Page 20 - GreenMaster Winter 2022

uFEATUREuGARRY HAYNES, MS, AGS, BLUE DEVIL GOLF CLUB
OFF
Maintenance
Turf maintenance facility at Serenity Golf Club, March 2021, pre roof installation.
Serenity Golf Club, one of four
properties owned by Play Golf Calgary, is located 15 minutes southeast of Calgary’s city limits on 300 acres of former prairie farmland. The 36-hole facility is comprised of; the original 18 holes ‘Dancing Bull’, a parkland style course with lots of mature trees which were native to the land prior to development and the recently opened ‘Sun Catcher’, a links style course, open with lots of movement and a “one cut” on expansive fairways.
Dancing Bull and Sun Catcher both have a vast amount of wetlands, fescue areas and wildlife. Scott Atkinson (CEO/Owner) and Gary
Browning (Architect) believed in creating something that would be lower maintenance and more environmentally friendly, although we are not part of the Audubon Society, we are progressing to achieve certification.
In fall of 2020, we broke ground on the maintenance shop at Serenity, mindful of continuing our environ- mentally friendly development, being cost effective and challenging what was considered possible in the industrial building space. This was quantified in the concept of an “OFF THE GRID‘’ maintenance shop, a building which was fully self- sustaining; no connection to the
power grid, no connection to city water, no connection to city sewer. This is what was achieved through a little compromise and inventive engineering.
THE TURF FACILITY
The turf maintenance facility is located at the center of the property between Dancing Bull and Sun Catcher, in a prime location for quick accessibility to both courses. The maintenance shop is 3000 sq ft and is adjacent to the ‘compound’ with 8 Sea-Can containers for storage of equipment, irrigation supplies and golf course supplies.
20 • CGSA • GreenMaster