Bear Creek Golf Complex - Chandler Arizona

Bear Creek Golf Complex Improvements

Brian Calhoun, PGA, shares his thoughts

By Brian Weis

Over the past year Bear Creek Golf Complex analyzed guest feedback and decided to make major changes to the course and its maintenance. The two main focuses were the bunkers and turf. The course has recently announced the completion of the changes.

Brian Calhoun, PGA Teaching Professional, shared his thoughts on the recent changes. "In a continuing attempt to provide you with the best product and golf value in the East Valley, our golf courses are better than ever this year. We have some new and improved golf course maintenance practices that we would like to share with you."

Our overseeding process on The Bear Course this year changed to dynamically improve the putting surfaces. In addition to the perennial ryegrass and poa trivialis seed that is normally used for overseeding greens, we've added creeping bentgrass to the mix to give a smoother, fuller texture to the surface. Furthering our effort to make the greens smooth and true was the application of three times the amount of seed on the greens that has been applied in years past.

In addition, new Toro mowers have drastically improved the quality and uniformity of cut on the grass. The result: the greens at Bear Creek are better than ever. Come out and enjoy the improvements that we've made. We think you'll be glad that you did," said Calhoun.

Revised: 11/16/2011 - Article Viewed 32,482 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.