Riverside Golf Course Owner Credits Course Conditions for NGCOA Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 4, 2012 -- Jay Miller is not one to take much credit for himself, even when it is well-deserved. When asked how Hidden Valley Golf Club managed to go from little more than an eyesore in the Riverside golf community to becoming a course worthy of this past year’s National Golf Course of the Year distinction, he downplayed his own contribution and focused instead on his team, notably 32-year old superintendent, Ian Sturge.

“I trust him with every blade of grass, Miller says. “The course is so consistent and the greens are awesome.” Miller hired Sturge as superintendent at his Riverside golf course in 2007. Prior to that, he had served as an assistant superintendent for seven years.
It’s true that the Riverside golf club has undergone quite a transformation since Sturge took the helm. At that time, the Riverside golf course was in less than desirable conditions, having been neglected for the three years prior to Jay Miller’s plans to revive the course were implemented.

According to Sturge, the process of reconditioning the Riverside golf course was not an easy one, and the challenge was exacerbated by the realities of a limited budget which turned out to be less than half of the original $1.2 million allocated to the task. Initially, a large portion of this money went to repairing equipment and getting the pumping station and irrigation system working properly. It was then that Sturge’s talent and expertise came into play and may have made all of the difference in turning a dying course into the award-winning Riverside golf club that it is today.
“When I arrived, the fairways ranged from 75 percent to 100 percent Poa Annua,” Sturge says. In order to change that, Sturge began to let the Poa Annua on the Riverside golf course die off, opting instead for a Bermuda mix. He then topdressed some of the bare areas, hand-raking in a mixture of half composted cow manure and half plaster sand, being careful not to overseed with ryegrass so as not to stress the Bermuda.

Sturge used his very limited chemicals budget to purchase urea for the Riverside golf club’s greens. He also applied 1/3 a pound of nitrogen about once a week. He was able to create what he calls “lean greens” with a small amount of nitrogen and a lot of calcium.

Whether or not the Riverside golf course conditions made the difference this year when it came time for the National Golf Course Owner’s Association to name the National Golf Course of the Year is still up for debate. The association took other factors into consideration as well when making the all-important decision. The other criteria included quality of the ownership and management, contribution to the community, and contribution to the game of golf. But if you ask Jay Miller, he’ll tell you that his young superintendent should take a lot of the credit for transforming the once dying course. “He’s just unbelievable,” Miller says.

golf course riverside     orange county golf     orange county golf courses     riverside golf     riverside golf club     riverside wedding