Some Committee Questions That Come to Mind

by ELI BUDD Green Committee Chairman, Oak Ridge Country Club, Minnesota

NE OF THE QUESTIONS I am that 95 percent of the meeting is not frequently asked is, "Should related to the superintendent's domain. Ogreen superintendents participate It would be an imposition to a man in green committee meetings?" whose hours start from daybreak and I would have to give a positive YES end at sunset daily during the season, answer to this question. The green com- Eli Budd to sit for three or four hours and listen mittee meeting is the best forum for the to other club matters that do not pertain superintendent to explain his objectives to him. There is at least one exception. for both his current and future programs, That is the case of a significant change to explain his needs for new equipment, in the course itself. Surely the super- chemicals, fertilizers, trees, and seed. intendent should attend such meetings. It's his opportunity to learn the members' "Should the superintendent attend thoughts and what he can do about them. budget meetings?" It is also the superintendent's conduit to If you are referring to budget com- the membership. It is perhaps the most mittee meetings that encompass all of important means for members to under- the club's committees, I would say no. stand the problems the superintendent At Oak Ridge, Keith Scott, our super- faces. intendent, prepares his annual budget Another frequently heard question is, and presents it to the entire green com- "Should the superintendent attend mittee for approval. It is then submitted board meetings?" by the green committee chairman to the I can't see the necessity for the super- board for final approval. We have never intendent to attend board meetings. In had a problem getting his budget ap- my 25 years on club boards, I have found proved through these channels.

The Rules of Golf and the Superintendent

by WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS, JR. Vice President, USGA

AM DELIGHTED to have this correct. A golf competition should be For those who yearn for the simpler opportunity to speak to you about determined by the skill of the players days of the original 13 rules, I might lcourse condition and setup from the and not the resolution of a Rules prob- mention that Rule 13 deals with French point of view of a Rules official and lem, an inadvertent Rules violation, or ditches and dykes, scholars' holes, and former Chairman of the USGA's Rules a bad course condition. soldiers' lines - the first local rule. And of Golf Committee. Accordingly, it is in our common you will especially enjoy Rule I: "You When I set out to officiate at the U.S. interest to avoid Rules problems that must your ball within a club's length Open, the Amateur or the Masters, my detract from a competition. of the hole. "Did the original 13rules last friends frequently say they hope to see First, a word about the history of the long? The second page is largely taken me on television. Not me! That means Rules. The earliest written Rules we are up with changes in Rules 5 and 13,which that there is a Rules problem, and Rules aware of were laid down in 1744, at Leith, were apparently found to be unsatis- problems can be very difficult to resolve. in or near what is now Edinburgh, factory. It's not just that I'm chicken, which I Scotland, to govern a competition for Early in the 19th century several clubs am, but no one likes to see the outcome the Silver Club of the city of Edinburgh. had their own rules. Later in the century of a major golf competition turn on a There were 13 rules; they took up less there was an approach toward uni- Rules incident or an official's decision, than two handwritten pages, and they formity based on the Rules of the Royal even if most believe the decision was still exist in a bank vault in Edinburgh. and Ancient of St. Andrews

20 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD Photos by Tom Meeks Player in us. Amateur Public dropping within two club-lengths of where ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water (Rule 26-1 c). Note how player is going away from the hole in order to avoid dropping closer to the hole than permitted.

(the R&A). Finally, in 1897, authority of play, make it movable so that the of holes on putting greens (measured in was given to the R&A to establish a uni- player may remove it if it intervenes on paces from the front and nearer side of form set of Rules. his line of play. There is generally no the putting green) are commonly used Meanwhile, in 1896 and 1897, the relief from intervention of an immovable in our competitions and on the PGA USGA developed its own set of Rules, obstruction on the line of play. Tour. based largely on the R&A's Rules with Distance markers are permissible as If the disadvantages of being in the modifications more adaptable to condi- well. For example, yardages to the putt- boondocks are otherwise adequate, clean tions in the United States. In the 1920s ing green may be painted on sprinkler them up a bit to facilitate finding the there was a move toward uniformity heads. Monuments and bushes may be ball. The adjacent areas need not be between the R&A and the USGA, which used, but they should be placed where as manicured as the Augusta National, was finally achieved in 1952. During the they are not likely to come into play. but I am always amazed at how few balls period from 1980 through 1983, the Charts showing distances from prominent are lost at Pine Valley. Rules book was completely rewritten to landmarks to the putting green .are . Make sure the tee make it more user-friendly, in the jargon common, and charts showing the location markers are set out. A line drawn be- of the day, but with only modest sub- tween the markers should be perpen- stantive changes. dicular to the line of play. They should Back now to how we can work together not be set too far apart, in order to to have fairer competitions. Let's begin minimize the risk of players playing with the course generally and then work William J. Williams, Jr. from in front of the tee markers. our way from tee to green. Players may tee their balls two club The Course. You would be surprised lengths behind the front edges of the how many questions we receive that tee markers. Accordingly, if your Com- relate to players who omit holes, play mittee is going to play the tee markers holes in wrong order, or play holes that all the way back, be sure players who tee are not part of the competition course. up two club lengths behind the markers Accordingly, it is a good practice to have adequate clearance for their swings. identify each hole clearly at the teeing Bunkers. The sand in bunkers shouldn't ground. If two courses are contiguous, be too soft or the ball will bury in the make the signs for the two courses easily f~ce of the bunker. While the player distinguishable. If the way from a may probe in the sand for the ball, losing putting green to the next tee is not a ball in these circumstances can be very obvious, install signs pointing the way. unfair, and the disruption of the bunker Speed of Play. Directional markers are caused by searching for the ball can permissible. Preferably, they should be give rise to a number of Rules problems, out of the line of play. If it is necessary as we experienced in the 1977 Open, at to have a directional marker in the line Southern Hills.

MARCH/APRIL 1985 21 It's important to know whether a ball obstructions, whether or not they are is in or out of the bunker. Accordingly, occupied. I wouldn't mind terribly ifthey the lips should be recut periodically. were quietly removed by the grounds- Also, avoid spillovers of sand, especially keeper before the Rules officials arrive. where mechanical rakes are used. Try to Putting Green. Where does the putting avoid situations in which a ball will be green end and the apron begin? The against the front or back lip and be answer may be important. A ball on the unplayable. putting green may be lifted and cleaned, Should rakes be in or out of the whereas a ball on the apron may not. bunker? We at the USGA have been on Ball marks on the putting green may be both sides of that one. We finally deferred repaired, whereas ball marks on the to the experience of Clyde Mangum and apron may not. Sand and loose soil on the Tour. Rakes should be placed out- the putting green may be removed, side the bunker in a position least whereas sand and loose soil on the likely to affect play. apron may not. It is important, there- There is no relief from loose impedi- fore, to mow the greens in such a way ments in a bunker. Accordingly, try to that the border separating the putting keep bunkers free of stones, pine cones, Rule 33-2a provides that the committee shall green from the apron is clear. If an leaves, etc. During the recent Rules define accurately the margins of water hazards. official is walking with a player, it is negotiations, the R&A pressed hard for relatively easy to prevent a possible an amendment that would treat stones inadvertent by commenting on in bunkers as movable obstructions. the difficulty of determining where one This would permit stones to be removed, ends and the other begins, or that a ball and, if the ball moved, it could be a player relief without penalty from that appears to be on the putting green replaced without penalty. The R&A areas marked as ground under repair, is not. If an official is stationary, it is argued that playing the stroke under including material piled for removal and very awkward to pop up and point out such circumstances is hazardous. Thanks a hole made by a greenkeeper, even if not to a player that his ball is not on the to the good work done by many of you, so marked. What about grass cuttings putting green. While the official is only we were able to respond that it was not dumped near the greens? Grass cuttings trying to save the player from an inad- a serious problem in our country. The and other material that have been aban- vertent penalty, the player may regard compromise was to permit the R&A to doned and left on the course are not the official as interrupting his concen- adopt a local rule permitting relief from intended to be removed and are not tration to point out what to him may stones in bunkers. Accordingly, if you're ground under repair unless so marked. be obvious. watching the British Open on TV, don't Apart from being eyesores, such piles There is no relief for spike marks on wonder whether there is something of debris create problems, because it is a putting green. For a while the Euro- wrong with your TV set if you see a rarely clear whether anyone intends to pean Tour and the SQuth African Tour player remove a stone in a bunker before remove them. If they are not G UR, a had local. rules permitting repair of playing from the bunker. player whose ball is in grass cuttings spike marks, but no more. Accordingly, is in serious trouble, even if he can find I would urge you to do everything you Roads. A player is entitled to relief his ball. can to avoid putting green conditions without penalty from interference by an What about tree nurseries? Should that cause spike marks. artificially surfaced road. What then is they be marked out of bounds or ground Old hole plugs should be properly artificially surfaced? Worn tracks do not under repair? If it was desirable to repaired, with the surface of the plug constitute an artificially surfaced road, prevent play from the nurseries, we neither above nor below the surface of but concrete, asphalt, gravel, and even marked them out of bounds. We have the green. While the Rules now permit chips do. But where does a road since been persuaded by the R&A that a player to repair such hole plugs, this composed of gravel or wood chips begin it is better to mark them ground under is relatively easy if it simply involves and end? When is a player entitled to a repair and prohibit play from the area. tapping down a hole plug to the level of free drop away from the road, and when See Note 2 to the Definition of "ground does the player simply have to remove under repair." the putting green; it is almost impossible loose impediments and risk a penalty if In my opinion, a golf course is no if it requires raising the old plug. There is no relief from stones or the ball thereafter moves? Preferably, place for flower beds. You don't want roads should be of hard surface and people playing from them, but if you acorns solidly embedded in the putting green. Accordingly, if possible, sweep clearly defined. must have them and they are located where they are likely to come into play, the putting green before mowing it. Staked Trees and Bushes. Remove stakes mark their margins clearly, declare them and guy wires supporting trees as soon Finally, a personal note. I am not to be ground under repair and prohibit as possible. Otherwise players may obtain much of a golfer. A disproportionately play. relief they really don't deserve. large part of my pleasure on a golf course Bird nests have brought the USGA comes from being outdoors in pleasant Ground Under Repair. This is the one and R&A Rules Committees to their surroundings. To the extent you con- Rule that refers explicitly to the golf knees. In deference to the possible tribute to the appreciation of the game course superintendent, even though by a occupants, we have determined that by me and those like me, I sincerely somewhat old-fashioned name. It permits they should be treated as immovable thank you.

22 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD