Agostini: A greener way to keep good greens

If your putt rolls straight and smooth and with pace, you'll be happy with the course conditions.

That's the conventional wisdom about pleasing customers on the golf course. Give us some nice turf and good greens, and it's all good.

Which is why golf clubs spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintaining their putting surfaces. Each spring and fall, most courses airify their greens — literally punch tiny holes in them — to encourage growth, discourage compaction and increase of health of the grass.

Challenging that accepted logic, however, is Stevinson Ranch owner George Kelley and his course-maintenance firm, Greenway Golf. He believes successful upkeep can be accomplished with less cost and less airifying.

His evidence — the firm and ultra-slick greens at Stevinson Ranch, the best in the valley. Bentgrass is the way to go in Central California, he says, and that also runs against the grain.

"The golf industry is skeptical in tradition and slow to change, in anything," Kelley said. "We are demonstrating to the world against the skepticism that we can't manage bentgrass here."

Twice a year, most courses will pull turf plugs from the greens, apply sand and await recovery in a few weeks. Stevinson Ranch, built 14 years ago, takes a different approach.

It achieves the same goal via a two-step approach: 1. Airifying via tiny needlelike penetrations once a month, then roll. Stevinson does not verti-cut, and 2. Treating the greens once every two weeks with organic nutrients.

"We have no problems with thatch, our roots are eight inches deep, and only 2 percent of our greens are poa annua," Kelley said. "We haven't used a fungicide at Stevinson Ranch in five years."

Better still, the the price per year for maintenance is only $800,000, Kelley said, compared with the usual $1 million price tag for upscale daily-fee courses. "We also don't have to fertilize or water as much," he said.

The Stevinson Ranch formula works. Greenway, headquartered in Austin, Texas, has earned rave reviews at nine properties, including Turlock Country Club, Merced CC and San Joaquin CC in Fresno.

Its permanent model, however, is Stevinson. It was ranked 11th nationally for best conditions among public courses last year in Golf World magazine's Reader's Choice survey.

"We think we can save golf courses in maintenance expenses and dramatically enhance tour quality," Kelley said. "In difficult times, if you can produce a superior playing surface for a lesser price, that's the way to go."

• THE SHAG BAG — The so-called "golf tax" proposal, defeated by state legislators after a wave of activism from the golf industry, reportedly is being revisited by the California Tax Commission. This means daily-fee golfers still could face additional taxes for rounds played and services. ...Players are sought for the College-Am tournament Sunday, the day before the beginning of the Stevinson Ranch Invitational hosted by Colorado University. The $175 fee includes golf with two collegians, cart and practice balls, tee prizes, gift certificates for winners and lunch and dinner. Tee time is 1 p.m. One day later, 15 golf teams — including Cal State Stanislaus — begin their 54-hole tournament. Call 668-8200.

Bee sports columnist Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.