This is your chance to ask the experts to get the greenkeeping information that you really want. Whether you want to learn more about hollow-tining, or whether there is something going on at your course that you just don’t understand, we’ve lined up the experts to put you in the know in our Greenkeeper’s Question Time.
Answering your questions is Scott Reeves, veteran course manager and BIGGA head of membership. This week he’s being asked about slow play and sand on the putting surfaces…
“Slow play can be an issue at some courses. To speed it up, should clubs consider widening fairways or having less rough at driving distances for higher handicaps?”
Scott says: They should consider it. Why not? But I think slow play comes down to lots of factors, such as golfer behaviour, more than the width of fairways.
“I think not spending lots of time looking for your ball, or looking through your rangefinder, or being obsessed with going through a pre-shot routine, would probably speed the game up. Course set up has a part to play, but golfer behaviour plays at least as big a part.
Can you put too much sand on your greens?
Scott says: The answer is yes, but your course manager will have done their homework and will know the amount of sand that can be absorbed by the growth rate they’ve got going on at that time.
We’re getting much better at this. Many greenkeepers are looking at their growth patterns in scientific ways and working out their sanding regimes because of that information.
For a lot of golfers, any sand is too much sand because they don’t like disruption. I understand that, because they’ve paid their money, but it doesn’t happen that often and, as these resources become more and more scarce, you’ll probably see less of it anyway.
- This article appears in Your Course, the twice-yearly publication from the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association. Your Course invites golfers to gain a deeper appreciation of what preparing and maintaining a golf course really involves. Head to www.bigga.org.uk to find out more.
Have a question for a greenkeeper?
What do you think? Should fairways be widened? Should there be less rough at driving distances for higher handicaps to help with slow play? It’s your course – want to send a question in about it? Email info@bigga.org.uk and we’ll put it to one of our experts.
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