Greens & Course Update - September 29, 2026

I want to personally address the current condition of our greens, explain exactly what we are doing, and hopefully provide some perspective on what you are seeing when you play the course today.

We know our greens are slower than what many of you are accustomed to. We know the goosegrass is unsightly. We know there are thin areas that are still recovering. And we know that raising our height of cut has changed both the appearance and speed of the greens.

We have also heard comments that these are “the worst the greens have ever looked.”

I understand why someone looking only at the surface might feel that way. However, I think that statement needs to be put into complete context.

Springbrook's greens had not received this level of aggressive deep aerification in nearly four years. We were dealing with a significant organic/thatch layer, and our bentgrass root system was only approximately 2½ inches deep.

That was a serious concern for the long-term health and sustainability of our greens.

Rather than continue treating the symptoms, we made the decision to address the underlying problem.

During aerification, we punched approximately ½-inch-diameter holes every 1½ inches, extending approximately six inches deep into the soil profile.

That was intentionally aggressive.

The goal was to open the soil profile, relieve compaction, address the accumulated organic layer, improve the movement of water and oxygen, and create an environment where our bentgrass can develop a stronger, deeper and healthier root system.

We also invested thousands of dollars in AU Victory creeping bentgrass seed to begin establishing new turf throughout the greens.

We have intentionally raised our height of cut.

That decision was not made because we don't understand that golfers prefer faster greens. We absolutely do.

It was made because newly establishing bentgrass needs leaf tissue to photosynthesize, develop roots and establish itself. Cutting it aggressively simply to increase green speed right now would place additional stress on the very plants we are trying to establish.

Could we lower the height of cut and make the greens faster today?

Would that be the best decision for the long-term health of the new bentgrass?

We are not going to sacrifice the future health of our greens simply to produce additional speed today.

As the new turf establishes and conditions allow, our height of cut can gradually be lowered and green speeds will improve.

We also want everyone to pay particular attention to the thinner areas on some of our greens.

What may still look thin or partially bare from a distance can contain young bentgrass plants that are beginning to germinate, establish and spread.

These young plants are vulnerable.

For that reason, we respectfully ask everyone to avoid walking across visibly thin or recovering areas whenever possible.

Please do not pull goosegrass or other weeds from the greens. Please do not dig, scrape, press down seed, fill areas, or attempt to repair these locations yourself.

We genuinely appreciate the desire to help, but even well-intentioned activity can disturb newly establishing turf, remove young plants or seed, damage the aerification areas and delay recovery.

The goosegrass we are currently seeing emerged from an existing seed bank that had accumulated over time.

It is frustrating. It is unattractive. And we understand why members don't like seeing it on our greens.

We don't like it either.

However, our decisions regarding treatment must take into consideration the health of the bentgrass we are trying to establish. We will not make an aggressive treatment decision simply for appearance if our turf professionals believe doing so could cause unacceptable injury to the bentgrass.

We have a plan for the goosegrass as well as a much broader prevention program moving forward.

The work being done at Springbrook extends far beyond the putting surfaces.

Our greens, surrounds, tee boxes, fairways and rough are all part of an extensive agronomic program.

We have chemical applications, fertility programs, preventative treatments and other turf work planned and scheduled throughout the course.

Virtually no area of Springbrook has been left untouched.

Cost has not been the deciding factor in these improvements. When our professionals tell us something needs to be done for the long-term health of this golf course, we are doing everything reasonably possible to get it done correctly.

The amount of time, labor, financial investment and personal commitment being poured into Springbrook by our team is tremendous.

And I am learning something myself through this process:

The underlying turf issues at Springbrook did not develop overnight, and they cannot responsibly be corrected overnight.

I understand that our members care deeply about Springbrook. Many of you have played this golf course for decades, and I respect the history and knowledge that comes with that.

I also understand that when something looks different, people have questions.

We welcome those questions.

But I also ask that everyone remember that the decisions being made regarding our greens are not random. We are being guided by turf professionals, and there is a reason behind what we are doing.

The overwhelming majority of the comments we receive about what is happening throughout Springbrook have been incredibly positive, and I cannot tell you how much that encouragement means to our team.

Of course, there will always be criticism.

We listen to constructive concerns, and when something needs to be corrected, we will correct it. But we will not abandon a sound agronomic plan simply because the recovery process isn't always pretty.

There will be stages during that process when the greens are not as fast as everyone wants them to be.

There will be areas that need time to fill in.

There will be challenges.

And there will be days when patience is required from all of us.

But please understand what you are seeing right now:

We believe the end result will be worth the patience required to get there.

Thank you to our members who have encouraged our staff, supported the improvements being made and recognized just how much work is taking place throughout Springbrook.

Please continue to give our recovering areas room to grow, give our team the opportunity to execute the plan, and most importantly—