The 18th green at Palmetto . rise right along with those greens . Fescue grass accents and major drainage projects were conducted , too .
Shaftesbury , meanwhile , hitched a post with a horse of a different color .
More than 500,000 square feet of sand were added to further develop what was already a waste-bunker-heavy track that is located 20-25 minutes inland in northern Conway .
From December to April to August to October , the conditions are the same , not to mention about as true as a non-professional can expect .
“ Palmetto , they ’ d notice . They made a lot of changes , moving a bunker 15 feet to the right . They ’ d say ‘ Theses greens are bigger ,’” said Chris King , who works with several of the industry ’ s local golf leaders through his company , Kingfish Communications . “ They added a third [ back ] to the greens . The waste bunker work at Shaftesbury , they ’ d definitely notice it . PineHills , they reclaimed probably 20-percent more greens there , too .”
At Myrtlewood , specifically , the two centrally located tracks went from having aged
greens to brand new ones in what felt like a heartbeat . In addition to the restoration to their original sizes , the courses were two of several in the area that made the shift to a Sunday Bermudagrass strand that was able to withstand everything coastal weather could throw at them .
From December to April to August to October , the conditions are the same , not to mention about as true as a non-professional can expect . It also means less daily work necessary to keep them up , which means players are seeing the rest of the courses
“[ Before ] there was sort of a repetitive feel to it : Fairways , raised greens , finger bunkers , boom , you move on ,” King said . “ They added all that sand which brought some visual contrast . Visually , it ’ s a little more interesting to look at it now . When people hear that they added that much sand , your first instinct is to recoil . But they ’ re flat . It ’ s not like you ’ re playing out of a 6-foot fairway bunker .”
Those proactive approaches at Shaftesbury and Myrtlewood can ’ t be ignored .
COURTESY OF THE COURSES
Shaftesbury Glen .
M AY / J UNE 2021 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 33