[John Jeffreys]

I believe that writing a prescription for how to keep bentgrass greens alive in the sandhills of north carolina in this small space would be like writing "how to design a golf course" in an equally short paragraph.  To address a few previous posts....  To say that a course 20 miles away has had similar rainfall is in error.  Many courses have 2 or 3 rain gauges spaced out across the course and have seen variances of as much as 2 inches in a 24 hour period.  Saying that the greens were good until the U.S. Kids were there may answer your own question of the decline in how it relates to traffic stress.  A grass thats roots recede (more pleasant sounding than die)  at soil temperatures of 75 degrees is going to struggle when more stresses are thrown its way, saturated soils, lack of air movement etc.  Congrats and much appreciation to all the guys and gals who work tirelessly to provide us with exceptional conditions well above what our playing level deserves.

[Jerry Kluger]

I have recently moved to Cary, NC which is a Raleigh suburb.  I joined Prestonwood CC which has three 18 hole courses.  Within the past few years they rebuilt all the greens to USGA specifications and planted bent grass.  There are large air circulating fans near many of the greens and on most summer days there are maintenance workers hand watering the greens where needed.  We are very fortunate that the owner of the club feels strongly about the course conditions and spends whatever it takes to keep the greens healthy. The only downside is that the greens are very slow during the summer months.  I should parenthetically mention that it is my understanding that there is more play of the courses during the spring and fall than in the summer. 

I also played Tobacco Road today as the greens at Prestonwood have been deep core aerated and heavily topdressed this week.  Tobacco Road was everything I expected it to be although I don't think it would have been as enjoyable had the fellow in the golf shop not loaned us a yardage book.  The greens were slow which made some long putts a real challenge and there were some edges that were stressed but they did appear to be surviving the summer heat quite well.  There are other areas of the course which are suffering but I think that is more a factor of tough economic times and reduced revenues.

[John Shimp]

Jerry
I wouldnt too muc equate bent green variance to course economic status.  There are 2 (at l east) very well heeled clubs in charlotte w sub air, big bdgets, etc whose greens have struggled despite all the best efforts.

[Greg Holland]

The bent greens at Forest Creek have been remarkably good all summer long. They have been a little soft lately because we have had lots of rain, and they are not as quick as they will be in the fall, because they are mowed a little higher on really hot days.

Our bent greens here in the Triad have been quite good all summer as well.  The past couple of summers were so hot, we really had to work to keep them in decent shape - and they would be soft.  However, this summer has not been as bad or stressful.  They are softer and slower in late July and August, but will be great in the fall (as they were in the spring).

[Carl Nichols]

The bent greens at Forest Creek have been remarkably good all summer long. They have been a little soft lately because we have had lots of rain, and they are not as quick as they will be in the fall, because they are mowed a little higher on really hot days.

Our bent greens here in the Triad have been quite good all summer as well.  The past couple of summers were so hot, we really had to work to keep them in decent shape - and they would be soft.  However, this summer has not been as bad or stressful.  They are softer and slower in late July and August, but will be great in the fall (as they were in the spring).

Greg:
I assume you were at the Wyndham weekend?  How did you think the new greens looked? 

[Greg Holland]

Hi Carl!  Hope all is well with you and yours.

The new greens are SCC are great -- they were firm and fast, drained well, and were very well received by the pros and PGA Tour alike.  It is amazing that they were only 11 weeks old for the tournament.  I spent a good bit of time watching play on the 17th green.  On Saturday, we watched almost a dozen pros completely misread a putt from one area -- they were all getting the ball to the hole distance wise, but missed on the low side by 6 to 15 feet. 

We were also amazed -- as were the pros -- by how fast they were on Monday given all the rain we got Sunday.  Sergio actually said they were faster on Monday than they had been on Thur and Friday.  I look forward to playing the course soon with the new greens. 

The past few years, the pros were just throwing darts at the flags -- with the soft, wet bent greens in August.  This year, they actually had to play for the ball to release and hit the correct spots, etc.  It was fun to watch.

[Will Spivey]

Carl,

I attended the Wyndham on Monday morning; I thought the greens looked great.

I attended a reception the prior to the tournament where Mark Brazil (tournament director) and Bobby Long (tournament chair?) gave a presentation about the event.  I asked about the greens, which they called "perfect."  Their prediction was a much lower final score than in prior years.  That prediction missed a bit.

On Monday I ran in to a Sedgefield member I know at the course.  I asked him about the scores.  He told me the Tour asked the course to slow the greens down from what they were running Tuesday/Wednesday.  He related that John McConnell, the owner of McConnell Golf and Sedgefield, was not at all happy with this.  I personally find this hard to believe; it smacks of a story told to membership to make them feel better about their course, but it could be true.  I did hear that the greens were faster on the final Monday than on any other day of the the tournament.  I was standing on the rope right next to Sergio (and Feherty) when he his approach in to the right side of 10 or 11.  From our perspective the ball looked to be much too far right.  After about 20 seconds the ball reappears from our vantage point and snuggled up to about 3 ft., from which Sergio made birdie.  I saw the shot later on on TV, and the ball nearly stopped before picking up speed and moving down toward the hole.

I have played Sedgefield a few times, and Spence did a great job with the course, and McConnell has done a wonderful job with the facility as a whole.  I have not played since the new greens have been done, but overall the greens are really strong have a bunch of slope in them.  It's a great club and course.

[A.G._Crockett]

I have recently moved to Cary, NC which is a Raleigh suburb.  I joined Prestonwood CC which has three 18 hole courses.  Within the past few years they rebuilt all the greens to USGA specifications and planted bent grass.  There are large air circulating fans near many of the greens and on most summer days there are maintenance workers hand watering the greens where needed.  We are very fortunate that the owner of the club feels strongly about the course conditions and spends whatever it takes to keep the greens healthy. The only downside is that the greens are very slow during the summer months.  I should parenthetically mention that it is my understanding that there is more play of the courses during the spring and fall than in the summer. 

I also played Tobacco Road today as the greens at Prestonwood have been deep core aerated and heavily topdressed this week.  Tobacco Road was everything I expected it to be although I don't think it would have been as enjoyable had the fellow in the golf shop not loaned us a yardage book.  The greens were slow which made some long putts a real challenge and there were some edges that were stressed but they did appear to be surviving the summer heat quite well.  There are other areas of the course which are suffering but I think that is more a factor of tough economic times and reduced revenues.

Jerry,
I think you are talking about playing TR on Wed.; if so, we overlapped at some point.  I was in the first group out at about 7:15 and had the treat of playing with a guy from Columbus, OH and a guy from Manassas, VA neither of whom had ever seen the course before and both of whom were like kids in a candy store.  We finished around 11, and one of the guys was headed right back out.  They told me that the tee sheet was full from around 8:30 until 10:30, but nothing much before or after.

[Jerry Kluger]

AG: We teed off around 11. It is a whole lot of fun but I would say again that the first time you play you absolutely need a yardage book to guide you around the course. Some of the sand areas were in really bad shape and I was disappointed with the 6th hole playing from the side tees at around 105 yards.  I have a friend coming down to the area for a hickory event and I thought that you could play with hickories from the forward tees. 

[Greg Holland]

Carl,

I attended the Wyndham on Monday morning; I thought the greens looked great.

I attended a reception the prior to the tournament where Mark Brazil (tournament director) and Bobby Long (tournament chair?) gave a presentation about the event.  I asked about the greens, which they called "perfect."  Their prediction was a much lower final score than in prior years.  That prediction missed a bit.

On Monday I ran in to a Sedgefield member I know at the course.  I asked him about the scores.  He told me the Tour asked the course to slow the greens down from what they were running Tuesday/Wednesday."]  

Will,

The Tour sets up the course and the green speeds during the tournament.  Kris has complained about that in the past - as I think, he would like them to see some of the tougher pin placements.  (Also, in years past the Tour has said they wanted to give the guys a breather after the beating of a major the week before.)   I talked to the PGA Tour agronomist on site early in the week.  He told me the greens were running 12, slowing down to 11.5 or so in the pm.  He planned to leave them that way, then speed it up on the weekend -- at least that is what he told me.  He also told me -- and I think the scores bear this out -- that the winning score wouldn't be much different from years past because any given week, a couple of these guys can go really low -- regardless of the course or set up (see Bethpage Black today, e.g.), but that the average score would be much higher than in years past.  I think that is what happened.  

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