Forest Oaks weathers delays, remains on schedule

BY JIM PETTIT

Everybody talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.

That’s an adage as old as the printed word, but it may not be exactly correct.

True, you can’t put a dome over an entire golf course when renovating, but you can make the most of the good days you have.

That underscores the good news.

The renovation project at Forest Oaks Country Club is holding its own despite some quirky weather the last three months.

As the Davis Love III Enterprises and Associates project moves through February, most of the difficult work has been completed and plans are on schedule for sodding and seeding in March and April.

Love, who visited Greensboro in January to check on the work at Forest Oaks, told observers that the crews have accomplished more in six weeks than any other project the firm has ever worked on.

That’s good news for the Forest Oaks members who are anxious to see their refurbished gem. It’s also great news for the sponsors of the PGA Tour’s Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, which makes its first fall appearance Oct. 16-19.

‘‘I like to hear things such as 'on schedule', or even 'a little ahead of schedule, plus under budget,' ’’ tournament director Mark Brazil said. ‘‘Those are things I don’t mind hearing at all.’’

The project got off to a slow start, postponed a week by rain last October. Since then, there has been more rain, an ice storm of major proportions, snow and some bone-chilling temperatures.

‘‘The ice storm caused a lot of three damage, and it took us four or five days to clear the cart paths so we could get around the course,’’ Forest Oaks course superintendent Dan Winters said.

Greensboro’s precipitation in November and December was nearly three inches greater than normal.

One bright spot is that it gives new Forest Oaks professional Danny Boswell, formerly of Orlando, Fla., a chance to settle in.

Boswell started his job the first of February, replacing Ron Jones.

‘‘It’s a good time to get my feet under me, meet all the members, see how things are going here, and try to get things squared away,’’ Boswell said.

Most of the remaining renovation work is on the first nine holes. All greens on the back nine have been rebuilt.

The flattening of the fairway on the par-5 13th hole is in good shape, as well as a new fairway bunker arrangement on the 18th hole that should create some interesting finishes when the PGA pros get to town.

‘‘There are some major changes going on from holes 1 through 7,’’ Brazil said. ‘‘Probably the most changed hole on the course is No. 3. It’s lengthening out to 450 or 460 yards instead of 420. It’s an iron shot off the tee and an 8 or 9-iron to the green. The dramatic changes on the first seven holes are good news for us because, with our move from spring to fall, we want there to be a lot of change in the golf course.’’

The schedule calls for new mounds and slopes to be sodded in March. Seeding of the greens is to take place starting the first of April, and fairways and rough will be sprigged in May.

That leaves four full months for the grass to grow and fill in, assuming weather conditions are reasonable.

The crews have also managed to work in a major alteration on the first hole, turning it into a medium-length dogleg right. That allowed placement of the second-hole’s tee box in front of the old No. 1 green and shape a dogleg left that could stretch out to 575 yards.

‘‘Of course, it’s hard to plan a winter work schedule,’’ Winters said, ‘‘but if we get through February and March without too much bad weather, we should be fine for the spring. The course isn’t scheduled to open until late summer and that should give us plenty of growing time.’’