and the greens will be sodded with a T1 Alpha bentgrass supplied by a turfgrass farm in western Pennsylvania.
The procedure should take less than two weeks and the greens should be ready for use in May of 2014.
“We’re not going to be changing the original designs of (architect) Dick Wilson,” Bolerjack said, adding that the new grass should not be as susceptible to heat stress and disease. “Our putting surfaces should be more consistent with the new grass,” he said.
Boyd Colin Turf Farms of New Wilmington, Pa., has performed similar service for high profile golf facilities such as Pinehurst, N.C., and Valhalla in Louisville. Bolerjack said the T1 Alpha bentgrass has proven over the last 12 years that it can withstand the climate issues present in this part of the country.
As a test, 11,000 square feet of the T1 Alpha grass sod will be installed soon by the Pennsylvania firm on a putting green near the NCR pro shop.
Bolerjack said NCR’s project will be paid for with the club’s funds and there will be no assessment of members.
“We are very excited about this,” he said. “We are always doing something to improve the South golf course.”
The South course has often been listed among the top 100 courses in the United States in surveys by golf magazines. It hosted the 1969 PGA Championship, the 1986 U.S. Women’s Open, the 1998 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 2005 U.S. Senior Open.
NCR Country Club also has an 18-hole North course, which was used for the qualifying rounds of the 1998 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Chip Shots
Cathy Jefferson of Centerville is one of 132 playing in the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship this weekend at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa. After 18 holes, the field will be cut to the top 64 scorers. Six rounds of match play begin tomorrow, and the 18-hole championship match is Thursday.
Jeff Scohy of Bellbrook is playing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Lake Forest, Ill. He is attempting to get into match play for the first time.
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