Divots

It's no secret that COVID-19 has impacted the golf experience. For one, we've eliminated as many common touch points as possible. This includes ballwashers, trash can lids, bunker rakes, and removing the flagstick is no longer an option. Obviously, the most significant change as a result of following CDC guidelines is the use of single-rider golf carts. Combining a very busy golf course along with a cart for each individual player, the number of golf carts that must not only be cleaned but sanitized is double. As you can imagine, this requires a lot more time from the cart attendants every day to complete their work. Many times they aren't able to go home until after 10pm!

Another touch point that was removed in response to COVID-19 was the divot sand scoop from each golf cart. In order to keep these in use, they would have to be sanitized between each golfer. With the cart attendants sanitizing in excess of 150 carts per day, it was determined that sanitizing scoops and filling sand buckets is not feasible at this time. It doesn't sound like much but even if it takes just 1 minute to sanitize two scoops and fill the buckets with sand on a cart, that equates to 2 1/2 additional hours of work everyday.

After more than two months of creating divots without filling them with sand, the cavalry came to help. Organized by Mary Waller, we had two groups of more than 25 ladies in total who volunteered on Tuesday mornings before playing golf. These ladies, armed with sanitized scoops, did a fantastic job filling the thousands of divots on the golf course. Thank you ladies!

Today we began distributing sand bottles on the first tee. These bottles are your own personal bottles and are yours to keep. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BOTTLE IN THE GOLF CART OR RETURN IT TO #1 TEE. IT IS BEST IF YOU STORE IT IN YOUR GOLF BAG AT THE END OF YOUR ROUND. You will be able to refill your own bottle from the sand bin located by the Oasis by 6 & 14 Tees. Through your cooperation we can keep up with filling our divots and caring for our course.

A group of ladies filling divots on #16

These water bottles make excellent sand containers

Depending on the size of the divots, it is possible to fill 8-10 divots from a single bottle

Golf Cart Traffic - Please Help!

Golf carts can be a great benefit to golfers, especially those who find it difficult to walk for 9 or 18 holes. Here at Isla Del Sol they are more or less a necessity. While they are great tools for facilitating travel during play, golf carts are also a detriment to the golf course itself. With COVID-19, each golfer now has their own cart. This places a significantly greater amount of stress on the golf course. To put it in perspective, last Sunday we had 181 rounds played with 174 golf carts being used. Normally 181 rounds would require only 91 carts. Last May we averaged 85 rounds per day with 43 carts. This means we experienced an increase in cart traffic by more than 300% over last year!

No matter how careful we are, every golf cart damages the golf course in some way. How one operates the cart determines the extent of damage. Golf carts primarily harm the course in two ways.

1. Turf Wear -  When a golf cart accelerates, turns or stops it tears grass leaves and crushes the cells that make up the plant. These stresses reduce the plant's ability to make food through photosynthesis, resulting in a reduction of plant growth.
2. Compaction - When golf carts drive on the golf course they cause compaction of the underlying soil. This results in less soil porosity which is needed to facilitate air and water movement, as well as provide space for plant roots to grow.

As you can imagine, with cart traffic at significantly higher levels we must be even more concerned about the damage being done to the golf course. While you may or may not be observing issues at this time, it's important to understand that the grass is entering its peak growing season. The increased summer growth rate can mask a lot of the underlying stresses. Even if things look great now it doesn't mean everything is okay. We may not witness the detrimental effects until next winter when the grass is growing at a slower pace. How we behave today has a direct impact on golf course health and our level of satisfaction down the road.

As communicated in the Isla Del Sol YCC Rules and Regulations as well as previous writings, there is a set of rules for all golfers to adhere to. These include:

• 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 you reach your ball. At that point, the cart may leave the cart path and proceed to the ball. Thereafter, carts may proceed on the fairway for remaining shots until reaching the "No Carts" boundary at which point they must return to the path.

• In addition to the 90 degree rule, there are two white stakes on each par 4 and par 5. The first stake is located closer to the tee. This is the point where it is first acceptable to enter the fairway. The second stake is located closer to the green. This is the last acceptable point to return to the cartpath before the green. Many times a blue line will be painted across the fairway in relation to the 2nd white stake. Carts are not to cross this blue line. Keep in mind, the two white stakes represent the limits, not the exact entry and exit points. You are encouraged to ride on the cartpath as far as possible before entering the fairway and return as soon as possible after playing your approach shot. 

 

Illustration shows a cart following the 90-degree rule to play 2 shots from the fairway before returning to cartpath.

Notice the blue line in front of the green. This serves as the absolute limit for carts with blue flags.

The white post signifies that carts should be back on the path by this point.

• Par 3 holes are always cart path only unless a player possesses a blue flag.

• Carts with authorized Handicap/Blue Flags will not be driven inside the painted blue circles surrounding each green. In the absence of a blue circle, a cart will not be driven closer than fifteen feet of a green, tee box and never between a greenside bunker and a green.

• Blue flags do not give the freedom to drive wherever or however the driver wants. Blue flags are a great tool for allowing those who need assistance the ability to drive closer to their ball or the green and make it possible for people to continue enjoying the game. Except when driving directly to play their next shot, players with blue flags should abide by normal cart etiquette rules. For example, when leaving the green, do not continue to follow the blue line all the way around the green. Instead, immediately return to the cartpath before proceeding to the next hole.  

Carts with blue flags may drive up to the blue line to play a shot but should return to the cartpath before proceeding to the next hole.

• When conditions require that the golf course is "Cart Path Only," all carts must be kept on the path at all times. No Handicap/Blue Flags will be permitted on the course. Knowing that wet conditions are more prone to soil compaction, any Cart Path Only rulings will be in effect for the entire day, even when standing water may not be present. 

• When traveling on cart paths, keep all 4 wheels on the path. Do not pull two wheels off the path, even when parking by tees and greens. This causes significant wear and unsightly conditions.

The worn area to the right of the path is a direct result of carts pulling two wheels off the side of the path while driving or parking. This type of damage is 100% preventable by golfers' actions.

Following these rules is always important but becomes critical during this time of significantly higher cart use. The more concentrated the cart traffic, the more significant the harm is to the golf course. That is why we direct cart traffic to move away from highly visible areas like tees and frequently played areas like greens surrounds.

Please understand that these rules are not meant to be a burden or a punishment. Rather, we want nothing more than to continue providing the best experience and well-conditioned golf course for your enjoyment now and in the future. We need your help to achieve this. As your golf course superintendent you can always reach out to me or Fred Curtis, our Director of Golf, with questions.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Kevin Sunderman
Certified Golf Course Superintendent

Grounds Maintenance Update - April 25

It's been over a month since we've been in this world of social distancing. COVID-19 has truly altered our day-to-day lives and it's difficult to know what normal is at this point. With restaurants, churches, theaters and retail stores closed, so much of our recreation is no longer available. The need to distance ourselves from others, not only for our health but for the health of the community, has truly limited our interactions with family, friends and the people around us. Thank God for golf!

We have truly been fortunate to remain open for play. This is not necessarily the case across the country or even all of Florida. However, in more and more locations, golf is being identified as a safe activity as long as all the recommended precautions are followed. Following all of the guidelines is significant to golf remaining open, especially the guidelines of staying six feet apart and not touching the flagsticks. Efforts to remove all of the identifiable objects on the golf course that are routinely touched by golfers' hands are also significant in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has affected how the Grounds Maintenance Department operates as well. At the onset we made many procedures mandatory. First, is a strict disinfecting procedure for all grounds vehicles, equipment and tools. Second, is very thorough checklist for cleaning our maintenance facility that is performed everyday. Third, we divided our employees into two crews. At most, we have no more than half of our grounds employees at work on the same day. Fourth, we encourage our employees to take their lunch breaks on different schedules as opposed to all eating at the same time. Finally, there is a consistent line of communication from me to the employees to keep them educated, up to date with all the latest information and to provide reminders for how to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy.   

As you can imagine, dividing the employees into two teams, as well as all the additional disinfecting requirements, has reduced the available time for work to be performed on the golf course and grounds. I am very proud of my team at this moment as we have seen little to no drop-off in quality of conditions. It's important to understand that if something isn't quite up to normal expectations that it most likely will be taken care of soon as we continue to diligently execute our plan. As the weather warms up, the days get longer and the rains begin to fall, the grass and landscaping will grow even faster. Please be patient with my team as we keep the pedal down to keep getting things done. I also encourage you to acknowledge the Grounds Team members and thank them for their continued efforts. Just remember to do that from a safe distance!

Finally, this marks the time of year where our cultural maintenance practices on the golf course significantly increase. It's these practices performed throughout the summer months that provide us with excellent conditions all year long. Today we began to solid-tine aerify our greens. This is simply the action of poking small holes into the greens to allow for better movement of water and nutrients through the soil profile. This action will be performed frequently from now until fall. While visually noticeable, the holes that result from this action have minimal impact on putting, especially a day or two after the work is completed. I will continue to update you on other maintenance practices as they take place.

While visually noticeable, the holes resulting from solid-tine aerification should have little impact on play.

COVID-19 Precautions on the Golf Course

In order to provide a safe environment on the golf course we took several actions this week. These included the removal of bunker rakes, ball washers and trash can lids from the golf course. As of Saturday, March 21st we will be placing small sections of "pool noodles" into the cup to keep your ball from falling to the bottom. This will allow any holed balls to be easily removed without having to touch the flagstick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is an example of a pool noodle being used to make the ball easily retrievable.

Adopt-a-Hole

Those of us in the grounds department have received many nice complements from the members this season on the condition of the golf course. These comments are always appreciated. Don't hesitate to let any of our hardworking team members know how much you appreciate their efforts.

Based on many member suggestions, we would like to implement an "Adopt-a-Hole" program here at Isla. In order to promote even better conditions, we want to engage the members to take ownership of your golf course. Each of you will be assigned a hole based on the first letter of your last name. When you play your assigned hole you are asked to:

•  Fill extra divots
•  Repair additional ballmarks
•  Pick up any litter 

These extra efforts will help make up for those who "forget" to follow normal golfer course care etiquette. Of course, you are always welcome to care for other golf holes in addition to your own. Let's see who can have the best maintained golf hole!
Hole - Last Name
 1 - A
 2 - B
 3 - C
 4 - D
 5 - E & F
 6 - G
 7 - H
 8 - I & J
 9 - K
10 - L
11 - M
12 - N & O
13 - P & Q
14 - R
15 - S
16 - T
17 - U & V
18 - W, X, Y & Z

What are those orange lines?

While playing golf, you may notice orange lines that seem to be randomly painted on the turf in various areas of the golf course. These lines are used as indicators for the grounds maintenance employees. They are typically used to indicate to the mower operators changes being made to how a specific area is to be mowed. The paint is only visible for a few days before disappearing and has no impact or relevance to you as golfers.

 

Out of Bounds Change #1

Effective February 20th, the new fence will indicate the Out-of-Bounds line to the right of hole #1. Once the end of the fence is reached, out-of-bounds is then marked by white stakes. All plants are in play but free relief may be taken if a wooden stake supporting a tree impedes with your stance or swing. The fence itself is considered to be out-of-bounds. Relief is not granted from the fence.

The New Wooden Fence Now Serves as the Out-of-Bounds Line on the Right of #1