Intro to GCA

[Carter Hindes]

This is not my first post but I would now like to introduce myself.

Carter Hindes
Assistant Superintendent at Traditions Club,(Nicklaus 2003), Bryan, Texas

Worked with Tony Nysse at Long Cove Club, HHI, SC in 2005
Assistant Supt. at La Cantera Golf Club, San Antonio, TX 2006-2007

Bachelor Degree Agronomy Texas A&M University.  Have been around Turf business for six years

Favorite golf experience:  East Lake Golf Club, winter of '06, 40 degrees, but memorable....good company  
Favorites not played:  The Old Course, Cypress, Shinnecock

I have followed GCA for about two years now.
I enjoy anything and everything about the game of golf, architecture, Turf, and managing people who make the game better.  It has been a privilege to work at the clubs,(and with the PGA tour) I have and feel I have taken many things from each experience.  I have not been across the pond yet but have been on many trips here in the states.  (Just got back from So Cal).  I really enjoy the dicussions and photography about many courses I hope to see one day.  I know that GCA will help me to continue to learn more about golf architecture and golf in general.

Thank you for the invite,

Carter Hindes

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Carter:

Thanks for stopping in. If you are going to post, make sure you skin is thick.

Enjoy the ride.

Anthony

[JESII]

Carter,

Did the PGA Tour ever make any sort of mandate (or at least strong request) for a certain minimum degree of "green-ness" on the golf course for leading up to the tournament?

[PThomas]

welcome Carter

[Carter Hindes]

Jes

Leading up to the tourney the only request we would receive was about playability.  The less amount of rulings, the more successful the tournament was to the tour.  Being a resort we obviously wanted to put together a good showing.  But that was the line we had to walk.  Playability came first. Green or brown were never in our conversations unless the resort had brought it up.

[JESII]

Thanks Carter...that is interesting to me. I had assumed the tour would be willing to sacrifice firmness for greenness.

[James Bennett]

Carter

Following up on JES II's question, what did you do to reduce the potential for rulings?  Does the course agronomy influence the potential for rulings?

James B

[RJ_Daley]

Welcome Carter, it is always great to have another professional turf manager's perspective from the maintenance side of the issues.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Welcome Mr. Hindes!
  I'm glad that you're now an official members of the treehouse.  You will meet some great people here, have your thoughts and ego bashed at times, but you will learn alot about golf courses and architecture. You'll probably have a few bug you about free golf, too!   Good to have you here!

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX

[Nick Cauley]

Mr. Hindes
Nice to see you on the board,  Look forward to hearing from another guy in the business, Enjoy the ride.

[Carter Hindes]

James,

Not neccessarily agronomy, but the decisions the tour let us make as far as course setup is concerned.  For example, wind had always been an issue on a few holes.  If the greens were too fast on some of the elevated greens the ball would start moving around.  Another example, We would start cutting back our water about a week before.  The course looked the best on Friday before the tournament.  But it played the best the sunday of the final round.  We worked hard to dry the place out and Texas in September you will see the grass quickly change colors.