35 Photo: Turfgrass Turfgrass managed the recent rejuvenation of the course at San Roque club in Spain conversation in the bar is rarely about the 17 greens that performed well. It is about the one that did not. This is not about agronomy competing with architecture. It is the opposite. Good agronomy protects architecture. The best projects are the ones where the architect, agronomist, contractor, irrigation designer, superintendent and ownership group are aligned early. Everyone needs to understand the design intent, the expected standard of conditioning, the maintenance reality and especially the budget required to sustain it. Specifications are part of that protection. An agronomy specification document is not just for the bill of quantities. It is a practical tool that sets the standard for materials, construction quality and performance. Without that clarity, projects are vulnerable to small compromises that can create major problems down the road. A slightly cheaper sand. A rootzone mix that is ‘close enough’. A bunker detail changed on site. A drainage decision made to save time. None of these may look catastrophic in the moment. But golf courses have a habit of exposing shortcuts, and when they do, the cost is rarely minimal. The simplest way I explain it is this: if you are digging up a road to install the gas, don’t dig it up again for the water and electricity. You coordinate the work properly while the road is open to include all three. Golf courses are no different. If a club is renovating bunkers, that is the moment to look at drainage, irrigation, grassing lines, cart paths and future maintenance. If greens are being rebuilt, that is the moment to think about greenside bunkers or surrounds and how the green will be maintained for the next 20 years. We should never come back later if it could have been dealt with properly the first time. This is especially important in renovation work, where clubs often tackle one visible problem without understanding or considering the wider cause. A bunker renovation should not just be a bunker renovation if the surrounding irrigation is poor or the
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