Course setup changes

Over the last few months you may have noticed a few minor changes to setup around the course. Every superintendent is different and we all like to put our own little spin on the courses we maintain. We like to have control over as much as possible because our jobs require us to react to things over which we don’t have control, like the weather. Since we have been in a daily maintenance routine, tee marker setup, cup changing procedure and selecting pin locations have been slightly altered.

When a person plays the same course repeatedly it can become monotonous and mundane. Very little changes in how the course plays yardage and difficulty wise. In order to combat this feeling, we do a few different things during our course setup. First, tee markers have been moved to the full width of the tee boxes. This may seem like a minor change and many of you probably didn’t even notice the difference. However, by increasing the width of the tee setup, each particular hole can be attacked in several ways just from the tee box. With the added space, a player can now tee up far to either side and play a draw or fade accordingly, and thus gain the extra yardage right or left needed to truly make the shot. In different conditions each shot shape may be more beneficial than another and having the flexibility to choose allows for that hole to play a little different than it did the day before. The downside of having the tee markers at the full width of the tee box is that the divot area is increased. However, we believe that spacing the divots out will actually help them heal quicker because they are surrounded by more healthy turf than if all the divots are concentrated in a small area. This also leads into another minor change we have started. Because of the potential for increased divot area, we are moving the tee markers frequently. This, again, may not seem like a big change and the act of moving tee markers is not a change. Now we like to move them more drastically forward and back. This again makes the course play slightly different over time. When a par 3 hole played 180 yards from a specific tee color and then next time it played 150 yards a lot of thought must be given. As mentioned, now the member who plays all the time can no longer walk to a hole grab out the same club they ALWAYS grab and hit the same tee shot they ALWAYS hit. We have introduced some thought and variability.

Anyone who has been out early in the morning has probably seen the flags laying on the greens. This is not a problem. That is exactly where the flags are supposed to be. Another new aspect we have started is how we choose the location of the new pin placement. Now, instead of leaving the decision up to our staff, I place each flag exactly where I want it. This is valuable for several reasons. First, efficiency in cup changing is increased. No longer does the staff member who is changing cups have to walk around the green, find a spot, think about if it is fair or not, then change the cup. When he walks up to a green he goes directly to where the flag is laying and immediately starts to change the cup. I have already determined the validity of the location for him. Second, this also allows for more variability of the golf hole. By choosing the location myself, more challenging and interesting areas of the greens can be used. Most of our staff does not play golf regularly or often at all. While they are tremendous at their jobs, the intricacies of choosing pin placements is not their strength. Having someone who plays and understands golf more in-depth can allow for new, tougher, yet fair locations that otherwise may not have been used. Lastly, this process takes the responsibility of questionable pin placements away from the staff and puts it on the managers in the grounds department. The staff member who changes the cup does not need that burden. That burden should be placed on management. As management, we should be able to answer for all that is done on the course we maintain. This includes pin placements. If there is ever an issue with a pin location we can stand up and say “yes we chose that location and these are our reasons,” instead of saying, “well someone else put it there it’s not my fault.”

We are glad that our members enjoy playing Bretton Woods many, many times over the course of the season. We enjoy adding interesting twists to the course so that, though playing the same course continually, subtle changes allow for excitement each time.

 

 See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org