Golf


M


ost greenkeepers will be able to narrate at least one story of a golfer ‘playing up’ when they are trying to cut the green, of being hit by ‘some


idiot’ who thinks it’s their God given right to be allowed to play through, or an ensuing argument about right of passage. So, who is right? There is no simple


answer, but communication with the membership and the ‘pay and players’ is vital.


The bottom line is that greenkeepers are


there to prepare the course each day for the golfers. That is their raison d’être, plain and simple. During the spring, summer and early autumn months, greenkeepers will, or should, be out on the course ahead of the


day’s play, beginning at the first hole and progressing around it in numerical order. And, if clubs have an ‘earliest tee time’ arrangement that is a minimum of an hour and half after the greenkeepers have started their work, many of these altercations could be avoided. As one course manager commented; “the


greens staff should be well ahead of the golfers whilst carrying out morning course set up jobs, i.e. cutting, raking, hole changing etc. Start times should ensure that we always have an hour and a half to two hours head start on the first tee off time. If a golfer has teed off before the designated first tee time, then the greens staff have full right of way, it is the golfer who is then in the wrong.”


He went on to say; “for any other non- priority jobs, then the greens staff should let the golfer play through, or move to another area of the course where it is less busy. Common sense should also be used by both parties though!” Ah, common sense; something sadly lacking in this day and age or, as those wretched meerkats say, “simples”. But we all know it is not that simple. Where a golf club has a decent size team


able to achieve the above, i.e. staying ahead of play, then incidences as described should be few and far between. But many of the smaller courses run with a skeleton crew, especially in these austere times, and simply don’t have any other option but to be working out on the course during play.


PC APRIL/MAY 2017 I 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148