Our Sterling Farms experience revolves around many things, but the centerpiece of it all is the 18-hole, par 72, championship golf course, which is in exceptionally fine condition, thanks to good weather, and Golf Course Superintendent, Michael Golden and his team. ‘Tis the season to hit the links at Sterling Farms!
Their outstanding work is ensuring our putts roll smoothly, and the fairways and tees are groomed to perfection. It looks easy, but takes imagination and great skill, as the weather and sheer volume of play are always at war with the splendor we often take for granted.
The Details
“Coming from many private clubs in my past we’ve tried to pay attention to the detail work on the golf course,” the fit, golf course superintendent explains.
Sterling Farms gets a lot of play… something on the order of about 50,000 rounds per year. Your run-of-the-mill private country club will have less than a fourth of that, which means everything gets used, and sometimes abused!
But Mike, and his crew, have been steadily figuring out ways to combat Mother Nature, and the heavy play, and it’s paying off. Of particular interest is the emphasis they’ve put on caring for the putting greens.
“We’ve done a lot of work on our putting greens over the last two years, including installing drainage into all of the surfaces that helps with keeping the greens nice and dry and firm when we get heavy rains. I think that had been a major issue on these putting surfaces in the past,” he said.
Marie, Lili, and I were lucky enough to sneak out during a rainy day in the early part of June, and while it wasn’t a deluge, the course held up far-better than some of the other public golf courses in the area.
“I think you can see the difference in the last year-and-a-half of how well the greens perform even after heavy rains now that the drainage has been installed,” added Mike.
The golf course is in stellar condition. Mike and his crew have been working hard to get it ready for the summer rush, and their hard work has paid off. The place is just spectacular. ‘Tis really is the season. Get out there now!
