Lexington Golf Club reopened on July 19 with new Champion Bermuda greens after a renovation project that lasted only seven weeks.
The approximately $200,000 project also included the removal of hundreds of trees for maintenance and playability purposes.
Golf pro Dylan Dawson said the greens, which had gotten 20% smaller over the past two decades as Bermuda encroached on the bent grass, were restored to previous size with Zoysia planted on the borders as protection.
Work on the course, owned and operated by the City of Lexington, was performed by city employees. Karl Trost is the course superintendent.
Dawson said the project began by killing the bent grass. Sprigs from Texas were quickly brought in by climate-controlled trucks for the 105,000 square feet of greens. Providers helped the course staff with planting. Dawson said favorable weather conditions may have speeded up growing time by a few weeks.
Dawson said the Champion putting surfaces (pictured above before the project) reduce maintenance requirements. An employee no longer spends as many as 12 hours per day monitoring and hand-watering greens during summer months. Plus, the Bermuda dramatically reduces the amount of ball marks that must be repaired.
Top dressing has been applied since the reopening to make the greens more receptive to approaches – new Bermuda greens are often firmer than their predecessors, though they gradually become softer.
“With some top dressing and some other practices, we able to get the greens able to be more receptive to allow golfers to hold shots,” Dawson said.
The Champion greens can be cut shorter during the summer, allowing putts to roll faster.
“The speed will come some over time,” Dawson said. “They are faster now they would be with bent.”
Designed by former Carolinas PGA president Dugan Aycock, the layout opened in 1938. The project was the most extensive at the course since 2004.
The hilly, par-71 layout, which measures 6,116 yards from the back tees, is a popular destination, especially for players in Davidson, Randolph and Rowan counties.
The rack rate for greens fees and cart is only $30 during the morning and early afternoon on weekdays. Walking is just $16. The highest rates on weekends are $38 with cart. Pace of play is typically less than four hours.
Dawson said customers were eager to play after the layoff. On the Friday morning the course reopened, players were lined up early, waiting at the pro shop door.
The golf pro said 500 total rounds – much higher than typical — were played during the first three days of the reopening.
