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Golf Greens Poisoned, Rebuilt Better Than Ever
31 Jul
Summary
- Putting greens were accidentally poisoned by misapplied weed killer.
- Golf architects rebuilt the greens, enhancing slopes for more hole locations.
- The entire project, including bunker work, cost approximately $250,000.
The popular Winter Park Golf Course, known affectionately as WP9, is set to unveil its newly rebuilt greens on Saturday, August 1, following an accidental poisoning incident earlier this year. The putting surfaces were inadvertently killed in the spring due to a misapplication of weed killer, necessitating a complete reconstruction.
Golf architect Keith Rhebb, who, along with partner Riley Johns, originally designed the course's renovation a decade ago, oversaw the rebuild. They pushed the greens back to their original footprints and refined internal slopes, creating additional hole locations to better manage the course's high traffic of 45,000 to 50,000 rounds annually.
The greens were re-grassed with Tif Eagle Bermuda grass after old organic material was removed down to the sandy base. This process, occurring during Florida's optimal growing season, allowed for a quicker reopening. Planned bunker renovations, including the installation of capillary concrete liners for improved drainage on most bunkers, were also integrated into the project.
The entire renovation and upgrade project came with a total cost of approximately $250,000. This figure is considered reasonable given the soaring costs of golf construction and the fact that much of this work, including bunker upgrades, was already planned for the near future.
