Stewards of the Course: Part 1

Yesterday I made a post about the cooler weather and its effects on golf course conditions. While our average temperatures haven't strayed from the norm much this winter, we have repeatedly experienced cold fronts that bring weather that is not conducive to growing grass. Cool, wet, cloudy weather causes grass to stop growing at a pace fast enough to recover from the abuses placed on it by golfers. We can see evidence of this by the increasing wear areas caused by cart and foot traffic as well as by the excessive number of ballmarks visible on greens.

When we drive or walk on grass we cause wear to the leaf blades, accelerating death to those leaves. Most of the time this is not noticeable since the plant grows fast enough to put out new leaves before the old ones die. However, during periods of low-growth the grass plants do not generate new leaves fast enough to recover. This can be troublesome in many areas but is most noticeable in areas with heavy foot or cart traffic. Issues caused by cart traffic are most obvious where carts leave the cart path from the tee to the fairway as well as when carts return to the cart path by the green. This is due to the heavy concentration of carts that all take a similar path. The best way to combat this is to be aware of wear patterns and avoid them. Also, listed in the Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club Rules and Regulations are the following helpful rules:

Unless other restrictions are specified by the pro shop, the 90 degree rule will be in affect at all times. The proper procedure is to stay on the cart path until the players reach the ball closest to the tee. At that point, the cart may leave the cart path and proceed to the ball. Thereafter, all carts in the group may proceed on the fairway for remaining shots until reaching the “No Carts” boundary. 

In essence what this says is that a cart should stay on the path until even with the first ball in the fairway where it will enter at 90-degrees. The cart should travel up the fairway until the last shot is hit within a close proximity of the green and then return at 90-degrees to the cart path. This is intended to spread traffic. In the past, we used to lay a yellow rope across the fairway to serve as a signal to return to the path. In good faith, these ropes were removed in attempt to facilitate faster play and make things a little easier for our members. The blue lines around the greens were not intended to become the "New Yellow Rope." The blue lines are intended to indicate a restricted area for all carts, including those with handicap flags. Non-handicap flag players should be returning to the path before this. When all carts travel to the blue line they concentrate traffic in an area relatively close to the green. Please be mindful of your traffic patterns and return to the cart paths at an appropriate location.

Carts should not be driven within twenty-five (25) yards of greens or beyond markers and ropes. Carts with authorized Handicap/Blue Flags will not be driven inside the blue outlines around any green. In the absence of a blue line, a cart will not be driven closer than fifteen feet (15’) of a green, and will never be driven between a greenside bunker and a green. 

The intent of these rules is to effectively disperse cart traffic and reduce the amount of carts all traveling in the same spot, protect/improve course conditions and provide for a safe environment. You can find all of the club rules on the Bulletin Board of the Member Central section of the Isla webpage here: http://isladelsolycc.com/Member-Central/Bulletin_Board

This photo shows wear on #18 where carts no longer travel to the path where guided by the yellow rope but rather all exit the fairway in between the mounds.

This photo shows wear by a tee where carts are pulling two wheels off the side of the path to park.
Please keep all 4 wheels on the path. If another vehicle needs to pass (not very common) they can go around.

This is a great illustration of the need to be mindful of where you drive. The ropes are intended to protect the rough area between the fairway and pond on 16. (Trying to keep those balls from rolling into the water!) Carts make it a habit to drive  right against the restriction instead of dispersing. It's obvious by the picture the damage traffic can do. 

Cart traffic is not the only challenge when it comes to wear damage. We also experience wear from foot traffic. This is most noticeable on tees and the areas where golfers walk from their carts to the tees and greens. To help with this, many times we will use ropes to encourage golfers to walk using a different path. Please do not step over these ropes. Doing so can be dangerous and defeats the purpose of the rope in the first place. Over the past several years we have seen a significant increase in the number of rounds played from our forward tees (Red, Gold, Green). We also know that the size of these tees is not sufficient to facilitate the high number of rounds. (We can't wait to build many new tees in 2019 to help with this!) Therefore, we see excessive wear on many of these forward tees. We will continue to rotate tee markers, but at times it may become necessary to move some of these tee markers to alternate locations, either other tee boxes or in the fairway.

The wear experienced to date is fairly limited and the overall experience is still enjoyable. However, this email is intended to be a proactive message to encourage all of you to be stewards of your golf course. We will continue to place ropes and stakes in appropriate locations and ask that you are mindful of where you walk and drive. We will also continue to make timely fertilizer and cultural applications to encourage protection and recovery of the turf.

For additional information about cart traffic as provided by the USGA you can click on the following links:

http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/forethegolfer/2018/taming-runaway-golf-carts.html

http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/forethegolfer/2018/promoting-positive-parking-procedures.html