Virginia Golfer November / December 2014 | Page 12

Course Caretaker HOW TO BE A Repairing ball marks properly is a basic tenant in keeping a layout in sterling shape. D o you fix your ball mark on the green and at least one other when you’re on the golf course? Do you enter a bunker from the low side, rake it properly after your shot and knock the sand off the bottom of your shoes before walking on the green? 10 Do you replace or fill in your divots in the fairways? Do you pick up your tee, broken or whole, before leaving the teeing ground? Do you follow the rules of the day regarding the course and the practice facility where you’re playing? If you answered “yes” to these questions, then consider yourself a friend of the course VIRGINIA GOLFER | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 TOP-TIER CONDITIONING STARTS WITH YOUR HABITS Superintendents face numerous challenges. Peter McDonough, longtime superintendent at Keswick Hall and Golf Club near Charlottesville, has a brand new golf course with which to work, thanks to what Pete Dye did to the foothills property. McDonough is speaking to repairing ball marks—but his comment has a broader context for course stewardship—when he says, “It’s a team effort. The superintendent, golf professional, bag attendants … I have members coming to me and saying, ‘Peter, what can I do to help? The first thing I say is fix your ball mark and one more. When you’re playing with people who aren’t doing it, tell them this is important to our club; please help us out. w w w. v s g a . o r g JOHN MUMMERT/USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES Adhere to time-honored maintenance practices and you’re guaranteed to make friends with fellow players and a club’s staff | by ARTHUR UTLEY superintendent, his or her maintenance crew and fellow golfers who appreciate your effort to fulfill these frequently talked about practices. If you answered “no” to some or all of the questions, then what is keeping you from performing these tasks and enhancing your golf experience? The best way to be your superintendent’s friend is the way Cutler Robinson, the director of golf operations at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach, puts it: “Keep in mind the time-held tradition of ‘Leave the course as you found it … out of respect for those playing behind you.’ ” At Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Dan Taylor is the director of agronomy for the daily-fee layout that reopened in September after undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation. “We get pleasure out of, and we work on a diligent basis, trying to provide the best experience we can for golfers,” Taylor says. “It’s irritating when we find people not abiding by our daily rules. [The rules] are there for a reason.” Christian Sain is charged with taking care of The Country Club of Virginia’s three 18hole courses. “A lot of our members take pride in the golf course and the conditions of the facility,” Sain says. “Our job is kind of like the bus boy at a restaurant. They clean things up. You expect that. It’s our job to repair and fix. The golfer can control his or her ball marks. They can control their divots. They can control where they drive the cart. Hopefully the majority of the people are going to follow the rules that are set forth and take care of their facility.”