[Mark McKeever]

Chip,

From a cost perspective it makes sense to me why they would only mow the one fairway cleanly into one and not the other on 14 at Merion.  The shaggy one is much further up in the hole and really wasnt in play all week.  The one that is through the driving zone makes more sense as there is a better chance of it rolling in. 

Mark

[Dan_Lucas]

Pat

It's not just an article. It is one of the modules for certification in the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (www.mtesp.org). They help courses keep up with compliance on this and other state regulations such as fuel, fertilizer and pesticide storage, wellhead protection and several other areas of concern for courses.

Groundwater protection is fairly high on almost everyones list. If fertilizer or pesticides end up in a water supply it is not good for anyone. You don't want to be the responsible party. If adding a buffer strip around a water feature will help prevent a mistake from becoming a catastrophe for you and the golf industry, wouldn't you do it? Most course owners and insurers would. Playability takes a backseat to liability if it's your money involved.

[Jud_T]

Just one more reason water is a crap hazard...

[Ian Larson]

I don't think this is about buffers being around water. Which I agree with. It's about buffers and the meld between the maintenance and architecture when eliminated where they should be, specifically fairways and greens. So I don't see the relevance of the article either.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat

It's not just an article. It is one of the modules for certification in the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (www.mtesp.org). They help courses keep up with compliance on this and other state regulations such as fuel, fertilizer and pesticide storage, wellhead protection and several other areas of concern for courses.

Groundwater protection is fairly high on almost everyones list. If fertilizer or pesticides end up in a water supply it is not good for anyone. You don't want to be the responsible party. If adding a buffer strip around a water feature will help prevent a mistake from becoming a catastrophe for you and the golf industry, wouldn't you do it? Most course owners and insurers would. Playability takes a backseat to liability if it's your money involved.

Dan, you're missing the point again.

Does it matter if a strip of grass is mowed to 1/2 inch or 2 inches ?

I don't think you understand the issue or the regulations in the context of this thread.

[Jason Goss]

#12 fairway bunker here at Sonoma.  We began doing this to all of our fairway bunkers a few years back and are now going to incorporate this mowing line technique to some appropriate green side bunkers that are near the approaches.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jason,

That looks great.

Tell us how you maintain the fairway cut right up to the bunker.

This evening I went over to Mountain Ridge to see how close the fairway comes to the bunker, and in some cases, it's inches, others, a foot or so.

Irrespective of whether it's a few inches or a foot or so, what's clear is that balls rolling toward these bunkers won't be saved by an extended buffer of rough.

While at Mountain Ridge the Pro, Lenny Siter and I were discussing the changes and their impact on play.
He volunteered that the goal, agreed upon by all interested parties, is for the golf course to play fast and firm.
And, as such, this change in maintainance practices will have a dramatic effect on play.

[Steven Blake]

Jason,

That's awesome! Nice mowing lines . . . grassing lines that leave lots of rough between fairway and rough is a big pet peeve of mine. It is so often done particularly after earlier photos might suggest it was moved in on purpose.

From a maintenance standpoint sometimes these areas need a little more TLC with some extra water, aeration, and fertility to bulk them up from the constant mowing, compaction and from golf carts that might skirt the bunkers edge.  Each of these areas of are unique in of themselves and have different requirements depending on location, grasses, etc... the benefits of this grassing scheme if I feel far out way the little extra TLC it might require.

Steven Blake

[Patrick_Mucci]

Today I had another conversation with the head Pro at Mountain Ridge and he was telling me how, despite the widening of already wide fairways, more golfers were finding themselves in the bunkers and how this has resulted in increased lessons for bunker play.

The combination of mowing fairways up to the bunkers edge, with firmer and faster conditions and the terrain has now made the bunkers play much larger, it's made them more influential on play, despite the retention of their configuration/dimensions.

Think of that !   No physical change in the structure of the bunker, no construction costs, yet the bunkers are significantly more in play.

What a great result

[Steven Blake]

Mr. Mucci,

You make a valid point about bunkers by just tweaking the grassing lines.  From a strategical perspective it makes sense.  Make the bunkers you have count!! 5-10 yards of rough between the fwy and bunker makes bunkers less relevant and silly to maintain particularly in this financial climate.

Steven Blake

[Scott Furlong]

Is this the same Ian Larson that worked at Country Club of Harrisburg, PA last year? 

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