Roughing It!

Next to pin placements and the conditions of the greens, the status of the course's rough is the topic the grounds crew hears about most frequently. Unlike the greens, however, we very rarely, if ever, hear anything nice about the rough. More commonly comments trend to why is the grass left so long, why is it allowed to grow in certain areas and how much trouble it is to find balls hit into it.

The easiest answer to such comments is to just tell folks to not hit into it. After all the rough does mark the edges of the playable areas. Sometimes the rough is the only thing keeping some players shots in play. I'm certain most golfers have had the experience of wondering if they are o.b. or in a hazard only to find that some generous stand of thick cabbage has kept their ball from taking that final bounce into the abyss. The elation is usually short lived however. Hacking balls out of the deep rough can add up almost as fast as the penalties imposed for losing a ball.

The greatest scorn seems to be reserved for the mounds that guard the fifth green, the knobs to the right of the eighth fairway and the mounds on the left side on number 9. These have been described as "vertical hazards", ball magnets and lost ball waste lands. The common complaint is that these rough areas slow the game down as they are so deep that golfers cannot locate their ball easily, or, when they do, cannot easily get the ball back into play. Players grumble that the mounds unfairly punish players who hit into them.

The truth is these obstacles are supposed to be tough. Golf is a game of risk and reward. Effective shot management needs to consider the challenges for each shot. Safe options usually exist for every shot, but safe isn't always the most direct route and in my experience, most golfers range from gamblers to flat out dreamers when it comes to assessing their skills and chances of making a shot.

In addition to its impact on playing strategy rough also serves a variety of other purposes. Rough protects the soil and water systems. Root systems keep sloped areas from sliding or eroding away and the tall grass traps dew and surface moisture keeping some areas from drying out. The rough forms as much as 50% of many holes. Keeping areas seeded in native tall fescues also helps prevent the spread of weeds. Natural rough areas require less maintenance thus helping staff to reduce the course's environmental footprint. They also provide habitat and cover for the various species of animals that live on and around the course.

None of these attributes does much to help the player who has deposited a ball in the rough though. Perhaps such players would feel better if they considered that they are dealing with the same challenges as the pros. The rough at the US Open is legendary for its level of difficulty. Course superintendents are instructed annually to make sure that the rough for the championship is of a level that "suitably challenges the competitors". Players at Links can feel honored that your grounds crew is treating you with the same respect the USGA shows the best players in the world! All kidding aside, the best way to deal with the rough remains staying out of it as much as possible! Until next week - here's hoping you keep it on the short stuff!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!  The on course irrigation system is working again! This means the sprinklers will be on in the mornings for you early bird golfers! (It also should mean that the bathroom at the number 5 tee box will soon be operational!)

Under Pressure!

Those of us of a certain age may remember the David Bowie/Queen collaboration "Under Pressure". Its an apt tune to think of as the back ground music to this week's blog as I comment on a couple of different types of pressure the course is currently facing. 

Some of you may have noticed Len, Russ or I rolling sideways across greens on Links latest mechanical acquisition - the greens roller. The machine looks a little bit like a cross between a 70's era bicycle and a small steam roller with high y shaped handle bars sitting atop three heavy rollers. It scuttles across greens with all the agility of a drunken crab, although the lack of precision may be due more to operator inexperience than mechanical design. Its steering takes some getting used to as it reacts very differently from the power assisted greens mower. The purpose of the device is to roll the greens after they are cut to further smooth the the grass and provide a smoother, faster putting surface. The roller is also fitted with brushes so it can be used to assist with top dressing and sanding processes, quickly spreading and smoothing sand into holes punched in the green. The roller improves the distribution of sand and allows the course to return to optimal playing conditions much more quickly than in previous years. Once we master its steering, members can expect to see this machine fairly frequently as we try to improve roll and green speed through out the year. In the past one of the knocks against frequent rolling was that the process caused compaction on the greens and damaged the turf. New research and technology has shown that carefully managed, rolling will not hurt the greens and will actually improve their playability. We'll be monitoring this process carefully through out the year and welcome feedback from members as to how things are going.

Only a few weeks ago I was lamenting how wet the course was due to the late spring, high run off and over abundance of standing water. It is a true testament to how changeable our north Peace weather truly is that now its the absence of water that is putting pressure on the greens. Sunny skies and high winds have sucked much of the moisture out of the ground and turf that was just weeks ago struggling to stay above water has now been left high and dry. The result is that turf that drowned or froze under too much moisture, hasn't been able to fully recover because now there is not enough water to promote new growth. Greens that came through the winter relatively healthy are now becoming stressed by the dry conditions and are at risk of becoming burnt or browning out.Grounds crew are currently looking at other options for delivering moisture to the most affected area and are hoping for frequent over night rains.

Normally the greens are watered nightly by means of our sprinkler system but the rapid thaw at the surface has not necessarily been matched below ground. Getting the water system reconnected to the city's water lines has communication and coordination challenges all its own. A number of other jobs including the clearing of clogged lines, repairing breaks in the lines and servicing sprinkler heads that were damaged by the winter or the snow removal process have all delayed the return of water pressure to the course irrigation and water systems. 

The lack of running water also puts unwanted pressures on the maintenance of course equipment. Normally all mowers and equipment are washed out after every use. Without pressurized water, clean up procedures are restricted to wiping machines down or blowing them out with compressed air. Given that most of our equipment comes with sharp cutting surfaces, the jets of a pressure washer are much safer and easier cleaning procedures than are reaching in and wiping things down with a cloth.


The lack of water also puts unwanted pressures on some of our members too, as the on course bathrooms can't open until the water is restored. Until the water issues are resolved, seeking relief on the course will have to be restricted to bad lies. Dealing with this different sort of pressure will involve its own unique hazards for at least a few more days.


Dealing successfully with pressure has always been important both in golf and life in general. A chunk of carbon is just a lump of coal until applied pressure turns it into a diamond. While we can certainly do with a little less pressure than that, rest assured we will be doing our best to help the course live up to its reputation as a gem of the north! Until next week, may all your pressure putts drop!

The Hole Truth

With the course now fully operational it didn't take long before the grounds crew started hearing questions about pin placements. Everyone has an opinion about where the holes should be. Usually the comments, often in jest, go something like, "the flags are in the wrong places again, they are nowhere near where I'm hitting the ball". Other folks like to let us know when they think the pins are in unfair locations. We frequently hear about hole locations that are on top of domes so that the ball breaks away from the hole in all directions. Some players even go so far as to suggest that the holes have been placed in "illegal" locations; that they are so close to the edges of holes that the placement actually breaks the rules of golf.

I suspect that some players think that the grounds crew deliberately set out to make a hard game harder by hiding the flags behind traps or trees, out at the edges or on the slopes of greens, or just in the nastiest places we can find. I can assure everyone this is not the case. Although my duties are usually restrained to cutting the greens, and Russ is the one that most often picks the hole locations, we have to work as a team, both to provide patrons with a challenge and to ensure that the hole placements do not put unnecessary stress on the golf course. In fact, pin placement is more of an art than a science, and though a number of factors go into deciding where to put a hole, deliberately annoying the patrons is not one of them.

The first misconception to put to rest is that there are "illegal" hole locations. The rules of golf state only that the hole must be entirely on the putting green. There are no rules about how far from an edge the hole must be. There are some common sense guidelines. The last pass made by the greens mower is called a cleanup lap. The last pass of the mower goes completely around the outside edge of the green to pick up any stray clippings and smooth out the edges of the previous back and forth passes. Putting a hole in the clean up lap would be bad practice and would make it hard on the mowers, so you can safely assume  that the hole will almost always be at least 3 or 4 paces in from the edge.

In general terms hole placements follow a pattern of 3's. There should be three holes nearer the front of the green, marked with red flags, three near the middle marked with white flags, and three towards the back, marked out with flags of blue. Similarly there should be three easier to reach locations, three neutral ones and three that present a slightly greater degree of difficulty.  Course conditions can also dictate hole location. We try to maintain the playability of the greens by keeping holes out of low wet spots, muddy areas and away from areas where the grass has become stressed due to high traffic or mechanical pressures. Hole locations are rotated around the putting green regularly in order to present golfers with new and different challenges, as well as to give various areas on the green a chance to heal. Some hole locations are more attractive than others (think behind the tall trees on 6 or 8) but it can take up to three weeks for a hole location to recover, so moving the hole around is important.  

The context of play also needs to be considered. It makes sense to have the pins in more challenging locations for a best ball scramble or club championship. The ability to deal with tough hole placements is one of the skills that helps determine a winner.  The last round of the US Open is often a good example of context set up. Last year galleries at Pebble Beach flinched repeatedly as the best players in the world struggled with hole locations that punished all but the most precise of efforts. Par became an accomplishment and red numbers a rarity.

Fairness becomes the ultimate consideration in pin placement. The USGA guidelines on hole location suggest that for a hole location to be considered fair, it should be possible "for a putt, once struck at distance, to come to a stop on the putting surface within two feet of the hole". Such a guideline serves to eliminate holes situated on steep slopes or too close to the edge of a green. I emphasize however that this is a guideline. Ultimately the final arbiters of hole locations are the greens keepers. At Links the greens keepers are players too. We are playing the same holes as everybody else. Last I checked, none of us are scratch golfers, or amazing trick shot artists. Since the grounds crew are playing the same course as everyone else, you can be sure we'll be setting it up fairly!  We might enjoy a good challenge but we're not masochists!

In closing let me add that once holed, balls should be removed from the cup carefully and by hand. Fishing for a putt by dipping a putter head into the hole and jigging it out with a sharp upward pull is not cool. Such actions damage the lip of the cups and potentially spoil the chances of other golfers who come later. That hole is really only a few inches deep. Bending down to pick the ball out by hand really is not that hard, takes only a few seconds and demonstrates to everyone that your putt really was makeable after all! Working together, we can make sure that the "hole" experience remains positive for everyone!

Hurray Hurray It's Opening Day!

Its finally here. FSJ Links is up and running with all greens open ready for use! Its exciting to see the course greening up so nicely and especially good to see that the greens have weathered this long winter season so well. The big melt is all but over and, due to the resilient nature of turf, the course is ready for play.

This is not to say that there aren't a few spots you might want to avoid. There's still the odd snow bank lurking under the trees and in the rough. Low spots are still a little damp and there are places where a lofted shot is far more likely to plug than to bounce and roll. The unofficial water hazards have receded to locations one wouldn't normally want to be in anyways, and the continued sunshine and spring breeze will have the course dried up in no time!

If you haven't been on the course for a while there are a few new features. The approach to number 5 green is now protected by a water hazard. No more searching for balls in the scrubby dip. If you've hit too far (or not far enough), your ball will have sunk to a watery grave. A new sand trap and retaining wall are located to left side of number 7 green. Bank shots off the woodwork are not recommended, and having your ball come to rest against the wall can present golfers with few options. Far better to keep shots safely in the middle of the green and fairway!

As mentioned the greens themselves have come through the winter pretty well. There are some thin spots, and a little bit of spotty ice damage in low places, but for the most part they are looking great for the time of year. As conditions warm up, new growth will quickly take over. Already the mower is taking up lots of grass. During these early days of the season it is especially important to remember to repair all ball and spike marks made on the greens. Now if I could only convince those pesky deer to walk elsewhere too!

The fairways, aprons, collars and rough are, well still a little rough around the edges. Brown is still the dominant color and mud the main consistency of the ground. All this will quickly improve however as we work through the rest of May. For now its just great to be back and to get things going again. 

Grounds crew staff will be on the course daily so watch for us as you play. Most maintenance is done early in the mornings, before all but the really early morning golfers are on the course. Please remember that we are out there working for your benefit and that even if you don't mean it, hitting a staffer with a shot can still be painful and dangerous. We try not to inconvenience players too often, but when you see us working on the greens, tees or around the course, please be patient and careful!

I have appreciated hearing from folks who have been following this blog. Your comments, questions and feedback are always welcome. I try to update the page weekly, with new posts going up every Saturday or Sunday morning. If there are topics you would like to see addressed about the outside maintenance of the course, or if you are simply curious about why we do some of the things we do, I'm happy to try to provide information. Until next week Len, Russ, Gord and myself hope you have as much fun playing the course as we do getting it ready for you!

May We Play Now?!!

Last week marked the first really warm stretch of weather of the spring. Between the rising temperatures and the rain, much of the snow that blanketed the course is finally melting away! That's the good news. The bad news is the rapid melt is more than regular runoff drainage can handle. In short, our cups (and just about everything else) runneth over. Water water was everywhere. Little water hazards became lakes, streams rivers, and low spots ditches, as the runoff moved through the course. You name the hole - a river was likely running through it!

Water is a funny thing. Too little and plants become dormant, dry out and die. Too much in the wrong places and the grass drowns or rots, or the soil gets washed away. Greens and fairways that are lush and properly irrigated hold well and support good play. Too much moisture maintenance equipment sinks into the turf causing damage or sits idle while grass grows beyond optimal heights. If play is allowed, excess moisture inhibits roll and forces use of so called "winter rules" such as lift, clean and place. Explosion shots should be reserved for sand traps and hip waders should not be required footwear for spring play.

On a more positive note, as the white and brown stuff recedes it is being replaced by new growth green. As the blankets and covers come off around the course it is encouraging to see the extent to which new growth is taking hold! So far the greens do not seem to be too badly impacted by the excess moisture and fairways are remarkably resilient. As hard as its been to wait, Spring appears to have finally sprung. Once moisture levels and maintenance practices return to proper levels, play will begin!  The initial Men's Commercial League schedule had play commencing this Thursday, May 5th! Weather and course conditions have made a week later a more realistic date. Certainly now that May is here, Opening Day is sure to follow! UPDATE: General Opening Day is now set for Saturday, MAY 7th    May 6th the course will be open for members only. Please confirm tee times by checking with the inside folks at the proshop!