Superior National Golf Course

LUTSEN, MN

A four-year rebuilding project of the 27-hole Superior National Golf Course in Lutsen, MN, ended in 2017 with the completion of the nine canyon holes.

Unlike other years, Mike Davies decided to start the project using a 95/5 DAKOTA topdressing mix followed by a biweekly spray application of 6.4 oz. of REV per thousand square feet.

Although the greens were seeded June 1, it was really cool, wet spring, which didn’t bode well for grow-in, and in fact, Davies was told by several golf course architects that it would be 120 days before the holes were playable.

But, on September 4, just 96 days later, Davies confidently opened the course to heavy traffic of more than 100 players a day with very little sign of wear or distress.

“When we cut the cups, we found root growth of 8-9″ on the greens,” says Davies. “I knew we were in good shape to open earlier than expected. The only difference between what I’ve done in the past and now is REV. But, it’s a noticeable difference. For example, I can cut to 1/7″ blade height and still not see soil.”

“Even more telling was what happened during the heat wave during the summer. This close to Lake Superior, we average temps in the 70s, but this year we saw temperatures between 85 and 90 for a week straight. The old greens showed the stress. My new greens just kept looking great.”