Due to poor transition from the winter overseeding to summer
bermudagrass on its fairways, Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc.
will close Lakes West Golf Course for six weeks beginning July 7.
The closure will allow RCSC personnel to remove remaining ryegrass
and recover the course’s fairways with bermudagrass so they are
ready for overseeding scheduled this fall.
“We skipped overseeding at Lakes West during the 2006-2007 winter
season, and we have found that the course at which we skip
overseeding has the worst fairway transition when we return to
overseeding,” said John Snyder, RCSC Director of Golf and Grounds.
“Skipping an overseeding allows a course’s common bermudagrass to
become so healthy that it requires additional prep work to get the
course ready for overseeding the following year.”
Similar instances of poor transition from overseeding to
bermudagrass occurred last year at Willowcreek Golf Course and in
2006 at South Golf Course. At that time, RCSC closed South and the
fairways were recovered by the first week of August. Last year,
Willowcreek remained open and its fairways were not completely
recovered until the end of August.
“The fairways need to be recovered with bermudagrass by the
beginning of August to ensure a good overseed,” Snyder said. “Having
it wait until the end of August is too close to the overseed prep.”
Because of the extra process involved with preparing a course’s
fairways the following year, RCSC plans to no longer skip
overseeding at its golf courses. RCSC expects Lake West’s closure to
last until August 18, but depending on how well the bermudagrass
grows, it may open sooner. While Lakes West will be closed, Lakes
East Golf Course will remain open for play.
Contact: Tim Gallen, RCSC Communications Coordinator, at
623-561-4616 or
