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.”