Tarps for Greens ?

[Matt_Ward]

Interesting comment that I didn't notice right away when reading the 6/29 issue of Golf World which summarized what happened at BB. Rees Jones suggested that tarps could have been used to cover the greens once it became apparent that heavy rain was going to be a big time issue for the event. The idea was considered but nothing done in that specific regard.

I have to wonder why tarps aren't used more often -- especially for big time events. Clearly, the USGA can spring for them and have them on hand. Getting the needed manpower to put them into place should not pose a major issue either. No doubt you don't put tarps down unless extreme situations require it.

I wonder as simply a player and not a superintendent -- would using tarps help maintain overall consistency for putting surfaces and reduce the amount of time it takes to make sure that all water that usually collects is not an issue when play resumes.

Or is tarps simply not practical from a start / stop / start reality ?

[JESII]

Matt,

I am interested to hear the superintendents views because one issue with the Merion Open is my concern about soft greens resulting in too many birdies with wedges in...that being said, I'd imaging the tarps on greens would cause a major suffocation risk, moreso that on a baseball field just because of the nature of the grass...still interested to hear the professional opinions though.

[Adam Clayman]

Sounds like a bad idea to me. The risk of shutting off air flow combined with moisture sounds like a breeding ground for fungus. Winter tarps increase the poa according to a study quite a few years back featured in Golfweek.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Matt,
By the time play gets stopped greens are already saturated.

[Joe Hancock]

Matt,
By the time play gets stopped greens are already saturated.

I was thinking Matt may be considering covering greens in the weeks leading up to an event.

I think it could be done, but you couldn't leave greens covered all day long. You may end up handling the tarps multiple times a day, depending on the frequency of the rain. If it is up to the golf course staff to do it, it would likely be too big of a burden.

Feasible? Yes. Sensible? Maybe. A great idea waiting to be implemented? No.

Joe

[Jim_Kennedy]

Joe,
Thanks.

[Phil_the_Author]

And tarps on the greens at bethpage would have helped the 18th fairway how?

[Joe Hancock]

Jim,

Not sure I did anything, but...you're welcome. 

Phillip,

The water has to go somewhere. It is almost always easier to deal with excess water off the green than on. If tarps are used, it will shed the water somewhere other than the green. Once you start dealing with excess water on fairways, then the problem becomes to big for tarps to be practical. That's where drainage/ slope/ soil amendments become the only long term solution. But, you already knew that.

Joe

[Phil_the_Author]

Joe,

My point was that the major problems at bethpage began in the fairways with drainage rather than the greens. By the time the greens are oversaturated at Bethpage the fairways have already become unplayable, therefor tarps on the greens at Bethpage serve no real purpose as an aid to allowing for more and better play.

Also, as you so rightly put it, the water on the TARPS would also have to go somewhere and I would think that with all of that water not soaking into the greens that the surrounds, especially the bunkers, would be FAR worse and make the course then unfair and unplayable that way as well.

There isn't a single person who wants to see Bethpage Black play firm and fast more than me... but rain is part of the game and it is played out of doors.

[Joe Hancock]

By the sounds of it, the weather this Spring was so bad, the reality is nothing could have been done to make a significant difference in playability.

I agree that the weather is what it is, and the golfers play the course in the condition they found it. Ideal is just that...an ideal.

Joe

[Dave Falkner]

You had over 8 in of rain in june this year and I beleive may was also well north of average rain totals  I dont hink tarps would have made a difference in this case perhaps  in a case where there is a one time big rain event

[Matt_Ward]

Jim K:

To prevent what you said -- it's not unrealistic to have people near each green ready to roll out the tarp in the event that heavy rain is about ready to commence. To the credit of the major tournaments -- the weather prediction side of things is quite good and clearly an action to protect the greens can be done in a timely manner so that play is not impacted.

Phil:

The issue is one of maintaining the green speeds one needs for a US Open -- no less than Tiger said the surfaces were bumpy (because they likely could not be cut or rolled sufficiently) and that the speeds were uneven. I don't deny that the fairways in certain spots were saturated -- but the green speeds could have been protected with such a sensible action.

[Joe Hancock]

Matt,

My opinion is that the varying green speeds and bumpiness is a factor of the weather, and, as such, should require each golfer to deal with those variables to the best of their ability.

Consistency is the biggest reason why challenge is tough to provide at the professional level. There's just too much of it, at too great a cost.

Joe

[Ian Larson]

In theory tarps are a somewhat logical suggestion, one that should be considered anyway. Especially with pushup greens like BPB that dont drain worth a shit when a heavy rain comes through.

Using tarps and making sure each green had one and was ready to be pulled out at any time would force the super to get even more volunteers to have them stationed at each green and it would have put that much more of a work load on a crew that probably had one of the most shittiest weeks ever because they barely got to sleep at all working around the rains.

As far as using them in the weeks leading up to the event? I wouldnt think so. As someone said earlier that is just choking off vital air movement over the green surface. Having the tarps over the greens every night in prevention of rainfall saturation, with those summer temps....is creating a pathogen incubator causing huge disease pressure.

Warm temperature + pathogens + moisture = disease    its the perfect storm for trouble.


The only logical thing to do for a course that is bound to get rain, and alot of it, during a major event like the Open is to rebuild to a sand based medium and install Sub Air hookups to the new drainage lines. The sand allows the rainfall to drain naturally and the then the Sub airs can be fired up on full blast pulling it through the profile forcefully. As soon as that last group walks off the green at night they can be turned on right away and run all night full blast. As well as being healthy for the green it consistently firms it up like nothing else and it takes a HUGE bear off the maintenance crews shoulder with all the manpower and sleep deprivation with all the tarp work and squeegeeing.

[Chris Cupit]

Tarps can be expensive, they are huge and you need alot of hands helping to use them--lots of man hours.  In Atlanta I have used them to cover my bermuda driving range in the winter to help keep temps up a bit and help promote earlier green up in the spring.

Clubs that have bermuda greens MUST use tarps when temps get in the 20's or face severe turf loss in the spring.  Spring dead spot hit a lot of clubs this year and one public course on the northside of town that saved some winter dollars and did not cover their greens alot this winter had to sod and sprig significant portions of their greens recently.

Obviously for a big time event money and man power is not an issue but the tarps for golf course use are not your typical pool tarp that one person can go throw on in a few minutes.  Covering 18 greens with tarps is a pretty big project that takes hours with a crew of 6-8 guys.  In the winter in order to cover all your greens a crew would need to start no later than 4:00 PM. 

I am not sure I have ever heard of tarps being used on a golf course in order to keep rain off of them but with enough money and help I think it could work.

[Joel_Stewart]

I didn't think about Bethpage using them but have wondered why Augusta hasn't tried them?  I then relized that ANGC has sub air system which a lot of major courses do.

Perhaps Bethpage should install sub air to suck all that water out of them?

[PGertner]

To me the best phrase on golf....

"play the course as you find it" 

No tarps

Patrick Gertner
Potowomut Golf Club
East Greenwich, RI

[John Moore II]

I didn't think about Bethpage using them but have wondered why Augusta hasn't tried them?  I then relized that ANGC has sub air system which a lot of major courses do.

Perhaps Bethpage should install sub air to suck all that water out of them?

The only problem with the sub-air would be if the greens get dried out too fast and the collars and fairways are not. Then you are looking to have longer clubs into the greens with no chance of landing the ball short and running it up. I think tarps would be a foolish idea.

[Alan FitzGerald CGCS MG]

I worked at a club that tarped their greens during a tournament. They have since rebuilt their greens so it isn't an issue any more. It's been a while, so I don't remember how many were covered, but I think it may just have been the worst ones, ie the ones that were more suscepitable to damage from the rain. The course is renowned for it's rainfall and it was a preventative measure to ensure play could carry on.

Basically once the weather service called to say rain was iminent, play was stopped and the covers pulled over the greens. They were basically just pvc sheets so they were light and easy to move but still impermeable to water. After the downpour passed they were pulled off and play resumed. I'm not too sure if they would have worked at Bethpage due to the duration of the rain however you would have to leave them on for a elongated period (6-8hrs) to damage the turf.

As for the arguement that the fairways would still be wet just remember two things; one being that wet greens are more susceptable to damage than wet fairways and secondly remember that if you skip mowing fairways it's not the end of the world but the greens do need to be mowed and rolled to provide a good smooth putting surface (although in wet conditions they not necessarily huge green speeds).

Incidentially the club also had a huge (blow up) tent they erected over the greens to maintain them over the winter.