If you’re running a golf course in the Southwest, you already know that keeping a high-traffic property in pristine condition is a constant, quiet battle. Sedona Golf Resort is famous for its breathtaking views of northern Arizona’s red rock formations and its dramatic Gary Panks design. But behind the scenes, well into its third decade of play, the resort was facing a double-header of operational headaches: a 38-year-old mainline irrigation system showing its age, and a stubborn red rock clay soil that resisted consistent moisture.
Sedona’s General Manager, Jeremy Hayman, and his crew were doing everything right. They were aerifying fairways twice a year and aggressively top-dressing just to force water down into that tight clay. But eventually, every course hits a point where you simply can’t out-aerify aging, deteriorating pipes. That’s when Jeremy called our team at PTI Golf.
The Mission: Upgrading Infrastructure and Restoring Bunkers
Our project superintendent, Cruz Urive, took the reins on-site to execute a dual-scope renovation focused on Sedona’s two most critical playing features: its water and its sand.
- Modernizing the Irrigation Loop: To establish consistent, reliable nightly watering cycles, we dug in and replaced the aging eight-inch mainline originally laid down in 1988 on holes 11 and 13. We also reconfigured lateral lines on the practice range tee and holes 5 and 9, before grading and re-sodding the affected areas to make sure the work blends in seamlessly with the surrounding turf.
- Rebuilding the Greenside Experience: Bunkers are a key visual and strategic signature of Sedona, but they needed a major facelift. Our crews rebuilt 39 greenside bunkers from the ground up. True to our maintenance-first construction philosophy, we also worked to eliminate 5.5 unnecessary or poorly positioned bunkers. This immediately cut down on the daily labor hours required for the local maintenance crew while focusing play exactly where the architect intended. We then refilled the restored traps with 1,200 tons of premium Arizona 50/50 sand.
Putting Relationships Over Profit when Plans Shift
In golf course renovation, what’s on the blueprint rarely matches exactly what you find once you get heavy machinery into the dirt. Mid-project, Sedona encountered two unexpected changes to the scope of work.
At many traditional contracting firms, a scope change is an invitation to halt work, renegotiate, and hit your board with administrative change-order fees. But that’s not our culture. We treat your golf course as if it were our own, which means being highly collaborative and incredibly easy to do business with. Cruz and our on-site crew adapted instantly, solved the challenges alongside Jeremy, and kept the project on track without any administrative friction.
“We are happy with how it turned out, and I think our golfers are as well. The on-site PTI crew was very good to work with. Cruz was great. I think we had two different changes to the scope of the project that popped up, and they adapted quickly without problems.”
— Jeremy Hayman, General Manager, Sedona Golf Resort
The Results: Consistent Nightly Cycles and Better Turf
Today, Sedona’s par-71 championship course is performing beautifully. The upgrades allow the agronomic team to run consistent, predictable nightly watering cycles, resulting in dramatically improved turf health and more uniform course conditioning. Meanwhile, players are experiencing smoother, more playable, and highly consistent greenside conditions.
Let’s Talk About Your Property
Whether you are wrestling with aging mainline pipes, struggling to keep moisture in difficult Southwest soils, or planning a much-needed bunker refresh, you don’t have to carry that operational load alone.
We’d love to walk your course, grab a cup of coffee, and look at your property’s infrastructure through a collaborative, maintenance-first lens. From first putt to final cut, consider your next project handled.
Click here to schedule a complimentary site review and consultation, or call us directly at (702) 315-5121.
