OB Sports Golf & Leisure

COURSE CARE n HERE ARE SOME WAYS YOU CAN DO YOUR PART G enerally speaking, golf courses are pristine areas of beautiful landscaping and green open spaces. But they can also take a beating. And no matter how excellent a superintendent or grounds crew is at their job, golf courses need help from the players who play on the fairways and greens. The idea is to treat it like you would your own front yard. With that in mind, here are some things golfers can do to help maintain their home course, courtesy of Mike Reinecke, Superintendent at Eagle Mountain Golf Club in Fountain Hills, Ariz. TAKE CARE OF THE BUNKERS n "Bunkers create enough of a challenge when they are freshly raked," Reinecke says. "Not properly raking a bunker after you hit a shot can lead to an almost impos- sible lie for fellow golfers." Reinecke advises alternately pushing and pulling the sand to make the surface even. Also, remember to enter and exit the bunker at the point closest to your ball and don't walk up steep faces. This will ensure you don't displace too much sand. And one more thing: "The USGA re- minds golfers the proper term is 'bunker' and never 'trap,' " Reinecke said. FOLLOW CART DIRECTION SIGNS n "Most golfers don't realize how much of an impact cart traffic has on turf," Reinecke said. "There is only limited space to allow access on and off paths, and tight green complexes and curbing can make it difficult to spread the traffic. On a busy day, we might have over 100 carts driving in the same exact spot on the turf. This leads to soil compaction, which makes it hard to grow grass that is already under stress," he said."If golfers follow the directional signs and stakes and ropes, it gives that stressed out grass a chance to breathe and recuperate." ADHERE TO FROST DELAYS n Frost delays are some- thing that every golf course has to deal with at some point. Walking or riding on frozen grass puts "tremen- dous stress on the mainte- nance crew," Reinecke said. "Golfers need to understand that walking or driving on frozen grass will cause dam- age and can kill the grass plant." The irreparable dam- age can't be seen, since it occurs inside the plant over time. "Golfers should listen to their superintendent's in- structions during frost delays and understand they are only trying to protect the golf course," Reinecke said. FIX DIVOTS AND BALL MARKS n "These are such simple tasks but also ones that are commonly ignored," Reinecke says. A ball mark that goes unrepaired "can take up to three weeks to heal, and will still leave an uneven surface that creates the potential for missed putts," he said. A fully repaired ball mark, in contrast, will heal in three days. Meanwhile, the key in replacing divots is knowing when and how to replace them, which varies from course to course due to the large array of grasses. As a general rule, always replace divots unless there is a sand and seed bottle on your cart. OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE x FALL 2016 x obsports.com l HOW TO

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