Golf Course Management

Preventing Course Damage and wear

Given the amount of rain and bad weather we have experienced over the winter period and all things considered, both courses have stood up remarkably well so far. With frequent monitoring of known areas of intense traffic and the use of ropes and hoops we are able to control damage through traffic to a managed level.

As we are fast approaching the spring and the onset of more favorable conditions it would be great if you could help us improve the conditions further especially sensitive areas around greens, tees and fairways, your assistance as members will help enormously in improving conditions going into the spring.

From now until the spring is when the greatest damage can occur, with very little growth and with areas that have had constant traffic on them all winter it is even more important for us all to spread the wear as even as possible. When playing over our courses if you could pay attention to roped off areas and hooped areas and avoid trying to travel through these areas especially close to greens, it would help greatly.

If you could also be extra cautious with your trolley’s particularly around greens and aim to keep well away from the putting surfaces and tee tops, divert around any wet or worn areas on fairways, this would be very much appreciated.

It would also be greatly appreciated if you could make sure you repair your pitch marks and remind your playing partners to do so also. We all want the best putting surfaces we can get and the repairing of pitch marks goes a long way in achieving this.

If we can all work together and hopefully with some improved weather conditions around the corner then we can all look forward to improved conditions in the spring.

Another area that we are looking into is the amount of divots in certain areas of the fairways; one particular problem area is the 7^th Highgate. Here the natural contours encourage the majority of drives into one area. To over come this we will be using a mat system where by when you find your ball in a marked area of the 7^th fairway you will be obliged to place your ball on a mat provided and play from that mat. This will help to prevent wear at this time of year and aid recovery coming into the spring. This will be used on other areas of the course where needed..

Jonathan Wood

Course Manager

07977448149

jw@j-wood.co.uk

Repairing Pitch Marks

Always remember, if your shot hits the green on the fly, there will be an element of damage. Find it, repair it, then look for and repair at least one other that someone else missed. If you notice any ball mark on the green that needs fixing, fix it.

Never take your pull-cart over white lines or across tees or greens, or across the fringe between the green and a greenside bunker. Always move your cart to a spot between the green and next tee before proceeding to the green to putt.