Michigan Golf Journal June 2020

Michigan Golf Journal Guest Column,MikeDeVries looks and more with how it plays. Turf conditioning is often excellent without extreme measures being taken to make everything picture perfect at all times. Consider most Open Championship courses and how they look in comparison to Augusta. The overall aesthetic is more natural, with Mother Nature affecting the course’s overall condition just as much as the superintendent and his team. Walking is also much more prevalent than in the U.S., with golfers carrying their bag, taking a caddie, or pushing a trolley. Many American golfers love playing overseas and relish their experiences there. Is this just because it is different from their “home game” or because the overall golfing experience there is more enjoyable? It’s a fair question all who love this game should ponder. With the series of mandated changes to socialization and human contact in the COVID-19 era, golf in America will have to change – and maybe for the better . Due to the 2020 season’s slow start, budgets will be tightened due to reduced income streams. In order to save on maintenance, grass will likely not be cut as frequently. Bunkers will not have rakes readily available, so players will have to smooth out their own footprints and treat bunkers as true hazards with questionable lies. This may also create the subsequent result of making golfers more considerate of others by having to clean up after themselves or risk being subject to those conditions the next time. If a course is closed to play for an indeterminate amount of time, mowing heights will probably be raised, just as northern courses typically do in the late fall when prepping for winter and snow. Will greens be a little slower? Yes, but the turf will have more leaf tissue to absorb sunlight, which in turn increases photosynthesis/energy production. The plant’s ability to survive and thrive will increase. Stronger turf with less stress and less disease pressure saves time and money through reduced labor and The Mines