Over the past year, Belvedere Country Club in Hampstead, N.C., has brought in a new fleet of electric golf carts, added new bridges, put new sand in all of the bunkers, added a deck to the clubhouse and renovated the swimming pool and pool house. Looking to continue its newfound commitment to improving the golf experience for the members and guests, the club began to renovate its greens.

Over the years, the greens had become smaller from renovation projects and just the normal course of maintenance. The greens had also become a mix of grasses from bermudagrass, bentgrass, and annual bluegrass. The soil was not really capable of providing the base needed for bentgrass, but was excellent for bermudagrass.

Currently, the greens are being converted to a type of bermudagrass shown to provide quality putting surfaces. The process of stripping and using sod was done to allow the greens to be converted quickly and at a time of the year when the course was not as busy.

“Our goal was to renovate the greens with the least impact to our clientele. We are looking forward to being able from this year on to be able to provide for more consistent putting surfaces while reducing use of water and other inputs,” says Dave Downing II, CGCS and Director of Operations and Construction for Signature Golf Group, which manages the club. “The old greens were a hodge-podge of grasses and the maintenance issues were very difficult to deal with, and therefore the golfer did not have the best putting surfaces.”