It's That Time Again...

As you can imagine, it is never a "joyous" occasion when I walk onto a green in the morning and discover a huge divot in close proximity to the cup.  It happens several times a year and my expression and body language upon seeing this situation hardly ever differs.  As passionate as I am about our greens, the only thing that may change in that initial moment are the expletives that cross my mind.  I have little patience for senseless acts like this, so brutal honesty is what you will receive. 

This act of poor etiquette is NOT ACCEPTABLE as a member of this County Club.  There is no justification, period.  Respect your maintenance staff's efforts, respect your fellow members, and above all: Please Respect Your Golf Course.

Bugspray and Turf

Although our pesky nat/flying insect season is short, it happens to coincide with the peak heat of the summer.  We ask that when applying insect repellent, please do so when not standing on tight cut turf areas (ex:  tees, fairways, and definitely not greens!).  Below is a photo from #3 fairway illustrating the impact the aerosol chemistry has on closely mown bermudagrass.

Missed putts?

After borrowing the idea from a fellow Golf Course Superintendent, I enlisted the assistance of a few members willing to donate their time.  (Thank you both, Mr. Fike and Mr. Lynch)

The project was to identify golfer's un-repaired or incorrectly repaired ball marks on one Par 3.  The photos below illustrate the several hundred un-repaired or incorrectly repaired ball marks on Hole #15.  This exercise took approximately 45 minutes and clearly identifies that members are not taking the time to fix their ballmarks.  


The heat of the summer results in a larger moisture requirement for proper plant hydration.  This will create a slightly softer surface than typically experienced at the club.  


The next time your putt shimmies offline, there is a high probability that it is the result of  a ballmark.  Please show ownership in your golf course and help us maintain the best possible surface.

Practice Makes Perfect

The putting green is an area of practice.  It is always challenging to produce a "perfect" surface that emulates all of the greens when there is tenfold the amount of traffic and wear.  The image below illustrates the impact of a golfer's dedication to his/her game by practicing putting from a particular location for an extensive amount of time.  (Note the footprints)

More Etiquette & Knowledge of Golf Rules

A divot on a green is not acceptable and should not be something that one would expect to see at a Private Club.  I'm not sure why this happens every spring, but it is quite frustrating.  Please show proper etiquette and respect to the course and our hard working staff.  If you have a question regarding the rules of golf and your options when landing on a putting surface, please speak with the Golf Professionals to understand your relief.

Hole #11 Green-  April 27th, 2011

Divot Repair

When filling your divots, please fill the divot level to grade and do not leave it mounded.  If excess material is applied, disperse the mound with your shoe.  Raised divot mix can dull the reel mowers utilized to cut the surface thus causing more stress to the turfgrass and additional maintenance.


As always- Thank you for your dedication to your course and it's upkeep, presentation, and playability.  

Incorrect divot repair (mounding) 

Correct divot repair (smooth and level to grade)

Lacking Respect

I'm not quite sure of the reasoning behind this, but we have been seeing an increase in "divot" damage around the pins as of late. This behavior is not only unacceptable, but disrespectful to both your fellow members and the maintenance staff, whom work extremely hard to provide you with arguably some of the best conditions in the Inland Empire.

Hole #9 Thursday Afternoon:

Ballmarks

Ball marks, those indentations caused when a ball lands sharply on a soft green, have been ruining good putts since the days of Old Tom Morris. Unrepaired ball marks take two to three weeks to properly heal, leaving behind unsightly, uneven putting surfaces. On the other hand, a repaired ball mark only takes half that time to heal.

It is your responsibility as a golfer to fix your own marks. If you're truly a steward of the game, you'll fix any others you see while your partners are putting. There's really not much to it, but there are a few guidelines you should follow when making these repairs.