To improve course conditions and relieve the Turf Care Department of some burden, we are implementing a program to encourage golfers to take ownership of a single hole.  The tasks are simple; fix ball marks, fill divots, rake bunkers, and pick up stray garbage.  Holes are assigned on an alphabetical basis and divided amongst the membership. 

The main two items with the program are ball marks and divots.  The greens have been rolling really well since we healed up from aerification at the end of September.  Any bounce or bump your ball encounters on the way to the hole is a blemish caused by a ball mark that was not repaired.  After our frost delay last Friday, I blew off all the greens with a backpack blower and I could not believe how many ball marks were on these greens.  If I had stopped to fix each one, I would have to forget about cleaning off the leaves. 

There is currently one sign in the Proshop and there will be signs posted in each locker room with your hole assignments.  Know which hole is yours and take pride in making it the best hole on the course.  Encourage your playing partners to care for their tee, green, and fairway.  Complain to that person when your ball veers off course because of an ball mark.  Let them know, "This would not have happened on my hole." 


We appreciate the help with course maintenance and it goes a long way in increasing our productivity.  When our greens mowers are not stopping to fix 20 ball marks per green, they finish much sooner and move on to the next job.  Besides, a ball mark that is not repaired immediately will take weeks longer to heal than one that is properly tended to. 

As a final reminder, here is a picture of number 4 green with a flag on every ball mark that is not repaired.  This is from a few years ago and its been used on the blog a couple of times.  It does not take long for a green to get riddled with pock marks, so please do your part to keep the course at its best.