Rolling Forward- 47 Days of Progress

This past week was another productive step forward in the golf course restoration. Thanks to the collaboration of all of our partners — McDonald & Sons, Ley Irrigation, Golf Preservations, and our own Hyde Park Grounds team — we continue to make steady progress on greens, bunkers, drainage, and fairway work.

Our schedule has been challenging and fast-paced, but the team has worked long days to stay on track. Favorable weather this week gave us an excellent window to advance sod work on key greens and surrounds, push forward with fairway drainage, and continue shaping and irrigation installations.

Several important milestones have been achieved: the Putting Green, Holes 4, 7, 3, and 5 have all been sodded. The Putting Green has already been aerified, rolled, and mowed multiple times, which is part of our process to build smoothness and promote healthy rooting. Each of these greens is showing good early progress.

The 5th 

~2,900 Square Feet Added to the 5th

The 3rd 

Looking ahead to September, our focus will turn to completing the sodding of all remaining greens. By the end of September, all 18 greens are scheduled to be grassed, an important milestone in the overall restoration timeline.

The Week Ahead 

In the coming week, the teams will:

• Prepare additional greens for sodding holes 16,12, 9 and 11 keeping the sequence moving toward mid-September completion.

• Advance bunker shaping and tee construction across several holes.

• Continue fairway drainage and irrigation installations, keeping pace with our planned approvals.

• Work with Tyler Rae and his design team during the site visit, which will focus on green approvals, bunker layouts, and planning the next stage of sodding.

We also want to thank you for the feedback you’ve provided during the project. Tours of the course, social media updates, and these weekly emails have been well received, and we’ll continue to share progress in multiple ways so members can see this historic restoration unfold in real time.

With everyone’s continued hard work and cooperation — and more good weather — we continue to deliver a revitalized golf course that honors the Donald Ross design while improving playability for years to come. We can be reached at grounds@hydeparkcc.com 

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent 

43 Days In- Restoration in Motion

Root Growth-Putting Green

Since breaking ground on July 14th, the golf course restoration has been progressing steadily with the full team of architects, contractors, and our Hyde Park Grounds staff working side by side to bring Donald Ross’s vision back to life.

Design & Leadership

Architect Tyler Rae and his associates Jim Ryan Jr. and Matt Fauerbach have been onsite weekly to direct shaping of greens, tees, and bunkers. Their guidance ensures each feature not only matches Ross’s design intent but also functions for modern playability and maintenance.

Sequencing Strategy

The sequencing of work has been intentional. Construction has focused early on holes farthest from the clubhouse, where travel times are longer and soils hold more moisture. These conditions required more shaping and drainage, and this area also includes several of the new greens being rebuilt (Holes 3, 4, 6, 7, 14, and 15). By addressing these challenges first, we maximize productivity during the long summer days and allow the new greens and bentgrass approaches the longest possible grow-in window before next season.

Green Expansion #5

Our main focus is to have all bentgrass approaches, tees, and sodded greens grassed by mid to late September, ensuring plenty of establishment time before winter. The rough will be sodded later in the project as finishing work.

Construction Partners

• McDonald & Sons – primary contractor, leading green construction, bunker work, drainage, cart path removal, and shaping.

• Ley Irrigation – installing the new HDPE irrigation system; new pipe and sprinklers installed on the Putting Green, Holes 3, 4, 5, and 6.

• Golf Preservations – drainage specialists, scheduled to install slit drainage in fairways on Holes 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 13.

• Ewers & Sons – cart path installation and base work.

• Technical Choice – GPS staking and layout support for irrigation

At peak times, there can be 75–80 people working on-site each day, reflecting the scale of this project and the close coordination required among all partners.

Hyde Park Grounds Team

Our Grounds staff have been critical throughout the project — watering and maintaining new sod, assisting with shaping preparation, compacting greens, hydroseeding swales, and mowing completed areas. Their efforts are ensuring smooth transitions between contractors and daily progress across the property.

Bunker Drainage #4 

Jared- Rolling to smooth the putting green

Highlights to Date

• Greens Sodded: Putting Green, Holes 4 and 7 are complete. Holes 3 and 5 are scheduled for sodding this week.

• Irrigation: New irrigation installed on the Putting Green, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

• Zoysia Fairway Expansions: Roughly 70% complete across the course. These areas are establishing well but will require smoothing and refinement next season.

• Bunker Work: Several bunkers have been reshaped and drained, with sod and sand installation beginning.

• Tees: Rough shaping and expansions on Holes 3, 4, 7, 11, and 15 provide new variety in setup and strategy.

• Cart Path Work: Paving has occurred on Holes 5 and 6, while removals have taken place on Holes 14, 11, and portions of 15.

New Greens Grow-In

The new greens have now been mowed several times. The goal at this stage is not to achieve low mowing heights, but to promote smoothness and density through:

• Regular sand topdressing

• Rolling

• Aerification once rooting has occurred

This grow-in process ensures the greens will be health and smooth heading into next season.

What’s Next

• Sod installation on greens at Holes 3 and 5.

• Bentgrass seeding of approaches and tees across the course.

• Fairway drainage installations on Holes 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 13.

• Completion of zoysia expansions, with refinement to continue into next season.

• Hydroseeding of fine fescue/native areas.

  

   A view of the 7th

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Despite over 5 inches of rain since July, work remains on schedule. The combined efforts of our partners and Grounds team, the project is on track for substantial completion by early November. Please note, however, that this schedule is weather dependent, and prolonged rainfall could affect final timelines.

To find more information and video clips, please follow Hyde Park Golf & Country Club on Instagram. Follow me on LinkedIn and on X- @pobrienhpgcc, or schedule a tour with the Golf Shop.

Thank you again for your patience and questions during this historic restoration

Pat O’Brien, MSc.

Grounds Superintendent