Lawrence Golf Design

By Jeff Lawrence, ASGCA — Lawrence Golf Design

The Florida Panhandle has its own playability and maintenance reality: coastal winds, sandy and often saline-leaning soils, summer downpours followed by autumn tropical events, and a high expectation that winter golf “feels green.” For decades, many facilities have achieved that look with winter overseed (rye or Poa trivialis).

But the ground truth in 2025 is different: water costs and restrictions, labor scarcity, and member demand for firmer, faster conditions are pushing clubs to rethink the overseed habit and move toward native-forward, warm-season turf systems that look clean, play fast, and cost less to own.

This guide lays out a practical, verifiable roadmap for Panhandle clubs considering a transition from heavy seasonal overseed to Bermuda-first, native-accented maintenance—grounded in Lawrence Golf Design’s Florida and Southeast work (including Florida projects such as Laurel Oak Country Club in Sarasota—green conversion/redesign and bunker modifications—and Bonita Bay in Naples—major renovation), and the firm’s renovation planning across the Carolinas and beyond. The examples below are presented as typical scopes and methods we deploy; they are not claims about specific events or programs at any one club.

• Water and inputs: Overseed demands additional irrigation, establishment fertilizer, and growth regulation to manage transition back to Bermuda. Those inputs have risen in cost and scrutiny.
• Surface inconsistency: Overseed can deliver winter color but often at the expense of spring firmness and summer transition, producing spongy lies, grainy green surrounds, and slower ball roll.
• Labor intensity: Establishment and transition require extra mowing sets, clean-ups, and disease watch—tough when labor is tight.
• Resiliency: A Bermuda-first base with native, drought-tolerant out-of-play areas typically weathers summer extremes better and recovers faster after storms.

Primary playing surfaces

• Greens: Modern ultradwarf Bermudagrass (e.g., TifEagle, Champion, MiniVerde). Chosen cultivar depends on microclimate, shade, and superintendent preference.
• Approaches, fairways, tees: Improved Bermuda selections proven in the region; consider zoysia on shaded tees.
• Rough/out-of-play: Blends that minimize irrigation—options include Bahiagrass in low-input roughs and native sandscape with Panhandle-appropriate coastal species where approved.

Visuals and strategy without overseed

• Sand-based waste areas and native ribbons frame angles and reduce irrigated acreage.
• Bunker lines simplified and raised for drainage; liners selected to reduce contamination and washouts.
• Scalable color expectations (paint/toner on key corridors for peak events if desired) to satisfy seasonal aesthetics without re-introducing heavy overseed.

In Florida projects such as Laurel Oak CC (Sarasota) and Bonita Bay (Naples), Lawrence’s scopes have included green conversions/redesign, bunker modifications, and broader renovation planning. Those Florida experiences inform the Panhandle recommendations below; the emphasis is on methods and outcomes rather than any one club’s internal programs.
 

• Collect moisture, firmness, and speed baselines by zone (greens, surrounds, fairways).
• Map shade/wind corridors and chronic wet spots; flag traffic pinch points.
• Benchmark water use by station; identify overwatered edges and non-essential irrigated turf.

• Water quality: EC, sodium, chloride, bicarbonates; know your seasonal variability.
• Soils: infiltration, particle size, and organic matter to predict post-storm performance.
• Output: a water/soil constraint brief that drives turf/cultivar and amendment choices.

• Greens: pick the ultradwarf that balances speed goals with your shade/water profile.
• Fairways/tees: match cultivar to cart traffic and drainage; zoysia can be a problem-solver on shaded or high-wear tees.
• Rough & natives: define no-mow/native corridors where play value is low and erosion risk is manageable.

• Right-size and reposition to emphasize angle creation over sand square footage.
• Specify liners suitable for local rain events and sand types; design floors for positive drainage.
• Choose bunker sands for performance first (particle size/angularity), then color.

(Lawrence’s Florida scopes at Laurel Oak and Bonita Bay included bunker modifications/renovations—the design intent in those scopes mirrors the functional approach described here.)

• Two-wire control and head-by-head spacing to tighten distribution uniformity.
• Tie native areas off the loop; program edges with lower ET setpoints.
• Audit pumps and filtration for high-salinity periods; plan storm standby procedures.

• Interceptor drains at green tie-ins; finish grades that shed water away from surfaces.
• Swale routing that limits velocity and protects native areas from scouring.
• Stock simple, repeatable details for post-event repairs.

• For Bermuda conversions, a late-spring to summer construction/grow-in window sets you up for successful establishment before fall.
• If member access is critical, consider a 9-and-9 phasing plan—acknowledging it will extend the overall schedule.

• Define firm, measurable readiness criteria (root depth, coverage %, firmness range) instead of opening on a date.
• Calibrate offseason aesthetics with leadership in advance (e.g., selective colorants versus rye overseed on limited targets).

• Water: Reduced overseed area and tighter distribution can lower seasonal consumption.
• Fuel & labor: Fewer mowing and clean-up passes versus an overseeded profile; simpler growth regulation cycles.
• Reliability: Surfaces that are less weather-fragile reduce cancellations and recovery time after storms.
• Member experience: Firmer, faster year-round golf with predictable shoulder-season transition.

• Publish a one-page course map that shows where native and water-savings occur.
• Monthly photo logs of key holes (same vantage) to document establishment and firmness improvements.
• Short rules/etiquette refreshers for sandscapes and native corridors to maintain pace and preserve the look.

(The items above are presented as recommended practices—adopt them if they fit your club’s culture and approvals.)

• Tropical schedule risk: Build a pre-mobilization checklist for storm prep; schedule critical sod/liner installs outside peak storm windows when possible.
• Supply chain volatility: Pre-approve substitute materials (e.g., liner or sand alternates) that preserve performance.
• Contingency: Carry a realistic allowance for unforeseen subsurface conditions and post-storm remediation.

• Florida track record: Lawrence Golf Design has delivered Florida scopes that include green conversion/redesign, bunker modifications/renovations, and major renovation planning (e.g., Laurel Oak CC, Sarasota; Bonita Bay, Naples).
• Southeast experience: Recent scopes in South Carolina (e.g., Cougar Point, Kiawah Island—green redesign and grass conversion; 3’s Greenville; Fox Run CC; Holly Tree CC) and North Carolina (e.g., Cedarbrook CC, Pine Lake CC, Lake Hickory CC) give Lawrence Golf Design a deep library of warm-season details, storm-hardening strategies, and member-friendly design concepts.