A challenging build

“It’s a truly special site – with the severe slopes, cliffs, ocean views and the wind. What’s been created out here, blending the shaping with the land movement – it’s unbelievable,” said Di Giorgio.

Architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were entrusted with the task of designing a golf course befitting the dramatic coastal landscape, but bringing their vision to life would be no easy feat. Covid hit shortly after construction began, leading Coore and Crenshaw associate Keith Rhebb to stay on St. Lucia for 265 straight days to continue shaping the golf course and keep the project on track. Moving the heavy, rock-laden soil to shape the course’s features through canyons and alongside cliffs took experienced operators and was even more challenging during the island’s rainy season.

“Basically, we had to move a lot of dirt just to get some of these golf holes built and make them playable,” said Rhebb. Working on the severely sloped, rocky site created both short- and long-term challenges, especially with erosion. Rhebb noted that “All the rainfall gathers and runs down these big ravines to the ocean, where it cuts canyons into the cliffs.” To route the course along the ocean while minimizing the potential for erosion, various techniques were used to shore up the coastline and backfill the canyons, enabling Coore and Crenshaw to hug the seaside cliffs with their design and bring the Caribbean into play on half of the holes.

Thanks to the perseverance of the design and build team, when Di Giorgio arrived on St. Lucia in February 2022 the final contours were being dialed in and prepped for grassing – including many hours of Bill Coore on a mechanical bunker rake tweaking greens. With his extensive experience managing turf in the Caribbean, bringing Di Giorgio on board for the latter stages of shaping and to lead the grow-in and maintenance was an easy decision for Cabot.

Managing drainage and erosion

The site’s rocky soil meant that some form of capping would be required to finalize the contours and create a suitable growing medium for turf. Shipping in sand-cap material from somewhere off the island was prohibitively expensive, so the playing surfaces were topped with a volcanic pumice sand sourced from a quarry in the middle of the island. The sand was screened off-site then spread 4 inches deep over the roughly graded soil and 12-18 inches deep at green sites. However, using native pumice sand meant accepting some less-than-desirable soil physical characteristics – e.g., an infiltration rate less than a tenth of an inch per hour.

The slowly draining sand means Di Giorgio relies mostly on surface drainage to shed water off the playing surfaces. The island receives 50-60 inches of rain on average at the lower elevations, most of which comes during their rainy season from June through November. An emphasis on surface drainage will keep turf healthy and playing well once it’s established, but erosion was a significant concern during grow-in. The maintenance team devised a number of ingenious erosion-control systems to manage surface water until the grass was established.

Keeping erosion to a minimum was one of the biggest challenges of the entire project and a central focus of the grow-in and maintenance teams, especially given St. Lucia’s climate. “We have to use every control measure we can think of,” said Di Giorgio. “We’re using temporary above-ground drainage pipe sandwiched between wattle, silt fence, sandbags, boards and anything we can think of to funnel water into pipes instead of causing washouts. Nothing’s more important than the environment to us and preventing erosion while turf is being established is a top priority.”

In addition to thoughtful construction practices, the staff at Cabot St. Lucia are helping to protect the island’s unique ecosystem in other ways, including training on how to protect sea turtles that may decide to nest on the beach next to the golf course.

Grassing

The grass selected for all surfaces is ‘Pure Dynasty’ seashore paspalum, a variety Di Giorgio found ideal for the oceanside site and had managed previously at Playa Grande with great results. St. Lucia restricts the import of vegetative plant material, so sprigging or stolonizing wasn’t an option. Therefore, the course was seeded wall to wall with the salt-tolerant turf. A combination of factors, including salt content in the irrigation sources and the impact of salt spray from the ocean, drove the decision to use paspalum.

“We hydroseeded some areas and drop-seeded others, whatever we could do to get that seed-to-soil contact on a very sloped site and establish the turf as quickly as possible,” said Di Giorgio. At both Point Hardy and Playa Grande, he found that ‘Pure Dynasty’ germinates well but takes around three to four weeks to really get going. A comprehensive grow-in fertility plan was developed that included gypsum, micronutrients and three different fertilizers to hasten establishment. Figuring out the right recipe for fertility applications wasn’t as easy as it might be elsewhere because of the long turnaround times on soil tests sent to the U.S.

The irrigation situation

The facility currently uses reverse-osmosis plants to desalinate seawater and irrigate the golf course, lawns and resort grounds, but will eventually hook up to the local wastewater plant and mix the two water sources. The initial plan was to irrigate with groundwater, but wells failed to produce enough to meet turf needs. Obtaining permits and handling the logistics of getting specialized desalination equipment on the island complicated matters further.

The irrigation system is designed to provide only partial coverage along the edges of the holes. This intentional reduction in coverage not only decreases water use, it also facilitates the rough-around-the-edges look the architects wanted, with a gradual transition from paspalum to the surrounding native vegetation. In many areas adjacent to the playing surfaces and shoreline, native vegetation removed during construction was put back in place afterward to eliminate the need for irrigation, give a more natural look and help prevent erosion.

Supply ships

One of the biggest challenges Di Giorgio has faced is getting supplies and materials onto the island. This logistics problem has affected nearly every aspect of construction and maintenance. “In America, if you need something you run down to Lesco and grab it. Just last week, I ordered a drop seeder and told them it has to be at the port in Palm Beach by Tuesday to get through customs and make the boat Thursday. Lo and behold he misses it by one day and my seeder is delayed over a week,” lamented Di Giorgio.

Whether it’s irrigation hoses, mowing equipment or anything else, at times he’s been unable to get what is needed, when it’s needed. On one extreme occasion, a weekly supply ship was delayed after being diverted by the French Coast Guard to help rescue sailors on another ship.

Another wrinkle in the agronomic program is getting permission from St. Lucia’s pesticide board to import or use any pesticides that aren’t on the independent country’s short list of approved products. Di Giorgio recently went to the board for approval to use Acelepryn, an important tool for armyworm and grub control on the island. Crabgrass and sedges can be troublesome weeds on St. Lucia as well and only a limited number of approved products can be used.

In the end, Di Giorgio summed up the issue by saying, “It brings out the creativity in you. I mean, you really have to think about how to get stuff done – sometimes without having everything you need to do it.” Despite these challenges, the maintenance team repeatedly finds a way to get the job done and keep the grow-in on track.

Finishing touches

Since arriving at Point Hardy, Di Giorgio has leaned on his fellow Caribbean and Cabot superintendents for advice and credits colleagues for much of his success. He is also quick to give a nod to his hard-working maintenance team for all the progress at Cabot St. Lucia. In addition to the golf course, Di Giorgio also heads up landscaping, beach cleaning and myriad other duties – including establishing a nursery for all lawns in the resort. He’s even taken a key role in developing an organic farm to provide a farm-to-table experience at the resort.

Di Giorgio and his team plan to put the finishing touches on the golf course over the coming weeks – as long as the weather cooperates. Point Hardy is slated to open for limited preview play in March with all 18 holes opening later this year.