Burlington Renovation Master Plan: Complete
After
Before By Ryan Marangoni, Assistant Course Superintendent, Burlington G & CC. Photos provided by Burlington G&CC.
H
ave you ever had an idea? I would imagine, the answer is YES! As greenskeepers, we have had lots of ideas. Most are centered around improvement; identifying or realizing a deficiency and brainstorming avenues which will transform the deficiencies into efficiencies. Some come to fruition while others do not. Some are quick fixes and some commonly get forgotten about, ignored or given up on if they take longer to complete. It takes patience, perseverance and determination to think of an idea, create a plan and see it to completion. The team at Burlington Golf and Country Club (BGCC) knows all about seeing an idea come to fruition. In the early 2000’s, there was an idea (well, many ideas), to improve upon an old, tiny Stanley Thompson designed golf course that gets played ALOT by its membership. The idea was presented to the board and
16
they agreed to take on the challenge, led by golf course architect Doug Carrick. Understanding the Club is rich in history and some clubs have difficulty accepting change, Carrick knew he had to retain the spirit of Stanley Thompson, in his plan. Carrick created a master plan for BGCC in 2006 in hopes to diversify the teeing grounds, redesign bunkers, improve cart part infill structure, upgrade the irrigation system, incorporate a tree management program and increase the size of some greens to help distribute the wear and tear of a very busy golf course. Being a vintage 1922 Thompson course, it had his stereotypical teeing areas which often included only one or two tee decks per hole, that were narrow and very long. These tee decks had to facilitate a number of tee blocks which ultimately played too long for some and too short for others. As golf equipment evolves from hickory shafts and feather- filled golf balls to graphite shafts and coated synthetic balls, so must the course, to adapt to the added length a golfer can hit the ball now, compared to way back then.
