The River Golf Club in North Augusta changes greens

After a summer’s worth of temporary greens, The River Golf Club opens today with a new look.

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The North Augusta course switched from bentgrass to MiniVerde greens, which feature ultra dwarf bermuda grass. Director of golf Chris Verdery said the new greens will be consistent and fast.

“Our goal is always to offer excellent golf course conditions,” he said. “We realized having bentgrass in Augusta is difficult. As the greens got older, they got more susceptible to the Augusta summers.”

Verdery said he wanted to be proactive and avoid a “nightmare” situation of having his greens dying out. River Golf Club, which opened April 1998, was closing in on its 15-year anniversary – Verdery said his greens would’ve needed to be regrassed by then anyway.

Club officials started the process of switching grasses July 5, adding temporary greens to the course. They used a till method where they removed the surface of the bentgrass greens, instead of adding the new grass on top of the old. They also slightly reshaped the greens as part of a course renovation that included repaving the cart paths, overhauling some bunkers and sodding certain areas throughout.

Officials performed vigorous research for its new grass. They visited places like East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken and Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga., courses with MiniVerde greens. From the feedback they received, they knew they had one choice.

Verdery credits superintendent Patrick Murphy, who wanted him to study the ultra dwarf bermuda grass.

“He was the one who said we could still have great greens,” Verdery said, “without having bentgrass.”

Verdery said he’s pleased with the switch to MiniVerde, which will continue to improve throughout September. He added it may take until next summer for the greens to reach 100 percent.

“We feel like the positives,” he said, “far outweigh the concerns.”

In previous years, Verdery had to restrict summer play – fewer tournaments, fewer outings – to limit foot traffic on the bentgress. Now, the course will be able to hold more golfers, and it will be in better condition during the peak times. Verdery said The River Club can now aerify in the summer instead of during the prime playing times of the year in the spring and fall.