Rough Project

Over the last several years, in an effort to create a more sustainable golf course, we have been researching different turfgrass options for the rough at Wichita Country Club.  In the process of developing the Master Plan, it was determined that a conversion from our current blend of cool season turf to a warm season variety would be the best long term option for the golf course.

As you may recall, during the summer of 2003 this same issue was addressed with our fairways.  At the time, fairways consisted of a hodgepodge of mostly cool season turf (similar to our current rough).  Back then the decision was made to convert to Zoysia.  As proven over the years, not only did we reduce water consumption, the turf quality has been far superior following the change.

The uniqueness to our location is the opportunity to grow a variety of warm and cool season grasses. Depending on the weather in any given year, both grasses have their pro's and con's.  Regardless of the weather, the one consistent characteristic is the amount of water required to maintain cool season turf in our extreme summers.

As water rates continue to rise, along with concern for future availability, a proactive decision was made to limit the water required to maintain a quality golf course at our location.  After extensive research, we have made the decision to convert our rough to Riviera Seeded Bermuda during the summer of 2014.  

Riviera Bermuda Plot at Oklahoma State University

Over the next several days I will utilize the blog to fill in the details on the upcoming project.  For those of you that would like to read ahead, attached is a link to a document detailing the project.