Mission Viejo Country Club
Mission Viejo Country Club, a Robert Trent Jones design, opened in 1966. The Club has been the host of many tournaments as well as the US Open qualifying rounds.
Kevin Hutchins, Superintendent, Mission Viejo Country Club in Mission Viejo, California discovered the SubAir benefit while superintendent at The Presidio Club. "The roots from our SubAir green were longer, but more importantly, were much whiter than the non-SubAir green," says Hutchins. When Hutchins arrived at Mission Viejo, he decided to fit two putting greens for use of a SubAir portable system. He has since installed SubAir operational piping at nine of his greens with future plans for all his greens.
"Hole #16 is our problem green," says Hutchins. "The hole is in a valley where it stays humid and the air stagnant. Sometimes we’ll run the Air Force One the whole day. It has made a huge difference in the quality of the turf."
Hutchins’ turf maintenance routine includes operating the Air Force One at each green 30 minutes per day – 4 days per week. He also uses the portable monthly during the summer to flush the salts from Mission Viejo’s greens. Hutchins explains, "The process takes about 60 to 90 minutes per green. As we apply water to the green from the irrigation system, we run the Air Force One to pull the water through the soil profile flushing the salts and moving the water away from the green."