As the mercury starts to dive and we start to stick on extra layers of clothing, some courses also need help during colder climes.
Many clubs stop players from striking off the fairway turf from November until April – either having a mandatory winter golf mats policy or asking players to hit from the rough.
Does it help, do members want it, and does it help greenkeepers protect their layouts as they try and get them in as good a shape as possible for the following to spring?
For Your Course, produced by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, we spoke to three course managers from across the UK to understand how they overcome common problems that arise on golf courses during winter and the first was a big, and controversial, topic: whether winter golf mats should be employed.
Tackling this debate are Mark Crossley, the course manager at Prestbury, in Cheshire; Greg Fitzmaurice, a master greenkeeper who is the course manager at Hunley, in North Yorkshire; and Chris Rae, who is the course manager at Orkney, in the Northern Isles.
What is your club’s policy on winter golf mats?
Mark Crossley: I was keen to bring them in when I first started at Prestbury, but the members were initially resistant. That changed when we reopened following COVID and had an upsurge in rounds.
We decided to use mats to protect several difficult areas and that established in people’s minds that it could be a good thing because when spring came around, those areas were in a better condition than the members had come to expect.
“What we have now is four areas around the course where we place 12 to 15 mats that we have the freedom to move.
That’s something members are not only used to now, but they see the benefit of it, and some of them are calling for more of it and taking their own mats around.
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Chris Rae: It’s something I’ve thought about. I can’t see the members getting involved, but I would like to use them.
We don’t get a whole lot of rounds through the winter, so we’re not too bad for divots in that there’s not too much wear, but I am noticing an increase the last three or four years since Covid in terms of the number of rounds.
I’d be keen to give people the choice, but it’s not something we’d want to enforce.
Greg Fitzmaurice: We don’t use them as it doesn’t seem necessary for us. We do have pinch points like shorter holes or long par-5s where you’ve got those areas that get peppered because people are hitting a wedge into the green.
We tend to divot in the spring and we’re okay. I like the idea of having a box of mats in the shop so it’s optional, because you might find sometimes you’re hitting a ball and getting mud flying back at you.
Some people might prefer to play off mats in that scenario and that’s better for the player and the course.
- 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.
Now have your say
What do you make of these comments on winter golf mats? Does your course use winter golf mats? If they don’t, would you like them to? Or are you vehemently opposed? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.
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