Missouri City residents shouldn’t be alarmed if the grass on the El Dorado Golf Course starts to look rather tall. Having high grass on the course now means having low maintenance greens in the future, said Scott Elmer, the City’s Director of Public Works.

“The City is purposely letting the golf course grass grow tall, which is necessary for the greens to develop a strong root system,” Elmer said. “By letting the grass shoot up and rest at this stage of El Dorado’s development, we can be sure the terrain will be healthy enough to handle the stress of constant golf course play. And having these greens flourish at this time means the City will have lower costs when keeping up the course in the long run.”

The El Dorado course is being rebuilt and is planned to re-open later in the year.

Grass seeding for the course is set to begin the week of May 18. Heavy rains earlier this month delayed the seeding from taking place the first week of May. With El Dorado’s pump station now fully operational, the City is equipped and ready to begin planting the Princess Bermuda grass, Elmer said.

The seeding and grass growth process for the entire El Dorado course is expected to take about six months to complete. In particular, grass will sprout tall during the first eight weeks after seeding, which Elmer said is an essential stage of development for the blades.

“While the course may not look scenic for a period of time, citizens should know letting the grass grow taller is a requirement for the quality and longevity of the greens,” Elmer said. “Be assured that by the end of 2009, El Dorado will be a picture-perfect course that will make Missouri City a prime golf destination in the region.”

For their safety and for the good of the greens, residents are urged to refrain from walking, riding bikes and four-wheelers or letting pets roam on any part of El Dorado as the seeding and grass growth takes place.

For more information on the Quail Valley Golf Course, visit www.golfquailvalley.com or www.missouricitytx.gov.