Course Etiquette

On course etiquette: It's everyone's responsibility

Presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

A famous college basketball coach once said that recruiting was like shaving -- miss just one day and you look bad. It could be said that golf course management personnel, especially superintendents, feel the same way about golfer etiquette on the course.
Golf course etiquette is an all-encompassing term that refers to demeanor, adherence to course maintenance rules, and dress, among other issues. However, most associate golf course etiquette to the concept of ball mark repair, divot replacement and raking bunkers. Take a moment and consider what a course would look like if patrons were excused from any of these activities for just one day. A well-managed facility would look like a battlefield.
Golf course personnel are unanimous in stating that, as a whole, golfers still do not do an adequate job in repairing their ball marks and divots. Despite the presence of posters, notes in newsletters and announcements in meetings to serve as reminders, most facility managers believe the message can never be repeated too much.
This becomes an even bigger issue as the game expands to include more juniors and those who have recently picked up the sport. Instructors and experienced golfers should be diligent in teaching the how and why of golf course etiquette. Failing to teach golfers the proper techniques now creates future problems.

Why it's important

The basis for ball mark repair and divot replacement is for competitive and agronomic reasons. Balls that land in unrepaired divots place a golfer at a disadvantage, just as having to putt over a ball mark. By leaving turf damaged (unrepaired), it becomes susceptible to disease and/or infestation of weeds, resulting in a lower quality of playing surface. This necessitates the need for attention by golf course superintendents and their staffs, thereby taking them away from more pressing duties. As a general rule, a ball mark repaired within 10 minutes will heal with a smooth surface within two to three days. An unrepaired ball mark may take as long as three weeks to heal, but the result will be an uneven surface.

Replacing divots

Because grass varieties differ from course to course, and from fairways to the rough, the best rule to follow in replacing divots is to check with the golf course superintendent for the particular policy. As a general rule, replace any divot on the course unless there is a sand or sand/seed mixture provided in a container on the golf car. Typically, the divot is replaced on any course with bentgrass or bluegrass fairways. If you are playing on a course with bentgrass fairways and bluegrass rough, you must pay particular attention to the materials in the container. If just sand is provided, then fill the divot hole and tamp down the sand with your foot. If a sand/bentgrass seed mixture is provided, divots in the rough would not be replaced so as to not contaminate the bluegrass with bentgrass seed. In bermudagrass fairways, generally sand is just used.
In replacing a divot, the policy is to replace the divot so the grass can send down new roots. If so, replace the turf in the same direction it came out, and tap down firmly so the mower won't pull it back out. If you are walking and no sand is provided, smooth the divot hole with your feet, gently pulling the sides of the divot hole to the center.

Raking bunkers

Bunkers pose enough trouble themselves. Imagine playing from them when they are left unraked. To avoid leaving a poor playing surface, follow these tips:

• Enter and exit the bunker at the point closest to your ball.This will ensure you do not displace too much sand.
• Alternate between pulling the sand toward you and pushing it away from you to make the surface even. This will make the bunker surface even without sand displacement.
• All holes and footprints should be smoothed over upon exiting the bunker.
• Be sure there are no indentations in the previously disturbed sand.
• After rake completion, the USGA recommends that the bunker rake should be placed outside the bunker laying flat and facing the direction of play.
• USGA reminds golfers that the proper term is “bunker,” and never “trap.”

Green Speed in extreme heat

 

Presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Years ago, there was a man named Edward Stimpson who loved golf and craved to create more fairness in the game. To further his passion, he invented a device intended to ensure that all the greens on a course were of relatively equal speed. The idea was to give superintendents (then, greenkeepers) a way to compare the speed of the 4th green with the 13th and take steps to equalize them. This was, no doubt, a sound and noble idea.
But sometimes bad things happen to good ideas.
Today, his simple tool, the Stimpmeter, is often misused to compare the speed of greens from course to course and unfortunately, to establish a benchmark of putting difficulty. Golfers are sometimes heard to say, "Hey, Hickory Hills was 'stimping' 13 last week." This essentially means that the greens were as fast as the linoleum on most kitchen floors.
From a purely competitive standpoint, that's OK. However, this quest for fast greens has serious consequences in terms of cost, environmental quality and the long-term health of the green. In short, speed can kill. Here's why:
A healthy, vigorous green can be maintained at a very short cutting height (as low as 1/8-inch) for short periods of time without serious consequences if it's been prepared properly and weather conditions are acceptable. Courses hosting tournaments often take months (and spend significant extra money) to bring greens up to an ultrafast speed for PGA Tour players. For example, the greens at Augusta National or Oakmont may "stimp" up to 14 when properly prepared and dry.
However, fast greens are extremely fragile. If you compared them with human beings, it would be fair to say that their immune systems can be very weak. They become susceptible to diseases and pests, and therefore may require more chemical treatments. Weather can also quickly destroy the health of an ultrafast green. High temperatures and lack of moisture in the air are deadly to greens that are maintained at very short cutting heights for any length of time.
The risks of maintaining fast greens -- even with the best professional management by superintendents -- were apparent in the summer of 1995 when golf courses across the eastern United States lost greens during an extended period of drought and high temperatures. Many of the world's best-known courses suffered serious damage and were essentially unplayable for the last half of the year. Many of these had to be reseeded or completely rebuilt at a cost that was high in terms of budget, playability and reputation.
The solution to the dilemma of fast greens is twofold. First, the golf industry is sponsoring and promoting research and development of new grasses that are more tolerant of fast speeds under adverse conditions. Organizations such as the USGA and GCSAA are investing millions of dollars in this effort.
On the other side, golfers should understand and accept the limitations of these living systems we call greens. Golfers should also heed the advice of superintendents who manage, nurture and protect these ecosystems. And finally, many golfers must change their attitudes about the competitive aspect of green speeds. They should, in the footsteps of Mr. Stimpson, strive for fairness, not fastness

check out this USGA video on hand watering.

http://www.usga.org/videohub.aspx#&&/wEXBAUQdGF4U3ViQ2F0ZWdvcnlJZAUCLTEFDXRheENhdGVnb3J5SWQFCzE3MTc5ODY5NDgzBQZpdGVtSWQFCzIxNDc0ODU0OTg1BQp2aWRQYWdlTnVtBQE3hie1iyM65Dl2j30GuNjFc1GHG/M=

Golf Terms

12 terms for golfer

Presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Although there is no standardized formula or single maintenance program for every golf course, there are some basic agronomy terms you can use to communicate with the golf course superintendent at your facility. In fact, if you're more aware of what your superintendent is doing to the course, you'll have a much better understanding of how it might affect the turf you're playing on -- and your round.
Here is a sample of turfgrass terms:

1. Aeration: The working of a turf soil without destruction of the turf by coring, slitting, grooving, hole punching, forking, sliding, spiking or other means to reduce compaction and improve water and air movement through the soil.
2. Blend: A combination of two or more cultivars of the same grass species.
3. Cultivar: A variety, strain or race that has originated and persisted under cultivation or was specifically developed for the purpose of cultivation.
4. Desiccation: Winter injury sustained on exposed turf areas when subject to high winds or loss of moisture from a plant because of hot, dry weather or chemicals.
5. Foot printing:
   • Frost: Dead leaf tissue formed by walking on live, frosted turfgrass leaves.
   • Wilt: Temporary impressions caused by walking on grass plants that are unable to spring to upright position because leaves lack sufficient moisture.
6. Hydroseeding: A high-pressure spray technique for applying seed, mulch and fertilizer in a water slurry over a seedbed.
7. Leaching: The removal of materials dissolved in the soil solution caused by the movement of water down through the soil, past the root zone.
8. Localized dry spot: A dry area of sod and soil that resists water infiltration.
9. Matting: To work topdressing, fertilizers or other materials into a turfgrass area with drag mats, usually made of steel.
10. Plugging: The vegetative propagation of turfgrass by means of turf plugs or small sod pieces.
11. Scalping: The term for removing more of the green leaf surface than is good for the plant, leaving a stubbly brown turf.
12. Syringing: Light sprinkling of water on turf usually done during the hottest part of the day to prevent wilting

 

Golf Course Facts

Quick facts about golf courses

Presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Americ

1. A properly repaired ball mark heals completely in 2-3 days, while an unrepaired ball mark takes 15-20 days to heal properly.
2. A typical 18-hole golf course covers approximately 125 - 150 acres of land. The total landmass of golf courses in the United States equals about 1/2 the state of Connecticut.
3. A typical 18-hole golf course produces enough oxygen to support 4,000 to 7,000 people.
4. Golf courses nationwide combine to filter 13 million tons of dust from the air every year.
5. Golf courses have a cooling effect during the hot summer months. The average temperature on the golf course in typically 5- 7 degrees cooler than a residential area and 7 - 15 degrees cooler than an urban downtown setting.
6. The infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to four holes of the Brickyard Crossing golf course. The remaining 14 holes outside the oval are accessed through a tunnel under the track.
7. Golf courses delay play on frost-covered turf (especially greens) because stepping on frost-covered grass causes the frozen leaf cells to rupture. The turf will turn brown and eventually die.
8. The Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Mont., is the first golf course built on an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the land served as a smelting location for the mining of iron ore. The golf course opened in June of 1997.
9. Why do golf course superintendents aerate turf? Because it reduces compaction on a golf course by removing soil cores from the ground, allowing the movement of water, air and nutrients to the turf roots. Highly traveled areas plus poor soil composition creates compacted surfaces.
10. What is the origin of the stimpmeter? In the early 1900s, a man by the name of Edward Stimpson was looking for a means to create more fairness in the game of golf. Specifically, he was looking to make putting surfaces on a particular course all relatively the same speed. He developed the stimpmeter to achieve this purpose. By using this device, he could determine, for example, if the fourth green was the same speed of the 17th. The device is often misused and misinterpreted by the novice and avid golfer alike. It is best used to compare greens on the same course, NOT to compare greens from one course to another.
11. How much has technology and research improved speed and quality of a putting green? In the early 1960s, professional tour event superintendents cut putting green turf heights at about 1/4 inch. Today, the height of putting green turf for professional tournament competition is 1/8 inch or less.
12. How do trees affect the quality of a putting surface? All things being equal, a putting green with air circulating around it will be in better shape than a green with little or no air circulation. Trees tend to reduce circulation, thereby having a negative effect on putting green quality. Older, more mature trees adjacent to putting greens will negatively impact surface conditions because the tree roots will grow under the putting surface and disrupt the flow of water and nutrients.
13. What is a golf course superintendent doing when he/she syringes a green? Syringing is the process of spraying a light cover of water on a green during hot weather to reduce the temperature of the turf. This prevents putting surfaces from becoming “baked” and “dried-out,” and having a negative impact on putting surface quality.
14. What is topdressing? It is the practice of spreading material over a putting green to level and smooth the surface. The material is generally sand and/or organic matter that improves drainage, controls thatch and maintains biological balance.
15. Since its emergence as a major spectator sport in the 1920s, the game of golf has provided lifelong recreational opportunities and enjoyment for millions. Beyond its sport and recreational value, golf is a major industry that generates jobs, commerce, economic development and tax revenues for communities throughout the country. The national golf economy was $76 billion at last count in 2005, and the total economic impact of golf in America in 2005 was $195 billion, including direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Ball Marks

Repairing ballmarks

Ball marks, the indentations caused when a ball lands sharply on a soft green, have been ruining good putts since the days of Old Tom Morris.
Unrepaired ball marks take two to three weeks to properly heal, leaving behind unsightly, uneven putting surfaces. On the other hand, a repaired ball mark only takes half that time to heal.
Beginner or pro, it is your responsibility as a golfer to fix your own marks. If you're truly a steward of the game, you'll fix any others you see while your partners are putting. There's really not much to it, but there are a few guidelines you should follow when making these repairs.

The right way to fix a ball mark

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Step 1:
Use a pronged ball mark
repair tool, knife,
key or tee.

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Step 2:
Insert the repair tool at the
edges of the mark; not the
middle of the depression.

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Step 3:
Bring the edges together
with a gentle twisting motion,
but don't lift the center. Try not to
tear the grass.

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Step 4:
Smooth the surface with
a club or your foot. Repeat
steps until the surface is one
you would want to putt over

Frost

Posted: 12/27/2012

I am an early morning golfer and have never fully understood the justification for frost delays?

Frost is essentially frozen dew. Ice crystals visible on the outside of the plant can also form on the inside of grass blades. The grass plant, normally resilient to footsteps or cart traffic, becomes brittle and fragile when ice crystals form. Under the pressure of traffic, ice crystals puncture living plant tissues and rupture plant cells. Damage will not appear right away, but it will show up in footsteps and tire tracks the following days as the plant is unable to repair itself and begins to die. Frost damage can occur on any turfgrass mowed at any height, but it is amplified when the plant is mowed low, as on a putting green.

Keep in mind, a foursome typically takes several hundred footsteps on each green, so even allowing just a few groups to play when frost is present can be very damaging to the greens, and the rest of the golf course for that matter. It is not completely understood when frost will cause damage, so the decision to keep traffic off the golf course must be made conservatively to protect the condition of the course. For this reason, golf facilities are wise to delay starting times in the morning until frost has completely melted.

 normally resilient to footsteps or cart traffic, becomes brittle and fragile when ice crystals form. Under the pressure of traffic, ice crystals puncture living plant tissues and rupture plant cells. Damage will not appear right away, but it will show up in footsteps and tire tracks the following days as the plant is unable to repair itself and begins to die. Frost damage can occur on any turfgrass mowed at any height, but it is amplified when the plant is mowed low, as on a putting green.

 

The USGA Explains

http://www.usga.org/course_care/experts-explain/

Winter Work

We removed trees that were dangerous

We cut 30+ ash trees that were infected