Golf Course Superintendents ‘
We are Restricted to Cart Paths Only Today’
I
It’s a phrase that golfers detest, but a policy that benefits the long-term health of turf
t’s another beautiful day in Northern California. You drive into the parking lot of your favorite local golf course, unload your clubs and check-in at
the golf shop. As you get ready to pay your green fee, the golf professional, terror-stricken at this point, quietly utters some of the most hated words in a golfer’s vocabulary, “We are restricted to cart paths only today.” You then proceed to question aloud
why the course is occasionally cart paths only, occasionally 90 degrees and occasionally has zero restrictions. The policy to the golfer seems inconsistent,
random and often comes with little clarification. All you know is that you are in for a tedious round. The answer to the question is quite
simple—the cart path decisions, under the direction of the golf course super- intendent, are made with the long- term goal of providing healthy turf. How golf course superintendents get to that answer includes many factors. One of the more common reasons
for cart-path-only restrictions is heavy precipitation; days or weeks of wet weather cause saturation to the turf, resulting in possible ruts and soil com- paction from golf cart traffic. While the damage caused by ruts is evident to even the most untrained eye, the effect of soil compaction may not be imme- diately visible. Compacted soil takes longer to recover from stress events, and can provide poor play- ing surfaces that can range from soggy to overly firm,
depending on the time of season. Drought and heat stress are also factors that can contribute to a cart-path-only restrictions. As the drought in California enters its fourth year, superintendents will be forced to keep cart traffic to a minimum during the warmer summer months. With water cutbacks of 35-40%, and day and time of week watering restrictions, many courses will be forced to limit ir- rigation on fairways and rough, putting the turf under extreme stress. To assist in the recovery of the turf when more water becomes available, it’s critical to keep carts off areas that are receiving limited irrigation. Newly constructed courses or facilities that have conducted a major renovation like Poppy Hills will in all likelihood be in a cart-path-only scenario or have large areas that are roped off to traffic. With newly seeded and/or sodded areas, it’s paramount that the turfgrass has time to mature and establish roots. While the above
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NCGA.ORG / SUMMER 2015
PHOTO: DREAMSTIME
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