Laughlin Ranch Golf Club in Bullhead City, Arizona transformed a challenging desert site into a lush 7,000-yard course by partnering with Profile Products LLC and using Profile™ Porous Ceramic (PPC) to create custom topsoil. Superintendent Bob Weekes blended on-site sand with 10 percent PPC to hold water, oxygen and nutrients while allowing flushing of saline effluent water, cutting topsoil costs from $11–$12 to $3 per yard. Over 90,000 tons of PPC-mixed topsoil supported rapid sod establishment, enabling the front nine to open by December 18, 2004 and the full course soon after, despite extreme temperatures and tight deadlines.
Key Points
- Desert site in Bullhead City, Arizona with rocky, gravely sandy soil and extreme temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit made grass establishment difficult.
- Weekes and Profile Products LLC created topsoil on-site by blending mined sand with 10 percent Profile™ Porous Ceramic, producing material for $3 per yard instead of $11–$12.
- PPC’s ability to hold water and oxygen, retain nutrients and permit flushing of high-salinity effluent water supported turf health under low humidity and windy conditions.
- Over 90,000 tons of PPC-mixed topsoil and specially grown sod allowed Laughlin Ranch Golf Club to meet its December 18, 2004 opening for the front nine and complete the remaining holes and practice facility by mid-February.
