Question #1:
|
V.
Important
|
Somewhat
|
Important
|
Not as
Import.
|
Unimport.
|
Playing
Conditions
|
62.00%
|
23.90%
|
13.00%
|
0.00%
|
1.10%
|
Turf
Health
|
26.10%
|
46.70%
|
18.50%
|
8.70%
|
0.00%
|
Environmental
Impact
|
3.30%
|
5.40%
|
17.40%
|
28.30%
|
45.70%
|
Course
Grooming
|
8.70%
|
18.50%
|
46.70%
|
22.80%
|
3.30%
|
Landscaping
|
0.00%
|
5.40%
|
4.30%
|
40.20%
|
50.00%
|
Some people did not like this question since it forced you
to choose only one condition as being “Very Important”. Welcome to my world. Weekly, if not daily, I am forced to make
these very same choices. For me every
one of these items is VERY IMPORTANT and should receive the same
attention. I don’t think it’s too
dramatic to say that the experience players have on a golf course is not the
result of one thing but a sum of its parts.
The position we’re now in has forced us to review everything we do and
make some hard choices. However, if
everyone has some say hopefully the choices we make are supported or, at the
very least, understood by all at KGC.
As well as making you prioritize this was a question that
tested your knowledge of golf course maintenance. Only 26.10% got it right by listing turf health as very important. Perhaps I need to define turf health with
respect to a golf course. For me,
healthy turf is able to withstand whatever conditions I decide to subject it to
and not decline or, worse, die as a result.
Further, healthy turf has to be able to withstand whatever Mother Nature
decides to throw at it. Notice there is
no mention of green/lush/long turf, aerating monthly, pounding the fertilizer,
or ladling down control products.
Healthy turf begets good playing
conditions, which is reflected in good course
grooming. Healthy turf doesn’t need protectants
which decreases the environmental impact
and less money spend on treatments means more money for the non-turf related areas of the golf course.
Question #2: As I
hoped most (95.8%) choose consistency over speed. Now we need to define consistency. As I mentioned at AGM, greens are considered
consistent if all green roll with 6" of each other. For example, if a green is rolling 8’6” any
green plus or minus 3” (i.e. 8’3” to 8’9”) is considered to putting at the same
speed (I get that info from this article). What speed is good for our
greens? That goes back to my definition
of healthy turf: whatever speed I can get that doesn’t kill ‘em and whatever
speed we can get that falls within equipment and staffing limitations.
For most all other questions most people choose the
maintenance regime we regularly perform:
81% expect moderate bunker maintenance
57% expect mostly weed free tee surface mowed 2 to 3
times/week
84% want firm fairways with defined edges with few weeds
62% want rough mostly green and longer than fairways with
few weeds
73% expect most areas to be usually free of most debris
There is 3 more questions to discuss but this post is long enough.
