Since Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Course have transferred over to advanced secondary recycled water, we have been allocated a certain amount of irrigation water. To meet this water usage allocation, we will be reducing irrigated turf on Black Horse.
For the past 15 years the long rough or fine fescue areas, which comprise about 45 acres, was irrigated with insufficient coverage from the sprinklers so they never grew into the full lush long rough as was expected. We will be removing any existing grass in these areas and replacing them with a large system of waste bunkers. Over the immediate future, the waste bunkers sand change into our native golden sand you see in the Marina Dunes. The waste bunkers will play like traditional waste bunkers, firmer but very playable.
We have also removed maintained turf off the tees and at the start of fairways. These areas will be connected into the waste bunkers. In doing this turf reduction project we made conscious efforts not to add any more difficulty to the golf course. Some holes may have longer carries to the fairways, but those will be mitigated with new, closer tee boxes, #8 Black Horse being the most impacted.
Black Horse will blend in more with its native environment of the Marina Dunes with sandy dunes, large waste bunkers, and soon to come native planting to beautify the course even more!!!!