What stands out the most about the golf courses we play week after week, year after year? For most golfers, it's the "features" of a course the bunkers, greens and hazards that we remember, sometimes not so fondly, well after the round is over. The features of a course give it its character, and are the topic for this second installment in our series on the renovation of the course at IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador. IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador is currently undergoing a complete renovation designed by Gene Bates Golf Design of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. When the course is reopened in November 2003, it will be one of the most playable, scenic and technically advanced courses in the region. Before the new greens are formed and the new bunkers are built, a new drainage and irrigation system must be installed. Though much less glamorous and generally under-appreciated, good drainage and irrigation are essential to properly maintain the course. Here in Florida, good drainage is important to help the course shed water quickly after those heavy summer downpours. If properly shaped, the course's rolls and swales will promote shedding of water into drain inlets. Lacking this design feature, many older courses suffer from permanent maintenance problems, such as wet spots on the fairways and weed growth. At IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador, all tees, greens and bunkers are being rebuilt, so the opportunity presented itself to take advantage of the many recent technical advances that have been made in these areas. To ensure that IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador's greens are more playable and easier to maintain, Bates Golf Design started with a highly detailed greens plan. All aspects location, size, shape, drainage, etc. are taken into consideration during this process. Bates has a policy of designing greens with no more than 2% and no less than 1% of slope in the pin placement areas for more "makeable" puts. In other words, designed with the player in mind. To build the new greens at IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador, Bates and Turner Construction are installing a sophisticated drainage system a herringbone style matrix of pipes that feed a central drainage line. This system is laid underneath a 4 inch layer of pea gravel and on top, 10-12 inches of a healthy "greens mix." The result will be greens that are dry 30 minutes after rain showers, and stand up better to increased traffic due to healthier turf. Speaking of which, the turf for these new putting surfaces will be TifEagle, which is genetically engineered to grow dense and low, so mowing heights can be reduced and speed can be increased. There are 65 more features that will give IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador a unique look and improve its playability its brand new bunkers. Unique bunker design is a hallmark of the Bates Golf Design Company. While most golf course bunkers have a rounded "nose," Gene Bates uses a "convex" edge to keep the sand in place and prevent water from rolling off into the bunkers. Each bunker is set up with a catch basin, or low area, in front of it to drain water and make the bunker stand out more visually. So, the bunkers are less likely to become a maintenance problem, and don't have to have steep sides. In planning the placement of fairway bunkers, Bates takes a very sensible approach. Rather than presenting an unreasonable challenge to the average player, the bunkers are highly visible from the tee and their placement helps "steer" the golfer through the hole. Without question, unique features add beauty and character to a golf course. If those features are designed and built well, they will also increase the course's playability and make the course easier to maintain, allowing for increasing numbers of rounds played and satisfied members. In the next issue of Golfing Lifestyle, our series concludes with a discussion of the high-tech turf grasses being grown at IMG Academies Golf & Country Club at El Conquistador, from tee to green.