Susan Knox Wilson
The changes and enhancements made to the Tuscany Falls West course this summer reflect what is happening with golf courses all over Arizona. The Arizona Department of Water Resources is cutting the amount of water golf courses can use, and PebbleCreek is doing its part to conserve water and make sure we are in compliance with the new regulations. Currently, there are over 30 golf courses in the valley doing similar projects.
John McCahan, PebbleCreek Director of Golf, said he’s gotten a lot of inquiries about the renovations. “I have been asked several times ‘why are we doing this project and what will the course look like this winter?’ The whole idea behind this project is to save water and money!”
“We will not overseed the fairways and greens at Tuscany Falls West this winter or maybe ever again. The MiniVerde grass we’ve put in is the same type of grass we have on the Eagle’s Nest greens. We have not overseeded those greens since they were renovated in 2020. We paint the greens at Eagle’s Nest and will paint the greens on the West course. The TifTuf fairways are new to PebbleCreek, and it is a new grass recently developed for better playing conditions and to save water. The TifTuf will stay greener longer into the fall and will green up earlier in the spring. We will have to paint the fairways in the winter, but not as often as we would have to paint the Bermuda grass we have on our fairways currently. TifTuf is drought-resistant and studies have shown the TifTuf grass can save 30% on our water bill, plus the extra water we use to grow in the overseed on the golf course. We will also save money by not paying for the seed we use to overseed the golf courses—and seed costs have nearly tripled in the past few years.”
“We are planning on developing a comprehensive template for tracking costs/savings after the West Course renovation is completed,” added Lyman Gallup, chair of the Golf Committee. The tracking system will include items like irrigation water, chemicals, paint, fertilizer, and labor as well as any other identified aspect of the maintenance program that is impacted by the renovation. We don’t expect to have comparable data to measure any cost/water reductions until after 2024, our first year with the new grasses in place.”
The Tuscany Falls West course is due to re-open later this fall.