Identifying yardage markers

[Tom Huckaby]

shivas:

Good idea.

I just think he'd go for kirby makers before he'd go for that - thus the compromise - those REPLACE all the crap he has now.

But it is worth a try.

TH

[Phil_the_Author]

The hell with yardage markers! They are nothing more than a means to fool the inexperienced player.

150 yards uphill is very different than 150 yards downhill. Then there is wind and weather...

I was taught to feel a swing and how far the ball would carry. I grew up looking where I could hit a 9-iron to and then looking forward to where the 8 would land etc... As a result, I find that looking for yardages makes it more difficult to feel the shot.

But that is just me...

[Tony Petersen]

  At my summer club back in good 'ole Alexandria, Minnesota we have mature cherry trees planted at 150 yards to the center of the green on all of the 4's and 5's... Of course, the layout dates back to 1915, so it takes a little time for the cherry trees to "come into bloom..."

Personally, I liked the look at Sand Hills and Wildhorse with the skulls set along the fairway cut denoting 200, 150 and 100.

[James Bennett]

My club still has candle pines for 150 (but probably not for much longer).  Then we have also had little plastic numbers attached to sprinkler heads, which got knocked off by mowers after a few years.  Then we had large plastic markers, which looked great but didn't last (too much difference in expansion and adhesion between the two plastics involved.

We were going to spend a few thousand dollars upgrading the sprinkler head markers (the members love them) when we suddenly saw a cheap option at Woodlands Golf Club in Melbourne a few months ago.  Simple DYMO tape, all-weather variety, wide with large font, 2 labels attached to each sprinkler (in case one falls off).  Quick, cheap and easy to install.  And to replace immediately on-site if one falls off.  You can use yellow, or white, or a combination of colours if you really wish. We have tried a few labels through the winter and spring to test our belief, .... AND THE SYSTEM WORKS.  The full set is going out shortly.

Probably not the answer for the  original question, but a great, cheap option for budget-conscious clubs.

James B

[Jim Nugent]

If your membership is mostly or all men, you could suggest stationing Playboy-like femmes, dressed appropriately for the occasion.  Maybe at 200 yards we see the blonde (natural not dyed)...150 brings us the stunning redhead...100 the beautiful brunette.  I personally would prefer them in thongs, though that that obviously is a matter for the membership to decide.  

Would make the rounds more interesting than adding a series of football stripes, without marring the basic natural beauty of the course.  

[Don Dinkmeyer]

Any markings off the grass are better than "embedded" markers.

eg, Kirby markers better, posts or trees at 150 even better, etc.

If i have to walk up to a marker and stare down at it to get a reading,

not as good as being able to see it at a distance and gauge from there.

[Doug Siebert]

I have hated those damn Kirby markers ever since I hit one on the fly with a perfect drive dead down the center that took a crazy 30* left bounce into a f*cking water hazard!

Seriously, I do like above the ground markers (little pencil thin ones on both sides of the fairway of varying color at 100, 150, 200, plus 250 on par 5s are good) because it makes it easy to do the math from the tee and see that I'm going to land around the 100 or 150 or whatever marker so I should pay attention to what awaits misses in that vicinity.  On a course that's unfamiliar where the terrain isn't helpful to eyeballing it -- especially with a big drop shot teeball -- its really hard to tell know whether that bunker on the left is as easily carried as it looks or that I have no chance to reach the water on the right so I can freely swing with a driver.

Perhaps not such an issue for a private course where everyone will know it well, but its also useful when playing the ball from the next fairway over to allow one to eyeball the distance to perhaps +/- 10 yards and at least have a decent chance of putting it on the green.  Once you start knowing all the distances from the wrong fairways on your home course without looking, its time to take up bowling!

Some courses use the little barber poles dead center at 150, and those are better than just sprinkler heads or just plates if you want to see where to go from the tee, and provide a nice aim line as a bonus, but someday I just know I'm going to hit one of those on the fly also, and I'm not going to be happy about it!

[Zack Kelly]

If GM's would stick to Food & BEverage, I believe clubs would run better.  Let the Supers keep up with the course, and pros run the shop.  A private club that needs white circles around yardage markers is just plain dumb.   People that play there should have a good idea where they are.  And with double row, and 100, 150, 200, who really needs something announcing where they are.  Tell your Sup to open his eyes, and pay attention, and yeah I think someone needs him in the grill room.