Tight Fairways - A Trend?

[Jerry Kluger]

It seems to me that more and more I am playing courses with very tight fairways - and this is whether they are firm or soft. It seems that fairways can be nearly as closely cut as greens with today's fertilizers, etc. and watering systems, but why are they doing that - is it to challenge the player or to make a point?

[Craig Sweet]

Fairways are like skirt hems...one year up, the next lowered....its the new trend...in my opinion, for no reason other than they can...

[tlavin]

The USGA narrowed a number of fairways at Olympia Fields for the 03 Open and we decided to keep them intact, without any carping from the membership.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Jerry,

I do see a trend to Zoysia fairways, in part because the lie is like "teeing it up".  Average golfers hate the tightly mown fairways, and good players can spin it either tight of propped up on Zoysia.  I do recall Butler National got a lot easier when they went to the tighter bent grass fw from the original blue, where the ball sat down just far enough to reduce spin, and the greens were mostly set across the line of play.

For most courses with traditional fw/rough separation, tight fairways do allow shorter, more playable rough, if you have blue to blue or bermuda to bermuda (and no color contrast to differentiate the two)  Zoysia to bermuda (or bent to blue) gives you that contrast w/o having to raise mowing heights.

[Jerry Kluger]

I was trying to determine if it was a reaction to today's technology and ability where players are using hybrids instead of fairway woods.  It sure makes the low bounce wedge and the fairway putter a necessity.

[Joe Hancock]

Sometimes us supers get a bad case of male ego, chest thumping, peeing contest type mentality. It's kind of like when my wife points out a bahviour of mine that isn't a good thing, and after she does I understand how dumb I am. Of course, I'm not under any obligation to change....unless...oh, never mind....

Joe

[Phil Benedict]

I play most of my golf on my home course, so I can't speak to trends, but I can attest to the fact that, at least on our course, the rough has encroached on the fairways in recent years.  We've gotten rid of a bunch of trees and make a big deal out of being a Ross course, so I can't understand why we cut the fairways so narrowly.  It takes some of the fun out of the course, particularly in the spring when the rough is thick.

[SL_Solow]

I think Jerry was referring to length of cut; not width of fairways.  I believe this is another instance of membership pressure on superintendents to keep up with other clubs.  Tightly mown fairways more closely resemble what are perceived as "tour conditions" so members and committees push for them regardless of the impact on cost and the difficulty that many players have in getting the ball airborne with longer clubs.

[Ed_Baker]

Yes, I think it is a trend, I have seen much shorter fairway cuts at many more clubs in this area.

My club is guilty as well, particularly the green approaches being hand mown to damn near green height out to about 20 yards. The unfortunate condition that occurs when the superintendent is forced to soak the approaches to keep them alive in the hot weather is a mine field of ball marks. Most players that hit short of the green neglect to fix their ball marks after making their play to the green because to do so before hand is obviously a penalty. At this stage of the season the approaches start to look they are suffering from terminal acne. Oh well, maybe the core aireation in a few weeks will fix it.

[cary lichtenstein]

We have it at the Ritz and I have given up on my 3 wood from fairway lies, toooo close and I don't care of it.

[Jerry Kluger]

I guess the next measurement will be speed of fairways - not how firm they are but how fast the ball rolls once it is on the ground.