A petroleum-based product—gas, oil or paint thinner—was poured onto five greens on the club’s James River Course in Richmond, Va., browning the grass in spots and necessitating the repair of the affected areas. “The putting green is not easily fixed, and it’s going to take some time to get it back into top condition and effort,” says Christian Sain, Director of Golf and Grounds Maintenance.
Vandals struck at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Va., the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. A petroleum-based product—gas, oil or paint thinner—was poured onto the surfaces during the overnight hours Sept. 21, browning the grass in spots and necessitating the repair of the affected areas.
An assistant called Christian Sain, Director of Golf and Grounds Maintenance, early that morning, urging him to come to the 10th green at the club’s James River Course. “And I’m thinking, ‘Well, that’s just odd,’” Sain said. “So I went up there and I’m like, ‘Oh my, this is not good.’”
The 10th green turned out to be one of five that was vandalized, Sain told the Times-Dispatch. It was a heartbreaking situation to discover, Sain said. And it’s a headache just less than a month from the start of one of the highlights of CCV’s annual calendar: hosting the PGA Tour Champions’ Dominion Energy Charity Classic from Oct. 20-23.
“The putting green is not easily fixed, and it’s going to take some time to get it back into top condition and effort,” Sain said. “So it’s just disappointment, it’s frustration and, sure, it makes you a little mad, too.”
Though the mending of the damaged greens will be time-consuming, Sain expects the course to be ready by the start of the DECC, the Times-Dispatch reported.
But the indignation felt in the aftermath of the vandalism is perhaps amplified by the fact that the James River Course, Sain told the Times-Dispatch, was probably in the best condition it had ever been in for this time of year since he started working at CCV 17 years ago.
“A lot of that has to do with the weather,” he said. “But it’s also a lot of hard work by a lot of hard-working people.”
The greens on holes Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15 were affected, the Times-Dispatch reported. Sain said it appeared as if whoever did the damage walked while pouring the petroleum product onto the green at each hole. Then it looked as if they did a big loop on each green before walking off.
A police report was submitted, and Henrico County police stopped by Sept. 21 to investigate, the Times-Dispatch reported. Police, who suspect the vandalism occurred between 8 p.m. Sept. 20 and 5 a.m. Sept. 21, collected drone footage of the damage. Henrico Fire also took plugs of the ground to determine exactly what substance was poured.
The petroleum product affects the growing point of the grass, effectively killing it, the Times-Dispatch reported. So CCV will have to remove the damaged portions, using hole cutters of varying sizes and “strip sodders” that can slice into and excavate soil inches at a time.
CCV, like most courses, has an on-site nursery in case of issues, and club staff will take turf—777 creeping bentgrass—from there and transplant it to the greens that were vandalized, the Times-Dispatch reported.
It will be a lot of labor, Sain told the Times-Dispatch, and hard to estimate the total cost of the damage. CCV hopes to finish repairs by the middle of next week.
“We’re hoping, within a three-week period, that most of the little seams along the edges where the sod was put back will have disappeared and it will not be noticeable any longer,” Sain said.
The course will remain open for members throughout the repair and rejuvenation process, the Times-Dispatch reported. While staff members work on each green, CCV is setting up temporary greens for the affected holes, placing the cups and flagsticks in the fairways.
Steve Schoenfeld, the Executive Director of the DECC, stopped by CCV to look at the damage on Sept. 21, the Times-Dispatch reported.
“Having now worked with Christian Sain and the entire country club staff, and the maintenance team, for the past six years, they’re outstanding,” Schoenfeld. “So we don’t have a major concern with our event still a month away.”
CCV now has work to do to ensure the James River Course is back to its usual high standards, the Times-Dispatch reported. It’s a tedious challenge, but Sain and Schoenfeld feel good about where the course should be in a month’s time.
“We’re really trying to get things repaired as quickly as possible,” Sain said. “So, first of all, we can get it back in the best shape it can be for our members. But then, secondly, to hopefully get it knitted in before the Dominion Energy Charity Classic as well.”
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