USGA Green Section Turf Advisory Service Visit - Beach Grove Golf ...

Beach Grove Golf Club -11-
May 4, 2005
course superintendent could ever face! The combination of the lack of control, poor spacing, small
pipe size, and system age make Beach Grove the only older Lower Mainland golf course that has
not upgraded their irrigation system in the last 5-10 years. It was suggested to have a qualified
irrigation designer provide an analysis of the irrigation system to start the process of upgrading one
of the foundations of success for your turf maintenance programs.
MAINTENANCE FACILITY
Observations and recommendations. With the construction of the new maintenance facility at
Quilchena G&CC, Beach Grove has now taken over the title of “Worst Maintenance Facility” of all
the older private clubs in the Greater Vancouver area. During the past decade Shaughnessy,
Capilano, Seymour, Marine Drive, Point Grey, Vancouver, Richmond and Quilchena have all
completely modernized or greatly upgraded their maintenance facilities to improve working
conditions for their maintenance staff and protect the massive investments made in turf equipment.
As with the irrigation system, this represents a considerable amount of funding, however it must be
addressed as soon as possible as a very high priority. Mr. Rothfeder said it best when he mentioned
that the entire facility could be shut down tomorrow with various code violations. For this reason it
was good to learn that preliminary work is being done in this area.
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS
Should the practice facility be moved back to
address safety concerns The practice facility at
Beach Grove is very similar to many older private
golf clubs in the Pacific Northwest as practicing on
your game was seldom done in the early portion of
the 20 th century through the mid-1900’s.. Since the
game has grown and practice is a major part of
improving your swing, the lack of acreage provided
for practice has resulted in the need for high nets
and posts to protect players on adjoining holes.
Excluding the complete elimination of woods, the only other reasonable method to reduce the
safety issue at Beach Grove is the use of lower compression golf balls. At this time the amount of
golf courses using these golf balls are too numerous to mention, however they do include Overlake
CC, Everett CC, Rainier CC, Fircrest GC, Royal Colwood GC, Point Grey CC, Coeur d”Alene
Resort and Mauna Kea. Enclosed with this report is a reprint describing the exact issue facing
Beach Grove as these balls offer a simple solution to your safety situation. If this proves
ineffective, then the use of a qualified golf course architect to expand the tee to the rear along with
nets and posts may be the final answer for safety concerns.
Gravel or asphalt – which is best for Beach Grove While it is true that gravel has less bounce
than asphalt, the many positives of a permanent surface far outweigh this one negative. If you are
concerned about the negative impact of asphalt in areas of play, consider the enclosed reprint.