these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

Golf
“It has been the arrival
of sophisticated and
versatile machinery
that has, more than
anything, helped to
achieve miracles” Sophisticated machinery
counts. Money is no object. If necessary,
they can make available an almost
unlimited workforce before, during and
after the Masters. They double and triple
cut fairways and greens and, if alterations
have to be made to the course (which
they are on an almost annual basis), they
can establish flawless playing surfaces
from seed or turf in a matter of a few
weeks. All this is because the course is
closed from April to October. Jim Arthur
had a point.
One of the main difficulties of Augusta
is the firm and fast nature of the greens
and the pin positions chosen to add to
the severity. Defending a course in this
way is an attempt to thwart low scoring,
but design of greens can undoubtedly
help or hinder the efforts of those whose
44 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
task it is to maintain them. Golf course
architects can be villain or hero.
There is no point designing a good
course if it isn’t well built, and there is no
point building a good course if it isn’t
well maintained. Any flaw in the design
or construction adds a burden to the
maintenance. There is a delicate link
between the three, but green design, a
separate art, has been made more
intricate by the closeness of the cut and
the resultant speeds that can be
achieved.
An even thinner dividing line exists
between what is challenging and what is
impossible, whilst too much movement
and contour can jeopardise the search
for a genuine range of pin positions
which most courses deem essential.
Signs of wear and tear, caused by an
inability to change the hole positions
often enough are, thankfully, rare. That
is another tribute to the advances made
and the lessons learned. One of the
unusual features about golf is that work
can be carried out on the course whilst
play is taking place, even if bunker
raking and cutting is usually scheduled
in summer before golfers are up and
about.
Another peculiarity is that golfers feel
it is expected of them to make technical
comments, even though not exactly
qualified to do so, a further reason why
good lines of communication need to be
established and golfers educated as well
as what used to be called Keepers of the
Green. On the other hand, the tolerance