Going Back To Native

We are starting the process this spring of converting approximately 30 acres of what had previously been mowed rough area, back to natural unmowed areas. 

The total golf course property encompasses about 220 acres.  That area includes about 3 acres of greens, 2 acres of tees, 25 acres of fairways, and about 110 acres of mowed rough!  That is certainly a little lopsided.  While obviously some amount of rough is necessary, 110 acres is not.  I would wager that there are areas of this golf course property that were being mowed regularly, once to twice per week, that might see less than 5 golf balls a year.

For me, from a financial standpoint, every acre of rough that we don't mow is money back in our budget to put toward other course improvements.  Based on some rough numbers (pun intended)  I put together from the cost of fuel and labor, we could save about $50 annually per acre of rough we quit mowing.  By taking out 30 acres of rough, we just put $1,500 back in our budget this year alone. 

My goal is to eliminate some areas of rough on the course that rarely, if ever, will see a golf ball come their way.  These areas are mostly around and behind tee boxes and the beginnings of fairways, and some other areas that are far off the beaten path of the golf hole along the edge of the coulee.  Think left of 17 green, between 9 and 18 green, behind and right of 6 tees, etc.  Furthermore, these areas are un-irrigated and will always end up turning brown and crispy at some point in the summer anyway.  By allowing the grasses to grow taller, the grass will go back to a more native appearance (similar to the area between 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) which will let the grass seed its self out, and hopefully some seeds from the surrounding tallgrass prairie areas will blow in and start to establish as well.  Basically, as opposed to these areas being dry, dead brown areas come August, they will start to resemble the appearance of a native prairie, giving the course a more natural feel.

We have started outlining some of these areas already and begun to quit mowing them.  I understand that this is likely going to be an ever evolving process:  some areas we have outlined may turn out to have a few too many golf shots go their way and we'll mow them back a little, and we may also find that there are some more areas we can quit mowing that rarely ever see a golf ball.  I would ask that everyone be mindful of these areas and realize, that if you hit a REALLY bad shot (sorry to be brutally honest) that you may lose your ball in an area that used to be mowed.

As with any changes to the golf course, any questions or concerns that you as members have is certainly welcome and appreciated.  Please share any thoughts, insights, or concerns about these areas as you continue to play the golf course in the coming weeks. 

One of many rough areas that we quit mowing