The Owners at
Brays Island Plantation in Sheldon, SC, are members of some of the finest golf
courses in the country. Naturally, they expect their course in this exclusive
hunting and golfing community to be of competitive quality. However, as the course
aged, the original irrigation system and greens from the 1980’s deteriorated, and
playing conditions became an issue for the golf course ownership.
IGM, Inc.
was contracted in 2008 to manage complete maintenance of the Plantation’s Ron
Garl-designed course and practice facility. In collaboration with Brays Island Plantation’s
general manager, IGM Regional Manager Tyler Minamyer and course superintendent
Jeff Miller began a thorough evaluation of the course’s condition and
needs. From the outset, IGM knew the
original TifDwarf Bermuda grass had deteriorated and mutations had occurred
throughout the greens. “This led to inferior playing conditions
compared to other courses in the area and fell well below the Owners’
expectations. Also, the irrigation system was original and had to be replaced
before addressing the turfgrass,” explained Minamyer.
From
2009-2011, IGM and Brays Island worked together to plan the renovation and
obtain funding approval for the irrigation replacement. During the slower
summer months of 2011, the replacement process began one hole at a time to
reduce disruptions to the golfers. Goals of the irrigation project were to
maintain the integrity and value of Brays Island’s asset, as well as to install
an efficient system with the longest useful life possible.
With the
successful completion of the irrigation project, the grass upgrade began. Minamyer explained that the existing TifDwarf
Bermuda grass “affected how we over-seeded
the greens. New seed would not establish well in mutated areas, and those areas
transitioned poorly back to Bermuda grass in the spring.” After evaluating
all grasses on the market, IGM and Brays Island chose TifEagle Bermuda grass as
best suiting the needs of the Plantation. “The
owners wanted faster, more consistent greens that were comparable to
competition. And TifEagle grass won’t require over-seeding, which means less
disruption to play and better performance during spring and fall when the Plantation
is busiest,” said Minamyer.
To accomplish
the grassing renovation, the course closed on June 1, 2015 and is expected to
reopen on September 5, 2015. As part of the process, two greens were redesigned
to reduce severity of the slope and better accommodate a new type of grass. Overall
goals of the grassing project are to continue maintaining the integrity and
value of Brays Island’s asset, eliminate the risk of catastrophic failure due
to over-seeding and transition, improve playability of the greens during peak
and shoulder periods, allow for more consistency in playing conditions
throughout the entire year, remain competitive with area golf courses, and
improve owners’ enjoyment of the golf amenity.
Kevin
Rhatigan, General Manager of Brays Island Plantation, detailed the intense
up-front education required for the renovation, from educating the golf
committee and explaining the relationship between benefits and costs to
educating the Board, then presenting recommendations for a vote of the Owners
(425 property owners). “There was a lot
of scrutiny. Our relationship with IGM is a great partnership,” said
Rhatigan. “It’s not just having a comfort
level with a really good superintendent in Jeff Miller for day-to-day operations
but more like having on-site consultants to manage a major project like this. Tyler
Minamyer and Steve Gano (Vice President of Operations, IGM) visit regularly, so we have the benefit of
their years of experience. They’ve done a great job for us.”
Minamyer
noted, “We have methodically worked to
maintain and improve quality of the owners’ asset and meet their goals. Everything
has to be replaced at some point, but we’ll do everything we can to extend the
useful life of the course and recommend investments in the course that will
have the greatest potential for return. .”
