Soggy ground as a hazard?

[Doug Siebert]

Seeing the thread about short grass as a hazard got me thinking.  I don't see closely mown grass as a hazard myself, I don't have problems getting a LW under the ball and like the additional options using the putter etc. presents.

But make that ground excessively soggy and I pretty much would have to putt it, because there's just no margin for error on soggy closely mown ground.  I know we all like F&F conditions, but what do you all think about having areas that are deliberately massively overwatered on an overwise F&F course? (with perhaps some subsurface preparation to return that moisture for those areas that are lucky enough to have great natural drainage)

On first blush it seems gimmicky, but how it could be called worse than having an actual water hazard?  At least you can play from this area, it is just an area that would be a lot harder to play from, not really different in that respect than a bunker or area of overgrown grass.

I'm not really advocating this, just curious what others think about it.

[TaylorA]

I would think that this wouldn't be a good long term solution for a number of reasons. Would the soggy area be marked as a hazard? Golfers may think it as casual water. It would be difficult to maintain - any real turf in the soggy area would likely die either from disease or wear. In order for it to remain soggy, one of two things would have to occur - poor drainage or continuous over-watering. Incorporation of ephemeral ditches that maintain vegetation could, at times, play like this without the maintenance problems and would allow a recovery shot in many instances.

Given the new Corps rules on ephemeral ditches, we may see more of these on golf courses in the near future!

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Soggy ground occurs naturally on one or two links courses - at Saunton East, for instance, on those holes farthest from the clubhouse (6,7, and 11?), and, of course, at Royal West Norfolk.  Burnham and Berrow can be a bit soggy on the 7th and 8th.  I cannot say that the cited holes at Saunton or Burnham are among my favourites on either course, but the 8th and 9th at Royal West Norfolk are top drawer.