River Hills Agronomy

Managing Trees at River Hills: It’s About More Than Removing Trees

One of the most visible projects at River Hills has been our tree management program. Removing mature trees gets attention, and understandably so. Trees are an important part of the beauty and character of our golf course.

But there’s a difference between removing trees and managing trees.

Our goal is to have the right trees, in the right places, managed in the right way—while improving turf health, playability, safety, aesthetics, and the long-term health of the property.

🌞 Bermudagrass and shade don’t make great roommates.

The accompanying photo is a perfect example. Bermudagrass requires significant sunlight to remain dense and healthy. Ideally, we want approximately eight hours of good sunlight per day. As sunlight decreases, photosynthesis decreases, turf thins, roots weaken, and recovery from cart and foot traffic slows.

Eventually, fertilizer, water, aerification, and other agronomic practices simply can’t overcome inadequate sunlight.

You can’t fertilize your way out of shade.

Shade also changes throughout the day and year as the sun’s azimuth and elevation change. An area receiving adequate sunlight in June may experience dramatically different conditions in December.

That’s why we use both experience and technology. Tools such as Sun Seeker help us evaluate the sun’s path and estimate sunlight exposure during different seasons. We also incorporate mapping, photography, turf observations, and AI to help us evaluate our options.

If an area receives inadequate sunlight, removal isn’t automatically the answer. Sometimes selective pruning or raising the canopy is enough. Other times, particularly when a tree creates significant shade and negatively affects playability, removal may be the best long-term solution.

A good example is Hole #2, where we removed six large oak trees along the right side. Shade was one consideration, but so was golf course strategy. A tee shot into the right fairway bunker could leave a golfer having to navigate around large trees simply to return the ball to play. A bunker should be a strategic hazard—not necessarily a double penalty.

When evaluating trees, we consider sunlight, turf quality, root competition, irrigation, airflow, safety, aesthetics, and golf course playability.

Historically, River Hills did not have a comprehensive long-term tree management program. Over time, canopies became denser while systematic pruning, selective removal, and replacement planting were limited.

Our current philosophy is simple:

Manage. Prune. Selectively remove. Thoughtfully replace.

Through our environmental stewardship program, we also want to introduce appropriate ornamental trees and plantings that provide seasonal color, visual interest, habitat, and beauty without recreating the dense shade problems we’re addressing today.

We’re thinking about what River Hills will look like 5, 10, and 20 years from now.

The photo tells the story: Bermuda needs sunshine.

Our job is to balance the beautiful mature character of River Hills with the sunlight, airflow, turf health, and playability necessary for a great golf course.

We’re not simply removing trees. We’re managing the future landscape of River Hills.

This will make things interesting for Peak season golf teetime early in the morning.

From an Agronomy standpoint and operations I think this is a lovely thing however for the golfer it’s not that good because it’s gonna be later before teatime can start

This will be interesting to see how it plays out

If DST is year round, I am sure most will enjoy the extra light in the evening. The question is, how problematic will the later sunrises be in the winter? Will schools have to adjust their schedules for safety reasons?

💧 Sometimes the biggest improvement to a golf course is something you can’t even see.

Imagine trying to wash your car every day… with slightly salty water.

At first, everything looks fine. But over time, that salt begins to build up. Eventually, it becomes harder to keep the finish looking its best.

Believe it or not, the same thing can happen beneath our golf course.

For years, River Hills relied primarily on reclaimed water to irrigate the golf course. Reclaimed water is an incredible environmental resource and helps conserve our drinking water supply. But depending on where it comes from, it can also carry small amounts of sodium and other dissolved salts.

A little bit isn’t a problem.

But after years of irrigation, those salts slowly accumulate in the soil, making it harder for grass roots to do what they do best—take up water and nutrients. It’s a bit like asking someone to drink through a straw that’s slowly getting pinched shut.

That’s why one of the biggest decisions we’ve made this year wasn’t something you could see from the first tee…

We brought River Hills’ deep wells back online and transitioned away from reclaimed water as our primary irrigation source.

Our well water is naturally low in sodium and chlorides and contains beneficial calcium, giving us a much cleaner water source for the long-term health of the golf course.

Think of it as giving the golf course cleaner drinking water every single day.

Will you notice the difference tomorrow? Probably not.

Will the turf notice over the next several years? Absolutely.

Healthier roots. Better soil. More resilient turf during our hot Florida summers. Those are the kinds of improvements that don’t always make headlines—but they make a tremendous difference over time.

Interestingly, the USGA recently published an article discussing how managing salts in irrigation water has become one of the biggest challenges facing golf courses across the country. It’s reassuring to know that many of the decisions we’ve made at River Hills are right in line with the latest agronomic research.

At River Hills, we’re not just maintaining a golf course—we’re investing in its future.

Sometimes the smartest decisions happen underground. 🌱⛳

I’ve had a couple of questions asking about why the flag is at half staff
It’s in remembrance of a senator’s death
It will remain at half staff until the end of the day, July 18 

“Mark…why is the rough turning brown?” 🤔

Great question! And believe it or not…

It’s supposed to look that way. 😄

What you’re seeing is something we turf nerds call herbicide bronzing. The fancy scientific name is phytotoxicity, but unless you’re trying to impress someone at a dinner party, “herbicide bronzing” works just fine.

Think of it this way…

We gave the w**ds a really good butt-kicking…and the Bermuda grass got a little splash on it in the process.

The Bermuda temporarily says, “Hey! That stuff was pretty strong!” and turns a little yellow or bronze for a short time. Then, thanks to Florida’s blazing heat, humidity, and afternoon rains, it bounces right back.

July and August are basically Bermuda’s gym season. 💪

It’s growing faster now than at any other time of the year, which means it can handle stronger herbicides while we go after nasty w**ds like goosegrass, crabgrass, tropical signalgrass, and a whole list of other unwanted guests.

You may also hear us talk about PGRs (Plant Growth Regulators). Think of those as putting the Bermuda on cruise control. Instead of growing straight up like crazy every few days, it spends more of its energy growing thicker and healthier while making mowing a little more manageable.

Here’s the important part…

The brown color isn’t dead grass.
It isn’t disease.
It isn’t drought.

It’s simply the turf saying, “Yep…I noticed that herbicide.” 😆

River Hills had quite a w**d population for a number of years, and unfortunately w**ds don’t disappear overnight. Every year they were allowed to spread means more seeds hiding in the soil waiting for their turn.

That’s why this isn’t a one-spray-and-done project.

It’s more like cleaning out your garage. The first day makes a huge difference, but it usually takes several weekends before you finally look around and say, “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Every summer we continue this program, there will be fewer w**ds to fight, healthier Bermuda, and a cleaner golf course.

So if you see a little bronze out there, don’t panic…

That’s just the Agronomy Team out there winning another round in the war on w**ds. 🌱👊

As always, thank you for your continued support. We truly appreciate it!

—Mark