Restoration Blog
We’ve reached an exciting stage in the restoration — where rough shapes become playable surfaces, greens take form, and turf starts going down. Over the past five days, the pace of transformation has noticeably quickened, and the golf course is beginning to look and feel like Hyde Park again — only better.
Green Light on the Greens
This past week’s major milestone was the placement of greens mix in the 15th green — the final new putting surface to be constructed. This marks the end of heavy green construction and the beginning of finish prep and sod work in this area.
As of now, all greens are sodded except for Holes 1, 8, 15, 17, and 18 — a powerful indicator of how much progress has been made.
Features Taking Shape
McDonald & Sons continued refining key features and expanding progress across the course.
Demo has now begun on Holes 18, 1, and 17, marking the start of the final shaping corridor on the west side of the property. Additionally, the last of the Zoysia sod will be removed from the range field, wrapping up our internal sod relocation phase and allowing full focus on installation.
Paving is close to complete on Holes 4, 5, and most of 6, improving access and defining future cart path flow.
The majority of bunkers across the course are now roughed in — echoing the strategic features of Donald Ross’ original layout.
Below Ground and Behind the Scenes
Golf Preservations and McDonald and Sons continues to install fairway and drainage, currently totaling:
Over 15,000 LF feet of 2-inch slit drainage
1,108 feet of 4-inch pipe
Ley Irrigation, has installed new irrigation on:
Holes 2 through 7 in full
Portions of Holes 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16 and 1
Turf Establishment: A Major Milestone
We’ve officially entered the grow-in phase. Recent turf accomplishments include:
4 acres of Turf-Type Tall Fescue sod installed in surrounds and green complexes
007XL Bentgrass approach seeding completed on Holes 3, 4, 5, 10, and 13
Tee seeding and hydro-mulch applied to Holes 3, 4, 5, and 6
3 acres of Fine Fescue seeded on out-of-play slopes
7 acres of Tall Fescue seeded in roughs
Each turf zone is being matched to its intended use and environment to ensure long-term performance and aesthetics.
Grounds Team in Action
The Hyde Park Grounds Team has been hard at work supporting every phase:
Watering, sodding, and seeding new turf daily
Mowing and managing grow-in areas
Aerifying newly sodded greens to improve smoothness and root development
Collaborating with partners on irrigation, shaping, and finish work
Their focus on detail and consistency is making a big impact course-wide.
What’s Next
Sod installation on the final greens
Final shaping of bunkers and surrounds
Continued Zoysia sod relocation
More bentgrass and fine fescue seeding
Drainage and irrigation progress through the center of the property
Thank You
To our Hyde Park members — thank you for your continued support and trust.
And to our partners:
Tyler Rae Design
McDonald & Sons
Golf Preservations
Ley Irrigation
Technical Choice
Hyde Park Grounds Team – the glue holding it all together
We’ve turned the corner — and every day brings us one step closer to welcoming you back to a course that’s both restored and reimagined.
Thank-you for your questions and feedback-grounds@hydeparkcc.com
Pat O'Brien,
Grounds Superintendent
