Poco Creek green renovation project now underway

The Poco Creek Golf Course board announced plans to completely renovate its greens beginning this week, a drastic step deemed necessary to improve the nine-hole course’s playability after “a brutal winter” essentially killed all nine greens.
Though the greens were reseeded in the spring, and again during the summer months, growth problems persisted, prompting the board to seek expertise to help formulate a strategy going forward.
“The course was in desperate need of help with our greens,” noted Taylor Willis, board president. “We are grateful one of our members stepped up to manage the project and we look forward to the outcome.”
Matt Shaw, a local native and long-time member of the course, worked for Landscapes Unlimited in Lincoln during his college years, gaining experience and a connection with the world-renowned company. Shaw spent some time researching the issue and eventually invited Landscapes Unlimited to inspect the Poco Creek greens and offer an assessment, saying he was encouraged by what they found.
“They came out last week and walked through the course, then probed all the greens,” Shaw reported. “What they found is that there is eight inches of good, sandy material, which is what you want for your planting bed on that style of green. They were pretty encouraging, basically saying that we have a good base here, but our top layer is not good anymore. It needs to be renovated, basically.”
The greens on the local course were converted from sand to grass back in the 1950s, though Shaw could not confirm the exact date. More than 70 years later, he said it is time for a process most golf courses undergo, sooner or later.
“At some point the greens have to be renovated and that’s kind of where we’re at,” he said, noting that Lochland Country Club in Hastings recently closed its course to renovate all the greens, fairways and tee boxes. “It’s no different than your house. At some point you’ve got to repaint and pull the carpet out, and then of course last winter didn’t help. It was a tough winter, just brutal on the greens, so that’s kind of what we’re dealing with.”
Fearing that an expensive renovation project may be necessary, Shaw said he was encouraged by the final estimate of $50,000.
“I’m excited about it,” he said. “I spent a lot of time researching it and feel that $50,000, which includes some necessary equipment purchases, is very doable.”
Much of the work will be handled by Poco Creek’s first-year greenskeeper Dan Kaminski and a Nelson Land Development crew, with help and support from volunteers as needed.

Transition has begun
The first step of the process involves killing the greens with an application of RoundUp, which was applied this week. Temporary greens will be used to allow play to continue on the course this fall and winter, though the greens will be off limits until next spring. 
Shaw explained that based on Landscapes Unlimited’s recommendation, a sod cutter will be used to clear turf around the greens, creating a nice, clean edge to tie into. 
“We’ll let the greens die off, then come in there and just kind of grind up that top six inches,” Shaw explained of a process far less expensive and labor intensive than completely rebuilding the greens. “Initially, I thought we were going to just take the top two inches off and get rid of it, but they said that we don’t need to do that, instead just to grind it in there. That organic matter that’s laying there dead on the surface can be recycled back into the sand layer. Basically, you want those organics in there to capture nutrients and all that kind of stuff.”
Grinding the top several inches, a process scheduled for next week, will turn everything into topsoil, essentially leaving the greens looking like a bed of sand. The next step is to reseed all the greens, which Shaw said should be completed by Sept. 15.
“Ideally, you want to have seed on the ground by the middle of September so you get that growth in September and October,” he said. “Then in April and May you get more growth and hopefully by June of next year we’ll be able to use them.”
Based on Landscapes Unlimited’s recommendation, the plan is to aerate the greens twice a year and apply a light layer of sand regularly throughout the playing season.
“My opinion is that if the greens are in good condition, the rest of the course if very playable. We normally play winter rules in our fairways so you can always find good grass to move the ball to for approach shots.”
“We are confident this will get our greens to the condition that will make our members and guests happy,” members were told in a letter from the board. “The board will continually be doing our best to get Poco Creek into a course Aurora and our members can be proud of.”