HUMBOLDT — Sand greens have lined Humboldt’s golf course for as long as anyone remembers. While they are not as common as a regular grass green, the differences between the two are more than just sand.
From a playing standpoint, on a regular putting green made of finely cut grass, a golfer plays the ball where it lands. On a sand green, a golfer putts from an equivalent distance on a mopped, or raked, line of sand.
Humboldt’s golf course is in the middle of a makeover, replacing the sand greens with leftover turf from USD 258’s new sports complex.
“It’s been something the golf course has talked about for a long time,” Jeremy Bulk, a member of the course, said. “We had the opportunity this year, with the school donating leftover turf to us. We accepted it and used it.”
Replacing the sand greens with turf has been hard work. Bulk said the first green they replaced was the hardest.
“We had to lay rock down and put a form all the way around it and then we laid the turf and put the sand on top,” Bulk said. “I’m guessing the first one, because we did everything by hand, we had 15 hours in there with four or five guys.”
Those 15 hours were put in over an entire week. Mayor Nobby Davis, who’s been a member of the course for the past three years, said the next greens they replaced were much easier.
“The other ones we did, of course we had more help, and in one day we got down five more,” Davis said. “So, we used this machine that Emerson Construction had used at the ball field and it applied the sand onto the greens, and it made it so much easier.”
Right now, the course has replaced six of the nine greens.
“So, we have three more to do, and we’ll do them,” Davis said. “It all takes time and it all takes money, and we’re not using city funds, there’s no support from the city. It’s all done by the members of the golf course, so when we get money, we’ll do more.”
Before the greens could be replaced, the golf course needed to be saved from closing. Davis said that Don Walburn, a longtime member or the course, called him last year asking for ideas. The course held a tournament, which raised funds from a lot of different people according to Davis. This helped raise the membership of the course by more than double.
“Our membership has increased from 12, up to 37 now,” Walburn said. “They say there is more to come.”
Due to the increased membership, Davis said that their next idea was to do something with the greens. Steven Johnson, another member of the course, was very helpful in replacing the greens.
“Steve sells golf course maintenance equipment, that is his living,” Davis said. “He’s very influential on how to do what needs to be done. We knew what we wanted to do. I was able to make some connections and get us the greens. He was probably the knowledge and knew a lot about the equipment that we used, that was his forte.”
So far, Davis said that the course plays “phenomenal,” but there is more work to be done.
“Since, they’re not completely finished we still have to wait and see,” Walburn said. “There’s no doubt that it’s going to make a difference in the fact that you don’t have to drag the greens, as we did the sand greens. It’s definitely going to be an improvement.”
