Ball Marks and Divots

A fresh ball mark left unrepaired for only one hour requires 15 days before the scar has satisfactorily healed.  The following steps are the proper way to repair ball marks on the green.

Discard the loose piece of turf taken out by the ball.  It will only die and delay the healing process.

1.        Insert a repair tool just outside the back of the ball mark.

2.        Without twisting the tool, pull the turf toward the center of the hole. 

3.        Repeat this same motion on all sides of the hole.

4.        Gently tap the repaired areas with your putter.

This entire action stretches undamaged turf over the ball mark, providing rapid recovery.    Do NOT insert a repair tool and push the turf up.  This causes damage to the root system and slows recovery.

If you see a ball mark on the green that is not yours, repair it.

Depending on the clubs preference make certain to either replace your divots or fill them with the appropriate mixture provided.  Be sure to refill you divot mix at the refill stations if you are running low.  If you see a divot or two next to yours that have not been repaired, it won’t hurt to address those as the same time you tend to your own.

Tee Areas

Do not leave tees on the ground after their use.  Dispose of all broken tees in receptacles.  If there are not receptacles leave the broken tees next to one of the tee markers so the maintenance staff can easily locate and dispose of them.  Tees left on the ground can do significant damage to mower blades and are just plain unsightly.  

Be sure to treat divot marks as per the clubs preferred method on the tee areas in addition to the fairways.

Sand Traps

Always rake sand traps after play.

Whenever possible enter sand traps from the lowest side.  Entering from the high side disturbs the distribution of sand on the banked hills and can make the bunker play more difficult for others. 

Push sand towards the green in greenside bunkers.  Do not rake sand by pulling away from the greens.  This practice causes difficult down hill bunker shots.  

Leave rakes in traps after raking.  

If playing with a caddy be respectful that they will be raking the bunker for you when you finish and make as few tracks as necessary when in the bunker.

On the Greens

When removing a flagstick from the hole try not to just drop it on the green.  This can create an indentation on the green that may affect the line of play for another player in a group behind you.  It also can damage the grass on the green.  When you set the flagstick down try to hold it by the flag itself and lower it to the green instead of just dropping it.

Be mindful of your steps on the green as your spikes can cause damage if you drag your feet across the putting surface.

Be mindful of leaning on your putter when standing on the green.  This can leave an indentation on the green that may affect the line of play for a player in a group behind you.  

The Itinerant Golfer :: May.16.2008 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Short Pants

Always inquire about whether or not short pants are permitted.  Many clubs still require long pants except for in the dead of summer and some require them year round regardless of the weather.  If shorts are allowed they should be the appropriate length (Bermuda or Jamaica) and they should absolutely NOT be cargo shorts.  Thankfully, I have yet to find a club that has outlawed ugly plaid shorts.

Shirts

I have yet to play at a club that didn’t require shirts to be worn tucked in and they are not afraid to tell you so.  I’ve seen more than one person approached on the range and told to tuck their shirt in.  Common sense and decency dictates that you do this before you arrive at the club so that you don’t have to be asked. 

Of course golf shirts should have proper collars as well.  Even though Tiger wears those ridiculous short sleeve mock neck shirts, not all clubs allow these and you should always wear a traditionally collared golf shirt when a guest at someone’s club.

Hats

“No cover under cover” is a safe rule to live by and you shouldn’t run into any problems.  If there is a roof over your head whether in the clubhouse or on the porch remove your head cover.

Golf Shoes

At many clubs the only acceptable place to change into your golf shoes is in the locker room.  Changing in the parking lot can be an offense of the highest order.  Its a great idead to invest $17.99 is a shoe bag so you have something to carry your shoes in on your way to the locker room.  Also be conscious of where golf shoes are acceptable.  Some clubs do not allow golf shoes on porches or other areas of the clubhouse so be sure to make sure it is OK before entering a common area of the club with your golf shoes on.

Logos

What make many fine clubs so great is that they have eschewed some of the modern culture changes of the game and the clubs exist in a time warp of sorts.  One thing to be careful about when playing top golf clubs is the ever present logos on your clothing.  These days everything is emblazoned with a logo and some are pretty bad.  Logos larger than 3 inches should be avoided.  I have seen the 3 inch logo limit listed on several clubs’ websites under their visitor information.  While I doubt that the club staff is equipped with tape measures to enforce the rule, it is still a good idea to be conscious of this.  Understated is a good rule to live by if you are playing at an exclusive club.  I would suggest saving your golf shirt emblazoned with REDSKINS across the front of it for another day.

Clubhouse/Dining Room Dress Code

Many private clubs prohibit entering the Clubhouse without proper attire.  Some places like Cypress Point Club require a coat and tie any time of day though most only require a coat and tie in the evening.  If you have been invited to a club and will be having dinner there make sure to ask your host if you need to bring a coat and tie with you.  What a shame it would be to miss out on dinner at a once in a lifetime club because you didn’t bring the proper attire.  It also can be terribly embarrassing to wander into a formal part of the clubhouse after 5PM in your golf attire so its a good idea to be aware of the rules.

The Itinerant Golfer :: May.16.2008 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Part of being a good guest at a club is following the local club rules, practicing good golf course etiquette and treating the golf course itself with the respect it deserves.  Below are a couple of links that outline everything you need to know about being a respectful guest and avoiding embarrassing yourself or your host.

Attire

Etiquette On and Off the Course

Caring for the Golf Course

The Itinerant Golfer :: May.16.2008 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Location: Lawrence, NY

Architect: A.W. Tillinghast

Year: 1933

July 13, 2007

Friday the 13th is not the luckiest of days for some people, but for me I couldn’t have been happier on this one. I was at America’s oldest country club located on Long Island in Lawrence, NY. Rockaway Hunting Club was founded in 1878 and was mainly for fox hunting and steeplechase horse racing. At some point around the turn of the century they added a golf course that was later redesigned in 1933 by the famed course architect A.W. Tillinghast. Several other archtects have done work on the course since Tillinghast, but the overall design is still considered Tilly’s.  The entire facility was top notch with grass tennis courts and a fantastic porch for dining.

I loved the driving range. As you can see in the below picture it was tucked away in a little cubby hole behind hedges where it was totally private and away from the bustle of the club. It was also nice and shady which makes it a great place to warm up for a July round.

The course itself had a great old time feel to it.  We played from the tips which were only 6371 yards.  This is a true classic design and not one of the modern gorillas courses playing 7200 from the back tees.  The photo below was taken from the 1st green looking back at the clubhouse. The first several holes were fairly standard. I really liked the greens here. You could fly a high arching shot like a pitching wedge in and the greens hardly dented when your ball hit.

One of the interesting things about this course is that they had limited space to work with. Because of this there are several holes that cross over each other. There are 2 holes on the first 9 and 2 on the second 9 where play from the two holes nearly intersect each other. It really is a unique layout.

This photo below is of the green for #14 which is a 212 yard par 3 over water. With the wind it plays like about 220-230. 

Eventually the course wrapped its way out to the Long Island Sound for a couple of holes along the water. The wind picked up and became more of a factor on those holes which certainly made things more interesting.

This was a fun course to play with a funky layout. Every couple of holes the feel of the course would change. I was never really sure if I was playing an inland wooded course or a seaside links course which made it a great day!

The Itinerant Golfer :: May.06.2008 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Location: Pebble Beach, CA

Architects: Bob Baldock (1961) / Mike Strantz (2004)

Year: 2004

April 15, 2008

This was my second round of the day.  When someone asks for your best 36 hole day I’m not sure it gets much better than Cypress Point in the morning and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore course in the afternoon.  Some days are pretty good.

The Monterey Peninsula Country Club is an old club dating back to the 20s.  They have 36 holes between their Dunes course and Shore course.  The Shore course is the one that is on the Top 100 list and it boasts the most seaside holes of any course on the Monterey Peninsula with 13.  

Although the club itself dates back to the 20s the Shore course is brand new.  In January of 2002 the club awarded the redesign contract of the Shore course to Mike Strantz who completely rerouted the course.  From what I understand the new layout is completely unrecognizable from the old.  The new Shore course ended up being Mike’s legacy.  Shortly after the course reopened in 2005 Mike lost his life to cancer.

Although MPCC is a private club it has a very liberal guest policy for other private club members.  An email from my club pro was all it took to set me up with a guest card for the day that would grant me full privileges.  I arrived and picked up my guest card at what appears to be a very new clubhouse.   I believe I had read somewhere that is was also very recently renovated.  With it’s grandiose appearance and amenities it was a stark contrast to the subtle and understated clubhouse I’d seen earlier that day at Cypress Point.

After checking in with the pro shop I headed out the range.  The wind was starting to kick up a little bit, but it wasn’t too bad yet.  I met up with Gavin McCray who was on the bag for me this afternoon.  Gavin was a nice and very talkative guy.  He’d been around the Monterey Peninsula his entire life and, according to him, been fired from every club on the Peninsula.  He was quite a character and had made his home for the last several years here at the MPCC where he was one of four caddies.  Working for MPCC kept him out of the caddy management company that has taken over most of the caddy programs on the peninsula.  

One note about using a caddy on the Monterey Peninsula as well as at many other resort courses around the country.  These guys are forced to give a percentage of the bag fee to the management company as a fee for booking them.  The seniority level of the caddy dictates exactly how much they lose.  New guys can pay as much as 50% of the bag fee for the privilege of doing a loop.  If you use a caddy, which I believe you absolutely should any time they are available, make sure you tip them well if they do a good job for you.  After the management company cut and taxes these guys really depend on the tips they earn. 

Gavin and I headed out and played the first 3 holes rather uneventfully.  The first 3 holes are parkland style and lead out to the 13 coastal holes.  Upon arriving at the 4th tee box you get your first glimpse of the coast.  Below is a photo of the tee box for the 4th hole.  The gold tees you see aimed towards the right in the photo are actually the 17th tees.  The 4th hole which takes you out to the shore and 17th hole which bring you back into  the woods tee off from the same area so it is a cluster of several tee boxes all in the same area.

Below is a photo of the 6th hole which is a par 5 with a nice looking green complex highlighted by the unusual rock formation behind the hole.

The 7th hole pictured below is a 207 yard par 3.  I hit an ugly tee shot that ended up OK being just short of the green.   I gladly took the up and down for par.

Below is the 9th hole which yielded my one and only birdie for the round despite several really good chances on second 9 holes.

As we made the turn and headed in at the 10th hole the wind really started to pick up.  The few birdie opportunities that I had on the last 9 holes were thwarted more than once by putts being blown all over the green by the severe wind.  Getting your ball to the green did not take the wind out of play.

Below is the 11th hole which is a 170 yard par 3 and one of the more picturesque holes I saw on the Monterey Peninsula.  This is where I first realized that the wind was going to be a major factor.  I hit a great 6 iron right at the flagstick only to watch the wind grab it on the descent and land it under the scraggly tree left of the bunker.

The 12th hole is a really long par 5, 588 yards.  With the wind it was brutal.  I hit driver, utility, utility and was managed to be on the green in 3.  The wind wreaked havoc on my putting here again and I had to take a bogey.  Below is a picture taken from the tee box where the green looks a mile away.

After the 12th hole the wind really started to pick up and was relentless for the rest of the round.  The photo below is from the 15th green and you can see how severe the wind was pushing the flagstick over.

The 12th green is shown below in a photo taken from the 16th tee box.  You can’t see the bend in the flag because its pushing straight towards me but you can see the churn in the sea.  As tough as the wind was making golf today, I can’t imagine being out on a boat in those waters.

The Shore course at MPCC was a great design by Mike Strantz.  It made for a tough round in the afternoon when the wind was strong and especially tough as my second round on a 36 hole day.  The scenery was unbelievable and I enjoyed the course even though it was my worst score of the trip.  At one point I hit a 5 iron into a green from 110 yards . . . I normally would hit that club 180 yards.  It was a tough time on the second 9, but a great course and an enjoyable round regardless.

The Itinerant Golfer :: May.05.2008 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »