Selecting pin locations

      This season the PGA Championship is allowing the fans to select one of four predetermined hole locations for the final round on the par three 15th hole. Any fan can vote, and the winning vote will set the location on championship Sunday. Click here to vote if you want to participate in deciding the pin position.

       In spirit of the fans selecting the pin position at Oak Hill, I wanted to briefly explain how we move our flags on a daily basis. You may think we simply move the hole from front to middle to back and to the front again without any rhyme or reason. This myth is untrue and I plan to walk you through the setup process to give you an understanding for our daily selections.

      The first step is to assess where the hole was on the previous day. The picture above shows yesterday's pin was in the center of the green. Our pinsheets rotate from the front to the middle to the rear. Today's hole needs to be placed in the rear of the green.

      The green we chose to highlight today was number 6 at the Players. The yellow outline illustrates the general area for today's hole. This is where our agronomic skills begin to mesh with our knowledge of the game of golf.

       The hole area in the rear of number 6 is restricted due to its shape. This reduces the amount of "wiggle room" in placing a new hole. Regardless, we have a set of fundamental guidelines when selecting the day's pin location. These guidelines are based on agronomics and playability. Here are the items we consider when placing the hole.

Agronomic guidelines

• Health of the turf. 
• Area with limited pitch mark scars.
• Not near old cups.
• Considerations for upcoming tournaments.
• Attempt to divert traffic patterns on a day to day basis.

Playability guidelines

• Rules of golf.
• Speed of greens.
• Flat area on the surface of the green. At least one flagstick away from severe slopes.
• Limit number of total pins tucked behind bunkers.
• MGA/LGA considerations.
• No closer than two flagsticks from the edge.
• Weather conditions, wind, moisture, etc.. 
• Time of year. Summer bentgrass greens hold shots. Fall and Winter the greens increase in firmness and do not hold shots.
• Incoming shots, long iron, short iron, etc..

       These guidelines are simply a starter set for us to consider when setting the pin for the day. There are more complex items that we also try to address. The justification of the flags are also taken into consideration. Left, right and middle alignments are balanced whenever possible. Six of each are preferred on any given golf day. 

       All four courses have the Superintendent's or Assistant Superintendent's change the flags. However, some days when vital agronomic practices pull management from this duty, we try to have our most seasoned staff members plan the day's hole locations.

       Now that I have briefed you on the considerations and factors in choosing a hole location, I would like to show you our process for changing the flagstick. Here are some photos detailing our pin changing procedure.

The hole is cut using a standard cup cutter. At the Players Club, we must consider the grain of the turf. We do this by aligning a preset mark on the cup cutter with the 150 pole. When we replace the plug, we align the mark again. This ensures that we keep the grain direction uniform.

We then insert the cup into the new hole. We use the flagstick to make certain the hole is level. The flagstick and the cup are wiped clean every morning.

We then use a cup setter to set the cup to the proper depth. We simply step on the setter to push the cup down one inch below the surface.

The lip of the cup is then rolled level using a ten inch piece of PVC pipe. This helps to prevent the lip from "volcanoing" up.

Here is a pick of the day's new flag. But we are not finished. Care must be taken to place the old plug.

After placing the old plug, we water to edges to promote faster healing.

Sand is then added to fill any voids around the edges. The green color is chosen to help blend into the green.

A photo of the old plug. You can barely see it.

   
       While changing pins is an easy task in itself, it alone, may be the most important detail on the golf course everyday. Different tees are used but everyone plays to the same hole. The amount of considerations put into each day's hole position are numerous. From agronomics to golf playability there are countless items to consider. At St. James we try our best to promote healthy turf and provide a fair round of golf. Sometimes we aren't perfect, but we certainly strive to be.

Bunker rakes - In or out?

This question has been asked over and over and over again. Multiple facilities, private and public have dealt with this debate in some form. Although there is no rule in place, here is the USGA's take on rake placement.

Q. Should rakes be placed in or outside bunkers?

A. There is not a perfect answer for the position of rakes, but on balance it is felt there is less likelihood of an advantage or disadvantage to the player if rakes are placed outside of bunkers.

It may be argued that there is more likelihood of a ball being deflected into or kept out of a bunker if the rake is placed outside the bunker. It could also be argued that if the rake is in the bunker it is most unlikely that the ball will be deflected out of the bunker.

However, in practice, players who leave rakes in bunkers frequently leave them at the side which tends to stop a ball rolling into the flat part of the bunker, resulting in a much more difficult shot than would otherwise have been the case. This is most prevalent at a course where the bunkers are small. When the ball comes to rest on or against a rake in the bunker and the player must proceed under Rule 24-1, it may not be possible to replace the ball on the same spot or find a spot in the bunker which is not nearer the hole — see Decision 20-3d/2.

If rakes are left in the middle of the bunker, the only way to position them is to throw them into the bunker and this causes damage to the surface. Also, if a rake is in the middle of a large bunker, it is either not used or the player is obliged to rake a large area of the bunker, resulting in unnecessary delay.

Therefore, after considering all these aspects, it is recommended that rakes should be left outside bunkers in areas where they are least likely to affect the movement of the ball.

Ultimately, it is a matter for the Committee to decide where it wishes rakes to be placed.

From a purely maintenance perspective, the rakes would be placed inside the bunker. This would reduce labor time by eliminating the need to stop the mower and move the rakes. However, we do not work at a turf farm. We are a golf course and the players perspective is the only viewpoint that matters. With that said, the membership needs to agree upon there desired location.

Reserve Club Update - Bunker sand

      This past week at the Reserve Club we have been able to begin a bunker restoration project. We plan to restore multiple bunkers on the course over the next several weeks. The first bunker that we completed was the pot bunker near #5 green.
      The restoration project starts by removing all of the old sand from the bunker. The old sand is removed to prevent contamination of the fresh sand. We remove the sand until we reach the native soil.
      The next step is to begin adding the new sand. We add the sand at a depth of four inches. This is the standard USGA bunker sand depth. As we add the sand we are constantly tamping as we progress. The tamping helps to compact the sand, therefore reducing the chance of washouts. Below is a picture of Assistant Superintendent Michael Gore tamping the sand.

     Here is a picture of the finished bunker.

   
      Although easy to demonstrate and narrate, this is not an simple job. Re sanding a bunker is extremely labor intensive and time consuming. A small to medium bunker may take a full day complete. We plan to continue this project throughout the summer and fall. We will be addressing the bunkers in a priority based order. Continue checking the blog for updates from the Agronomy team at St. James.