New Bent Grass Greens for 2011 at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club and The Okanagan Golf Club
7th February, 2011
Gallagher’s Canyon and The Quail Course at The Okanagan Golf Club will be reopening for the 2011 golf season in mid-April with brand new 007 Bent Grass greens. Committing to re-sod the courses at one time enables the implementation of consistent maintenance procedures for all the greens on the entire course. The greens will "grow in", age, and encounter similar conditions all together that should in turn guarantee consistency in playability. The grass has been growing since June 2010, and re-sodding will begin in the first part of March (weather permitting). The new greens are expected to be in playable condition by April 15th, reaching optimum conditions shortly thereafter.
“We are very excited about the product we will be able to offer. The best feature of a new golf course is perfect greens. Our Canyon Course will provide that experience combined with established maturity everywhere else… the best of both worlds!” says Peter Hopley, General Manager at Gallagher’s Canyon. ”The Les Furber designed Quail Course, with its spectacular views and challenging design, has long been considered one of the top courses to play in the Okanagan valley, and I am confident that the install of new 007 bent grass greens will only reemphasize this fact,” added Dan Matheson, General Manager at The Okanagan Golf Club.Over the course of time, the original bent grass greens at Gallagher’s Canyon and The Quail have almost completely been taken over by poa annua. Poa annua is essentially a weed grass that encroaches on all greens that begin as bent grass. The challenging quality of Poa annua is its non-tolerance of cold temperatures and ice covered conditions. This weed grass can produce good putting surfaces in certain parts of the world, specifically coastal regions, but is not ideal for courses located at higher elevations. In addition, winter conditions in recent years have not been consistent, resulting in temperature fluctuations that produced extended periods of time with ice on the putting surfaces.
Known for being both "cold" and "heat" tolerant, 007 Bent is a dense leafed grass that is highly competitive against poa annua. As stated by the Seed Research of Oregon, "superior turf quality make this variety the perfect choice for all levels of golf course projects - especially those located in stressful environments." Bos Sod Farms from Abbotsford has been contracted to grow these new greens. As experts in the field they specialize in growing grass for golf courses and are regarded to be the sod farm “of choice” in Western Canada.
GolfBC, a Vancouver-based golf and resort management and investment company, is defining a higher standard of quality and consistency among premier golf destinations. Since 1989 GolfBC has been creating premium golf destinations and master planned golf communities in British Columbia. GolfBC is the owner/operator of eight championship golf courses in British Columbia, including Nicklaus North (Whistler), Furry Creek (near Lions Bay), Gallagher’s Canyon (Kelowna), Olympic View (Victoria), The Quail and The Bear (The Okanagan Golf Club in Kelowna), Mayfair Lakes (Richmond), and Arbutus Ridge (Cobble Hill) and one 9-hole facility, The Pinnacle (at Gallagher’s Canyon) and the Gold, Emerald and Blue courses at Wailea Golf Club on Maui, Hawaii. Additional information about GolfBC can be found at its web site: www.golfbc.com.
For more information on Gallagher’s Canyon and The Okanagan Golf Club, call 1.800.i.GolfBC, visit www.golfbc.com or contact:
