PGA at Hazeltine

My family and friends all find it quite amusing to watch the PGA on television with me. As they sit back and enjoy the best golfers in the world I sit back and marvel at the wonderful conditions of most tour courses.

"Did you see that shot?" they ask me.
My answer is usually "no, but did you see how straight those lines on the fairway are?".

That's what nearly 20 years in the golf course maintenance industry will do to you.

Hazeltine was in great condition (as usual) but what I really appreciated the care taken to protect the water bodies on the golf course. When I say this to people they say "the grass has been cut right down to the water, just like you say is bad for the ponds." If you thought to take a close look at the pond banks you could see that the turf on the banks was being cut at about 3". It has been proven that turf cut at 3" is capable of preventing runoff carrying contaminants from entering into water bodies.

I applaud Hazeltine Superintendent Jim Nichol for providing a course with a wall to wall maintenance type look but with the care to protect the water features from environmental damage.

Superintendents and golf course managers who are faced with a membership who wants Augusta type maintenance from pond edge to forest should consider raising mowing heights around ponds to 3". The look is there without harming natural habitats provided by water features.