Whether we chose to live in Sun City Roseville because of the Billy Casper designed golf courses or for a host of other equally compelling reasons, we all share in the ever-appreciating value of this $14 million dollar asset. Golfers and non-golfers alike need to be assured that the Golf Course Superintendent and the Golf Professional, and the various involved Sun City Community Association Committees, are maintaining this asset effectively, and are ensuring that its value will continue to appreciate. Golfers also need to understand how on-going maintenance, short-term improvements, and long-term changes to the golf courses will produce a better golfing experience each year.

A review of some of the improvements already made may help us better appreciate how far we have come. It seems like just yesterday that we were playing the 12^th hole as a par three while the fairways were all torn up as Del Webb re-did the irrigation system and all the bunkers, but the year was 1998. Only a few people even remember that the current monthly Golf Talk sessions were initiated that year to keep an angry group of residents informed about restrictions that had been imposed on residents making tee times and the slow progress of the drainage and bunker repair project.  At least two holes were shut down every month that summer. We survived that difficult time and all the other problems associated with our golf courses since then. We have a marvelous golfing opportunity for our residents, and outside golfers who consistently rate our golf courses as one of the best values in the Sacramento area. We have come a long way since the first nine holes opened, and are confident that plans for the future will build upon past improvements to have an even better golf course in the future.

Over half of the residents in Sun City Roseville moved here between January 1998 and January 2000. Their frame of reference is only 3 years long at the most. Most of these residents probably weren't told about the unique characteristics of our golf courses, and they certainly couldn't appreciate the myriad of environmental hurdles that had to be overcome, just to create this community. The Greens Committee has put together this Information Bulletin to provide background information and a progress report on our golf course over the last four years. 

BACKGROUND

When the Lakes and Oaks courses were built, it was difficult to believe that there would ever be anything growing on the long dirt strips that represented fairways. The first Sun City Roseville residents who saw landscaping contractors jack-hammer their front yards just to plant a few shrubs wondered if dynamite would penetrate the centuries-old layers of clay that was so common to the area. However, in the short space of two years both nines were completed, and those brave souls who paid extra for "golf course" lots actually had the golf course "view" the sales people promoted so vigorously.

Overcoming the intolerable soil conditions was just one of the hurdles that had to be cleared before Sun City Roseville could even have a golf course. Perhaps the greatest challenge was building a golf course that would also double as flood relief for the entire development. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dictated a unique design for our golf courses that would drain in flood conditions so rapidly that the 100 year flood would only reach the first step of our front walks.

Because of the flood control design of our course, water moves from the sides of the fairways to the center drain lines. Water then flows down the middle drain system, generally toward the tees, to empty into one of the creeks that run through Sun City. One only has to venture out during a winter storm to appreciate how quickly heavy rainfall dissipates. Of course, that flood protection does not come without exacting a certain amount of compromise. As a result, we must tolerate a good deal more water on our fairways during the hot summer months because the irrigation runoff continues to move down the fairways rather than into the soil. 

Add to that, river basin clay that behaves like dark cement, and perennial ryegrass, which requires 20% more water than Bermuda, and it isn't difficult to understand how challenging it is to keep our courses in peak condition, especially during the 100 degree days of the summer. Water runs off high spots and sits in low ones, requiring extensive drainage. This past year almost one mile of French drain was added to address the most severe drainage problems. Over the next three years it is estimated that another five miles of drainage will be needed.   

Golf architects who build "development courses" generally are driven by marketing pressures. This means that adding amendment to the soil to promote better turf growth and water penetration is often not done. Our course is a perfect example of this. The Oaks nine was built during constant rainstorms. Even if amendment had been added, it would have washed away. As a result, improving our soil conditions has been an on-going process and will continue for years to come. Remember, our golf course was designed to sell homes, not to host the U. S. Open.

Flood control and bad soil were not the only difficulties Del Webb faced in building our golf course. Environmental restrictions were also a major factor. A good example of this is the first hole on the Lakes course. Originally, this hole was designed to cross the creek into what is now the Central Preserve. The hole then bent around to the left and crossed back over the creek to the green, which was to be in the area of the turf nursery. Vernal pools were identified in the Central Preserve and the hole was dramatically changed.

Golfers often ask why our course has such tough environmental restrictions while nearby courses like Woodcreek Oaks are free of such restrictions. The answer is simple: Del Webb had no choice but to comply with just about every mitigation requirement placed upon them by the California Fish & Game Department and the City of Roseville. It was either play by their rules or pack up and go back to Phoenix.

Although the miles of split rail fencing may seem to be overly restrictive to our golfers, it has had a very positive effect on protecting plant and wildlife. As a result, we have daily exposure to over a hundred different species of birds, and the natural beauty of our creeks and streams makes a round of golf in Sun City Roseville a wonderful experience. Perhaps we should take more time to "Stop and smell the roses."

By the end of 1999, Sun City Roseville was close to build out and Del Webb was turning its focus to Lincoln Hills. While many of the major problems had been addressed, a whole host of new problems surfaced. Leonard Theis, our Golf Course Superintendent was faced with the challenge of addressing on-going drainage and irrigation problems while crafting an effective long-range program to improve our golf course for the future.

On August 2, 1999, the USGA Turf Advisory Service did its first evaluation of our golf courses. Their report provided a basic blueprint for improving maintenance and development. It said the most important areas to concentrate on were the irrigation and drainage systems. For the past two years this is where greatest improvement has been made. In fact, on September 14, 2000, the USGA Turf Advisory Service returned to evaluate the progress that had been made during the year and their report was very complimentary. To quote the report, "Since the time of our last visit, many projects have been completed including: removal of creeping bentgrass from fairway approach areas, expansion of the fairway landing area on hole No. 5, removal of clover and replacement with perennial ryegrass in various out-of-play rough areas, mulching under groves of oak trees, and numerous other projects. In short, the maintenance staff at Sun City Roseville has been very busy making both short and long-term improvements to the facility."

Also included in their report was a recommendation to increase aerification of the fairways. This presented a challenge because increased aerification also meant our course would be closed down and we would have more of those awful plugs were just about impossible to deal with. The solution was a state-of-the-art aerator called the VertiDrain. This heavy-duty machine eliminated the messy plugs and was able break up the soil in the hole under the fairway surface, while allowing the course to remain open. During the first cycle, there were sections of our course that were so impenetrable that the VertiDrain was only able to go down a couple of inches. The VertiDrain is now on its third complete circuit of our golf courses and is achieving a consistent six-inch spiking. As a result, the absorption of run-off water has been greatly improved. 

While the actions described above have resulted in a noticeable improvement in the overall course drainage, there still is considerable water "pooling" on our fairways that appears to be ineffective irrigation.

In 1999, The Greens Committee learned that the RainBird Corporation, a golf course irrigation company, had found a defect in the sprinkler heads that were installed at Poppy Ridge golf course. These defective sprinkler heads produced an uneven distribution during high volume watering. Since the same sprinkler heads were installed on our golf courses, we asked RainBird to evaluate our system. As a result, 1,400 of our sprinkler heads were replaced free of charge. Unfortunately, the control system was programmed incorrectly, and it has taken two years to de-bug the system. It will take an upgrade using the GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite system to accurately program each bank of sprinklers on our 27 holes. This upgrade is being budgeted for the coming year.

Now let's take a look at the improvements that have taken place on our golf courses over the past four years.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

• Del Webb replaced 98 of the 122 sand bunkers on the Lakes and Oaks courses in 1998-1999. This included removing the old sand, and adding drainage. There was a dramatic improvement and our sand bunkers continue to be among the best in the area.

  Over four hundred course markers have been installed. All water hazards, lateral water hazards, and out-of-bounds areas have been marked according to NCGA guidelines. Permanent plastic stakes replaced all original wooden markers.

  Every one of the 500 sprinkler heads that had yardage indicators on them were identified and laser measured to ensure accuracy. In addition, rocks indicating 150 yards to the center of the green were marked to make them obstructions, allowing relief to be taken under the rules of golf. They were also laser measured for distance.

• Split rail fences were installed to define the environmentally sensitive areas.

  Curbing was added around the tee areas after the golf course was built. Turf was then raised to curb level to mitigate a safety hazard of people tripping over the curb.

  Environmental restrictions were eased on some areas of the golf course to allow application of bark under most of the oak trees, which has improved weed control. About 40% of the bark around these trees has been replaced.

• Early on, the driving range became unusable in the winter. A concrete area was poured and mats added to allow winter use. The grass tee area did not stand up well under heavy use during the summer months.  Rye grass was replaced with baby Bermuda, which has proved to be substantially more durable.

• Over 500 trees and shrubs have been planted to enhance the beauty of our golf courses. These are some of the generic improvements to our courses. What follows is a review of each hole on the Oaks and Lakes courses.

  HOLE #1---LAKES

  • Because the configuration of this hole was changed dramatically, errant shots hit out-of-bounds along the left side of this fairway increased substantially. Alleviation of this problem took considerable time and creativity. Changes were made in tee alignment, trees added on the left and trimmed on the right, the fairway was reshaped, and an aiming post was placed in the fairway. OB stakes placed away from the kneewall to penalize golfers who aimed too far left created an undesirable marking of "out-of-bounds" within the course boundaries. The USGA could not condone this condition. In time, the changes reduced the incident of out-of-bounds shots and the OB stakes were removed. Other improvements include

  • Landscape improvements around the tee area, including trees and flowers.

  • Steps built to access the back tee and the blue tees.

  • Cleaning star thistle and other undesirable growth out of the creek in front of the tee.

  • Major intrusion of bent grass in front of green replaced with perennial rye.

  • Drainage added in front of green to reduce run-off, including that from homes along the fairway.

    HOLE # 2--LAKES

    Nursery green added to the right in back of the first green.

  • Creek cleaned out to eliminate "volunteer" plant growth from blocking shots.

  • Major intrusion of bent grass in front of green replaced with rye.

  • Right side of cart path between tee and creek was cleared of weeds and planted with grass.

  • Troublesome planting area to right side of cart path close to green was replaced with grass.

    HOLE #3--LAKES

  • Decomposed Granite (DG) added to the right side of path between #2 and #3 to allow cart traffic to pass.

  • Aerators added to ponds.

  • A two hundred-yard area along the right knee wall was converted from low shrubs and dead ground cover to grass.

  • Large trees added on right side.

  • Turf was added along maintenance cart path to produce a finished look.

    HOLE # 4--LAKES

  • Clover was eradicated and replaced with grass. Considerable landscaping improvements on right side of tee areas were completed.

  • Large portion of the right side of the tee was replanted.

    HOLE # 5--LAKES

  • This hole, like hole #1, also had the problem of too many errant shots going out-of-bounds. The right side was especially vulnerable. Here too, a temporary solution was the placement of OB stakes away from the knee wall to try and force golfers to hit away from that side. Trees were moved to widen the landing areas and others added to block errant shots. An aiming post was placed on the fairway to show where golfers should target their tee shots. In time, these actions alleviated the problem and the "in course" OB stakes were removed.

  • New landscaping was added to the open area by left side of the green.

    HOLE # 6--LAKES

  • A concrete golf cart turn around was installed at the tee to accommodate carts returning to the tee area from the rest rooms.

  • Drop area provided.

  • Railroad ties and rocks were placed by the lake to keep carts from rolling into the lake.

    HOLE # 7--LAKES

  • Waste bunkers improved with moss rocks and pampas grass.

  • Many trees added for esthetic reasons.

  • The backside of the green was an eyesore. Clover and weeds were eradicated and replaced with grass.

  • Turf pathway through rear bunker was added for walkers.

    HOLE # 8--LAKES

  • Lake became a problem when reclaimed water use began. At times there was a noticeable odor and foam. Water lines have had to be redesigned and potable water used to correct the problem.

  • Major intrusion of bent grass in front of green was replaced with rye.

  • Clover area behind green eradicated and replaced with grass.

    HOLE # 9--LAKES

  • The green side and fairway sand bunkers were subject to serious erosion during heavy rainstorms. Whenever the lake rose because of rain, sand washed into the lake and the sand in the bunkers was contaminated. Sod barriers were created to separate the bunkers from the lake.

  • A drainage control was added to the lake to allow excess water to be drained off.

  • Plans have been completed for a walkway across the creek near the lower lake to speed play and improve safety.

    HOLE # 10--OAKS

  • This fairway was a mess and had to be almost entirely rebuilt. Sod was removed, drainage redone and expanded. Much of the fairway was out of play while the work was taking place.

    HOLE # 11--OAKS

  • The blue tee area had a serious drainage problem that had to be fixed.

  • Creek cleaned out.

  • Sod removed from fairway to allow drains to be added.

    HOLE # 12--OAKS

  • Tee area moved up by the 150-yard rocks for many weeks while that fairway was rebuilt.

  • Drainage to left of green is still being improved.

  • Drainage behind green has been redone.

  • Landscaping added around tee area.

    HOLE # 13--OAKS

  • The teeing area was re-seeded and re-sodded every year for three straight years. Finally the entire tee was torn out and rebuilt, this time using proper drainage. The teeing area was also enlarged.

  • The fairway sustained a great deal of damage when the fencing was installed and eventually the entire fairway was re-seeded and re-built.

  • Major intrusion of bent grass removed from front of green.

    HOLE # 14--OAKS

  • The teeing area was too small to support heavy summer play. As a result, the tee needed to be re-seeded every year. The baby Bermuda grass used on the driving range was planted, and has proved to be much more durable.

  • Back tee has been expanded which will allow more room for the gold and blue tees.

  • A sump pump was installed to drain water from the grass bunkers in front of green.

  • Drainage was installed in front of the green to relieve run-off water. This area was always wet. A short shot usually "plugged" and the ball was often lost.

  • Fairway was resodded with perennial rye.

  • A decomposed granite pathway was added from the cartpath to the green area.

    HOLE # 15--OAKS

  • Landscaping added by path on approach to the tee.

  • Fairway widened at the 150 -yard point to afford a more reasonable target from tees.
  • Bunker on right redesigned to allow exit from the back of the green.

    HOLE # 16--OAKS

  • All sand bunkers were a disaster. The three behind the green flooded with every rain because they were lower than the nearby creek. They were completely filled in and landscaped. The front and side bunkers were almost unplayable and required extensive rebuilding.

  • Extensive tee repair work required.

  • Steps built to access the green.

  • Fairway was resodded with rye.

    HOLE # 17--OAKS

  • Steps built to access the back tees.

  • Major intrusion of bent grass in front of green was replaced with rye.

    HOLE # 18--OAKS

  • Many balls were lost under dead tree on right side of fairway, slowing play. This area was cleaned out and barked which significantly reduced the problem.

  • Large Redwood trees placed on right side of cart path by green to protect players exiting the play area.

  • Drainage added left of green so area can be maintained as rough, speeding play.