The Aspire Golf Blog

No matter what you think of the proposed ban on putter anchoring, you should be upset by how the USGA/R&A went about the process. I don’t mean giving 90 days to discuss it, but how it came about at all years after they had the chance to nip it in the bud and didn’t. Are the ruling bodies in panic mode simply because the last few major champions anchored? Is this really, as some people have suggested, because someone with influence doesn’t like the aesthetics of anchoring?

In my March column for Golf Course Industry, I've written about honest-to-goodness, real-life questions and statements asked of superintendents....and invited you to share some of your own.

Post in the comments section here...

My niche in this game and the goal of ASPIRE Golf is to help golf course superintendents excel and do better, particularly when they or their golf courses are not doing well.  I strive to open eyes, share new skills and better this profession, although as a “consultant” I am one of the seven dirty words you don’t want to hear in golf.

But, in my role, I need to take a 30,000-foot view of the industry and to that end, assumed a front row position at last week’s PGA Show in Orlando to wait breathlessly for the unveiling of Golf 2.0.

The concept, which targets the new era in golf, (thus 2.0) aims to substantially boost the number of golfers and much needed revenue.

IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR…

Looking back on 2011 and before heading into 2012 let’s review some the issues which left many people within our industry perplexed, puzzled and preparing for the worst.

BACTERIAL WILT

For the last two seasons this malady affected many golf courses and their bent grass or Poa greens or at least many superintendents thought this was the issue.  Examined and diagnosed every which way this destructive pathogen was blamed for everything from turf decline to occupying Wall Street.  I have read volumes of literature from university pathologists and others who feel they are in the know and all have one common denominator:  “it was too freakin’ hot and wet!”  In Northern New Jersey we received 50+ inches of rain.  So what to do?  How about forecasting and reviewing your past summer to prepare for next summer and drainage, tree reduction, height-of-cut increases and fans.  Considering what you can do for your turf in early July will impact turf in early September.  Often, doing nothing at all is the best action.

Even though the President’s Cup wouldn’t normally excite me, an Australian visit a few years back put Royal Melbourne among my personal top ten favorite golf courses.

The Alister MacKenzie layout is a classic and for a competition of this nature is sure to test the players and enthuse the galleries.

From the telecasts, I’ve noticed a few interesting agronomic features.

Is 2011 Over Yet?

Sorry to be away for so long, but you know all that water soaking your golf course (except you poor golfers and greens crews in Texas)? A lot of it is now in my basement. Between bailing, rigging up the generators, and cursing the gods, I’ve been pondering the 2011 season just past and what it had to teach golf course superintendents and golfers alike.

Wait a second. Why am I talking about the end of the season now, when we still have a few months—maybe the best months of the year—left to play?

Because I know that not a lot of you are following the FedEx Cup matches and the march to the Tour Championship. C’mon, be honest. Riveting? Hardly. Pro golf’s last gasp never seems to live up to its own hype—or to the NFL, for that matter.

So with my feet in the water, my head in the clouds, and my TV set turned to anything other than Golf Channel, some observations.

 

Sitting here watching Rory McIlroy go to 16 under after four holes in the final round of the U.S. Open, listening to the announcers tell me that he won't have more than a wedge into any of Congressional Country Club's par fours on the front nine, makes absolutely no sense. A wedge?

You can blame the weather or you can blame superior equipment technology, but frankly, the U.S. Open should not resemble a weekly PGA Tour event. This is the national championship of golf. The USGA—golf's governing body—insists that this should be the toughest event played every year, yet McIlroy cruised to victory. I even heard someone refer to it as a "rout."

Where were the 4-irons? The 5-irons? I would have taken a utility club. Anything other than a wedge.

Right about at this time of year, with the U.S. Open starting in a few days, the golf world is bracing for its annual bitch-fest, the carping and complaining from the pros about how difficult the course is, how poorly it’s set up, and how the brutal conditions will show them at their worst. Yet for all the pissing and moaning, the word I’m hearing most often when I talk to “real people”—others in the golf business as well as friends and fellow golfers—is “fun.”

That’s right. Fun. Much to my surprise, everyone has suddenly realized that we need to put fun back in the game if we want it to be viable and sustainable.

It’s about time!

I am a sports junkie and spring is my favorite time of year.  Which button on the TV remote do I press and what sport do I watch?  Hockey, basketball, baseball, horse racing and most importantly right now - golf!  No, not Johnny Miller and weekly “down-grain, cross-grain, double grain and towards the setting sun grain” of regular PGA Tour events or some rental car-sponsored “championship.” It is time for The Masters contested at Augusta National Golf Club.  It is my official start to the golf season. I enjoy everything about Augusta National Golf Club and how the golf course is prepared to be an agronomic fantasy golf environment for their “tune-a-mint.”

The economy and what we are experiencing in the golf industry has left many hard working GC superintendents, GM’s and golf professionals without employment. These individuals have lost their employment due to a sluggish golf economy and budget cuts.

In addition many once profitable clubs have fallen prey to the numerous golf management firms touting incredible savings using their methods, which often times means eliminating “high salaried or high profile” employees. So much for experience and knowledge of the facility they may be managing.

I have listened to very qualified people reveal stories and results from recent interviews results and reasons why they were not chosen for the position advertised.

My favorites follow…and might be reviewed by all agencies, individuals and committees who conduct the interview and selection process...

We’re already two weeks into 2011 and my huge fan base (at least 2) has been clamoring for new posts and wondering why I haven’t offered my predictions for the new year.

But first a little reminiscing.

What did we accomplish in 2010?

Not much...

We did not see the industry turn around. It’s still losing ground.

--We did see some ridiculous weather, including a hellacious summer particularly for courses and superintendents east of the Mississippi.

--Brown did not become the new green. Just ask Pebble Beach, Oakmont, and Chambers Bay.

--We lost The Ryder Cup and The Open at St. Andrews wasn’t all that interesting after Friday.  However, 16 under was.

--Johnny Miller still likes grain, and not for his digestive tract. (more)

September is my favorite time of year. Temperatures are cooling down, which in any year-but especially this one-means golf courses will be less stressed by heat and we can start preparing for next season.But I also love fall because I'm almost as crazy about hockey as I am about golf. The pre-season has already begun (yes, I've already been to a game!), and now starts the wild, wonderful ride to the awarding of Lord Stanley's Cup in June. I'm in hockey heaven.

Speaking of Cups, there's another one about to be contested for in a tournament that generates the same sort of excitement and passion that I love about hockey (no, not the FedEx

Cup). Of course I mean the Ryder Cup, which in my mind is a close second to the Open Championship as golf's greatest event. The Ryder Cup is all about passion, patriotism, and partnership, just like hockey.

 

In some circles, the course superintendent is a hero. You've may have seen TV ads thanking supers for doing a thankless job or heard golf broadcasters singling out the grounds crews at Tour courses for their work above and beyond. Perhaps you've received e-mails from golf's national associations and governing bodies giving credit where it has long been due. Or maybe your club's owners and/or members have gone out of their way to acknowledge the great job your super has done this summer in the hot, humid conditions that have affected most of the country.

In my opinion, such accolades are long overdue. No one works harder, or has a harder task, than a superintendent. 

57, 58, 59, 59, 60, 63

What do these numbers have in common? They were all rounds shot at pro tour events this season by much better players than I ever hope to be and likely better than you, too. However, as a result of these low scores, golf's governing bodies, along with the media, are in a frenzy to roll back the ball, limit distance, throttle technical advancements in equipment, and find other ways to prevent low numbers.  (more)

Across the country, heat and humidity are wreaking havoc with golf courses and giving superintendents panic attacks as they try to keep turf alive. I'm sure many supers are sitting in their offices at day's end wondering if there are any jobs open at the local McDonald's.

Here are some suggestions for golfers and supers for surviving one of the hottest summers on record-and having some fun along the way.

 

True, firm, and fast course conditions are to be expected at The Open Championship and nowhere should this be more evident than at The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, this week.

By definition, links is "sandy, level to undulating land built up along a coastline, usually bordering an ocean or lake." Sounds like St. Andrews to me. Remember the running-on-the-beach scene at the opening of "Chariots of Fire?" That was shot in St. Andrews, on the sands abutting the Old Course. You can get a similar feeling in the U.S. at a few notable courses such as Shinnecock Hills, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, and The National Golf Links, probably our best examples of links-style courses.

Over the last few weeks, the commentators covering the tennis matches at Wimbledon have noted that there had been no substantial rain in Great Britain for six months, a concern echoed by Gordon Moir, Director of Green Keeping for the Links Trust, which oversees the courses at St. Andrews. The forecast for the Open is more what we think of for British golf-cool, wind, and rain. But if things remain atypically dry, what can the players expect? Just like the runners in "Chariots," it will be like playing on a beach-undulations and dry sand. Very different conditions from what they face nearly ever other week of their season.

This week, the best women golfers in the world head to Oakmont Country Club for the U.S. Women's Open and a course set at a challenging 6,613 yards (par 71). Besides providing some exciting action, this event provides superintendents, committee members, and everyone else involved with golf maintenance, set-up, or management a reminder that it's important to consider what the average woman golfer wants from a  course.

Slightly more than 20% of the people currently playing golf are women. That may not sound like a lot, but women play a vital financial role on course and off, so it's high time we listened to them. I recently spoke to a number of prominent women in the industry, askingfor their input. The following suggestions are a compilation of their remarks.

After watching a week's worth of U.S. Open coverage, all I can say is that if the time spent analyzing hole locations had been given over to the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico would be spotless by now.

It boggles my mind how much fuss can be made over placing a 4-1/4-inch hole in the ground 8 to 10 inches deep. And how many people are needed to do so.

From my days as an assistant superintendent through 23 years helping position holes for major golf events, I thought I'd seen every possible method of picking locations. Once upon a time, the legendary PJ Boatwright of the USGA would throw his pocketknife in the air, watch it stick in the green, and ask me, "How does that look?" The galleries were almost as stunned as I was.

 

The U.S. Open is on next week, which means the eyes of the golf world will be looking closely at Pebble Beach and the USGA's new mantra, "Brown is the New Green."

It is certainly true that golf courses can be wiser in their water use. Many people think courses waste water and should be more tightly regulated. In fact, most golf facilities in this country are pretty good stewards of land and water. "Water is the new oil" so those of us who care for courses must be judicious in our water use and actions.

The previous installments of "Golf Course Confidential" dealt with agronomy, which is the heart of my business. However, I occasionally will use this space to discuss other issues in the game. Feel free to send your reactions to these articles as well as ideas you might have for future columns.

I currently serve on the New Jersey State Golf Association's tournament committee, sometimes officiating at NJSGA and other events. These help me keep sharp on the Rules of Golf and give me a break from turf and trees. I also recently worked with the recent Big 10 Championships, held at Windsong Farm GC in Minnesota, and the Carolinas Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship, held at Forsyth Country Club.

These events attract many good players so I always learn something. For example, while at the Big 10 Championship I learned that top college players are nearly incapable of making decisions on their own, rely too heavily on their coaches, and, as a result, play extremely slowly. I suffered through rounds that lasted 4:45 to 6 hours-twosomes and threesomes! (for more - click on title above)

 

 

A golf course is a living, breathing thing, constantly changing and in need of regular care. The person in charge of its healthy existence is your course superintendent, who has to be alert 24/7 to problems both natural and manmade. I strongly suggest golfers become familiar with their course's unique problems and needs, which means talking to their superintendent. That said, here are simple answers to some of the most common questions supers are asked. Your course likely has other issues, but a basic understanding of what's happening above and below ground will help you all-golfers, grounds crew, and the course-get along better.

As I explained last week, it's likely that your favorite golf course isn't in very good shape after a winter of unusually severe rain, wind, and snow. But if the club is open and you're willing to put up with shaggy lies, slow greens, and soggy bunkers for a few more weeks, the ragged state of affairs actually can be good for your game.

Here's how to make the most of the early-season mess and make yourself a better player.

Every week, Tim Moraghan - long-time golf industry insider with a 20+ year tenure at the USGA and "inside the ropes" access at over 100 national championships - offers an over, under, and on the ground look at courses, conditions, architecture, and how to play the game.

This is a big week for games played on grass. Besides The Masters teeing off - beginning the golf season for most of the rest of us, too - the baseball season has begun, people are out playing tennis, even Easter egg hunts depend on green lawns and warm weather. However, almost every part of the country is still recovering from an unusually cold, wet winter. As a result, you should be prepared for less than ideal conditions when playing your favorite golf course over the next few weeks.