Roughing It Fathers Day Weekend?

Fathers Day weekend is almost here, and that means its time for both the Links Parent & Child Tournament and the US Open. The US Open is one of my favorite events of the year. We can watch some of the world's best players battling par, and each other, under very difficult course conditions. The second major of the year is run by the USGA, not the PGA Tour, under the guiding premise that a winning score for America's open championship should always be close to par. Consequently, host courses are set up to be even more challenging than usual with deep rough, narrow fairways and challenging pin placements.

The USGA Rules and Competitions Committee has strict guidelines for host clubs about how the Open should be set up. It encourages local clubs to emulate these standards for their own open or club championships. The 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 include 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. Fairways are to be no more than 25 to 35 yards in width and are to be cut at an angle against the direction of play. Sand traps are to have a minimum depth of 4 - 6 inches and have their facing lips newly cut so as to prevent balls from plugging in them. Teeing areas must 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 Finally 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 is the attention paid to the rough. The guidelines state that rough needs to be "of a a sufficient height to pose a significant problem." The USGA places a premium on shot making accuracy rather than distance, and feels that a shot into the rough should cost a player potentially at least half a stroke every time a fairway is missed. 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 cart traffic be kept out of the rough for a week before the first round of play. The US Open is an equal opportunity major moving around the United States to a different club each year.

At Links the grounds crew frequently hear about the deep rough on the mounds found throughout the course. We are frequently asked why it can't be cut lower or just cut down period. Next time you find yourself deep in the cabbage, or rolling through a 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! Better yet, adopt the USGA philosophy that accuracy trumps distance. Club down a bit to something you can control, keep it on the short grass and watch the strokes come off your score. The Parent - Child tourney this weekend might be the perfect time to exercise a little more control and a little less scrambling. Unlike the US Open though - we don't have a cut! You'll get to finish what you start and hopefully have a little fun along the way!

Counting Birdies at Links

Golfers affection for birdies is well documented. Shooting under par on any hole is an achievement worth talking about. Achieving an eagle or an albatross is even more note worthy. However, the most common birds found at Links are the kind with wings! The course is habitat for many different species of birds. From the mallards that have taken up residence in the 1st hole dugout to the swallows that swoop from their 150 yard marker bird houses, all of the fine feathered varieties of birds indicate that Links is an environmentally friendly and healthy habitat.

The swallows are my personal favorites. Not only are they fascinating to watch as they skim the surface and dart about the course in the early dawn or twilight, swallows are valuable as insectivores! Swallows eat many flying insects, including mosquitoes and other harmful species. They can cover over 600 miles per day and consume more than their own body weight of flying pests.

Other birds found on the course include robins, starlings and magpies.  A robin's diet consists of  bugs, worms and berries. It is one of the earliest bird species to lay eggs. Nests consist of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers,smeared with mud and are often cushioned with grass or other soft materials. Robins are also amongst the first birds to sing at dawn, with songs consisting of several distinct notes that are often repeated. The ever present starlings are also omnivorous, preferring insects but willing to help them selves to other opportunities as they arise.

Magpies are perhaps the least liked birds at Links. Members of the crow family, they are intelligent but extremely noisy. They are opportunistic feeders and can become quite aggressive in their tactics. They will eat insects when they have to, but seem to prefer the company, and garbage, of humans. At LInks magpies have built a few rather impressive nests. These can often be seen in the trees down the left side of #2 fairway. A very large example nest exists in the trees behind the club locker shed.

The presence of so many bird species at Links is a good indicator that the course is environmentally friendly and an excellent source of habitat. Golf courses sometimes get a bad rep as environmental hazards due to an alleged reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In reality, most courses strive for a healthy balance between natural and man made solutions. That so many birds call Links home, is a testament to the course's success in attaining this balance. Hopefully you will always find your fair share of birdies at Links. Whether they are on your score card or just in the trees is up to you!