By Design - Spring 2015

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It is a golf course that the community
will enjoy for generations to come.”
In Midland, Texas, the challenge
comes from too little, rather than too
much, water. The city’s average rainfall
is approximately 15 inches per year,
less than half of the national average.
This has made it very difficult for
David Byrd, superintendent of Hogan
Park Golf Club, to maintain a high
quality playing surface, especially
given that the available water has a
very high salinity.
The Roadrunner course at Hogan
Park was originally designed in the
1970s, with nine holes added in the
late 90s, and has proved extremely
popular with the local population. But
the impact of 50,000 rounds of play
per year, combined with the limited
availability of good quality water, has
led to a degradation of turf conditions.
The city contacted Houston-based
architect Jeff Blume, ASGCA, to ask
for his suggestions for an overhaul
of the of the course. He delivered a
proposal that combined a reduced
water requirement with improved
strategy, and measures to make the
two nines more complementary.
“We created and executed a plan to
reduce the amount of maintainable
turf by nearly 20 acres, soften much
of the most drastic contouring
on the course, and redesign the
course’s bunkers to allow them to
be maintained by hand. All of this
was done to improve the playing
conditions of the course, while at the
same time making their golf course
maintenance more efficient and
thereby stretching their maintenance
budget,” explains Blume. “The areas
where turf was eliminated were
turned back into the arid/desert type
of landscape that still allows players
to find and play shots. Instead of
watering, fertilizing, and mowing
these rough areas, the maintenance
staff simply smooth them out
periodically.”
As a result, the club has been able
to eliminate some of the course’s
sprinkler heads completely, while
others have been turned off for the
foreseeable future. This helps keep
nuisance plant material away from
the native areas. Blume adds that
this turf reduction work also helps to
speed play, as it is easier to find and
play balls that come to rest on the
hardpan lie of a native area than the
previous thick rough.
The solutions provided by Martin
and Blume are just two of many
projects where ASGCA members
have helped clubs deal effectively
and sustainably with water issues on
their courses. And ASGCA members
and staff regularly contribute to the
industry’s thought leadership around
water. For example, Executive Director
Chad Ritterbusch recently addressed
delegates at the USGA Annual Meeting,
helping them to understand how the
design of a golf course can positively
contribute to its use and management
of water. And Forrest Richardson,
ASGCA, represented the golf industry
at a Western Governors Association
Forum on ‘Drought in the West,’
highlighting golf’s proactivity with new
technologies and architects’ efforts to
reduce water consumption.•
For more information on how ASGCA
members are improving the environment
through the positive use of water,
download the Golf &Water flyer at
Proposed turf reduction (inset) at the
Roadrunner course at Hogan Park Golf
Club in Midland, Texas will reduce the
amount of water required for irrigation
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