Michigan Golf Journal August 2021

Some readers may look at the massive investment into the South Course at Oakland Hills and brush it off. What are the chances they ever get to tee it up and experience the restored beauty of this classic Donald Ross design? Will it matter to them if the greens can be heated or cooled as needed for the health of the turf? It is doubtful that they will ever fix a ball mark on the new rapidly draining soil profile specially mixed for the site – nor hit a shot out of the original Ross bunkers that were found under the topsoil of previous renovations. It is easy to look at this and think it has nothing to do with you or where you play golf every week. However, I would beg to differ. While you are right that your 9-hole Thursday league course may never install any of these groundbreaking technologies, the results will be shared among the membership of the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association. Being the resourceful professionals they are, many of these agronomic results will be implemented in many other smaller ways all around the state. Think of it like NASA and the technology that trickles down from them into all our lives. Oakland Hills Country Club is important to the golf industry in Michigan. It is important to all golfers reading this magazine. It is important to push boundaries in any industry, Oakland Hills South: A Superintendent’s Perspective By Adam Ikamas, Exec. Director, Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Assoc. Michigan Golf Journal From the Super