The golf course closed last November to begin a complete rebuilding process, with a reopening planned for fall 2015. However, the scope of the $5 million project has prompted the town to delay the reopening until sometime in 2016, giving the new grass more time to grow.
When the Mooresville (N.C.) Municipal Golf Course closed last November to begin a complete rebuilding process, the facility’s reopening was advertised for fall 2015. But the scope of the $5 million project—particularly the need to give new grass more time to grow—has prompted the town to take a cautionary approach and delay the golf course’s reopening until sometime in 2016, the Mooresville (N.C.) Tribune reported.
Town Manager Erskine Smith announced Tuesday afternoon that although the construction project is still on schedule, officials have decided to put off allowing golfers on the course “to allow for additional growth on the greens and fairways.” A specific reopening date has not been set, Smith said.
“We are very pleased with the renovation of the golf course,” Dick Poore, director of Cultural & Recreation Services, said. “Our contractors have managed to stay on schedule even through a drought-plagued summer. At this time, we are working on the punch list items.
“However, after consultation with the course architect, contractors, our golf pro and course superintendent, we recommended delaying the course opening to allow the turf to stabilize.”
The grass used on the new course needs eight weeks to fully cover in optimum conditions (hot days/warm nights), said Course Superintendent Todd Lederer. “Given the lower temperatures we are already experiencing, it is unlikely we will reach full coverage/maturity unless we have an unusually warm September and October,” he said.
When average temperatures drop below 70°F, Bermuda grass stops growing. Foot and cart traffic not only increases soil compaction but increases wear on dormant Bermuda grass turf, the Tribune reported.
“Over the winter, we will be over-seeding areas along Wilson Avenue and U.S. 21 with a native grass blend. The renovation design by Kris Spence is intended to mimic a Scottish ‘Links’-style course,” he said.
Town staff will monitor the growth of the greens and fairways, and set an opening date in 2016 that is consistent with the maturity of the grass, the Tribune reported.
In May 2014, Mooresville voters approved $10 million in bonds for recreation projects. In August 2014, the town commissioners finalized the redesign on the front nine holes of the golf course, which opened in 1949 on a Donald Ross design, the Tribune reported.
The back nine holes, designed by Porter Gibson and opened in 1977, have been rebuilt, too, also getting new greens, tees, bunkers, cart paths and re-seeded fairways, the Tribune reported.
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