The curtain has finally dropped on another season. I haven't been at the course much these last few weeks. The weather and leaves have turned, and temperatures have fallen below my comfort level. (That and my other job is currently keeping me a tad busy). I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Hollands once again for giving me the chance to work around the course. As always its been fun, entertaining and a great learning experience.
This week the flags are all coming down and the greens will be prepared against the inevitable winter snows.There will be one more furry of activity on the course as tarps are pulled out of storage and carefully laid out across the greens and tees. Soon enough winter snows will pile deep across the course and the countdown will be on for the return of the spring and another seasons play.
Winter golf will be restricted to sunnier climes or virtual games and the mowers will sit quietly stored in their sheds. Making the Cut will also be taking a break with only a few updates about the course in winter! The good news is there are only 5 1/2 months until spring! Until then I hope you can all find suitable pursuits to keep you busy. Hopefully the time will pass quickly. See you next spring when its time to start making the cut again!
FSJ Links - Nearly time to Swing By
Links - Your In Town Course
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Clean up Laps
The changing and falling of the the leaves, the dwindling daylight, and slowly declining temperatures provide ample evidence that this golf season is close to an end. Determined golfers are making the most of the time left taking advantage of a sunny September. The cooler darker days are limiting grass growth and mowing schedules have been cut back, and on course maintenance is shifting from summer maintenance to autumn hardening and preparations for winter.
Greens and tee boxes have been aerated and top dressed in order to strengthen root structures. Trees have been trimmed and cut. Potential deadfalls have been felled and removed. Several small scale maintenance projects are also underway that take advantage of the reduced play and traffic on the course, and preparations are underway for putting the course to bed in October.
A lot goes into prepping the course for winter. There is much more to closing than just pulling out the flags and gathering up the tee markers. Greens and tees will need to be chemically treated against winter moulds and diseases. Blankets and covers need to be acquired and sized for installation before the winter snows arrive.
Keeping ice out of the irrigation system is always a challenge, especially at the junction where the city supply connects with the course's system. Shutting the water off is easy, as are blowing out the courses lines with air. The hard part is preventing gradual seepage from ground water or spring runoff that will alternately freeze and thaw through out the the system and potentially cause delays in restoring the irrigation system in the spring.
Once mowers are retired for the season they need to be serviced and prepared both for winter storage and for easy start up in the spring. Some reels are sent away for sharpening, other parts are serviced on site. All equipment needs to be assessed for wear and tear and a determination made as to whether or not it can be prepared for another season or whether it should be retired and replaced. The shops are currently not well heated or insulated so the window of opportunity where work may be done comfortably can be pretty narrow.
In terms of competitive play, there are very few functions left this year. The men's commercial league wind up was played Sundays and the playoffs have come down to a winner take all face off between the first and second place teams. Only the closing day Die hard tournament is left on the fixtures card. My work year at the course has also drawn to a close.
Sadly, Ive had to park my mower and return to my week day job at the school district. As always its been great fun to make the cut this year. I'll continue to update the outside blog through the fall and into winter, though entries will likely be limited to one or two a month. I've enjoyed writing this blog and hope readers found it interesting. When I started back in March my target was to reach at least 100 hits per month. The site will reach its 700th reader sometime this week, so that goal will be reached. Hopefully you can get out to the course a few more times in the next two weeks but if I don't see you out there I'll watch for you next spring when we start making the cut once again!
Greens and tee boxes have been aerated and top dressed in order to strengthen root structures. Trees have been trimmed and cut. Potential deadfalls have been felled and removed. Several small scale maintenance projects are also underway that take advantage of the reduced play and traffic on the course, and preparations are underway for putting the course to bed in October.
A lot goes into prepping the course for winter. There is much more to closing than just pulling out the flags and gathering up the tee markers. Greens and tees will need to be chemically treated against winter moulds and diseases. Blankets and covers need to be acquired and sized for installation before the winter snows arrive.
Keeping ice out of the irrigation system is always a challenge, especially at the junction where the city supply connects with the course's system. Shutting the water off is easy, as are blowing out the courses lines with air. The hard part is preventing gradual seepage from ground water or spring runoff that will alternately freeze and thaw through out the the system and potentially cause delays in restoring the irrigation system in the spring.
Once mowers are retired for the season they need to be serviced and prepared both for winter storage and for easy start up in the spring. Some reels are sent away for sharpening, other parts are serviced on site. All equipment needs to be assessed for wear and tear and a determination made as to whether or not it can be prepared for another season or whether it should be retired and replaced. The shops are currently not well heated or insulated so the window of opportunity where work may be done comfortably can be pretty narrow.
In terms of competitive play, there are very few functions left this year. The men's commercial league wind up was played Sundays and the playoffs have come down to a winner take all face off between the first and second place teams. Only the closing day Die hard tournament is left on the fixtures card. My work year at the course has also drawn to a close.
Sadly, Ive had to park my mower and return to my week day job at the school district. As always its been great fun to make the cut this year. I'll continue to update the outside blog through the fall and into winter, though entries will likely be limited to one or two a month. I've enjoyed writing this blog and hope readers found it interesting. When I started back in March my target was to reach at least 100 hits per month. The site will reach its 700th reader sometime this week, so that goal will be reached. Hopefully you can get out to the course a few more times in the next two weeks but if I don't see you out there I'll watch for you next spring when we start making the cut once again!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
In the Loop
This past weekend saw Links host its 2011 club championship. The outside crew faced a few challenges in getting the course ready for this event. A broken water line on Thursday and a broken belt on the greens mower Friday, meant some hurried activity and improvisation were needed to have the course set up for the championship. Fortunately the weather was fabulous both days.
As it turned out most of the grounds crew sat out this year's event. There are many reasons why we might skip a tournament. Len might tell you the event is for members and most of us are staff. Russ might say that he doesn't care to hear comments about where he sets the pins, and I'm not partial to comments about how the greens are running. I think really, we just like setting up the course better than competing on it.
I did get to be part of this year's championship in a different sort of way, however by caddying for the eventual winner, Jeremy Clothier. A year ago Jeremy had lined up someone else to be on his bag for the club championship. Plans had even been set for sport appropriate costumes, but somehow the plan went awry. When the topic came up this year I volunteered for the job. I'd have to say it was both interesting and kind of fun. The costumes were restricted mostly to Jeremy's John Daly-like pants and my Bagger Vance hat, but the competition in the championship flight was tight and intense and came right down to the last three holes before a par birdie birdie run earned Jeremy the title.
The fact that Jeremy brought a caddy likely raised a few eyebrows, and I know a few folks wondered about why I'd consent to lug around Jeremy's extra large staff bag, but the facts are that's how caddying is done. Most folks are familiar with the sight of caddies on the PGA tour, and Jeremy and I were trying to simulate that look as best we could.
The role of the caddy historically dates back to the 17th century when the nobility would have young military officers carry their clubs for them. These cadets, pronounced cad - days, eventually morphed into more seasoned course workers at Scottish golf clubs. These caddies (cad - deez) worked in pairs and would for a fee, carry a member's clubs and scout ahead to ensure that a member's ball could be easily located for the next shot. The caddie who went on ahead was called a fore caddy. When a member hit, the carry caddy would shout "fore" to alert the fore caddy of the incoming shot. This tradition has carried on in golf etiquette and is the reason golfers still yell fore when a shot threatens to come too close to players on ahead.
In the 19th century caddies were truly the first professionals to work the golf circuit. The game was played mostly by amateurs and the caddies, as course workers were the only ones who could make their entire living from the game. As the 20th century progressed and golf became an increasingly professional game, caddies were less and less commonly used by average golfers. Today they are almost exclusively found at the professional level and at some elite private courses.
The modern caddy's job is both simple and complex. Sometimes described as "Show up, keep up and shut up" the caddie's real job is to give his golfer what they need, when they need it. Whether its yardage, the right club, encouragement, water, a snack or just a helpful word or two to keep the golfer focused, caddies need to be in the right place at the right time. They keep the equipment clean and in good working order and tend to the flag around the green. Almost invisible when they do their job well, caddies only make the news when they make a mistake or, as with the recent case of Stevie Williams, they are let go.
This weekend there were two caddies found at the Links club championship. I was carrying for Jeremy and one of the juniors had a rather diminutive younger associate pushing his cart. Ironically we both got offers to abandon our golfers and work for other competitors at higher rates of pay, though neither of us did. I don't know if having a caddy was instrumental to Jeremy outlasting the competition to win the club championship. Certainly to win, a golfer needs the talent and ability to hit the shots that the course demands. I'd like to think my caddying helped to some degree. At least I can claim to be the caddy with the best winning percentage at Links. Until next year I'll just take my 1-0 record and go back to my regular job making the cut around the greens!
As it turned out most of the grounds crew sat out this year's event. There are many reasons why we might skip a tournament. Len might tell you the event is for members and most of us are staff. Russ might say that he doesn't care to hear comments about where he sets the pins, and I'm not partial to comments about how the greens are running. I think really, we just like setting up the course better than competing on it.
I did get to be part of this year's championship in a different sort of way, however by caddying for the eventual winner, Jeremy Clothier. A year ago Jeremy had lined up someone else to be on his bag for the club championship. Plans had even been set for sport appropriate costumes, but somehow the plan went awry. When the topic came up this year I volunteered for the job. I'd have to say it was both interesting and kind of fun. The costumes were restricted mostly to Jeremy's John Daly-like pants and my Bagger Vance hat, but the competition in the championship flight was tight and intense and came right down to the last three holes before a par birdie birdie run earned Jeremy the title.
The fact that Jeremy brought a caddy likely raised a few eyebrows, and I know a few folks wondered about why I'd consent to lug around Jeremy's extra large staff bag, but the facts are that's how caddying is done. Most folks are familiar with the sight of caddies on the PGA tour, and Jeremy and I were trying to simulate that look as best we could.
The role of the caddy historically dates back to the 17th century when the nobility would have young military officers carry their clubs for them. These cadets, pronounced cad - days, eventually morphed into more seasoned course workers at Scottish golf clubs. These caddies (cad - deez) worked in pairs and would for a fee, carry a member's clubs and scout ahead to ensure that a member's ball could be easily located for the next shot. The caddie who went on ahead was called a fore caddy. When a member hit, the carry caddy would shout "fore" to alert the fore caddy of the incoming shot. This tradition has carried on in golf etiquette and is the reason golfers still yell fore when a shot threatens to come too close to players on ahead.
In the 19th century caddies were truly the first professionals to work the golf circuit. The game was played mostly by amateurs and the caddies, as course workers were the only ones who could make their entire living from the game. As the 20th century progressed and golf became an increasingly professional game, caddies were less and less commonly used by average golfers. Today they are almost exclusively found at the professional level and at some elite private courses.
The modern caddy's job is both simple and complex. Sometimes described as "Show up, keep up and shut up" the caddie's real job is to give his golfer what they need, when they need it. Whether its yardage, the right club, encouragement, water, a snack or just a helpful word or two to keep the golfer focused, caddies need to be in the right place at the right time. They keep the equipment clean and in good working order and tend to the flag around the green. Almost invisible when they do their job well, caddies only make the news when they make a mistake or, as with the recent case of Stevie Williams, they are let go.
This weekend there were two caddies found at the Links club championship. I was carrying for Jeremy and one of the juniors had a rather diminutive younger associate pushing his cart. Ironically we both got offers to abandon our golfers and work for other competitors at higher rates of pay, though neither of us did. I don't know if having a caddy was instrumental to Jeremy outlasting the competition to win the club championship. Certainly to win, a golfer needs the talent and ability to hit the shots that the course demands. I'd like to think my caddying helped to some degree. At least I can claim to be the caddy with the best winning percentage at Links. Until next year I'll just take my 1-0 record and go back to my regular job making the cut around the greens!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Hole Truth About Aerification
You may have seen that over this week tee boxes are being hole punched. This process is known as aerification. Aerification achieves three important objectives. It relieves soil compaction, it provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of grass roots and it reduces and prevents the accumulation of too much thatch.
The quality of a good playing surface is more than what golfers see at the surface. In fact, what the golfer sees at the surface is greatly impacted by what goes on below the grass. In order for grass to grow thickly enough to produce a quality green or tee box, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good root systems need to breathe. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles.
Over time, the traffic on the course compacts the soil - particularly in high traffic areas like greeen and tees, or areas where the soil contains a lot of clay. When soil gets compacted, air pockets are crushed, and the roots are essentially left without enough air. Without oxygen, the grass plants become weaker and will eventually wither and die.
Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, helping the grass plants to stay healthier. It's often done by removing half-inch cores from the compacted soil, allowing for air and water to get in and promote a resurgence of growth. The spaces are sometimes filled with sand - "topdressing" - to help the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow.
Older courses often are constructed on soils with significant amounts of silt, clay and may be prone to compacting over time. Filling aerification holes with sand improves drainage and resists compaction. The periodic introduction of sand can, over time, avoid or postpone expensive rebuilding or renovations of areas like greens or teeboxes.
Growing turf also gains organic matter on the surface. Frequent cutting produces clippings. While clippings are routinely carted away on the greens, they are left on the tees and fairways to contribute to a layer of organic material. This layer, called thatch, is an accumulation of dead stems, leaves and roots. A little organic matter makes for a good playing surface, but too much invites diseases and insects. Topdressing with sand can prevent thatch buildup, Aerification is one of the best ways to reduce an existing layer and prevent an excess of thatch from becoming established.
Often aerification techniques use machines with "tines"; or knives that simply poke holes through the soil profile. Verticutting greens is such a process. A new technique even uses ultra high-pressure water that's injected through the soil profile to create small holes that relieve some compaction but heal quickly.
Many types of aerifying machines have different attachments to deal with different sorts of problems. So the next time you're ready to comment on all those little holes please remember that a little preventative maintenance brings out the best in the course over the long haul.
The quality of a good playing surface is more than what golfers see at the surface. In fact, what the golfer sees at the surface is greatly impacted by what goes on below the grass. In order for grass to grow thickly enough to produce a quality green or tee box, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good root systems need to breathe. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles.
Over time, the traffic on the course compacts the soil - particularly in high traffic areas like greeen and tees, or areas where the soil contains a lot of clay. When soil gets compacted, air pockets are crushed, and the roots are essentially left without enough air. Without oxygen, the grass plants become weaker and will eventually wither and die.
Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, helping the grass plants to stay healthier. It's often done by removing half-inch cores from the compacted soil, allowing for air and water to get in and promote a resurgence of growth. The spaces are sometimes filled with sand - "topdressing" - to help the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow.
Older courses often are constructed on soils with significant amounts of silt, clay and may be prone to compacting over time. Filling aerification holes with sand improves drainage and resists compaction. The periodic introduction of sand can, over time, avoid or postpone expensive rebuilding or renovations of areas like greens or teeboxes.
Growing turf also gains organic matter on the surface. Frequent cutting produces clippings. While clippings are routinely carted away on the greens, they are left on the tees and fairways to contribute to a layer of organic material. This layer, called thatch, is an accumulation of dead stems, leaves and roots. A little organic matter makes for a good playing surface, but too much invites diseases and insects. Topdressing with sand can prevent thatch buildup, Aerification is one of the best ways to reduce an existing layer and prevent an excess of thatch from becoming established.
Often aerification techniques use machines with "tines"; or knives that simply poke holes through the soil profile. Verticutting greens is such a process. A new technique even uses ultra high-pressure water that's injected through the soil profile to create small holes that relieve some compaction but heal quickly.
Many types of aerifying machines have different attachments to deal with different sorts of problems. So the next time you're ready to comment on all those little holes please remember that a little preventative maintenance brings out the best in the course over the long haul.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The F's of September
The calendar now reads September and there's abundant proof around the course that fall is truly here. September is a month full of f's, and no, I'm not referring to a certain expletive known to occasionally escape a few frustrated golfers lips. September is a month were fog, frost, fertilizer and falling leaves and trees can be frequently found!
As the days shorten and night time temperatures fall two phenomenon begin to occur. The first is fog. Fog forms when warm air moves over colder land. The result is the formation of a low layer of cloud. Fog is tough on golfers and maintenance crews. It is damp and cold and reduces visibility to the point where it is impossible to track the flight of a golf ball or safely transport equipment. A heavy fog usually keeps golfers off the course but it can slow down or stop maintenance as well.
The second phenomenon is frost. Frost is basically frozen dew, deposited on the grass in the form of crystals. Grass itself holds a lots of water so often, with a heavy frost the pant is frozen too. Frost is is found most often in the shoulder seasons of early spring or late fall. It happens most frequently when clear nights allow the surface temperature to drop close to freezing.
Walking on frosted grass causes the brittle frozen plants to break and crushes the plant at a cellular level. Once broken frosted plants cannot repair themselves. Frosted grass that has been walked on will die. It takes between 48 and 72 hours for harm to become apparent but the resulting damage, especially late in the season, can seriously affect the plant's ability to successfully survive the coming winter. A good rule of thumb is if its frozen, don't play on it!
With the end of the season approaching September also means time to fertilize. The grass is nearing the end of its seasonal growth cycle. Fall fertilizing helps keep the plants green and growing to the end of the season and, in combination with verticutting, helps the pants deepen and strengthen their root systems as they prepare for winter dormancy. At Links fertilizer on the greens usually looks like small green grains or dots. The trick is to lay down the fertilizer at the best time. Just before it rains is optimal. A good watering helps the fertilizer dissolve and soak in. Without a good soaking fertilizer can burn the grass and much of it can be picked up by the greens mower, limiting its effect.
Perhaps the most obvious messenger of fall are the trees. The deciduous trees around the course will start to have their leaves turn and fall. Balls that may have already been tough to find in the rough or edges of the fairway will soon be further obscured by leaf litter. While many home owners dutifully rake and bags the leaves that fall on their yards, the sheer volume of leaves that fall at a course make pick up impossible. The decomposing leaves also play a role under the coming snow in protecting and naturally fertilizing the turf beneath them.
You may have noticed that course staff have been falling a number of trees around the course. This is because, in most cases, if we don't fall them, they may fall themselves. The trees that are being culled at this time of the year are diseased, dying or already dead. The best example in the beetle killed pine that had been guarding the left side of number 3. It was sad to see the old tree have to go, but better it be taken down safely than by the wind or nature exposing golfers to risk. Tree maintenance can elicit strong reactions in golfers. Some are quite attached to the trees and find removal of even one quite hard to take. Other members are only too happy to recommend particular trees as potential victims for the chainsaw. Most og the have had instances where they wish they had a Husqvarna in their bags. The lone branch overhanging the left side of the sixth tree box is a frequent nominee for pruning!
With fall upon us winter must certainly be approaching. Whether it be be frost, fog, fertilizer, failing daylight or falling leaves or branches, the autumn is certainly has its challenges The days, and season may be getting short, but there's still a little time left to get out and cut a few shots off your handicap. And while you're doing that I'll be counting down the days I have left to still make the cut!
As the days shorten and night time temperatures fall two phenomenon begin to occur. The first is fog. Fog forms when warm air moves over colder land. The result is the formation of a low layer of cloud. Fog is tough on golfers and maintenance crews. It is damp and cold and reduces visibility to the point where it is impossible to track the flight of a golf ball or safely transport equipment. A heavy fog usually keeps golfers off the course but it can slow down or stop maintenance as well.
The second phenomenon is frost. Frost is basically frozen dew, deposited on the grass in the form of crystals. Grass itself holds a lots of water so often, with a heavy frost the pant is frozen too. Frost is is found most often in the shoulder seasons of early spring or late fall. It happens most frequently when clear nights allow the surface temperature to drop close to freezing.
Walking on frosted grass causes the brittle frozen plants to break and crushes the plant at a cellular level. Once broken frosted plants cannot repair themselves. Frosted grass that has been walked on will die. It takes between 48 and 72 hours for harm to become apparent but the resulting damage, especially late in the season, can seriously affect the plant's ability to successfully survive the coming winter. A good rule of thumb is if its frozen, don't play on it!
With the end of the season approaching September also means time to fertilize. The grass is nearing the end of its seasonal growth cycle. Fall fertilizing helps keep the plants green and growing to the end of the season and, in combination with verticutting, helps the pants deepen and strengthen their root systems as they prepare for winter dormancy. At Links fertilizer on the greens usually looks like small green grains or dots. The trick is to lay down the fertilizer at the best time. Just before it rains is optimal. A good watering helps the fertilizer dissolve and soak in. Without a good soaking fertilizer can burn the grass and much of it can be picked up by the greens mower, limiting its effect.
Perhaps the most obvious messenger of fall are the trees. The deciduous trees around the course will start to have their leaves turn and fall. Balls that may have already been tough to find in the rough or edges of the fairway will soon be further obscured by leaf litter. While many home owners dutifully rake and bags the leaves that fall on their yards, the sheer volume of leaves that fall at a course make pick up impossible. The decomposing leaves also play a role under the coming snow in protecting and naturally fertilizing the turf beneath them.
You may have noticed that course staff have been falling a number of trees around the course. This is because, in most cases, if we don't fall them, they may fall themselves. The trees that are being culled at this time of the year are diseased, dying or already dead. The best example in the beetle killed pine that had been guarding the left side of number 3. It was sad to see the old tree have to go, but better it be taken down safely than by the wind or nature exposing golfers to risk. Tree maintenance can elicit strong reactions in golfers. Some are quite attached to the trees and find removal of even one quite hard to take. Other members are only too happy to recommend particular trees as potential victims for the chainsaw. Most og the have had instances where they wish they had a Husqvarna in their bags. The lone branch overhanging the left side of the sixth tree box is a frequent nominee for pruning!
With fall upon us winter must certainly be approaching. Whether it be be frost, fog, fertilizer, failing daylight or falling leaves or branches, the autumn is certainly has its challenges The days, and season may be getting short, but there's still a little time left to get out and cut a few shots off your handicap. And while you're doing that I'll be counting down the days I have left to still make the cut!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Art of Verticutting
If you've played the course recently you will have noticed that the greens appear to have been sliced and diced and left with a bit of a waffle like pattern embossed across their surface. This effect is the result of verticutting - a cultivating process designed to reduce thatch and improve playing surfaces. Special reels with vertical blades are run across greens cutting into the surface to reduce thatch and promote both quicker putting surfaces and stronger grass growth. In terms of playability its a case of short term pain for long term gain.
One way to look at verticutting is as a method of pruning the greens much like a gardener might prune trees or rose bushes. The cutting process slices downwards, cutting the plants lateral subterranean shoots and stolons and lifting and reducing the thatch layer through which the individual grass shoots grow. The cut material is left on the surface of the green and is easily picked up by the regular greens mowers horizontal reels.
There are many potential benefits to vericutting a green. The turf is opened up providing greater access to sunlight and moisture. The vertical slicing allows for easier top dressing so sand and fertilizer can be easily added to a green.With lateral growth controlled grass plants redirect energy towards stronger vertical growth, generating plants that stand straighter and provide a smoother faster putting surface. Grass is a hardy and resilient plant. Properly watered and fed, a verticut green will respond with new growth, quickly healing over any scars the cutting process might impart.
Some may ask why verticut at this time of year when the days are getting shorter and growing conditions may not seem as strong as earlier in the year. The answer lies in the type of grass used on the greens and in the way the greens have played throughout the season. Optimal vericutting times for northern climate grasses come towards the beginning and end of the playing season. The process puts the plants under stress and promotes a stimulating hardening response as the plants react to cultivation. At this time of year, as vertical growth begins to slow, it is important to set the plants up for end of season processes that will help them survive the winter. Having been cut and played all through the summer, the thatch layer has built up to the point where a good verticut will have a positive impact when the greens are opened up to more sunlight and moisture.
Many course follow a more aggressive program of verticutting and top dressing. At Links we try to monitor the turf carefully in order to maintain a healthy balance of cultivation processes. Verticutting is a very aggressive cultivation process. Doing it too frequently can cause more harm than good. Through the earlier part of the summer Links uses other methods such as rolling to establish faster greenspeeds.
In two weeks time Links will be hosting its club championship. By verticutting now, the grounds crew should elicit a positive response from the greens resulting in their being in top shape for the year's grand finale event. Similarly, the Mens's Commercial League is winding to a close, with weekly league play giving way to the playoff rounds. It might not be on the scale of the Fed-ex Cup but the club championship and commercial league playoffs do generate considerable competitive spirit amongst some of our members and its best if the grounds crew can do our bit to have the course play to its full seasonal potential.
As the season starts to change, people are becoming aware that the number of opportunities to get out for a round are also winding down. Verticutting is just another sign of the season, and though the criss-cross cuts may be briefly disconcerting, they will be with us for a short time only. In the long run, the verticutting process help ensures that putts can run true for the rest of the season and that the greens are ready to deal with the winter to come!
One way to look at verticutting is as a method of pruning the greens much like a gardener might prune trees or rose bushes. The cutting process slices downwards, cutting the plants lateral subterranean shoots and stolons and lifting and reducing the thatch layer through which the individual grass shoots grow. The cut material is left on the surface of the green and is easily picked up by the regular greens mowers horizontal reels.
There are many potential benefits to vericutting a green. The turf is opened up providing greater access to sunlight and moisture. The vertical slicing allows for easier top dressing so sand and fertilizer can be easily added to a green.With lateral growth controlled grass plants redirect energy towards stronger vertical growth, generating plants that stand straighter and provide a smoother faster putting surface. Grass is a hardy and resilient plant. Properly watered and fed, a verticut green will respond with new growth, quickly healing over any scars the cutting process might impart.
Some may ask why verticut at this time of year when the days are getting shorter and growing conditions may not seem as strong as earlier in the year. The answer lies in the type of grass used on the greens and in the way the greens have played throughout the season. Optimal vericutting times for northern climate grasses come towards the beginning and end of the playing season. The process puts the plants under stress and promotes a stimulating hardening response as the plants react to cultivation. At this time of year, as vertical growth begins to slow, it is important to set the plants up for end of season processes that will help them survive the winter. Having been cut and played all through the summer, the thatch layer has built up to the point where a good verticut will have a positive impact when the greens are opened up to more sunlight and moisture.
Many course follow a more aggressive program of verticutting and top dressing. At Links we try to monitor the turf carefully in order to maintain a healthy balance of cultivation processes. Verticutting is a very aggressive cultivation process. Doing it too frequently can cause more harm than good. Through the earlier part of the summer Links uses other methods such as rolling to establish faster greenspeeds.
In two weeks time Links will be hosting its club championship. By verticutting now, the grounds crew should elicit a positive response from the greens resulting in their being in top shape for the year's grand finale event. Similarly, the Mens's Commercial League is winding to a close, with weekly league play giving way to the playoff rounds. It might not be on the scale of the Fed-ex Cup but the club championship and commercial league playoffs do generate considerable competitive spirit amongst some of our members and its best if the grounds crew can do our bit to have the course play to its full seasonal potential.
As the season starts to change, people are becoming aware that the number of opportunities to get out for a round are also winding down. Verticutting is just another sign of the season, and though the criss-cross cuts may be briefly disconcerting, they will be with us for a short time only. In the long run, the verticutting process help ensures that putts can run true for the rest of the season and that the greens are ready to deal with the winter to come!
If Golf Had a Soundtrack
This summer, as part of the RBC Canadian Open festivities, Richard Zokol was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Zokol, grew up in Vancouver playing out of Marine Drive Golf Club. He briefly gained some notoriety, experiencing modest success on the PGA tour as "Disco Dick", by listening to a walkman while he played. A novelty back in the 80's, the walkman has evolved into today's ubiquitous MP3 player. I'm not sure what tunes Zokol listened to back in the day, but it's fun to speculate what songs a modern day golfer might include on their i-pod on a present day playlist.
For example, given recent tour developments Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" might once have been ranked number one, but would now be unlikely to even crack the top 30 in the rankings. Eddie Rabbit's "Drivin My Life Away" or The Fifth Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" might be good choices for the first tee, while the Byrd's "Turn, Turn, Turn" or the the Spice Girls "Stop Right Now" might work on both the greens or as encouragement for errant shots from the fairways. Any golf play list would have to include numbers from the Eagles. "Take It To the Limit" or "Desperado" might be appropriate, depending upon one's handicap. By the same token all songs by Ravi Shankar would have to be prohibited.
Growing up, our tv was often tuned to ABC's coverage of the PGA. Does anyone else remember commentators like Dave Marr, Jim MacKay or Chris Schenkle? How about the theme song for the broadcasts, "Love's Theme" by Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra? Even now the tune evokes memories of Sunday afternoons watching Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, or Lee Trevino bring home another victory.
The Beach Boy's "I Get Around" sounds like an invitation to get a tee time, and Abba's "The Winner Take's It All" neatly sums up the conclusion of many a friendly wager. Given my current role as a greens keeper, I'd need to include Brian Adam's "Cuts Like a Knife" and "I Love the Rainy Nights" by Eddie Rabbit.
No golf playlist would be complete without a selection or two from Jake Trout and The Flounders. If you've never heard of them, you should look them up on Youtube. The group was the brainchild of the late Payne Stewart, and consisted of himself and touring professionals Mark Lye and Peter Jacobsen. Together they wrote and performed parodies of pop songs, turning tunes like the Blues Brothers' "I'm a Soul Man" into "I'm A Golf Fan", or Randy Newman's "I Love LA" into "I Love to Play". Their album "PGA Players Swing Their Way to the Green" is hilarious, and still available at I Tunes.
I know at least one other grounds crew member who is a virtual encyclopedia of song first lines. Some days he can be heard all over the course happily bringing snippets of songs. There seems to be no end to his ability to find a tune to match any situation. I'm sure there are many other closet deejays out there, so if my suggestions don't do it for you, feel free to come up with a list of your own. I'll be out there listening to hear which tunes make the cut for you.
For example, given recent tour developments Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" might once have been ranked number one, but would now be unlikely to even crack the top 30 in the rankings. Eddie Rabbit's "Drivin My Life Away" or The Fifth Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" might be good choices for the first tee, while the Byrd's "Turn, Turn, Turn" or the the Spice Girls "Stop Right Now" might work on both the greens or as encouragement for errant shots from the fairways. Any golf play list would have to include numbers from the Eagles. "Take It To the Limit" or "Desperado" might be appropriate, depending upon one's handicap. By the same token all songs by Ravi Shankar would have to be prohibited.
Growing up, our tv was often tuned to ABC's coverage of the PGA. Does anyone else remember commentators like Dave Marr, Jim MacKay or Chris Schenkle? How about the theme song for the broadcasts, "Love's Theme" by Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra? Even now the tune evokes memories of Sunday afternoons watching Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, or Lee Trevino bring home another victory.
The Beach Boy's "I Get Around" sounds like an invitation to get a tee time, and Abba's "The Winner Take's It All" neatly sums up the conclusion of many a friendly wager. Given my current role as a greens keeper, I'd need to include Brian Adam's "Cuts Like a Knife" and "I Love the Rainy Nights" by Eddie Rabbit.
No golf playlist would be complete without a selection or two from Jake Trout and The Flounders. If you've never heard of them, you should look them up on Youtube. The group was the brainchild of the late Payne Stewart, and consisted of himself and touring professionals Mark Lye and Peter Jacobsen. Together they wrote and performed parodies of pop songs, turning tunes like the Blues Brothers' "I'm a Soul Man" into "I'm A Golf Fan", or Randy Newman's "I Love LA" into "I Love to Play". Their album "PGA Players Swing Their Way to the Green" is hilarious, and still available at I Tunes.
I know at least one other grounds crew member who is a virtual encyclopedia of song first lines. Some days he can be heard all over the course happily bringing snippets of songs. There seems to be no end to his ability to find a tune to match any situation. I'm sure there are many other closet deejays out there, so if my suggestions don't do it for you, feel free to come up with a list of your own. I'll be out there listening to hear which tunes make the cut for you.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Golf -There Might be an app For that but.......
One of the joys of working at the golf course is that it gives time away from the bustle and hurry of the rest of daily life. Riding atop a mower no one can reach me on my cell or easily tap me on the shoulder with a question or demand on my time. I’m unplugged, as it were, and frankly, I find that level of disconnection quite energizing!
Not so for many of the golfers I see on the course. They don't seem to be able to leave their plugged in lives behind. Blackberries, i-phones, ipods and other hand held electronics keep these folk wired into their lives and their games. I know golfers who text between shots, and others who rock out to their ipods. I know most of us have encountered the golf bag that suddenly rings, buzzes or vibrates at just the wrong moment. Some people even follow and update their Facebook pages as they play.
Smart phones allow golfers to determine whether rain that interrups a game is a brief shower or an all day event. Trivia questions can be googled, sporting events can be followed in real time, and on call workers can be summoned from the course.
Hand held apps such as GPS, range finders and electronic score cards are becoming increasingly common. I know commercial league teammates who use their phones to determine the yardage of their next shot down to the foot and enter their round onto virtual scorecards hole by hole. There’s even a stimpmeter app for grounds crew members who don't want to pack around the traditional tools of the trade.
The question is no longer whether or not people have access to these devices; advances in technology have ensured that they are readily available. Better questions are should people use them or are they even allowable under the rules of golf? As to the first question, the matter is one of personal choice. Recreation used to be an opportunity to get away from it all for a few hours. Today some people actually feel more anxious if they are separated from their technology for more than a few minutes at a time.
As for the second question, the Rules of Golf are somewhat unclear. Rule 14.3/16 of the USGA deals with electronic devices. The rule states that simply carrying or wearing such a device is not a violation. It is how the device is used that determines whether or not it breaks the rules. The device may not be used in such a manner that it unfairly assists a golfer. It may not communicate information about the course or players game beyond simply measuring distances.
A hand held GPS that tells a player that they are 96 yards out is ok, but if that same device also tells the player the wind speed and direction, the temperature and the humidity, then it is guilty of TMI – too much information, and the rules have been breached. Similarly, a player who wears an i-pod to shut out noise is ok, so long as what they are listening to cannot be used to help set swing tempo or to gain any information that might help the player’s game. Listening to an audio version of Tiger Woods’ “Golf My Way” or even the ticking of a metronome would be violations.
In case you think these rules are getting a little over the top, you should know that both the USGA and the R&A in Scotland have empowered local clubs to set their own competition policies for use of cell phones during play. Many local rules committees have banned the devices outright, with players reported to be in breach of the rules being dq’d from competition. Recently at an american state high school championship, the winning team found themselves DQ’d when it was revealed that a team member had used his ipod over the last two holes of the 54 hole tournament in order to steady his nerves. When the decision was appealed it was revealed that while the USGA would have allowed the device, the course competition committee did not. The appeal was denied!
The PGA of America has recently allowed spectators at tour events to carry cell phones but it continues to ban the use of the devices as cameras. During my recent volunteer work at the RBC Canadian Open, I saw the cell phone policy in action. Despite daily cell phone etiquette reminders announced and posted all around the course, I saw many spectators ignoring the policy. With many cell phone carriers signed on to the PGA as major sponsors, I don’t see the new cell phone policy going away any time soon, but as for the camera policy, good luck enforcing that!
As far as grounds crew are concerned, the only devices we need to be plugged into are our mowers. Some of us may carry our cell phones on the job, but they are there for us to be able to call out than for any one to be able to reach us. Once a tractor is fired up and bouncing down a fairway or running across a green, it is virtually impossible for the operator to hear or feel it anyway. Some of us have considered listening to i-pods while working, but in most cases the practice is counter productive or even dangerous. Many pieces of equipment require the wearing of hearing protection and ear buds, small though they might be, can decrease the effectiveness of protective headphones.
Even with head sets in place it is still important for operators to stay in tune with their machines. Listening to an i-pod can impair an operator's ability to hear a change in the way a mower is running or cause them to miss a sound that may indicate something is amiss. Not hearing that noise can be the difference between a little mistake and a big or costly one. Operating a mower is already a distracting process. Wearing a head set blaring loud music might make it downright dangerous.
So for now I'll stay happily unplugged, unwired and unapped. I like my time at the course focused and distraction free. That way I'm free to watch everybody else, and to keep on making the cut to make sure the greens are the best they can be!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Of Maintenance, Cutters and Aquamen
Growing up my brother and I often heard our father tell us "Don't break anything!". Dad is a great guy and a super father, but handy with tools he is not! Like most children my brother and I were well meaning but inquisitive. Things sometimes got broken and when they did, they either stayed broken or Dad paid someone else to fix them. My brother and I paid for it as well, and not always with just our allowance.
You can imagine my father's surprise when all these years later, I started working at Links. Based on his knowledge of my experience with tools and machinery, I'm pretty sure he thought I would either lose a limb operating the mowers, or quickly put the course into receivership due to all the repair bills I might cause.
Happily this has not been the case. Well into my sixth year at the course, I still have all my working parts, and though I can't claim to have never broken anything, I have been taught and actually can fix many of the things that can or have broken on my watch. I've come to understand that the function of maintenance work is not just to keep things from breaking, but also to restore things that do break back to working order. This may seem like a blinding flash of the obvious to some people, but having grown up under the "don't break anything" edict has left its mark.
My ability to contribute to course operations comes from working with good teachers, from taking classes from accredited training facilities and from experience. Len, Mike and Russ are all good teachers. Each has their own unique style. I appreciate their patience and their willingness to let me have a go at new and different tasks. Wanting to build up my knowledge base, I've also taken golf course operations courses through Selkirk College, and have been impressed with how current our course operations truly are. Over time I've been able to use many of the skills I've been taught but am still pleasantly surprised when things work just the way they are supposed to. Competence is an expectation for the grounds crew, for as Len reminds us from time to time - we have all now been at our assigned tasks long enough to know what we are doing and what to look for when things are going off the rails.
Its still a little unnerving though when the boss goes away and the crew are trusted to keep things working until he gets back. On the one hand its flattering that Len has enough confidence in us to go away. On the other its a little intimidating to know that if things do go south we're mostly on our own to set them right. Last week presented a series of such challenges to the crew. With Len out of town we had to deal with a series of maintenance issues ranging from regular cutting routines through to dealing with broken irrigation heads. I'd like to think we did alright. One day we had virtually every available cutter out on the course. With Doug on the Massey, me doing greens and fairways, Russ on the 1445, Kevin and Josh weed-whacking and Gord doing tees, aprons and collars, we were out in force. We think the results look pretty good, even if we do say so ourselves!
Its dealing with the unexpected that makes the job interesting. Last week that meant dealing with irrigation issues with sprinkler heads exploding by the 8th green and in the middle of the 9th fairway. Russ was up to the challenge of the broken head in front of 8 and together we were able to deal with the new fountain that sprung out of the broken line on 9.
The leak on 9 came at a particularly bad time; just minutes before a junior tournament. It also happened while I was mowing the fairway. One of the tractor wheels passed over a cracked or broken protective cover causing the line to fail. The resulting gusher had echoes of my father's "Don't break anything" ringing in my ears. Rather than just panic, I reacted quickly. The water was shut off, Russ was recruited to take charge of the matter, and in less than a couple of hours, we had the break completely repaired. Its not the first time Russ has had to take the plunge into a watery fix this year. Between these tasks and keeping the course adequately watered he's certainly earned his reputation as the crew's aquaman!
Len is back now, and no doubt we'll discover a few things that could have been done better or differently. Its nice to be entrusted with the care of the course but being told what and how to do things well has its upside too! I've got a new rule to live by now. Its still better not to break anything, but when things do go sideways its even better if you know how to fix them!
By way of an update I did take readings with the speedmeter through the week. It would seem that the base speed of the greens is about 7.5 or medium. Rolling Thursday afternoons adds at least 2 feet to the speed, making greens roll at close to 10 or fast! The Greens iron continues to be a little temperamental, but it certainly achieves the task of amping up green speed for commercial league. The roller also comes with a spike roller to assist in aerating greens. I'm looking forward to perhaps putting it to the test in the coming weeks. Until next time, may all your shots stay on the short stuff and your putts drop in the cups!
You can imagine my father's surprise when all these years later, I started working at Links. Based on his knowledge of my experience with tools and machinery, I'm pretty sure he thought I would either lose a limb operating the mowers, or quickly put the course into receivership due to all the repair bills I might cause.
Happily this has not been the case. Well into my sixth year at the course, I still have all my working parts, and though I can't claim to have never broken anything, I have been taught and actually can fix many of the things that can or have broken on my watch. I've come to understand that the function of maintenance work is not just to keep things from breaking, but also to restore things that do break back to working order. This may seem like a blinding flash of the obvious to some people, but having grown up under the "don't break anything" edict has left its mark.
My ability to contribute to course operations comes from working with good teachers, from taking classes from accredited training facilities and from experience. Len, Mike and Russ are all good teachers. Each has their own unique style. I appreciate their patience and their willingness to let me have a go at new and different tasks. Wanting to build up my knowledge base, I've also taken golf course operations courses through Selkirk College, and have been impressed with how current our course operations truly are. Over time I've been able to use many of the skills I've been taught but am still pleasantly surprised when things work just the way they are supposed to. Competence is an expectation for the grounds crew, for as Len reminds us from time to time - we have all now been at our assigned tasks long enough to know what we are doing and what to look for when things are going off the rails.
Its still a little unnerving though when the boss goes away and the crew are trusted to keep things working until he gets back. On the one hand its flattering that Len has enough confidence in us to go away. On the other its a little intimidating to know that if things do go south we're mostly on our own to set them right. Last week presented a series of such challenges to the crew. With Len out of town we had to deal with a series of maintenance issues ranging from regular cutting routines through to dealing with broken irrigation heads. I'd like to think we did alright. One day we had virtually every available cutter out on the course. With Doug on the Massey, me doing greens and fairways, Russ on the 1445, Kevin and Josh weed-whacking and Gord doing tees, aprons and collars, we were out in force. We think the results look pretty good, even if we do say so ourselves!
Its dealing with the unexpected that makes the job interesting. Last week that meant dealing with irrigation issues with sprinkler heads exploding by the 8th green and in the middle of the 9th fairway. Russ was up to the challenge of the broken head in front of 8 and together we were able to deal with the new fountain that sprung out of the broken line on 9.
The leak on 9 came at a particularly bad time; just minutes before a junior tournament. It also happened while I was mowing the fairway. One of the tractor wheels passed over a cracked or broken protective cover causing the line to fail. The resulting gusher had echoes of my father's "Don't break anything" ringing in my ears. Rather than just panic, I reacted quickly. The water was shut off, Russ was recruited to take charge of the matter, and in less than a couple of hours, we had the break completely repaired. Its not the first time Russ has had to take the plunge into a watery fix this year. Between these tasks and keeping the course adequately watered he's certainly earned his reputation as the crew's aquaman!
Len is back now, and no doubt we'll discover a few things that could have been done better or differently. Its nice to be entrusted with the care of the course but being told what and how to do things well has its upside too! I've got a new rule to live by now. Its still better not to break anything, but when things do go sideways its even better if you know how to fix them!
By way of an update I did take readings with the speedmeter through the week. It would seem that the base speed of the greens is about 7.5 or medium. Rolling Thursday afternoons adds at least 2 feet to the speed, making greens roll at close to 10 or fast! The Greens iron continues to be a little temperamental, but it certainly achieves the task of amping up green speed for commercial league. The roller also comes with a spike roller to assist in aerating greens. I'm looking forward to perhaps putting it to the test in the coming weeks. Until next time, may all your shots stay on the short stuff and your putts drop in the cups!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Stimping Along at Links
In a previous blog I discussed how the weekly use of a greens roller enhances green speed and playability. The rolling of the greens has garnered lots of comments from members and staff - most of them positive - but it would be nice to have more than anecdotal evidence that the greens are better for being rolled regularly. One of the ways to gather hard evidence is through the use of a stimpmeter.
A stimpmeter is an ingeniously simple device that is used to measure green speed. Invented in 1935 by avid golfer and spectator Ed Stimpson. A pretty fair golfer himself, Stimpson once won the Massachussetts State Amateur Championship. It was as a spectator at the 1935 US Open at Oakmont, that Stimpson got the inspiration for the device that now bears his name. After watching professional golfer Gene Sarazen hit a putt past the hole and right off the green, Stimpson wondered if he could develop a device that would prove the greens were unfairly fast. He developed an angled track, three feet long, that applied a known force to a ball released along its path. Incredibly simple, the device involved placing a ball into a notch, inclining the ramp to the predetermined release angle of 20 degrees, and measuring the distance the ball rolled. If a ball rolled 8 feet the greens score would be 8. If it rolled 11 feet then the score would be 11. The higher the score, the faster the green.
Stimpson's original device was made of wood. In 1976 the device got a make over from the USGA's Frank Thomas. Thomas reworked the ramp in aluminum, painted it green and used it to measure green speed at the 1976 US Open in Atlanta. In 1978, the USGA made Stimpmeters available to course superintendents so that they could use them to determine green speed and consistency. Since then there has been considerable controversy over the use of stimpmeters. Designed to measure green speed, the true purpose of a stimpmeter is to determine whether all the greens on a course are rolling consistently. Where debate begins is when the instrument's readings are used as an impetus to increase green speed. Proponents of faster greens hold to the theory that faster is better. The counter argument suggests that consistency between holes regardless of quickness is the true way to test players' skills. Making greens too fast stresses both players and the course. Provided greens meet a minimum standard of rollability, speed should not be a big concern.
Since 1978 green speed standards have been set by the USGA. Under regular play conditions, greens with a stimpmeter rating of less than 5.5 feet of roll are considered slow, up to 7.5 feet are medium and more than 9.5 considered fast. Under tournament conditions these standards are increased by 2 feet. Tournament conditions include rolling, double cutting and lower than normal mowing heights. Such conditions cannot be sustained more than a few days as they place considerable stress on greens.
To measure the greens at Links, I went to the internet and got instructions on how to build an old fashioned wooden stimpmeter. With some help from my commercial league team mate Randy Haugan, we built an instrument to all the same specifications as Ed Stimson's original device. Following the instructions as laid out by the USGA Greens division, I've been measuring the greens at Links. The first thing I discovered was that there are VERY FEW level areas on Links greens. Using a level to try and find the flat surface required for an accurate reading, I quickly determined that our greens have many tricky slopes and undulations. Eventually suitable spots were found on the putting green, number 2 and number 7 greens.
The good news is that our greens do meet the standard of consistency. All three test areas rolled to virtually the same standard. Initial measurements taken on Sunday morning immediately after cutting indicated a green speed of 8.5 or a medium speed rating. Subsequent measurements taken Sunday evening after a day's play and growth yielded a rating of 7.4 , a difference of 1.1 feet. Still good considering the recent dry spell and the fact that greens were rolled last Thursday. Over the next few days I'll continue to take daily readings to determine the impact of weather and our current mowing and rolling regime. My homemade speed reader may lack the precision of a true Stimpmeter, but it will definitely provide a sense of how the greens are playing! Be sure to check back next weekend to track how green speed may have changed! Until then may all your putts run true no matter how fast they roll!
A stimpmeter is an ingeniously simple device that is used to measure green speed. Invented in 1935 by avid golfer and spectator Ed Stimpson. A pretty fair golfer himself, Stimpson once won the Massachussetts State Amateur Championship. It was as a spectator at the 1935 US Open at Oakmont, that Stimpson got the inspiration for the device that now bears his name. After watching professional golfer Gene Sarazen hit a putt past the hole and right off the green, Stimpson wondered if he could develop a device that would prove the greens were unfairly fast. He developed an angled track, three feet long, that applied a known force to a ball released along its path. Incredibly simple, the device involved placing a ball into a notch, inclining the ramp to the predetermined release angle of 20 degrees, and measuring the distance the ball rolled. If a ball rolled 8 feet the greens score would be 8. If it rolled 11 feet then the score would be 11. The higher the score, the faster the green.
Stimpson's original device was made of wood. In 1976 the device got a make over from the USGA's Frank Thomas. Thomas reworked the ramp in aluminum, painted it green and used it to measure green speed at the 1976 US Open in Atlanta. In 1978, the USGA made Stimpmeters available to course superintendents so that they could use them to determine green speed and consistency. Since then there has been considerable controversy over the use of stimpmeters. Designed to measure green speed, the true purpose of a stimpmeter is to determine whether all the greens on a course are rolling consistently. Where debate begins is when the instrument's readings are used as an impetus to increase green speed. Proponents of faster greens hold to the theory that faster is better. The counter argument suggests that consistency between holes regardless of quickness is the true way to test players' skills. Making greens too fast stresses both players and the course. Provided greens meet a minimum standard of rollability, speed should not be a big concern.
Since 1978 green speed standards have been set by the USGA. Under regular play conditions, greens with a stimpmeter rating of less than 5.5 feet of roll are considered slow, up to 7.5 feet are medium and more than 9.5 considered fast. Under tournament conditions these standards are increased by 2 feet. Tournament conditions include rolling, double cutting and lower than normal mowing heights. Such conditions cannot be sustained more than a few days as they place considerable stress on greens.
To measure the greens at Links, I went to the internet and got instructions on how to build an old fashioned wooden stimpmeter. With some help from my commercial league team mate Randy Haugan, we built an instrument to all the same specifications as Ed Stimson's original device. Following the instructions as laid out by the USGA Greens division, I've been measuring the greens at Links. The first thing I discovered was that there are VERY FEW level areas on Links greens. Using a level to try and find the flat surface required for an accurate reading, I quickly determined that our greens have many tricky slopes and undulations. Eventually suitable spots were found on the putting green, number 2 and number 7 greens.
The good news is that our greens do meet the standard of consistency. All three test areas rolled to virtually the same standard. Initial measurements taken on Sunday morning immediately after cutting indicated a green speed of 8.5 or a medium speed rating. Subsequent measurements taken Sunday evening after a day's play and growth yielded a rating of 7.4 , a difference of 1.1 feet. Still good considering the recent dry spell and the fact that greens were rolled last Thursday. Over the next few days I'll continue to take daily readings to determine the impact of weather and our current mowing and rolling regime. My homemade speed reader may lack the precision of a true Stimpmeter, but it will definitely provide a sense of how the greens are playing! Be sure to check back next weekend to track how green speed may have changed! Until then may all your putts run true no matter how fast they roll!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Rolling, Rolling, Rolling, Keep Those Putts A-rolling!
If you have been at the course Thursdays before the Men's Commercial League you've likely seen staff operating a piece of equipment that scuttles sideways across greens like a drunken crab. The machine is our Greens Iron 3900 - a mechanical roller designed to smooth putting surfaces and increase the speed of the greens. Rolling greens is a practice with a long history. Implemented at Links this year, weekly rolling of the greens seems to be having a positive effect on greens and has drawn praise, or at least comments, from many members.
Rolling greens as part of a maintenance program dates back well over a hundred years. It was common in the 1920's to roll greens after they had been cut, to smooth out imperfections in the putting surface. Improvements to mowing equipment, and the fear that persistent rolling would compact soils and inhibit grass growth on the greens, caused courses to move away from rolling as a maintenance process, though it never went away as an aid in establishing new turf or putting greens. In the late 1980's a desire to further increase putting speeds saw a resurgence in rolling as a cultural practice and manufacturers soon developed a variety of mechanized rollers to replace the traditional water filled drums that had been dragged behind carts or pushed with brute force by course workers.
Our Greens Iron 3900 is one of the more modern mechanized rollers. The operator sits over top of two sets of heavy drums. The large drum stays fixed in position, while a smaller drum is connected to the steering and allows the operator to determine the direction they hope to roll. A Honda motor drives a chain drive system and pedals at the operators feet can be pushed to make the iron go left or right. The machine does take some getting used to. Steering is counter intuitive and braking is done by easing off on the operating pedals. The slightest miscalculation in pushing or pulling the Y shaped banana bike handle bars can set the operator weaving crazily off course. Done properly, the rolling procedure looks smooth, like waves lapping back and forth across a green lake. Sadly, I'm not quite up to that standard yet. It takes all the concentration I have to steer a passably straight line. Throw in some time constraints and the occasional golfer or two and you have a recipe for sore shoulders and high anxiety!
However, the results seem to speak for themselves. When we get it right, the roller does jack up the rate of ball roll significantly. More than one member has mentioned how they've been cranking putts well past the hole until they get the sense of how the putting surface has been improved. The roller has sufficient weight to smooth out most spike and ball marks, but its not a substitute for good member maintenance practices. Having you fix those pesky ball marks - your own and one or two others - always helps keep the greens at their best.
With the advent of some summer weather the crew has finally had to turn on the sprinkler system to keep the greens and tees hydrated and growing. If you are amongst our early morning golfers you have seen the evidence of the sprinklers' early morning watering in the form of the heavy dew like layer of moisture that carpets greens and tees before the mowers get to them. Finding the right level of moisture has been a real challenge this year. The small areas of damage on the edges of two, three and four greens certainly bear witness to this. Having gone from soupy wet to bone dry in quick order has caused the grass to drown, die and struggle to come back, and these areas will continue to require persistent attention for some time.
Rolling further compacts and stresses these areas. The more established grass on the rest of the the surface is impacted by rolling, but is better able to cope with the stress. Consequently, rolling is restricted to one day a week, with most of the benefits being played out in the 48 - 72 hours that follow. The greens that are lightning fast Thursday night are still quick well into the weekend but by Monday the surface has begun to rebound and slow down once again.
Obtaining the Greens Iron last February was a bit of a gamble. So far that gamble appears to be paying off. While staff get used to the quirky way it steers, the Greens Iron gives golfers the smooth surfaces they desire and the quicker greens that make Commercial League more interesting. Time, practice and experience will allow both members and staff to get on a positive roll right through to the end of the year!
Rolling greens as part of a maintenance program dates back well over a hundred years. It was common in the 1920's to roll greens after they had been cut, to smooth out imperfections in the putting surface. Improvements to mowing equipment, and the fear that persistent rolling would compact soils and inhibit grass growth on the greens, caused courses to move away from rolling as a maintenance process, though it never went away as an aid in establishing new turf or putting greens. In the late 1980's a desire to further increase putting speeds saw a resurgence in rolling as a cultural practice and manufacturers soon developed a variety of mechanized rollers to replace the traditional water filled drums that had been dragged behind carts or pushed with brute force by course workers.
Our Greens Iron 3900 is one of the more modern mechanized rollers. The operator sits over top of two sets of heavy drums. The large drum stays fixed in position, while a smaller drum is connected to the steering and allows the operator to determine the direction they hope to roll. A Honda motor drives a chain drive system and pedals at the operators feet can be pushed to make the iron go left or right. The machine does take some getting used to. Steering is counter intuitive and braking is done by easing off on the operating pedals. The slightest miscalculation in pushing or pulling the Y shaped banana bike handle bars can set the operator weaving crazily off course. Done properly, the rolling procedure looks smooth, like waves lapping back and forth across a green lake. Sadly, I'm not quite up to that standard yet. It takes all the concentration I have to steer a passably straight line. Throw in some time constraints and the occasional golfer or two and you have a recipe for sore shoulders and high anxiety!
However, the results seem to speak for themselves. When we get it right, the roller does jack up the rate of ball roll significantly. More than one member has mentioned how they've been cranking putts well past the hole until they get the sense of how the putting surface has been improved. The roller has sufficient weight to smooth out most spike and ball marks, but its not a substitute for good member maintenance practices. Having you fix those pesky ball marks - your own and one or two others - always helps keep the greens at their best.
With the advent of some summer weather the crew has finally had to turn on the sprinkler system to keep the greens and tees hydrated and growing. If you are amongst our early morning golfers you have seen the evidence of the sprinklers' early morning watering in the form of the heavy dew like layer of moisture that carpets greens and tees before the mowers get to them. Finding the right level of moisture has been a real challenge this year. The small areas of damage on the edges of two, three and four greens certainly bear witness to this. Having gone from soupy wet to bone dry in quick order has caused the grass to drown, die and struggle to come back, and these areas will continue to require persistent attention for some time.
Rolling further compacts and stresses these areas. The more established grass on the rest of the the surface is impacted by rolling, but is better able to cope with the stress. Consequently, rolling is restricted to one day a week, with most of the benefits being played out in the 48 - 72 hours that follow. The greens that are lightning fast Thursday night are still quick well into the weekend but by Monday the surface has begun to rebound and slow down once again.
Obtaining the Greens Iron last February was a bit of a gamble. So far that gamble appears to be paying off. While staff get used to the quirky way it steers, the Greens Iron gives golfers the smooth surfaces they desire and the quicker greens that make Commercial League more interesting. Time, practice and experience will allow both members and staff to get on a positive roll right through to the end of the year!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
August and "Glory's Last Shot"
With the arrival of August golfers can expect seasonal changes to start setting in at the course. While most people regard August as the dog days of summer, northern golfers know August as summer's last shot, as autumn often sets in early in the Peace Country. Its ironically fitting that the last major championship of the professional golf season, the PGA Championship, known colloquially as "Glory's Last Shot" takes place in August as well.
For those of us used to golfing late into the evening August serves as a reminder that the season is rapidly drawing to a close. The sun is rising a little later each day and going down a little sooner. On August 1st the sun rose at 5:05 AM and set at 9:11 PM. By the end of the month sunrise will be at 6:04 AM and sunset at 8 PM - a loss of daylight of over two hours! Perhaps not very noticeable to many people but pretty significant to grounds crew who start work around 6 AM. With the later sunrise also comes lower temperatures and the threat of frost. A lack of heat and light definitely puts a crimp in the amount of time available to the grounds crew before the arrival of most golfers. Fortunately August has come out of the gate with brilliant sunshine and above average temperatures!
Declining daylight and temperatures will have a great impact on the grass and plants. The most identifiable sign that fall is on its way will be the turning of the tree leaves from green to their fall colors. In dry years this change can happen earlier due to the trees being under stress from lack of water. With this year's above average rainfall the leaves may stay green longer but there are no guarantees. A two week drying trend might just stress the trees into turning early. Just like the weather, the trees operate on their schedules, more often than not leaving forecasters scratching their heads and wondering why their predictions turned out so wrong. The grass at the course changes too. The rapid summer growth eases off as the plants prepare for winter dormancy. Cutting schedules and mower heights need to be adjusted accordingly.
But let's not rush summer out the door too quickly! August is traditionally drier than July and boasts an average temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius - still quite comfortable playing conditions by any standard. For the first time in a long time there is no rain in the long range forecast and we've actually had to activate the sprinkler system. So while the season might be winding down, there is still plenty of time left for players to get out and post some great scores.
The same is not necessarily true for the PGA tour. The last major of the year - the PGA Championship will be played August 11 - 14 at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. It's fitting and perhaps ironic that this year the last major is being played just down the road from Augusta where the season's first major - the Masters is played. This situation is rare however, for like the US Open, the PGA Championship moves about the country, being played at a different course each year.
Aside from being the final major, the PGA Championship is mostly distinguished from the other major tournaments by its depth of field. Coming late in the season, this event attracts a deep and talented roster of competitors all looking for one last shot at lasting glory. Certainly this year's event has garnered considerable attention with the announcement that Tiger Woods intends to participate after injury kept him out of July's British Open. If an American does not capture this year's title it will mark the first time since 1994 that all four major championships have been held by international players.
August doesn't mark the end of the golfing season. At Links the Club Championship is scheduled for the Labour Day weekend and on the pro circuit the Tour Championship takes place September 22 -25th, so there is still lots of golf to come. However if you prefer to play in the summer sun, then August truly is glory's last shot! Better get out to the course soon and make the most of it!
For those of us used to golfing late into the evening August serves as a reminder that the season is rapidly drawing to a close. The sun is rising a little later each day and going down a little sooner. On August 1st the sun rose at 5:05 AM and set at 9:11 PM. By the end of the month sunrise will be at 6:04 AM and sunset at 8 PM - a loss of daylight of over two hours! Perhaps not very noticeable to many people but pretty significant to grounds crew who start work around 6 AM. With the later sunrise also comes lower temperatures and the threat of frost. A lack of heat and light definitely puts a crimp in the amount of time available to the grounds crew before the arrival of most golfers. Fortunately August has come out of the gate with brilliant sunshine and above average temperatures!
Declining daylight and temperatures will have a great impact on the grass and plants. The most identifiable sign that fall is on its way will be the turning of the tree leaves from green to their fall colors. In dry years this change can happen earlier due to the trees being under stress from lack of water. With this year's above average rainfall the leaves may stay green longer but there are no guarantees. A two week drying trend might just stress the trees into turning early. Just like the weather, the trees operate on their schedules, more often than not leaving forecasters scratching their heads and wondering why their predictions turned out so wrong. The grass at the course changes too. The rapid summer growth eases off as the plants prepare for winter dormancy. Cutting schedules and mower heights need to be adjusted accordingly.
But let's not rush summer out the door too quickly! August is traditionally drier than July and boasts an average temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius - still quite comfortable playing conditions by any standard. For the first time in a long time there is no rain in the long range forecast and we've actually had to activate the sprinkler system. So while the season might be winding down, there is still plenty of time left for players to get out and post some great scores.
The same is not necessarily true for the PGA tour. The last major of the year - the PGA Championship will be played August 11 - 14 at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. It's fitting and perhaps ironic that this year the last major is being played just down the road from Augusta where the season's first major - the Masters is played. This situation is rare however, for like the US Open, the PGA Championship moves about the country, being played at a different course each year.
Aside from being the final major, the PGA Championship is mostly distinguished from the other major tournaments by its depth of field. Coming late in the season, this event attracts a deep and talented roster of competitors all looking for one last shot at lasting glory. Certainly this year's event has garnered considerable attention with the announcement that Tiger Woods intends to participate after injury kept him out of July's British Open. If an American does not capture this year's title it will mark the first time since 1994 that all four major championships have been held by international players.
August doesn't mark the end of the golfing season. At Links the Club Championship is scheduled for the Labour Day weekend and on the pro circuit the Tour Championship takes place September 22 -25th, so there is still lots of golf to come. However if you prefer to play in the summer sun, then August truly is glory's last shot! Better get out to the course soon and make the most of it!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
To Bump or Not to Bump?
The recent rash of wet weather has been hard on golfers who prefer to play the bump and run style. The pro shop staff will tell you that the moisture means the greens are "holding nicely". The trouble is, so are the fairways, and the rough, and lots of other areas around the course that are normally dry. After all the rain this month, there is not a lot of bounce in the course right now.
Wet weather can lead to challenging course conditions. Standing water creates instant water hazards and saturated ground can cause balls to plug wherever they land. The real question is how to play the next shot. One tendency is for players to simply bump their balls to a more playable positions before hitting the next shot. Some players will claim relief under "Winter rules" or the rule of "preferred lies", but such rules don't really exist in the the official Rules of Golf (RoG).
Since 2004 the RoG have not included direct references to preferred lies. Appendix 1 of the Rules of Golf does entitle local courses to set local rules against abnormal temporary conditions, but even these local ground rules follow certain guidelines. Relief is normally restricted to closely cut surfaces through the green: in other words - in the fairway. If one is entitled to relief due an embedded lie or standing water the sequence of subsequent actions is usually: declare, mark, lift, clean,drop or place.
If folks are just playing a casual game with friends, no one is likely to get too excited if someone simply rakes their ball out of the muck to set up on the first available dry spot. However, if people are engaged in any sort of match, be it a friendly competition for coffee, a round in the match play tournament, a Commercial League fixture or formal tournament play, its always best to play to the letter of the rules. Don't assume any right to relief without checking with your competitor(s) and/or rules committee.
Things get particularly touchy if players improve lies while in a hazard, sandtrap, the rough or in the fringe. It is not ok to bump your ball forward to a better lie. If a ball has come to rest up against the collar of the fringe or lip of a trap, it still should be played from where it lies. It can be tricky when water hazards have jumped their regular banks or edges. Hazards are generally marked by stakes of varying colors. Lateral hazards are red staked. If your ball is within the hazard it must be played as it lies, or, in the case of red stakes, players can drop a ball at point of entry with a one stroke penalty. If the the hazard has grown beyond its regularly defined boundaries and grass can be clearly seen beneath the ball,then Rule 25 dealing with abnormal conditions, like standing water, can be applied and players are entitled to a degree of relief.
The key point of clarification will be whether or not the ball is in the hazard because it was hit there or because the hazard has jumped its boundaries. Sometimes consensus is hard to find. Ownership seems to be the determining factor - as in if the ball belongs to you then relief is clearly warranted. If the ball belongs to your competitor then maybe not so much.
Hopefully with the coming of August the rains will now stop and the question of improving lies will, like the puddles, slowly drain away! The positive side effect of all this moisture is that the course is still lush and green deep into the summer. The fairways are nicely defined and the mower is leaving clear patterns to guide players' efforts to line up shots. Hopefully by keeping shots on the short grass the only bumping that will need to happen is when players tap in their short putts to post a good score!
Since 2004 the RoG have not included direct references to preferred lies. Appendix 1 of the Rules of Golf does entitle local courses to set local rules against abnormal temporary conditions, but even these local ground rules follow certain guidelines. Relief is normally restricted to closely cut surfaces through the green: in other words - in the fairway. If one is entitled to relief due an embedded lie or standing water the sequence of subsequent actions is usually: declare, mark, lift, clean,drop or place.
If folks are just playing a casual game with friends, no one is likely to get too excited if someone simply rakes their ball out of the muck to set up on the first available dry spot. However, if people are engaged in any sort of match, be it a friendly competition for coffee, a round in the match play tournament, a Commercial League fixture or formal tournament play, its always best to play to the letter of the rules. Don't assume any right to relief without checking with your competitor(s) and/or rules committee.
Things get particularly touchy if players improve lies while in a hazard, sandtrap, the rough or in the fringe. It is not ok to bump your ball forward to a better lie. If a ball has come to rest up against the collar of the fringe or lip of a trap, it still should be played from where it lies. It can be tricky when water hazards have jumped their regular banks or edges. Hazards are generally marked by stakes of varying colors. Lateral hazards are red staked. If your ball is within the hazard it must be played as it lies, or, in the case of red stakes, players can drop a ball at point of entry with a one stroke penalty. If the the hazard has grown beyond its regularly defined boundaries and grass can be clearly seen beneath the ball,then Rule 25 dealing with abnormal conditions, like standing water, can be applied and players are entitled to a degree of relief.
The key point of clarification will be whether or not the ball is in the hazard because it was hit there or because the hazard has jumped its boundaries. Sometimes consensus is hard to find. Ownership seems to be the determining factor - as in if the ball belongs to you then relief is clearly warranted. If the ball belongs to your competitor then maybe not so much.
Hopefully with the coming of August the rains will now stop and the question of improving lies will, like the puddles, slowly drain away! The positive side effect of all this moisture is that the course is still lush and green deep into the summer. The fairways are nicely defined and the mower is leaving clear patterns to guide players' efforts to line up shots. Hopefully by keeping shots on the short grass the only bumping that will need to happen is when players tap in their short putts to post a good score!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Back With An Open Mind
Returning from this year's RBC Canadian Open, I read and heard many stories about the exploits of the golfers who provided fans with an exciting tournament. For my money however, Shaugnnessy Golf Course has to be considered the the real winner of the event. The course was in amazing shape with postage stamp greens, narrow fairways and punishing deep, deep rough. While I really enjoyed watching the golfers deal with the course, the real treat for me was observing the grounds crew and the way they dealt with a tournament of this size and scope!
Shaughnessy is definitely an old school course with a long history and a lot of money. Originally founded in 1911 in Shaughnessy Heights, the club moved to its current location at the gates of Pacific Spirit Park near the mouth of the Fraser River, in 1960. It features towering trees, tiny greens, deep gaping bunkers and narrow fairways. For the Canadian Open the grounds crew allowed the rye grass rough to fill in and grow up until it was a uniform mat 4 inches deep, spongy and damp. This rough was certainly a hot topic amongst the golfers. Many felt it was punishing and too penal. Shots that strayed no more than a few feet from the fairway were swallowed up, leaving golfers with few options other than hacking out to the fairway as best they could. To score well players had to be consistently long and accurate, while maintaining a delicate touch around the greens.
Most spectators were watching the golfers, and I'll admit to enjoying getting up close to see the likes of John Daly, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvie and Luke Donald as they dealt with course conditions, but what really interested me was the way the course was maintained. After Wednesday's pro-am a small army of maintenance workers swarmed onto the course. A fleet of mowers groomed tee boxes and fairways as a line of workers that spanned the width of the fairways advanced the length of the hole completing divot repairs. The result - within 3 hours of the last player completing their round, the course was essentially ready for the next day's play.
Early morning routines saw the sand traps watered and raked and all greens double cut by hand. Shaughnessy had the advantage of possessing a highly trained full time staff, the assistance of Dolf Canada and PGA Tour officials and a number of part time and student interns only too happy to be working on a national championship. On Saturday the rough bordering the fairways was "topped" - in other words given the lightest of touch ups in order to keep it a uniform length for the entire tournament. Other activity centred on the eighth green where, in the small hours of Saturday morning, vandals entered the course and poured bleach or some other caustic solution across the green. Course workers flushed the affected area with water and pin placements were adjusted to protect the integrity of the putting surface. Police were contacted and the area was scoured for forensic evidence. By the time the crew were done, unless one knew what to look for, the damage was very hard to see.
It was also interesting to see how the tone of the tournament changed day by day. Early in the week the atmosphere was much lighter as players and spectators mingled, joked and interacted with each other. Photographs were taken, autographs asked for and exchanged. On Thursday the pros got down to business getting very serious about their game. By the weekend the tension was palpable as players focused on posting low numbers and the galleries grew to big ones. In contrast, the attitude on the grounds crew stayed the same all week. The brown shirted, white hard hatted crew were all business all the time, emerging daily at 5 AM from their arena sized maintenance facility, swarming across the course like so many worker ants, only to disappear by 7:30 before re-emerging at 3:30 PM to prepare the course for the next day's play. The grounds crew maintained the same degree of effort whether they were grooming sand traps or topping the much discussed rough. They seemed to be men on a mission every day. Only on Sunday did the crew make an early appearance near the 18th green, likely to witness the final fruits of their labors.
I suspect the crew were pleased that the course was such a major player in determining the final outcome. The final playoff put an exclamation point on this fact as both players were forced to lay up after missing the fairway. Seeing approach shots skitter to a nervous stop short of the hole or run through the green respectively, provided further evidence of how the course impacted play. In the end, the event was won with a bogey over a double bogey, proving that the toughest competitor in the tournament was really the course itself!
Folks have asked whether I would do this sort of thing again. The answer is definitely yes. I enjoyed the golf, was fascinated by the spectacle of it all, and learned a lot about the operation of a grounds crew during a major tournament. It was reaffirming to see just how much of what we do at Links is similar, if not almost the same, to what is done at the professional level. While our course certainly doesn't have access to the same level of resources available to a course like Shaughnessy, we share the same level of commitment to prepare the best course we can for our players. And as for that rough the pros were complaining about, you can find it on just about every hole here at home. So the next time you find yourself hacking out of the mounds or deep in the cabbage far from the fairway just keep an open frame of mind and tell yourself that you are mastering the same conditions that existed at this year's Canadian Open!
Shaughnessy is definitely an old school course with a long history and a lot of money. Originally founded in 1911 in Shaughnessy Heights, the club moved to its current location at the gates of Pacific Spirit Park near the mouth of the Fraser River, in 1960. It features towering trees, tiny greens, deep gaping bunkers and narrow fairways. For the Canadian Open the grounds crew allowed the rye grass rough to fill in and grow up until it was a uniform mat 4 inches deep, spongy and damp. This rough was certainly a hot topic amongst the golfers. Many felt it was punishing and too penal. Shots that strayed no more than a few feet from the fairway were swallowed up, leaving golfers with few options other than hacking out to the fairway as best they could. To score well players had to be consistently long and accurate, while maintaining a delicate touch around the greens.
Most spectators were watching the golfers, and I'll admit to enjoying getting up close to see the likes of John Daly, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvie and Luke Donald as they dealt with course conditions, but what really interested me was the way the course was maintained. After Wednesday's pro-am a small army of maintenance workers swarmed onto the course. A fleet of mowers groomed tee boxes and fairways as a line of workers that spanned the width of the fairways advanced the length of the hole completing divot repairs. The result - within 3 hours of the last player completing their round, the course was essentially ready for the next day's play.
Early morning routines saw the sand traps watered and raked and all greens double cut by hand. Shaughnessy had the advantage of possessing a highly trained full time staff, the assistance of Dolf Canada and PGA Tour officials and a number of part time and student interns only too happy to be working on a national championship. On Saturday the rough bordering the fairways was "topped" - in other words given the lightest of touch ups in order to keep it a uniform length for the entire tournament. Other activity centred on the eighth green where, in the small hours of Saturday morning, vandals entered the course and poured bleach or some other caustic solution across the green. Course workers flushed the affected area with water and pin placements were adjusted to protect the integrity of the putting surface. Police were contacted and the area was scoured for forensic evidence. By the time the crew were done, unless one knew what to look for, the damage was very hard to see.
It was also interesting to see how the tone of the tournament changed day by day. Early in the week the atmosphere was much lighter as players and spectators mingled, joked and interacted with each other. Photographs were taken, autographs asked for and exchanged. On Thursday the pros got down to business getting very serious about their game. By the weekend the tension was palpable as players focused on posting low numbers and the galleries grew to big ones. In contrast, the attitude on the grounds crew stayed the same all week. The brown shirted, white hard hatted crew were all business all the time, emerging daily at 5 AM from their arena sized maintenance facility, swarming across the course like so many worker ants, only to disappear by 7:30 before re-emerging at 3:30 PM to prepare the course for the next day's play. The grounds crew maintained the same degree of effort whether they were grooming sand traps or topping the much discussed rough. They seemed to be men on a mission every day. Only on Sunday did the crew make an early appearance near the 18th green, likely to witness the final fruits of their labors.
I suspect the crew were pleased that the course was such a major player in determining the final outcome. The final playoff put an exclamation point on this fact as both players were forced to lay up after missing the fairway. Seeing approach shots skitter to a nervous stop short of the hole or run through the green respectively, provided further evidence of how the course impacted play. In the end, the event was won with a bogey over a double bogey, proving that the toughest competitor in the tournament was really the course itself!
Folks have asked whether I would do this sort of thing again. The answer is definitely yes. I enjoyed the golf, was fascinated by the spectacle of it all, and learned a lot about the operation of a grounds crew during a major tournament. It was reaffirming to see just how much of what we do at Links is similar, if not almost the same, to what is done at the professional level. While our course certainly doesn't have access to the same level of resources available to a course like Shaughnessy, we share the same level of commitment to prepare the best course we can for our players. And as for that rough the pros were complaining about, you can find it on just about every hole here at home. So the next time you find yourself hacking out of the mounds or deep in the cabbage far from the fairway just keep an open frame of mind and tell yourself that you are mastering the same conditions that existed at this year's Canadian Open!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Snakes and Wormburners
Ever notice how a lot of golf terminology draws its inspiration from nature? When working course maintenance, a person gets to see all sorts of golf shots; both good and bad. Both sorts can be entertaining and frustrating in their own ways. Some of the skills of a good grounds crew are to keep a wary eye on the shots of approaching golfers, to know when to applaud - and to know when to look away. What people call their shots can be both colorful and descriptive. Some of the more repeatable terms heard around the greens and tees occasionally reference critters that creep - snakes and worms!
Of the two snake is perhaps slightly more positive. Someone who drains a long hard breaking putt is said to have "snaked one in". A chip that runs up to the hole before diving into the cup is described as having disappeared "faster than a scalded snake". Snake carries some negative connotations too! A player having a particularly bad day might be feeling "lower than a snake's belly". According to Golf Digest the term snake can be applied to a right hander's snap hook - a low turning shot that rapidly sails into the rough or trees. Snake as a derogatory term can also be applied to a three putt. There's even a betting game where members of a group track persons who three putt. The first person to three putt is said to be holding the snake. The dubious honour is then passed on to the next member of the group to three putt. The unfortunate player left holding the snake at the end of the match has to buy drinks for the rest of the group!
At Links, the term snake can also refer to the real thing. The course is home to a number of common garter snakes. These reptiles are frequently seen soaking up some sun around the ninth tee box area or in other areas of the course with warm conditions. Snakes, like all reptiles, are ecto-thermic. They are cold blooded and get their body heat from outside sources. The clippings half buckets, with their decomposing grass, generate a fair amount of heat and contain and attract all sorts of worms and bugs. Consequently they are favorite hangouts for garter snakes. On more than one occasion grounds crew have been startled by a beady eyed, forked tongue intruder. Not particularly dangerous, the common garter snake can range in size from 25 - 50 cm, and range in girth from the size of a pencil to that of a fat garden hose. They do bite, and while their venom won't kill humans, their bites can be painful and itchy somewhat like an insect sting! Garter snakes are carnivorous but their preferred prey are earthworms.
The humble worm has its own place in golf terminology. A viciously topped shot that runs hissing through the grass is commonly called a worm burner. A worm burner may be just a bad swing or it can be a good miss. Many worm burners achieve pretty good distance even though they never get very far off the ground. If hit at distance from the fairway, a worm burner can be a decent shot. Sculled across a green into a trap or the rough, a worm burner can inspire anger, despair and a flurry of profane and colorful language.
The real worms at Links perform valuable service. They work the soil and help to keep the turf healthy. Where they can be a problem is on the greens. In the early morning when moisture fills their tunnels, worms come out on the greens and bring their castings to the playing surface. If you've ever noticed little penny sized piles of mud on the greens then you've seen worm castings. Castings can get in the way of putts and can make a bit of smeary mess beneath the rollers of the mower. Those worms that don't get picked off by the birds end up spinning through the reels of the greens mower, either ending up chopped to bits or crawling through the half buckets as take out for the garter snakes.
Worms and snakes might not be the playing companions most players hope for, but they do have their place at Links. The trick, as with most things in golf, is to keep them in their place and to deal with them as you find them. While most of us might rather pass them by, you can be sure that the occasional snake and worm burner will always be par for the course!
Making the cut now includes links to some useful websites. See the link box at the top right corner across from the current entry to find links to Golf Canada for your handicap postings, the USGA bulletin on what to do if lightning is near and for a link to how to best fix a ball mark. Please feel free to recommend other god links as well!
Making the cut now includes links to some useful websites. See the link box at the top right corner across from the current entry to find links to Golf Canada for your handicap postings, the USGA bulletin on what to do if lightning is near and for a link to how to best fix a ball mark. Please feel free to recommend other god links as well!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Course Work
Many people think that working at a golf course must be a dream job. I'm sure they imagine riding jauntily along on a smooth riding tractor, enjoying the sunshine for a couple of hours and then setting out for a nice round of golf. While we sometimes get to do that sort of thing, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes, and, depending upon conditions, the work is not always smooth or easy.
The recent swings in the weather have certainly made an impact on outside work at the course. After a "once in 40 year" rain event, the course had two weeks of dry weather, followed this past weekend by another four day rain. Soggy, bone dry, soggy does not necessarily provide for a consistent playing surface. It also requires course workers to adjust their schedules and their practice. Ideally the course receives ample supplies of water and sunshine in order to facilitate both play and good turf growth. Recently, the weather has been more a feast or famine scenario with either desiccating sun and wind or torrential steady rains. Both events have unique maintenance possibilities. Steady wind and heat are not so bad for people wanting to play but they put the course under a fair amount of stress. A lack of moisture causes the course to yellow, then brown out as the stressed grass goes dormant or dries out. Fertilizing can help fortify the turf, but fertilizing demands that the course be watered as well. Fertilizer without a good supply of moisture can lead to greens being chemically burned.
On the other hand, a surfeit of moisture, such as the rains we had last weekend can feed the turf but make it hard to manage. Once the ground reaches saturation point, water begins to pool, making both play and cutting the grass difficult. Just getting the mowers out can be a challenge, as their weight, combined with spongy conditions underfoot, creates the risks of equipment scalping, rutting or just plain getting stuck in the turf. Since we are now solidly into summer, temperatures combine with the moisture to promote rapid turf growth. If we miss a day or two of mowing, the grass can quickly grow beyond optimal playing conditions.
Once conditions have closed the course for any length of time, the pressure is on to get equipment back out on the course as soon as possible. Sometimes we are out before the waters have sufficiently receded. This can lead to the mowers pushing water ahead of the cutting units causing reels to plug, baskets to fill with soupy green sludge and unsightly and uneven cuts on the greens and fairways. Players will notice lots of lumpy clumps of clippings, interfering with their putts and play, and strips of grass that appear to have been missed completely. Its really not that the operators are asleep at the switch, or don't know what they are dong. its more that the water being pushed ahead of the cutting units is causing the grass to lie down and miss being cut appropriately.
Fortunately grass and the grounds crew are quite resilient Both are able to bounce back quickly to get the course looking great. However, while the grass just does what it does naturally, the grounds crew have to know what they are doing and proceed appropriately. Proper mowing is the single most important element in keeping greens at their best. Proper greens maintenance requires daily mowing, changing the mowing pattern daily and maintaining the mower to proper specifications. Just going through the motions is not enough. Texas A & M's turf grass blog states that "good greens keepers need to have a feel for their greens and their equipment. Not everyone can mow a green. Some people just do not have the mental or physical dexterity required to mow greens. Greens mowing is a skill acquired through experience and observation. A good greens keeper needs to have an appreciation for a uniform, evenly cut putting surface. The operator must appreciate the finished product".
Squatting down on one's hands and knees in wet muddy ground to unclog the cutting units can quite literally put a damper on one's appreciation for greens keeping, but all things considered, working at the course is still a fine way to spend some time. Whether it's sunny or wet, there is still some truth to the old saying that a bad day at the golf course still beats a good day at work. When that day of work takes place at the golf course you really can't lose!
Next week I am off to Vancouver to volunteer at the Canadian Open at Shaugnessy Golf Club. The course is not far from my childhood home in Kerrisdale. Growing up, I got to watch the municipal grounds crew at McCleery Public Links. In my teens I spent some time on the grounds crew at Marine Drive Golf Club, mostly shagging the practice range with a tractor members referred to as "the moving target". Happily at Links my work and hours now keep me mostly out of harm's way. I'll be serving on the Course and Grounds Committee and look forward to seeing just what practices go into making a national championship a great event for both players and spectators!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Course By Any Other Name.......
Ever wonder about the name Fort St John Links? In North America the term links is often freely used to describe any sort of golf course. Historically though, a links golf course has certain characteristics that distinguishes it from other sorts of golf courses.
Originating in Scotland, links came to be associated with golf from the term linksland - the sandy reedy grasslands that form the transition areas between the windswept coast and the agricultural land further in. Due to its sandy nature and its exposure to the wind, such land was not suitable for housing and its proximity to the sea left it too salty to support all but the hardiest of native grasses. Unable to farm or build upon it, Scots found the land suitable for recreation, and used the natural topography and landmarks as areas in which to knock around a few shots. An absence of trees, sandy pot bunkers, irregular terrain and the constant presence of the wind and sea have become the defining characteristics of a links course today.
True links golf requires a specialized set of skills. Players have to hit low accurate shots and when they don't, they are forced to deal with deep rough, rugged fairways and crazy bounces. The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, is always played on a links course. This tournament is the only major championship played outside of the United States. It attracts a diverse international field and presents North American golfers used to manicured well treed courses with a different and often frustrating sort of challenge.
When compared to a true links course Ft St John Links does have some similarities. While it is true that we are located hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, we do endure blustery winds, challenging rough, and fairways that make the most of the natural terrain and grasses. We thankfully do have lots of trees and our bunkers are neither too deep or too numerous but the many mounds, gullies and uneven hitting surfaces provide a fair facsimile of a British Open venue. Add to this our seasonal drying trend and one can easily see how adopting the bump and run tactics needed in Britain can benefit local players too.
Russ and Len have now completed repairs to the number 9 ladies tee box. A new bridge and gravel path are the result of a long days effort. The greens are rolling quicker these days thanks to some mower maintenance involving a lowering the level of the cut and some sharpening of the reels and bedknives. The greens were recently double cut and rolled. The result is a faster smoother putting surface. The challenge now will be to keep them in this sort of shape through the height of summer. Expect to see fertilizer and water applied regularly. Your assistance and cooperation in repairing any marks you make upon the greens is appreciated!
Open season will soon be upon us with the Scottish Open playing this week, the British Open being held at Royal St Georges July 14 - 17 and the Canadian Open being held at Shaugnessy Golf Club in Vancouver, July 21 - 24. Links' Ray Asai and myself are both excited to be volunteering at this year's Canadian Open. Ray will be working as a scorer and I will be serving with the course and grounds committee. We look forward to sharing some stories about what what goes into staging a national championship when we return.
Sadly, being in Vancouver means that Ray and I will miss this years Links Open. Held July 23 and 24, this event promises to be the competitive highlight of Links' season. The grounds crew works hard to provide competitors with a well groomed and challenging venue. Be sure to ask at the proshop about when and how to enter! And for those of you who only play the occasional round Links is still your best value. Contrary to what a rival course posted in the paper our 18 hole fees are only $32.50 - still less than Taylor or Lake Point!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Of Bugs And Birdies
Generally speaking golfers don't like bugs. At links the mosquitoes and other flying pests can be very annoying, especially in the evenings. Many a golfer has had to back away from a key putt or readdress a shot because of a mosquito buzz bomb attack. Similarly, golfers need to be careful where they sit or lean lest they literally end up with ants in their pants. Ant nests can be found near several tees. If disturbed these nests can boil with activity as scouts and workers seethe to the surface to investigate and drive off unwelcome visitors. The good news is that most of the bugs at Links are benign. They might annoy people with their whiny buzzing and itchy bites, but they won't kill you.
The same cannot be said of wasps and bees - especially if one is allergic to them. Bees are regular visitors to the course, flitting amongst the clover and dandelions. To our knowledge their are no natural hives on the course but we have had swarming events in the past. One year a massive swarm infested a small tree near the seventh green. Several calls were made to local apiaries but no one seemed to be missing any bees. Eventually the swarm just flew off on its own. Paper wasps and yellow jackets are a different story. Feeding off garbage and empty beverage containers these pests can be vicious. Paper wasps have been known to set up shop under the eaves of the sheds at each tee and near the washrooms and outhouses. These nests are knocked down and destroyed whenever and where ever they are discovered. Yellowjackets are more dangerous, as they make their nests underground in hard to get at locations! They need to be dealt with promptly. If they get a foothold near a teebox they can be particularly dangerous.
If you are using bug spray as a defence against these pests, be aware that insect repellents often contain some pretty potent chemicals. They will do the job but if you apply some repellents to your hands in order to rub them onto your face, ears or legs, be sure to wash them off before you grab your clubs. Ingredients in some bug sprays will destroy your grips and that's sure to bug you too!
If you are using bug spray as a defence against these pests, be aware that insect repellents often contain some pretty potent chemicals. They will do the job but if you apply some repellents to your hands in order to rub them onto your face, ears or legs, be sure to wash them off before you grab your clubs. Ingredients in some bug sprays will destroy your grips and that's sure to bug you too!
Fortunately, the grounds crew has allies in the fight against things that bug golfers. The many bird species that call the course home have voracious appetites, and insects are always on the menu. Magpies, sparrows, robins and swallows all nest at and on the course. The Black Billed magpie is the largest of these species. Considered amongst the most intelligent of birds, magpies are believed to be capable of recognizing individuals and even of holding grudges against persons who harass them. They have been known to dive bomb golfers and seem to delight interrupting back swings or crucial putts with their raucous calls. They are omnivorous and opportunistic eaters, consuming anything and everything from bugs to garbage; whatever is easiest to find.
Next in size are the North American Robins. These feed exclusively on invertebrates and can be found most mornings feasting on the worms that rise to the surface of the greens after they have been watered. The smallest common bird at links is the common House Sparrow. These small brown birds were not originally indigenous to North America. They stowed away on transatlantic ships, and in some cases were introduced by eccentric English immigrants hoping to reproduce the bird songs of Britain in their new Canadian homelands. The herbivorous sparrows subsist on grains and grass seeds and have proven to be so adaptable that they are now amongst the most numerous species in Canada.
It is the smooth flying swallows that have the biggest impact on the course's insect populations. Swallows take their food while in flight, feeding exclusively on mosquitoes and other small winged bugs, Swallows hunt their prey at speeds of up to 50 km an hour and consume nearly their own weight in bugs every day. They are masters of navigation, twisting and turning inches above the grounds surface to several hundred feet in the air. These are the birds that commonly take residence in the bird houses set up around the course to mark the 150 yard distances. In the mornings they glide effortlessly beside and in front of the greens mower, picking off any bugs taking flight to avoid the spinning reels. Its like having my own personal fleet of fighter support planes.
Any golfer will tell you that birdies are their friends. At Links we agree, though it is feathered friends, rather than sub par scores, that the grounds crew look for and appreciate. Our score cards may regularly bug us, but when it comes to dealing with winged pests, we can count on a birdie on every hole!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Too much or too little - adjusting the Taps at Links
Everybody has one. You know - that pesky friend or family member you'd like to avoid, but really can't do without! That person you would really rather went away, only to find that you miss them when they're gone. For a golf course that's water. Rare when we need it, or, as was the case last week, too much of it comes all at once. Last week's significant rainfall illustrates just how important a good water management plan can be. With heavy rains closing the course Thursday night, and steady and continuing precipitation falling for much of the next two days, one might have thought Links would have been out of service for several days. However, when the sun emerged Sunday morning it took the grounds crew only about five hours to get the course up, running and ready for a full day of play.
Looking at the course Saturday afternoon, the sheer volume of water present was impressive. There was standing water on every green, a lake in the middle of the first fairway, and streams running across several holes. The cart paths had turned to water ways and raging torrents threatened to wash away areas such as the lady's tee box on 9, or the base of the gully on 6. It seemed unlikely that tournaments scheduled for Sunday would be played, or that the course would be open at all for days. Such is the thirsty and forgiving nature of turf however, that when the sun came up Sunday morning, the waters had already begun to recede. By half past six, the grounds crew were able to access the course, by 7 AM mowers were hard at work on the greens, tees and fairways and by 11:30 the course was in passable playing condition. The drainage system, aided by cutting practices and a high evaporation and transpiration rate worked well, and allowed the grounds crew to re-establish a playable course.
Standing water is the result when the supply of water exceeds the ground's ability to take it in. Soil types and the type and extent of installed drainage systems both play a role in how quickly water can be whisked away. At Links a series of underground drains, depressions and ditches all work with the natural slope of the the terrain to carry water off the course and into the nearby community forest watershed. Porosity of the base soil also contributes. Areas with higher sand content, like the traps and greens have higher porosity and better drainage and can take a considerable amount of water before saturation sets in. The fairways are more clay based and consequently hold water longer. This is why even days after the rain, the fairways remain wet and squishy.
Greens are cut daily with a mower system that includes rollers. The rollers help compress the turf and squeeze out extra moisture. The downside of this process is that the reels quickly clog with cut grass, leaving larger than normal amounts of clumpy clippings behind. If there is too much water, the mower will push water ahead of the mower, causing grass to lie down and the mower to cut unevenly. Ideally a balance is sought so that the greens continue to be green, growing, lush and receptive without being so damp that the mower bruises them or sinks and causes damage.
Fairways and rough can also be hard to cut if wet. Fortunately evaporation and transpiration quickly dry out the course. Between the sun, wind and natural respiration of the grass, a fairway can lose up to 40 ml of moisture a day. Even with our recent 120+ ml rainfall it would only take about three days for the course to completely dry out, even without the benefit of additional drainage. With in course drainage, a stiff wind and some sunshine the process is much faster. In fact the course can go from very wet to bone dry in a big hurry. Once the moisture is gone the grass becomes stressed and starts to brown out. Regular applications of fertilizer and water are required to keep the course green. So far this year a surplus of water has meant the course is green or muddy. In past years stressed fairways have yellowed only to rebound to verdant green after any rain events.
So, too wet or too dry- it seems golf course maintenance staff are never content. Finding balance in the water table is an ongoing challenge for maintenance staff and players alike. Hopefully Mother nature has now had her fun and will adjust the taps so the next little while things can be just right for everyone! We'll keep cutting to keep you putting but for everyone's benefit, lets hope for sunshine in the future forecast!
Blog Updates
Making the Cut received over 120 views in June! ! Let me know if there are any topics you'd like to see addressed at Making the Cut!
Course Updates
The recent rains washed out the access to the Ladies tee box on 9. Please watch at the club house for updates as to where ladies should tee off until repairs are effected.
Rough Cuts - We certainly have heard from members who aren't fond of the length of some of the rough. Len has been putting in time on the Massey and the rough mower to cut some of it down. As for the mounds - we agree- they got their hair cut this week too!
Commerical League schedule - the complete Men's Commercial League Schedule can be found on the course's web page at http://www.fortstjohnlinks.com
Blog Updates
Making the Cut received over 120 views in June! ! Let me know if there are any topics you'd like to see addressed at Making the Cut!
Course Updates
The recent rains washed out the access to the Ladies tee box on 9. Please watch at the club house for updates as to where ladies should tee off until repairs are effected.
Rough Cuts - We certainly have heard from members who aren't fond of the length of some of the rough. Len has been putting in time on the Massey and the rough mower to cut some of it down. As for the mounds - we agree- they got their hair cut this week too!
Commerical League schedule - the complete Men's Commercial League Schedule can be found on the course's web page at http://www.fortstjohnlinks.com
Friday, June 24, 2011
Playing it Safe
Golf is seen as a safe game. Most players know to stay behind and away from players addressing or playing shots, and to stay alert against moving dangers while on the course, but there are many other hazards to be aware of while playing. By taking appropriate precautions, players can both protect themselves and keep others safe as they enjoy their game.
From the grounds crew's point of view being aware of your surroundings is key to staying safe. We already take a number of precautions to protect ourselves in order to safely operate maintenance machinery. Knowing where players are, and whether they are prepared to hit into the area we are working, is important. From the player's point of view course maintenance can range from inconvenient to downright dangerous. Its a good idea to give the mowers and tractors a wide berth. At any time they could strike a hidden object and send it flying. If a mower is in your line of play, please be patient and wait for it to clear the area. If the greens mower is on the green do not hit up. Getting hit by a flying golf ball can result in a serious injury. Cutting a green takes no more than ten minutes under normal circumstances. If we see people waiting grounds crew members will defer to players and either duck out of the way or work quickly to complete the task. Similarly, if the flag is down because pins are being changed out, please wait to hit up. We do try to keep maintenance efforts to times when there are fewer players on the course, and your cooperation is much appreciated.
At this time of year, insects can represent a real danger to staff and players alike. Abundant rain and frequent thunder showers have provided the puddles and standing water needed for mosquitoes to reproduce in numbers. These pesky pests are present in persistent clouds all over the course, but are especially prevalent on the holes that border the Community Forest. Some courses use pesticides and spraying programs to control bugs. At Links we practice a policy of IPM (integrated pest controls) that focus on mechanical rather than chemical controls. Keeping grass cut, sand traps groomed and drainage systems flowing help to minimize mosquito habitat and keep populations within acceptable thresholds. Players who are easily "bugged' by biting insects should dress appropriately against the threat and carry personal supplies of insect repellent.
The summer sun brings with it the dangers of sunstroke and sunburn. Just as players need to dress against insects, they must also dress for the weather. While the temptation might be to soak up as much sun as possible, repeated and extended exposure to the sun's ultra violet rays can lead to skin problems ranging from sunburn through to skin cancers. Course workers in our coveralls, hats, gloves, and long sleeves may seem over dressed for the season, but, given our daily exposure to the weather, its better to be safe than sorry. Light colored clothing, appropriate headgear and/or a sunscreen of an appropriate protection factor (15 SPF or higher) should be standard equipment for all players. In extreme sunlight making use of the shady areas is encouraged as well.
Proper hydration is also critical. In hot weather, players should avail themselves of plenty of fluids, and not just those that can be purchased from the beverage cart. Heat can accelerate the effects of alcohol consumption. Players need to pace themselves or consider alternative beverage choices such as sports drinks or water.
Recently thunderstorms have been roaring through our area. With our short season many players might be tempted to play through a thunder clap or two. Playing through lightning however, is not a good idea. Every year some news story runs about golfers whose stubborn refusal to leave the course leaves them burnt or electrocuted. Forget the old joke about holding a two iron over your head in thunderstorm because not even God can hit it. When lightning is in the area every club is dangerous!
Recently thunderstorms have been roaring through our area. With our short season many players might be tempted to play through a thunder clap or two. Playing through lightning however, is not a good idea. Every year some news story runs about golfers whose stubborn refusal to leave the course leaves them burnt or electrocuted. Forget the old joke about holding a two iron over your head in thunderstorm because not even God can hit it. When lightning is in the area every club is dangerous!
Golf is often referred to as a game of risk and reward. While there may be times when players may consider gambling in order to post a better number, players and staff should never put their personal safety at risk. When it comes to personal safety, playing it safe is always the better play.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Leaving your Mark on the Course
Our grounds crew work hard every day to maintain and improve the playability of the course. Daily play puts a lot stress on tees, greens and fairways. Unfortunately, the divots, ball marks and spike marks players leave behind can all add strokes to the next player's score. The grounds crew put in lots of time to get the course looking and playing its best, but there are also things players can do to improve their own chances of drawing a favorable lie and getting a favorable result.
On the tee try to restrict your number of practice swings. If you happen to take a divot please replace it, or make use of the sand seed containers available at every hole. After your shot please remove your broken tee. There are receptacles at, or near every tee. Contrary to what some folks believe, our mowers are not powerful enough to mulch the remains of wooden tees. Some of the unbreakable plastic tees can dull or even chip mower blades and bedknives, resulting in an uneven or ragged cut.
Once your ball comes to rest off the tee, whether in the fairway or the rough, the rules of golf apply. Basically a person has to play the ball where it lies unless they are entitled to relief. Occasionally shots will come to rest in in a divot, the indentation or displaced turf mark from a previous golfer's shot. The rules dictate that your shot must be played out of the divot. While you are not entitled to move your ball, you can help ensure that others do not share your fate. Again restrict the number of practice swings you take. If you take divots on either your practice swings or actual shot, replace them. If the ground is damp and the divot is large there is a good chance that if replaced and tamped down, the divot will re-root. If simply left on their own divot gashes do eventually recover and fill in as neighboring plants grow into the gaps, but the recovery process can take weeks. If the divot is in a common landing area, your efforts at repairs will be much appreciated by those who follow after you.
On the putting surface, player assistance in dealing with ball marks and spike marks is most essential, for the grounds crew are to keep up with daily wear and tear. A divot repair tool, a small two pronged fork like device, should be essential equipment for all golfers. Many well intentioned golfers incorrectly repair ball marks by inserting their divot tool or a tee into the ball mark and levering up the depressed earth. This technique actually causes more damage as it tears roots. The proper technique is to work in from the edges of the depression, kneading the grass and gradually easing the depression back to a more level surface. Complete the repair by tamping down the surface with the underside of your putter. There are many good how to videos about this available on Youtube. Just google ball mark repair! A good rule of thumb is to fix your own ball mark and two others on each hole.
Spike or cleat marks are different from ball or pitch marks in that, under rule 16 1-c , they cannot be repaired before you putt. Golf Canada explains this difference in terms of two key principles. All players are to: 1) Play the shot where lies and 2) Play the course as they find it. Pitch marks and old hole plugs can be repaired because they are easily identifiable. Spike marks may not be repaired until all players have completed play on a hole. Players can help prevent spike and cleat mark issues by moving carefully on and around greens and by ensuring that their shoes and spikes are in good repair. Soft spike technology has advanced considerably over the days of the old metal cleats. Most courses now require players to use the new soft spikes. If you've lost one, or your old ones are worn down, replacements are available for purchase at the clubhouse.
Keeping the course in good repair is a shared responsibility. With the amount of rain we've had this spring, its essential that we work together to minimize course damage and promote speedy turf recovery. Making sure your equipment is in good condition, and taking the time to properly replace and repair turf impacted by each swing, is the best way to make your mark at Links. Together grounds crew and players can both make sure the course continues to look and play its best.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Maintaining An Open Frame of Mind
Its US Open weekend and thousands of viewers will be watching some of the world's best players battling par and each other at Congressional this weekend. The second major of the year is somewhat unique as it is run not by the PGA Tour, but by the USGA, who feel that the winning score for America's open championship should never be much below par. Consequently, host courses are set up to be even more challenging than usual, as was evidenced last year at Pebble Beach when Graeme McDowell survived the final round to win with a score of exactly even par.
The USGA Rules and Competitions Committee issues strict guidelines to host clubs about how their course should be set up, and encourages local clubs to emulate these standards in their own contexts for their own open or club championships. These guidelines cover everything from parking arrangements to the positioning of ball washers and water coolers around the course. They speak to how the course should be set up, what equipment is to be used and even cover emergency and contingency plans should there be an accident or inclement weather.
Some of the more interesting guidelines deal with the physical set up of the course. For example fairways are to be no more than 25 to 35 yards in width. They are to be cut at an angle against the direction of play. Sand traps are to have sand to a minimum depth of 4 - 6 inches and have facing lips newly cut so as to prevent balls from plugging in the face of a bunker. Teeing areas are to be level, with markers set exactly six feet apart. Flag sticks are to be at least 6 feet in height and are to be clearly marked with flags of a uniform bright contrasting color for visibility, and greens must have sufficient area so that a cup can be placed in a level area where a ball struck with force at distance may come to a stop within six feet of the hole.
Perhaps the most famous aspect of a US Open course set up, or infamous if you prefer, is the attention paid to the rough. The guidelines state that rough should be "of a a sufficient height to be a significant problem." The USGA places a premium on shot making accuracy rather than distance, and feels that a foray into the rough should cost a player potentially half a stroke each time they miss the designated landing or target area. In order to get the proper height and thickness the USGA even recommends the specific type of mowers to be used (rotary rather than reel) and suggests that all vehicular and cart traffic be kept out of the rough for a week prior to the first round of play.
The thing about the US Open is its an equal opportunity major! Where as its virtually impossible to recreate the course conditions players find at The Masters at one's home course, the USGA actually encourages clubs to recreate course conditions found at the US Open. Their guidelines even serve as a template for grounds committees to follow. Of course the USGA's goal is to create conditions where the world's best players have to work hard to beat par. Local courses don't need to go to quite the same extremes when most members already see par as a very significant challenge!
Updating this posting this morning its apparent that Rory McIlroy has been up to the challenge so far, posting a new 36 hole record low score. It will be interesting to see if officials seek to beef up the course to "Rory"-proof it or whether he will be able to maintain his torrid scoring pace. If you read this blog earlier in the week you'd have also seen I referenced that US Open flags were to be yellow and yet the flags at Congressional are clearly red. I reviewed the guidelines and found out that my initial copy was out of date. They now read that the flags are to be" of a bright and vivid color" in order to maximize visibility for players.
Updating this posting this morning its apparent that Rory McIlroy has been up to the challenge so far, posting a new 36 hole record low score. It will be interesting to see if officials seek to beef up the course to "Rory"-proof it or whether he will be able to maintain his torrid scoring pace. If you read this blog earlier in the week you'd have also seen I referenced that US Open flags were to be yellow and yet the flags at Congressional are clearly red. I reviewed the guidelines and found out that my initial copy was out of date. They now read that the flags are to be" of a bright and vivid color" in order to maximize visibility for players.
As you play your next round at Links and find yourself in the deep rough or rolling through a narrow fairway don't get mad. Instead feel honoured that the grounds crew here think highly enough of patrons to set you up with US Open-like conditions! Maintaining an Open frame of mind, together with some careful course management, should help keep you feeling better about how you score next time out!
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