An innovative public-private partnership to rebuild a South Florida interstate corridor that runs next to three golf courses, including Davie G&CC, has yielded social, economic and sustainable benefits for all stakeholders.
At first glance, a major highway reconstruction project and enhancements to adjacent golf course properties hardly seem like a natural pairing. However, the $1.2 billion reconstruction of Interstate 595 in South Florida’s Broward County benefited three adjacent golf course properties, including Davie (Fla.) Golf & Country Club.
Because of the highly urbanized surrounding area and the limited right-of-way along the 10.5-mile highway corridor, the design and construction team was challenged with finding a cost-effective solution for managing the corridor’s drainage that would minimize the effect on local residents and businesses, as well as the environment.
The result was a public-private partnership that created a shared-use drainage system that uses ponds and other drainage facilities on the neighboring, privately owned golf properties to treat and reduce stormwater runoff from I-595. The innovative public-private partnership saved the Florida Department of Transportation more than $60 million by minimizing the need to acquire right-of-way along the corridor. In addition, Davie G&CC received much-needed improvements to its facility.
“It was a long process to embark upon and finally get open,” says Danny Boswell, General Manager and Director of Golf for Greenway Golf Associates, which manages golf course maintenance operations for Davie G&CC. “Everyone’s been more than satisfied with the end results so far.”
Moving the Earth
Davie G&CC, which was called Arrowhead Golf Club at the time, closed in December 2008 as part of the I-595 expansion, which added three reversible, tolled express lanes in the median and additional auxiliary lanes near Fort Lauderdale. The original golf course, which was constructed in 1973, also had become run down.
“My goal and marching orders were to add 17 acres of ponds into the golf course,” says architect Harrison Minchew, who directed the $4.75 million redesign of the almost 40-year-old course for its reopening. “As a result, the whole golf course was rebuilt wall-to-wall, and we renovated a few of the holes.”
Minchew negotiated the effects and costs of the project with the owners of Lago Mar and Pine Island Ridge country clubs, which were also located near the highway. The town of Davie ultimately bought Arrowhead GC from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), which had purchased the property from the former owners before reconstructing the golf course and putting it up for sale. The property was renamed and reopened in November 2011.
Key players in the public-private partnership behind the revived (and renamed) Davie G&CC include (left to right): Dennis Andresky, Parks and Recreation Director, Town of Davie, Fla.; Danny Boswell, General Manager and Director of Golf, Greenway Golf Associates, and Golf Course Superintendent David Provost.
Golf Scorecard
Davie Golf & Country Club
Website: www.golfdavie.com
Golf Holes: 18
Designer: Bill Watts designed the original Arrowhead Golf Club. Harrison Minchew designed the renovated and renamed Davie Golf & Country Club.
Type: Public
Year Opened: Originally opened in 1973; redesigned course reopened in November 2011.
Annual Rounds: 48,000
Golf Season: Year-round
Fairways: Celebration
Bermudagrass
Greens: Tifeagle
Minchew determined that the courses would have to be rebuilt to accommodate the fill excavated from the additional retention ponds. The design and permitting process began at Davie G&CC in October 2009. The project also required that the newly constructed lake system had to be online by Nov. 30, 2009, because the company that owned and built the I-595 corridor had an agreement with FDOT that all retention ponds had to be online by that date to avoid millions of dollars in liquidated damages. The size and capacity of the lakes were extended, and the 137-acre property includes 40 acres of lakes and waterways.
“It was a challenge getting the lakes in there and keeping the golf course playable by adding that much water,” reports Minchew. “We had to make the golf course specs fit the highway specs.”
The main feature of the golf course is a five-acre filter marsh that initially accepts the stormwater runoff from I-595. The filter marsh, along with more than seven acres of aquatic plants, also adds beauty to the property and enhances the water quality.
Dennis Andresky, Parks and Recreation Director for the Town of Davie, says the connective filtration area, which is adjacent to the I-595 corridor, creates a natural flow to the lake and waterway areas on the north end of the golf course.
Beyond adding the ponds to the golf course and rerouting several holes, the reconstruction included the planting of more than 900 trees and thousands of aquatic and xeroscape plantings. Aquatic plants were put in the lakes to meet south Florida mandates, says Minchew.
The project also included new greens, bunkers, cart paths, new grass and a new irrigation system. The golf course now boasts a Scottish links-style layout with rolling terrain and undulating greens.
“We used a lot of grasses in the low-maintenance landscape areas around the clubhouse and roads,” Minchew notes.
Proven Maintenance Practices
The golf course reconstruction project also included the addition of mounded bunkers to separate the fairways from the residents. “Bunkers are a big maintenance item,” Minchew says. “We put in a typical amount of bunkers, but we made sure there was absolutely no water draining into them to keep them from washing.
While the golf course was being grown in, we didn’t rake the bunkers, and they didn’t wash during that time.
“If bunkers are built correctly, they are not the maintenance nightmare that make superintendents shake their heads after a big rainstorm,” he continues. “We graded them so no water would go in, and took the sand to the high point of the elevation around the bunkers.”
These new features have resulted in eco-friendly maintenance practices on the golf course as well. Golf Course Superintendent David Provost, who works for Greenway Golf, says the maintenance crew limits chemical applications by monitoring the golf course and spraying selectively. The staff has also revamped its irrigation system by adding new heads where necessary.
“We’re adding heads and taking heads away,” reports Provost. “The heads also spray in half-circles instead of full circles to keep water from going into the lake.”
South Florida Water Management has summer restrictions that dictate the amount of water the golf course can use per day and per month, Provost adds.
A key component of the town’s strategic plan is to foster good environmental practices, Andresky says. “The golf course is one part of that,” he notes. “Water is a limited, precious resource, and we have to do anything we can to preserve it for future generations.”
Ken Campbell, Chief Operating Officer of Greenway Golf, says maintenance practices at Davie G&CC are based on Golf Environmental Organization standards. “We focus on reducing chemical inputs and water usage,” he explains. “Courses often get caught up in aesthetics, but our program dates back 100 years. We look for more natural products. As a result, the turf has been healthier, and the playing surfaces have been better.”
In addition, notes Boswell, “The golf course preserves open space and provides a golfing experience for residents. It’s a nice addition as a recreational opportunity for the residents, and there has been a significant increase in its use. There was a lot of pent-up demand with it being closed for three years.”
Sharing the Rewards
The I-595 Shared Use Drainage Project has won a number of engineering awards—and the project’s social, economic and sustainable benefits have been just as rewarding for the community. Social benefits of the shared-use drainage facility include maximizing land use and avoiding the use of eminent domain to acquire right-of-way, which could have displaced or alienated residents or business owners.
The golf course improvements resulted in better recreational facilities, which, in turn, should increase business revenues and property value for owners, as well as increase the tax base for the local municipalities.
The aquatic vegetation that was planted along the shorelines of the expanded ponds has provided sustainable benefits by creating wetland habitat and enhancing water-quality treatment. In addition, the flow-through marsh on the Davie G&CC property, in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, mitigates effects on the wetlands.
Greenway Golf’s Campbell says the arrangement between the management company and the town of Davie has also been as beneficial as the public-private partnership to rebuild the I-595 corridor and the golf facility.
“Davie owns the assets and does the majority of the capital and long-term improvements. Greenway Golf supplies the daily equipment and maintenance and employees,” he reports. “We also give the town a percentage of the gross, to show the community there is guaranteed income and a percentage of the net income after expenses. Sharing in gross revenue and net income is a unique arrangement.”
To help maximize cost-efficiencies, Marc Logan, Greenway’s Vice President of Agronomy, oversees direction and implementation of maintenance practices and works closely with Provost, and Boswell says he visits the course at least twice a week at different hours and on different days, to interact regularly with Andresky and Provost.
Superintendent Profile:
David Provost
Education and Training: AS in Golf Course Operation from Lake City Community College; BS in Business from Champlain College
Years at Davie Golf &
Country Club: 1
Years in the Golf Course
Maintenance Business: 22
Previous Employment: Jacaranda Golf Club, Plantation, Fla.; Addison Reserve Country Club, Delray Beach, Fla.; Atlantis (Fla.) Golf Club
Certifications: GCSAA Class A Superintendent
Of course, keeping golfers satisfied as they use the new course is also a top priority. As part of that, Davie doesn’t mandate cart usage or try to squeeze in as many tee times as possible. The property, which features a water driving range with floating range balls that don’t sink and wash ashore after landing in the lake, also gives golfers recycled balls to take home if they lose any balls in the water.
Davie G&CC also holds free putting contests—and on Groundhog Day, golfers were invited to bring their dogs and received prizes if their dogs saw their shadows. “We’re really in the happiness business, not the golf business,” says Campbell. “What can we do to entertain people?”
Course & Grounds Profile:
Davie Golf & Country Club
Annual Budget: $556,683
Staff: Mechanic/Assistant Superintendent;
4 full-time and 2 part-time employees
Irrigation System: Toro LTC Plus, 1-25 HP Jockey Pump and 2-50 HP pumps, 1545 GPM, 705 heads (527 full-circle Toro DT 54s and 178 part-circle Toro DT 55). Full cycle is completed in
8 to 9 hours.
Water Source and Usage: Water comes from a chain of 10 connecting lakes throughout the property, and also feeds through the drainage system coming from I-595. System is monitored by South Florida Water Management District and during summer months the club is held to very strict water restrictions.
Equipment: Full fleet of Toro equipment.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Construction, renovation and/or reconstruction of properties, whether performed by maintenance staff or outside contractors.
- Planning all maintenance and project work, applying agronomic and administrative expertise to achieve agreed-upon maintenance standards and long-range goals.
- Acquiring equipment and purchasing necessary supplies to maintain the golf course and other properties. Responsible for inventory control.
- Approving all expenditures and exercising cost-control measures to keep operating and capital expenses in line with the approved budgets.
- Keeping accurate and complete records on payroll, inventory, weather data, maintenance procedures, pesticide applications, etc.
- Communicating regularly with other members of the top management group to discuss activities, goals, plans and member/customer input.
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