Bunkers, ballmarks, and carts

The Grounds department maintains the turf all around the Bretton Woods property. We focus our time on the golf course because it requires the most attention. Providing the turf with the elements it needs to survive, along with providing conditions that golfers need to enjoy their round is our focus. Golfers influence playability as well, and providing good conditions so the next golfer can enjoy their round is crucial. Unrepaired, or poorly repaired ball marks, carts in improper places wearing turf thin, and unraked bunkers are all in the control of the players.

Our department rakes bunkers in the morning and prepares them for play, but we cannot continuously rake bunkers all day. It is the responsibility of the last person in a bunker to rake it as they leave. Too many times we notice a bunker from which a golfer played has been only partially raked or not raked at all. This is frustrating because it reflects on our department, seeming as though we did not prep the bunker for the day. Likewise, the next player in that particular bunker may have to play from the footprints of the previous player.

Ballmarks are a fact of the game. As shots hit the putting surface, a pitch mark will result. However, fixing those pitch marks does not occur as often as the marks are made. Putting across an unrepaired pitch mark is difficult to almost impossible. Knowing whether your putt will keep its line is a guessing game. Finding and repairing your ballmark is only half of the equation. Fixing the ballmark correctly is the second half of the equation. Simply lifting turf and soil straight up until it is smooth may provide a smooth surface to putt over, but that ballmark will not heal correctly. The spot will be unsightly for a week at least. Here is a link to the recommendation from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America on how to fix a ballmark: Ballmark repair.

Unhealed ballmark after 12 days

Initial, unfixed ballmark

Ballmark after 5 days

Incorrectly fixed ballmark after 5 days.
Notice the center is only soil now.

Initial, incorrectly repaired ballmark. Center of mark lifted and smoothed.

Golf carts are very destructive to turf grass. Whether the cart is driven through an area that is too wet or driven in the same place repeatedly, carts damage turf. We use signs, stakes, posts, and rope to help direct and manage cart traffic. Generally, carts remain where they are supposed to: in the fairways and rough, and away from tees and greens. However, continuously cutting corners, parking with two wheels off the cart path, or driving where other traffic is highly concentrated are all bad habits. The green posts with white tops and directional signs are there to guide traffic flow. Once you are past these posts, stay on the cart path while finishing that hole, as well as through to the next tee. There are a couple of reasons carts are kept away from greens and tees. First, as mentioned, the carts are damaging to grass. Since the highest priority surface on the golf course is the putting greens, keeping carts a fair distance away is warranted. Keeping the turf looking and playing its best near the greens is paramount. Secondly, nearly every person that plays the course walks off the green towards the next tee in the same place and walks on to the tee in the same place. Driving any golf carts in these areas immediately increases the likelihood of damage. The turf does wear down from constant traffic even when it is only foot traffic. Combine that volume of wear with even one or two carts and the grass is pushed over the edge and begins to decline.

Often times, golfers think it is better for them to pull their cart off the path in case someone else needs to pass. However, this is actually not preferred. A passing cart can easily drive off the path to go around a parked cart; this is a quick, infrequent necessity. Yet, if every golf cart pulls off the path near the green in roughly the same place, then the wear on that edge of the path will kill the grass due to the frequency of the traffic. Lastly, it seems as though people want to gain some advantage by parking a little closer to the tee or green, saving one step if they can. But again, if every person in a cart chooses to save that same one step, the grass suffers as a result.

The Grounds department works diligently to keep conditions at their peak. If every golfer pitches in as well, conditions stay at their finest and playability for each passing golfer remains optimal.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org