The putting surfaces at the club in Gilbert, Ariz. were originally constructed as “push-up greens” with material that was already on-site. The new greens that have been installed are expected to last 40 to 50 years and will also help the course preserve a precious resource, according to Shawn Lasher, Marketing Director of Thompson Golf Group. “The way the bases and the layers are set up, they’ll actually be able to use less water,” Lasher says. In addition, the greenside bunkers have been reshaped and new sand is being added to each one.

Power Ranch Golf Club in Gilbert, Ariz. recently completed an overhaul of all of its greens and is about to finish a project to redo many of its bunkers.

Shawn Lasher, Marketing Director of Thompson Golf Group, said the greens were renovated “from the ground up,” with “resizing” and “re-contouring” efforts.

With the other golf courses in the Thompson Golf Group’s portfolio doing well, Lasher said resources could be invested into paying for an overhaul of Power Ranch’s greens.

Gary Brawley Design and National Turf Inc. were hired to dig the ground up, install new drainage and irrigation systems, and build the greens in compliance with USGA specifications. Marvin Mills, a golf industry irrigation expert, reviewed the irrigation design as a consultant on the project.

“There’s a couple different layers,” Lasher said. “There’s the 10-12 inches of sand over everything and then they sprigged them.”

When the putting surfaces were originally constructed more than two decades ago, they were assembled as “push-up greens” with material that was already on-site.

“Here [in Arizona], you can’t do that,” Lasher said. “You just get a lot of layers where roots don’t penetrate very well…the longevity of them just isn’t there…Roots just don’t go deep enough and then water just starts to run instead of go[ing] down because of how hard the ground is and how much clay there is. It just doesn’t bode well for greens.”

As a result, even with strong maintenance practices, Lasher noted that 17 or 18 years is typically the longest a push-up green can last in Arizona. The greens at Power Ranch were constructed in 1998.

With the conditions of the greens declining, play at Power Ranch remained steady but did not increase, according to Lasher. Regular players were playing the course less often than they once did. As a result, green fees have not been raised during the last few years and that means revenues did not go up at the same rate as they have at Thompson’s other properties.

The new greens that have been installed are expected to last 40 to 50 years and will also help the course preserve a precious resource, according to Lasher. 

“The way the bases and the layers are set up, they’ll actually be able to use less water,” Lasher said. “…We can be more efficient with water because they’ll hold more water.”

The larger greens will offer more potential pin locations. As an example, the 10th hole green is growing from 4,100 sq. ft. to 6,200 sq. ft.

The putting surfaces are not the only areas undergoing significant changes at Power Ranch.

The greenside bunkers have been reshaped and new sand is being added to each one. The reshaping of fairway bunkers has also happened and new sand is being deposited in these spots, too. The bunker work is expected to be finished this week.

“The new sand looks awesome,” Lasher said. “It is a 50% silica blend so it has a nice white color to it.” 

Summer is the best time of year in Arizona to close a golf course and do this type of overhaul work, according to Lasher. Due to the extremely hot and humid conditions, summer is the off-season for golf in the state. In addition, Lasher said summer is when “grass grows the fastest and the most quickly…You couldn’t really do this in the winter time because it’s so cold the grass just won’t grow.”

These improvements will make the course more attractive to golfers who play every month of the year.

“The year-round golfer will really appreciate the changes because they’ll have consistent conditions year-round instead of just great during the winter,” Lasher says. “…We haven’t been able to really promote Power Ranch to its fullest during the summer because of [its] conditions…That’s where I think we’ll garner a little bit [of] loyalty back and get some more people again once we can really boast about conditions and new greens and a new experience.”

The course has been closed since May 1 so that the $2.6 million project could take place. Nine holes will open on Sept.1, and the second 9 will open Sept. 15.

Power Ranch is owned by Thompson Golf Group, which owns or manages five golf courses, four in Arizona and one in Minnesota. Power Ranch was formerly known as Trilogy Golf Club at Power Ranch. In addition to Power Ranch, the other courses that are part of Thompson Golf Group are: Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz., Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club in Cave Creek, Ariz., Geneva Golf Club in Alexandria, Minn., and Sunland Springs Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.