Learning more about Bunkers

JHGTC Tip of the Week 6/23/12

FIVE BASIC TIPS AND TERMINOLOGY FOR THE FIRST TIME GOLFER

1. Dress the Part                                                                                                                               

Many golf courses have dress codes. Find out what the dress code is at the course you're playing and dress appropriately. A pair of khaki shorts or slacks and a collared golf shirt will almost always meet the requirements, but it's a good idea to check beforehand.                                                                                                                

The policy for Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis is:                                                                               Soft Spike golf shoes only. Appropriate attire is required at all times.
- Men: Shorts must be no more than 3 inches above the knee.  Tucked-in collared shirts are required.
- Ladies: Shorts and skirts are also to be an appropriate length.  Women do not have to wear a collar; however, halter and midriff shirts or short shorts    are not permitted. Ladies shorts must also be no more than three inches above the knee.

2. Teeing Off

On the teeing ground, you must place your ball between the tee markers, either even with them or up to two club lengths behind them. Never in front of them. Tee markers are usually small, colored cones or stones or some other similar indicator. For example, if you're playing from the white tees, look for markers painted white.
As for who tees off first ...

3. Honors, Away and Ready Play

The player who has "honors" plays first from the teeing ground. On the first tee, this can be decided randomly (draw straws, play paper-rock-scissors, whatever). On ensuing tees, the player with the best score on the preceding hole goes first, the second-best score goes second, and so on. Ties carry over to the next tee box, so you keep your place in the rotation until you beat someone on a hole.

"Honors" determines who tees off first; what about the order of play on shots from the fairway? He who is "away" (or "out") leads the way. The player who is farthest from the hole always plays first, from any position on the golf course other than the tee box. The exception is when all members of the group have agreed to play "ready golf," meaning hit-when-ready. Ready golf can be played when a group is trying to speed up the round.

4. Play It As It Lies

One of the most fundamental principles of golf - an idea that much of the Rules of Golf is built around - is "play it as it lies." What that means is pretty simple - don't move or touch the ball! Where it comes to rest, whatever state it is in, you most likely have to play it as is.  There are exceptions spelled out in the Rules of Golf, but if you want to play by the rules, a good rule of thumb is this: Don't move the ball, don't touch it, don't pick it up unless you are certain that you are allowed to do so under the Rules.

5. Keep Up the Pace

Slow play has always been an issue on golf courses, and it's even more important as a beginner to be aware of your pace of play. You don't want to keep golfers behind you waiting, just as you probably don't want to be kept waiting yourself by slow groups ahead. Always be prepared to play when it is your turn to hit. Don't wait until it is your turn to decide which club to use, or to determine the line of a putt; use the time while others are hitting to make those decisions, so that when it's your turn you can step right up and play. If your group is slower than the group immediately behind yours - if your group is holding up another group - it's good etiquette to allow the faster group to play through. Not all groups will want to do this, but many will, and all that do will be very grateful for your show of etiquette.

REMEMBER:                                                                                                                                    

Always repair your ball marks (also called pitch marks) on the green.

Always repair your divots in the fairway. Repairing a divot might mean picking up the sod that you've chopped up and placing it back in the resulting scrape; or it could mean pouring sand or seed into the spot of the divot. If sand or seed are provided by the course (usually in a container that rides on the golf cart), that's what they want you to do.  JACKSON HOLE GOLF & TENNIS CLUB prefers that you use a combination of both options..if the divot is in one piece then replace  it, if not use the sand.  At the very least please fill with sand.                                                                       

Always rake sand bunkers after you've hit your shot to smooth out the sand so that ensuing golfers don't have to play out of your footprints.

June Member Newsletter

Dear members,

It looks like we are on our way to summer after a brief return to winter over Memorial weekend.  The course is coming along wonderfully.  We have begun working on the bunker project again and have completed the large greenside bunker on #4 which was contaminated with a tremendous amount of debris.  It looks and is playing great..let us know what you think.  We have 4 more greenside bunkers to finish then we will be starting on the fairway bunkers.  We have also begun our efforts on drainage around the course and you should see firmer, dryer conditions as we progress through the summer.  You will see new sod installed in areas as we begin this project in earnest and I would ask that you are conscious of these areas and stay off them until we remove ropes.  These areas will be designated GUR-Ground under repair.

We have turned our focus to weed control, tree limbing and native clean up recently.  As we have passed what hopefully is our last really cool spell we will begin clubhouse plantings and other landscape work.

The greens are coming along nicely and are looking great for a summer of heavy play.  I stimped them today and they are running around 10-10.5.  They will continue to speed up and smooth out as we start our regular mowing and rolling schedule moving forward.

Feel free to let me know if you have any concerns on the course and visit our blog at www.jacksonholegolf.blogspot.com  for our “tip of the week” and other course information.  Have a great summer.

Andy Erskine, GCS

JHGTC Tip of the Week #3

JHGTC TIP OF THE WEEK

GOLF CART ETIQUETTE

The rules below are standardized for all golf courses.  Some courses may have rules specific to their course.  Thank you in advance for adhering to these simple rules and keeping our course beautiful for everyone that uses these facilities. 

·         Never drive the cart within hazard boundary lines, native areas or within about 10 yards of water hazards or bunkers, or within about 50 FEET of greens (unless you're on a designated cart path, of course). These areas are especially susceptible to damage by the wheels of golf carts. Never drive onto or close to tee boxes, either, unless on the cart path.

·         Never drive the cart through mud, on or off the fairway.

·         Never drive through casual water on any part of the golf course (unless it's a little bit of water over a paved cart path). The wheels of the cart can do serious damage to the turf, including leaving ruts, in wet areas

·         Always stay on designated cart paths on par-3 holes. Even if the course allows carts onto the fairways on par-4s and par-5s, stay off the grass on par-3s. 

You should always ask when you check in what the course's standard golf cart rules are, then also be alert for any signage. What might the signage specify?

Over time, golf carts speed up soil compaction, which can lead to less-than-ideal growing conditions for turf grasses. And that can lead to less-than-ideal fairways for golfers. So even when "cart path only" is not in effect, it's a good idea to keep the cart on the designated path.

When "cart path only" is in effect, drive the cart on the designated path until you are parallel to where your golf ball rests on the course. Stop the cart, get out, pull a couple clubs (so you'll have some options when you reach your ball), and walk out to the ball.

90-Degree Rule In Effect
The "90-degree rule" means that the golf course is allowing carts onto the grass - but only at 90-degree angles from the cart path. In other words, don't drive the golf cart up the middle of the fairway from the tee box to your golf ball. Stay on the cart path until you are level with your golf ball, then make a 90-degreen turn off the cart path and drive straight across to the ball. The "90-degree rule" minimizes the time a golf cart spends rolling over the grass, while still allowing convenience for golfers.

No Carts Beyond This Point
This sign is one you might see in a fairway as you close in on the green. Courses don't want golf carts near the putting green; the "no carts beyond this point" sign makes sure golfers get that message. Even if you are allowed to drive the cart on the fairway, be sure to observe these signs. When you see one, stop and return to the designated cart path before proceeding forward again.

This sign may also come in the form of an arrow pointing toward the cart path. The meaning is the same: Don't take the cart beyond this point on the fairway; go back to the cart path.

So, those are the signs golfers are most likely to see on a golf course regarding cart usage. Observe the signs - and don't forget to ask about golf cart rules when you check in.