At Rocky Bayou CC, Superintendent Wayne Phillips and his staff have succeeded in turning an unused plot of land between two golf course holes into a thriving fruit and vegetable garden.
By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor
Most golf course superintendents are charged with using their resources wisely and efficiently— but the grounds crew at Rocky Bayou Country Club, in Niceville, Fla., likes to add a creative spin to its maintenance practices as well.
Two years ago, Golf Course Superintendent Wayne Phillips and his staff turned an unused, but consistently maintained, plot of land between the third green and fourth tee into a 6,000- sq. ft. fruit and vegetable garden. The garden includes 10 plots that measure 10 feet by 15 feet, plus walking paths. Maintenance Supervisor James Dann takes care of the garden, and the club’s food-and-beverage staff incorporates the fresh fruits and vegetables into the dishes they prepare.
Phillips recently spoke to Club & Resort Business about the germination— and success—of the idea to plant the garden.
Super in the Spotlight:
Wayne Phillips
Position: Golf Course
Superintendent
Club: Rocky Bayou Country Club
Website: www.rockybayoucc.com
No. of Holes: 18
Designer: William W. Amick
Type: Private
No. of Members: 300
Annual Rounds: 24,000
Year Opened: 1973
Golf Season: Year-round
Fairways: 419 Bermuda
Greens: Tif-Dwarf
Honors and Awards: Class A
Superintendent, Gulf Coast Golf
Course Superintendents
Association Vice President
Q. What made you decide to plant the garden?
A. A couple of reasons. One, we wanted to take the initiative to turn the area into something useful. The spot was going from one hole to the next, between the third green and the fourth tee. It’s an area off to the side. There are no woods there, and it’s fairly wide open, so we wanted it to look appealing visually and we needed to do something with that spot. Our city water line also happens to come through that area, and we wanted to do something to help out our kitchen staff.
Q. How did you select the location and decide what to plant?
A. We purposely put it in a visual area, to keep us accountable and to be sure we maintained it properly and cleanly. We wanted it to be noticeable. One of our members, who is an artist, painted a sign for the garden. We put up a split-rail fence, and we ground up pine stumps into mulch over the winter, and used the mulch to make sidewalks and walking paths. We have 10 to 12 individual walking paths. People go by and see it. We hope the garden makes them happy—and gets them to the clubhouse to see what’s on the menu.
As for what to plant, we just asked our chefs what would be the most popular items and what people would be most interested in. We started out doing herbs, looking for where to put them in the ground, instead of on the patios. Then we thought, “What if we had vegetables?” We’ve tried different things and are getting better at selecting things we can handle. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Now, we’re selecting things based on our success.
Q. How do the maintenance needs for the garden differ from your turfgrass maintenance needs? What are the costs?
A. We’re really concerned about keeping organics in the garden more than in the turf, because the turf produces that on its own.
The initial planting of the garden probably cost us $1,000 to $1,500. It’s not that expensive if you do it by seed. This year we probably spent $400 to $500. Taste-wise, it makes up for the cost. We did it for the taste of fresh vegetables, and we wanted to do something original.
We have to do some weed control, but the expense of it is miniscule compared to the management of the golf course. We already have most of the things we need here anyway. I can’t say it’s saving us thousands of dollars, but it’s paying for itself.
Q. How has the garden influenced your relationship with the Food & Beverage staff?
A. We have a good team here, and our relationship was good already. But I would say it’s made it stronger. They’re obviously very appreciative that we’re doing this for them. It makes their job easier because their food tastes better.
We are a small, but proud, club. Our kitchen is run very efficiently and produces some wonderful food. But no one in the kitchen wears tall chef hats and it’s not that elegant; it’s just a plain kitchen.
Q. What advice would you give to other superintendents who might consider planting a garden on their golf courses?
A. Choosing things that can take care of themselves is the key. Some things grow a lot easier than others, but it depends on how involved you want to be. Green beans are very easy. We grew potatoes the first year, but there was a lot of work involved. Someone had to dig them up at harvest time, and it was very labor- intensive. The kitchen staff also said they would like to have fresh peas, so they asked us to grow them. We did, but we’re not going to do that again, because you know what? Somebody has to shell those peas.
Just choose things that are less time-consuming to grow and harvest.
For an extended version of this
conversation with Wayne Phillips and additional images, go to
clubandresortbusiness.com
Q. What kind of environmental message are you sending by planting the garden?
A. The golf course is owned by a big land company in this area, and we are on a 100-year lease. We want to show the landowners that we are caring for this piece of property to the best of our ability.
Q. What other environmental initiatives do you have in place at Rocky Bayou?
A. Our main environmental initiative is the buffer zones around the lakes. The lakes travel through the property, and they’re free flowing. They’re not stagnant or contained. We have three- to four-foot buffer zones around them, and they act as a filter to keep things from making their way to the water stream.
Q. Are there any other creative ideas that you’ve implemented at Rocky Bayou?
A. This year we started a lawn and landscape business through our facility for our members. A lot of them live around the perimeter of the club. We just prepare an invoice and bill it to the member’s account and any money that we make from it goes back into capital purchases. We also have a golf cart repair business. We’re a private club, and most of our members own their own golf carts.
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