Rock River GAP GOLF

Rock River Golf and Pool

Rock River Golf and Pool, the former Rock River Country Club, is now open to the public. The original nine holes date back to 1913, offering beautiful views of the Rock River. The design is a 2700 yard, par 34 with lots of trees and small greens. The back nine, built in the late 60’s, is a 3200 yard track par 36, with large greens and sand traps. Adding to the challenge is the Holland creek running through it, coming into play on seven of the nine holes. Part of what makes this course fun to play is the contrast between the front (old ) nine and the back. It feels like playing two different courses for the price of one.

Front Nine Renovations

Let the renovations begin!! Now that the extreme heat and humidity is behind us, we have taken on the largest renovation project this property has seen in years. Through-out the years of maintaining a golf course, the physical make-up of the course changes. The grass on the each green changes over time and unwanted grasses begin to take over a green. Such was the case on the nearly 100 year old front nine here at Rock River. Poa annua grass, more aptly called a weed, had taken over the greens on the front nine. This is why we always experienced the bumpy surface conditions in the Spring when the Poa would outgrow the bent grass at such a rate that you could actually see the Poa form a seed head by the end of the day. The Poa would also die off in extreme heat conditions of Summer. Well fellow golfers, we hope those days are behind us. The terrible series of events that caused the front nine greens to die off this Spring has allowed us to start from scratch and completely re-seed the greens with the latest new turf in the industry called Bent 007. So the good news is all the Poa on the front is dead and gone and the even better news is we are replacing it with a strain of grass that will be a more consistent playing surface. This process has already begun. We have aerated the entire front nine and already reseeded it. Full germination and grow in should take about 4-5 weeks on the greens. Additional drainage will also be added to the fronts of some of the greens to prevent the puddling we all see when it rains as little as an inch. This is why the fronts of most of the front nine greens have the dead spots where the green meets the collar. The approach acts as a dam and traps the water on the front of the green. Grass does not grow well in extreme wet conditions because the root system never has a chance to develop.

Along with the complete renovation of the greens, we are aerating and re-seeding the approaches and tees on both the front and back nine. 100% Kentucky "Low Mow" Blue grass will be used to establish a healthy turf barrier to help prevent weeds from developing in the first place. In addition, an aggressive crab and duck grass pre-emergent will be applied to the entire golf course in the Spring. Nothing prevents crab grass better than a healthy turf surface that does not allow the weeds to even get started. Additional course improvements are coming as the time allows this Fall but our main focus is going to be on renovating the front nine and repairing the back nine.

During this renovation the front nine will continue to be closed to allow the turf to establish itself. Daily traffic and machine use is not conducive to healthy turf development. We appreciate your patience during this process and look forward to wonderful conditions in the future. No anticipated re-opening date has been established and it would only be speculation to select one. Time and temperature will dictate when the course is once again ready for play. Thank you for being patient and feel free to ask myself or Superintendant Cody Smith for an update on our progress.