How Can Membership Help

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By and large, memberships take great pride in their clubs and I get asked by many of them "How can I help?"  There are many things throughout a round membership can do to help with the playability, condition and overall showcasing of the golf course. These things include proper ball mark repair, proper divot replacement, divot patterns at the driving range tee, cart traffic patterns, and proper bunker raking. I'll discuss further in detail on each of these items and hopefully the membership will get a better idea of how each of these small things impact a golf course.

Ball Mark Repair

Our Greens are the crown jewel of the golf course and need to be as smooth and consistent as possible. Its no secret ball marks plague many greens and golf courses in general. Golf etiquette dictates its the responsibility of the golfer to fix and repair their own individual ball mark. However, there is a proper way to repair a ball mark that helps speed the recovery and cleans up the belemishes on the green. Here is a great video by the USGA on proper ball makr repair.

A key takeaway from the video is making sure you are not "popping the ball mark up" but stretching the turf together. This helps the turf heal quickly and gets rid of any bare spots that may effect ball roll. Any ball mark missed or improperly repaired will get shaved off with the greens mowers the following morning. Our staff does take time to quickly walk the Green prior to mowing each morning to look for unrepaired marks, however, we are typically mowing prior to sunrise and under time constraints, so it makes it difficult for us to repair the majority of ball marks that occur throughout a day. A properly repaired ball mark by a member goes along way in keeping the green surfaces smooth and looking good!

Divot Recovery/DRT Pattern

Understanding when to replace a divot and when to use the sand/seed to fill in the divot can will help in the time it takes the divots to recover. The ideal scenario is to replace your divot with the turf and stepping it down. When the divot stays together with soil and root structure it acts as a small piece of sod and the roots will take hold again, helping the divot heal quickly. 75% of the time this is the proper way to fill a divot at Beverly. When your divot has been disintegrated and there is no turf to put back, this is the time to fill the divot with sand. Sand is used to level the area and allow the bent grass to creep back in filling the divot. However, depending on the size of the divot, this process takes months to heal and make the divot disappear. So if there is a large divot that can be replaced, it makes a huge difference in recovery time if it is put back vs just filling with sand/seed.

One thing I find interesting, is in general, many golfers do not replace divots on a tee?? I find most golfers opt to fill in their large divots with sand. As stated above, sand is a much longer process to recovery vs replacing the divot, the same "rules" apply. So whether you're on a Tee or in the Fairway the best option is to always replace the divot when you can and only use the sand when there is no divot to replace. Here are a few videos from the USGA that discuss divot repair.

Note in the videos they mention divot patterns at the driving range and the proper pattern to use to help with quick recovery. This is extremely important to help preserve our range tee and for it to accommodate the large amount of use it sees. Here is a picture that illustrate proper divot pattern for the driving range tee.

In general it is very difficult for divots to heal and recover on the golf course due to our maintenance practices that focus on playability (fast/dry/firm) vs grow in/recovery (over water/high fertility/soft). Its especially difficult on the driving range tee due to the constant hitting and practicing. As a grounds staff, we don't have access to the driving range tee on regular basis throughout a day to be able to water and help with recovery. As a member a simple change in your hitting pattern can help in preserving our driving range tee throughout the season. Proper replacement of your divots on Tees and Fairways can he huge help in the quickness of their recovery as well. 

Bunker Raking

 

The largest percentage of our labor budget goes to the maintenance of the bunkers. They see daily raking as well as work on checking sand depths, compacting sand and mowing the faces. Every golfer has there own preference in regards to the playability of the bunkers. In general, as a maintenance staff, our goal is to create consistent bunkers throughout the course, firm enough not to give "fried egg" lies, even depths and minimal contamination to the sand. We spend countless hours trying to create these conditions and while at times, we may fall short, due to multiple reasons, overall the bunkers are beginning to play better as the season/years progress. 

One thing that can help in keeping the bunkers consistent and achieving those goals is proper bunker etiquette from the membership and caddies. Its important for the golfer to understand what we are trying to achieve and how neglect can cause the softening of spots or give a poor lie in a bunker. Here is a great video from the USGA on bunker etiquette and raking.

Note from the video the importance of smoothing out deep foot prints with the back of the rake first. This helps keep the bunker bottoms level and doesn't give the player behind you a potential poor lie. Also, entering and exiting the bunker from the low side and not walk up the face. This helps with keeping the sand face compacted so when a ball goes into the bunker it rolls to the bottom, flat part of the bunker and doesn't get hung up. A good rule of thumb is after leaving the bunker, it should look as if you were never there. These little things can go a long way in not only helping the grounds department but also keeping the bunkers playing consistent for golfers and fellow members coming in behind you. 

Cart Traffic Etiquette
 

As we get into season and cart traffic begins to pick up, its important to remind everyone of cart patterns throughout the course. Carts create major wear, tear and compaction throughout the course  which in turn creates thinness in many areas. We have rope up throughout the course to help guide carts away from high profile areas. I would ask  members operating a cart to please keep carts away from Greens, driving up into the approaches and up next to Tees. Please use cartpaths or park on cartpaths where they are avaialbe. Here is a video for a reminder of cart etiquette.

 

It is always good for a fresh reminder on small things such as these that can have a huge impact on the course. These items are simple things that can be done by the membership to help alliviate stress on the turf. So next time you are at the course, take a few extra seconds to think about the repair of your ball marks, replacement of your divot, the raking of the bunkers, and where you are driving the cart. Together we can help each other continue to make Beverly CC a premier club in the country!  

Kirk

April- Season Kicks Off

The above average temperatures and dry weather in late March to early April had the golf season kicking off in full gear on April 2nd of this year. The grass was able to get a jumpstart, get out of dormancy quickly this spring which has helped us with divot recovery and ball marks on the Greens. The turf is extremely healthy and the newly seeded 007 Greens look incredible to start the season. In just their second year, they had great Spring green up and have incredibly strong root systems. 

April is one of the busiest months for us at the Grounds Department, especially when the weather is favorable. This month at Beverly has been no different! We have been very busy not only mowing turf but working on projects throughout the early portion of the season. Our project list consists of putting a walkway through the bunker at #1 and adding a cart path to the right side of #4 green that directs you around #5 Tee.  All this work was done just in time to start our new Short Course area next to the pro shop! 

The walkway at the cross bunker at #1 was discussed during the original plans of the restoration. Architects, Tyler Rae and Ron Prichard, decided to hold off on its installation to get a feel for how traffic might work with the bunker at 1. After a season of testing, getting feedback from members, etc.. It was determined we should install the walkway through the bunker. This enabled the walking member to take a straight line off the Tee to their ball in the Fairway. While the face of the bunker is soft enough to walk up, we will continue to monitor the face/traffic pattern as there could be potential for the addition of steps in the future. We then reimplemented the dew walk paths throughout the golf course, giving a shorter height of cut for the walkers from Tee to Fairway.

The left side of 4 green has always been a tough spot due to traffic, irrigation and drainage issues. It was an area that got beat up from the cart traffic and was extremely difficult to keep carts scattered and  avoid major wear and tear to the turf. During one of Tyler Rae's site visits this past winter he evaluated the area and determined we could put a cart path in on the right side of the Green between the bunker and the fence line while rerouting carts behind #5 tee and to the right of it. It will help the Green complex at #4 be healthy  as well as help alleviate any wear and tear from carts that has plagued #5 Tee. Our focus was to not only build the cart path but also to build up the back of the bunker face to help hide the path from view when walking up towards the Green. 

As we are always looking to minimize the amount of cart paths on the golf course, this was an area that made sense to add one. This will help the traffic in the area, as well as give flexibility in the future for fescue lines on the left side of #4 Green as well create possible shelter/halfway house opportunities to the right of #5 Tee where the old pumphouse sits.  

Project Update:

Throughout the upcoming blog posts, I will be updating the membership on the progress of the recently approved Practice Facility projects as work begins. Hopefully the membership will find it interesting to see some of the "behind the scenes" things that happen to complete a project as well as get a chance to see how different features like, Greens, Tees, and Bunkers are created out of nothing but open space. 

The Short Course portion of the project has officially kicked off. We broke ground on phase 1, April 20th with the tree removal portion. In building the 3 hole short course, the first order of business was to clear the area in which we wanted to create the holes.  We obviously need to make room for the 3 hole course, however, at the same time need to be sure we continue to have a buffer between 1 fairway and the newly built short course. We also want to make sure we do not open our boundary line up to the East along Western Ave.  

Architect Tyler Rae identified the trees needed to be removed in order to create the vison of the short course. We evaluated the area, the health of the trees and made an informed decision on the removal of any tree. Throughout the area we found many of the trees to be rotted, hollowed out and not in the best health, so it made decisions on most of the trees simple. 

However, anytime we remove a healthy tree on the golf course, we want to make sure we are doing it for reasons that enhance the turf health, experience and playability of the course. During the removal of trees, with the entire area being renovated, we were not worried about any damage from our tree contractor. They were able to work quickly and efficiently in their ability to clear the area. This saves on overall cost and time.

Next dates of note for the Short Course project:  May 7th, Tyler will be making a site visit and he will be staking out the Short Course with the hopes of breaking ground with the bulldozer May 10th. Our overall timeline and goal for the Short Course is to have the area "growing in" by mid to late June. Then move to break ground on the Practice Facility/Himalayan Putting Green, post Medley on August 2nd.

It will be another busy season for us at the Grounds Department! We are excited to get things kicked off and providing a brand new experience to a golf club with such great tradition and history!

Kirk