Golf is seemingly more popular than ever, and the number of rounds is through the roof at most facilities. In fact, according to data from the National Golf Foundation (NGF), more rounds of golf were played last year than in the year 2000. This is fascinating considering in that year Tiger Woods won three majors (including a U.S. Open win by 15 strokes) en route to the “Tiger Slam” and won a total of nine PGA Tour events. Golf was booming then, but it’s even busier these days.
Now that play has increased at most facilities, it’s more important than ever for golfers to focus on more than just their score. There are a lot of articles teaching golfers key swing tips or course management strategies, but this article provides five key areas that golfers can focus on to help improve course conditioning, no matter where they are playing.
- Be sure to replace your divots on tees and fairways, or fill them with divot mix. Nobody likes playing out of a divot in the fairway and tees full of unfilled divots are unsightly, delay turf recovery and can make it difficult to find a smooth, level spot to tee it up.
- Speaking of tees, after you hit a tee shot take your tee with you or leave it next to one of the tee markers. This expedites the cleanup process for the maintenance team so they can mow the course faster in the morning and get out of the way for golfers.
- Repair your ball mark, and one other, when you get on the green. Every golfer wants smooth putting greens, so do your part and make sure the group behind you gets the same smooth conditions you did. Maintenance teams often repair them in the morning, but repair work throughout the day is up to golfers.
- Cart traffic can be devastating to course conditions, especially in high-traffic areas. Turf can only handle so much traffic, so it’s important to follow the directions of any cart signs, ropes or stakes on the course so that stressed out grass has the chance to recover. While it should go without mentioning, carts should also be kept on paths when near greens and tees.
- Rake your footprints and any other areas that you may disturb when playing from bunkers. Many players got used to not raking bunkers when rakes were removed during the pandemic, but rakes are back out at most facilities and they should be used if they are present. Also, be sure to enter the bunker from the low side to prevent damage to the steep faces.
This is a short list of what could be a lengthy article on ways golfers can help improve course conditions. Maintenance teams are working hard to provide the best conditions possible, but with current labor challenges these teams are left with fewer staff and less time to accomplish the same number of tasks, while working around even more golfers. However, if we each do our part, we can improve course conditions for everyone to enjoy!
Central Region Agronomists:
Paul Jacobs, agronomist – pjacobs@usga.org
Zach Nicoludis, agronomist – znicoludis@usga.org