Course Care

One thing I notice in my travels around the course is that we seem to have three different types of members with regard to care for the course:   

Type 1 is the member who takes great pride in the care of the course.  This member will fix his or her ball mark and three others.  You won’t know that they have even been in the bunker after they have finished raking it.  Divots are always replaced with great care and you will see this member instructing others how to properly complete these tasks. 

Type 2 is the member who makes an effort but falls a little short.  His or her ball mark repairs will leave a little scar; there will be an effort to rake the bunkers but the results aren’t perfect.  Divots are replaced but with no regard to fit them in the way they came out.    

Type 3 is the member who does nothing.  He or she either doesn’t know the proper etiquette or chooses to ignore it. 

It’s hard to say exactly but I would like to think that we don’t have many type 3’s.  We have a pretty big group of Type 2’s and a smaller group of type 1’s.  With a little extra effort, the type 2 can become a type 1 rather easily.  It doesn’t take much more time to complete these tasks perfectly and the golfers behind you will thank you!  We are a private club and should all pitch in to ensure the conditions are as great as possible for our fellow members.

One etiquette rule that is misunderstood by just about everyone is where to take pull carts near the greens.  Pull carts should NEVER be taken between a green and bunker.  These areas are very narrow and repeated traffic affects turf quality significantly.    

The following are links to videos produced by the USGA to educate golfers – please take a few minutes to watch them:

Golf Cart and Pull Cart Etiquette:  https://youtu.be/m2PKDVsHqiE

Bunker Etiquette:  https://youtu.be/EpHiA_Mrmz0

Divot Repair:  https://youtu.be/DS4wbbtvyU4

How to Repair Ball Marks:  https://youtu.be/myOTf1wuZoA