Just when it was beginning to look a lot like spring, winter returns for one last blast! Trade Show weekend is supposed to help get everyone excited about returning to the course. All the snow that came down over the past 24 hours will certainly generate some excitement, but not necessarily of the positive variety. Hopefully next week will see a return to warmer temperatures and the schedule for opening day will not be set back too far.
With outside preparations temporarily on hold attention turns to the equipment. Over the past few years science and technology have brought all sorts of innovations to golf. In 2010 Golf Digest published its list of Golf's 60 most important innovations. That's a lot of innovating. My father at 75, has been playing the game for over 60 years. While he has certainly taken advantage of many, if not most of the innovations described by Golf Digest, his list of key innovations is much shorter. He cites mower technology and course maintenance as the two most significant innovations, because they determine the nature of the playing surface. Dad has never actually worked at a golf course, but as an avid player and huge fan he has seen a lot of courses over a lot of years.
As a maintenance worker (and good son) I have to agree with Dad. The modern riding mower has been a huge step forward. It now seems unthinkable that as late as the 1960's greens were still being mowed by hand and fairways by tractor drawn gang mowers. Companies such as John Deere, Toro and Jacabsen now have entire divisions dedicated to producing specialized mowers designed to groom and prepare uniform playing surfaces across a course,
Course maintenance is a broad topic that can be used to describe a lot of things. Certainly the amount of science and technology that now goes into preparing and maintaining the playing surface is at least equal to the amount that goes into the evolution of clubs and equipment. The development of climate sensitive grass cultivars, irrigation and drainage systems, stimpmeters, soil testing, course design, and hazard design and placement are just a few of the innovations that have impacted the game.
A relatively new innovation is consideration given to the demographics of persons who play the game. Recently the European Institute of Golf Course Architects put out an article suggesting that as golfers age, courses will increasingly need to consider the needs of older players. Designing and maintaining courses that are user friendly for golfers of all ages may be the next innovative challenge the game deals with. I know my Dad would certainly approve!
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