FAQ's of Interest...

Each day here at Elcona I get the opportunity to interact with many of you, whether it is when I am driving around the property or when I get the chance to show off my subpar (in a bad way) golf talent in Men's Night Out.  These interactions provide me with some great feedback on the course and the chance to answer questions that you may have.  Below are a few of the most asked questions I get on a weekly basis.  Apologies in advance for the longer than normal post, but I thought it would be beneficial for all to know my reasoning behind some of the practices we do.  

How do you repair a ballmark properly? 

Improperly repaired ballmark on 14

 

The preferred ballmark repair technique, courtesy of GCSAA.

The key here is to NOT LIFT the center of the mark.  This pulls the turf and roots out from the surface and greatly increases the recovery time of the pitchmark.  A properly repaired mark heals in 3-4 days,  while a poorly repaired one (see above) may take up to 21 days to heal.  

When should I replace my divot in the fairway?  Sometimes they are too little to replace. 

            Whenever possible, you should always replace your divot.  Most of the time, even the tiny divots will root back down and recover.  At a minimum, replacing all your divots keeps the fairway looking clean and helps minimize any shot from having to be played out of a divot. 

Why aren’t any sand bottles on the carts? 

            Sand bottles are not supplied for the same reason as above:  to help keep the course clean.  Many times it is easier to reach for the sand bottle than walk a few yards to retrieve a divot, leaving the fairway looking littered.  Also, many people overfill the divot with sand, leaving an unsightly pile and dulling mower blades during the next mowing.  The grounds staff periodically fills all fairway divots during the golf season. 

How close to greens and tees can I drive my cart?

When there is a cart path, please use it.  Otherwise, please keep your cart a minimum of 30 feet from greens and tee complexes. 

What is the preferred divot pattern on the practice tee?

One of my fellow superintendents posted this picture on Twitter, which illustrates my preference wonderfully.  Either one straight line of divots taken out or multiple, small divots spread out across our hitting station is preferred.  The healing time is much quicker and will provide additional hitting space for the next person.  Taking out huge craters like the picture above will take quite a long time to fill in and heal. 

Why is someone hosing down a green and interrupting my round?

            This individual is “syringing” or cooling down the Poa annua leaf tissue during a hot summer day.  This misting typically takes one or two minutes.  If you see a maintenance staff member working near you, please give him or her common courtesy and make sure they see you before you hit your next shot.  They and their families will appreciate it. 

What is the proper way to rake a bunker?  Where should the rakes go when I am done?

The bunker should be raked smooth of all shot divots and footprints after the shot has been played.  When done with the rake, place the rake outside the bunker, with the rake head pointing towards the direction of play. 

What are the general maintenance principles of Elcona CC?

·         Provide the finest quality playing surfaces with minimal inputs and a keen eye on environmental stewardship.

·         To prepare, preserve and maintain the golf course as the major club asset and to afford the opportunity to provide enjoyment to the club’s members and guests.

·         To protect, understand and fulfill the golf course architect’s and club membership’s vision with a goal of a fair golf challenge for all levels of player ability.

·         To plan and execute programs and procedures that maintains a superior golf experience as well as enhances and protects the environment, property, and aesthetics of the club within the standards and benchmarks set within being a Certified Audubon Golf Course Sanctuary. 

Other interesting facts about Elcona CC:

·         Elcona’s total land area is 342 acres

o   132 acres of maintained turf

o   47 acres of natural grassland

o   116 acres of mixed forest habitat (prairie and wooded habitats)

o   41 acres of farmland that is cash rented out

o   4 ponds totaling 2.75 acres

·         The golf course was originally designed by legendary Midwest architect William Diddel in 1956, and has undergone multiple improvements with guidance from architect Arthur Hills

·         In 2012, Elcona became the 8^th course in Indiana and the 930^th course in the world to be designated an Audubon Certified Golf Course Sanctuary

Ryan

A Friendly Reminder....

As the season as gone along this year, I have had quite a few of you ask me about proper divot replacement on the fairways and tees.  The best answer I can give you is that no matter the size of the divot you take, please take the time to replace it.  The bigger the divot, the better chance it has of recovery.  Even though the smaller divots may not heal properly, it is always a good practice to replace them to help keep the fairways looking clean.  Even though we supply divot mix on the tees, it is always best if possible to replace any divots you take from your tee shot as well, once again to help keep the areas clean.  Greg wrote an excellent blog post on this matter last year, which you can read here.

Proper ballmark repair, courtesy of GCSAA

Improper repair of a ballmark. 

Another item that I have received questions on is the proper way to repair a ballmark on the green.  Above is a handy pictorial from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America that shows the proper technique.  The key point in repairing pitchmarks is to NOT lift the mark up, but rather gently twist the sides in.  Lifting the mark up severs the turf and greatly reduces the chance that the ballmark will heal properly.  To the right shows an improperly repaired ballmark.  If repaired correctly, the scar will heal within 24 hours.  If not, the pitchmark will take up to 15 days to heal. 


Finally, the question of placing the bunker rakes is one that I get each year.  While there is no specific rule on their placement, at Elcona the rakes are left outside the bunker, with the rake head facing the direction of play.  This minimizes the chance of any rule scenarios impacting your round. 

As always, if you have any questions, please contact me at the Maintenance Facility or at ryan@elconacc.com.  Have a great weekend!

Ryan

A Friendly Reminder

Over the last few weeks I have had several questions regarding replacing divots in the fairways. Not specifically about how to replace them, but more in regards to why individuals are not replacing them at all. My honest answer to that question is that I don't really know, but it has certainly escalated to the point where I feel like I need to give everyone a gentle reminder to make sure that they get replaced regardless of size or shape. I will also use this opportunity to remind you to please use the Practice Facility for practice and not our fairways (see photo below).

 Practice divots not replaced on #2 fairway

The follow-up question always seems to be "Why don't we have sand on the carts?". When sand is available on the carts, it is human nature to go to the quickest/closest solution. We have found that when sand is on the carts, there is very little, if any, attempt to retrieve a divot. A perfect example is the par-3 tees. We provide sand for the divots, but how many divots are actually replaced? I won't spend this entire post reviewing common course etiquette, but will refer you to a post from two years ago as a reminder. The post can be found by clicking here. Some of the agronomic references in the linked post don't necessarily apply right now, but the basic concept of course etiquette still holds true.

Below are some sample photos that I took this morning to use as an example to answer some of the questions about divots and ballmarks.

Fairway Divots:  If the divot contains roots, it has a very good chance to survive. Regardless of size or shape, please replace any turf that is removed after a shot. Not every divot will recover, but by replacing what is removed, it gives the divot the best chance for survival and also keeps the course clean and minimizes the damage to mowers from divots that are not replaced.

Large, deep divots have a very good chance for survival. 

Thin divots like this have a decent chance to survive, but it
depends greatly on the weather.

Skimmed divots generally will not recover, but should be replaced
out of habit to help keep the course clean and fill the void left by
the shot.

Ballmarks: it takes approximately 5 seconds to properly repair a ballmark. A properly repaired ballmark will completely heal in 24 hours. An unrepaired / improperly repaired ballmark will take 15 days to recover on its own.

Note: Never push down on your repair tool to bring soil to the surface.
(Click for a larger view)

If the end result of repairing your ballmark looks like this, it was
not repaired properly. 

A Little Help, Please

As you are all aware, we continue to face some agronomic challenges on the golf course.  Some of the challenges are residual effects of the high heat and humidity from a few weeks ago and some have recently developed that we are attempting to get under control (more on this in my next blog update). Lastly, some of the challenges that are ongoing, are ones that can easily be prevented. As I drive around the course each day, I am constantly amazed at some of the things I witness.  Below are some photos of issues that continually occur and lead to additional work for myself and my staff.  Please keep in mind that we have enough problems on our plate right now and don't need additional issues leading to even more set-backs. As always, please click on the photos for a more detailed view.

Unrepaired ballmarks are a constant problem on every green everyday, not just on Monday's.  Please take time to locate your own ballmark and repair it. If everyone repaired their own ballmarks (I am constantly assured that this happens) then there shouldn't be any on the greens. Healing time for an unrepaired or improperly repaired ballmark is drastically longer than one that is repaired correctly.

Unrepaired divots.  Even though my staff will go through and remove many of the divots that don't heal, this is not an excuse to not repair them at all.  Divots left in the fairway take a tremendous toll on our mowers and if several are left in the fairways, we must take an additional step to blow the fairways off before we mow them, or collect them by hand.



Please know that we do not rake the bunkers everyday.  When individuals do not rake their bunkers after playing from them or make a poor attempt at raking them, it leaves a poor playing surface for the groups that follow.  On days when we do not have the bunkers scheduled to be raked and we see many of them looking like the one pictured above, we are forced to put-off other necessary tasks so that the bunkers can be repaired and be made playable to the standards that are expected.  Please consider the groups behind you when raking a bunker and also remember that the bunkers may not be raked the next day and you may have a tee time.



I am fully aware that the greens are slower than we are all accustomed to, but this is no way to take out your frustration.  This lovely divot greeted me on Monday morning as I walked up to the cup on #16 green.  You can imagine my frustration when I saw this.  Situations like this take a significant amount of time to repair because it is imperative that it be repaired in a way that resembles the green before the divot was taken. If not done properly, it will scalp as the mower crosses over it and die or it will lead to an uneven putting surface.

Thank you for your cooperation and please know that we are doing everything within reason to get the golf course back to its normal condition as quickly as possible.  The cooler weather has helped significantly and has led to improved playing conditions.  The greens are still being mown at a slightly higher cut, but I have been comfortable enough to dust off the roller and put it to good use on select days. Stay tuned for another update coming soon.