• Banner 1


By John Sanford, Jr.

This article belongs to a 12 part series on modern golf course architecture.

In today's golf industry only the profitable survive. Positive drainage is required in order to allow play on the course during rain days. Historically, golf course drainage was handled with surface flow from fairways to the rough. Today, positive drainage is achieved through the use of catch basins, perforated pipe, and solid pipe. This approach allows the architect to drain the entire golf course by picking up the surface and subsurface water and delivering the water in pipe to a lake or other impoundment area. The use of catch basins also allows the architect to "contain" shots along the edge of fairways, lakes, and green complexes by sloping the grade toward the respective target.

Good positive drainage is also the key to cultivating healthy turf. Maintaining strong turf is achieved by controlling the water applied through the irrigation system. The most consistently healthy turf grass will result from consistent irrigation applications and removal of the water through positive drainage.

Most golfers think fairways should be flat to produce the best lie, but actually we design our grading plans to provide a minimum of 3% slope to all fairways and roughs in order to create drainage patterns and move the runoff. The water is directed to a catch basin, lake or other impoundment area to remove the run-off from the play areas. Tees and greens can be less than 3% slope since they typically have subsurface drainage and specified sand in the root zone.

Soil types will dictate the amount of drainage structure needed to remove the run-off from a golf course in a storm event. If the soil base is sandy and has a high percolation rate then little to no drainage structure is needed. When soils are heavy with clay and/or organics, and the percolation rate is low, then more drainage structure is required to remove the water in a timely fashion.

When golf courses are built as a stand-alone profit center, it is essential to install the proper drainage system. With good positive drainage a course can be played on rainy days and add up to 50 days of revenue to any given golf facility. This can make the bottom line look much more attractive and the cost of the drainage system can pay for itself in one year.

By Various

"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose."
Winston Churchill

"To win you must have talent and desire -- but desire is first"
Sam Snead

"Jack Nicklaus was totally attentive, he asked intelligent questions, he had an infinite capacity for hard work, and his desire knew no bounds. He was certain to be a star"
Jack Grout, golf instructor

By Various

Man's Best Friend
Mike and Sam decided to get together one morning and play a round of golf. Sam brought along his little white poodle. When Sam sank a 12-foot putt on the par 5, No. 1 hole, the little white poodle stood on his hind legs and began to dance and jump and bark. Mike told Sam: "That's great. What does he do when you miss the putt?" Sam said "He does somersaults." Mike asked: "How many does he do?" Said Sam: "Depends on how hard I kick him."

Does Everything But Make Coffee
Two buddies meet for an early morning round and one notices the other's ball. He says: "Hey, I've never seen a ball like that before." The other guy replies: "Oh yeah, this is the best ball I've ever played with. I can't lose this ball no matter how bad my game is." "What do you mean?," the other replies. "Well, when I hit into the lake, it's got little flippers that swim it to the top and to the shore. Then it's got little feet that push it to a good lie." "Wow, that's amazing says the other. What happens if it goes in the woods?" "It has a beeper that continues until I pick the ball up." "That's amazing," said the other. "Where did you get it?" "I found it."

By Dave Baron

All the information in golf instruction is categorized into LAWS, PRINCIPLES, and PREFERENCES. There are 5 laws that even Tiger must live by. They are speed, centeredness, path, face, angle of approach. The principles, and preferences are all of the other info and are only beneficial as to how they relate to the laws.

The first two laws deal directly with posture. To maximize speed we must first perfect your posture, enabling your body to be its most athletic, elastic, and powerful. You will learn that the hands merely hold the club and you can swing faster by using the body. The proper use of speed controls the distance you want the shot to go.

To perfect your path, your body needs to be properly aligned and in posture that allows the body to swing the club on the path you wish the shot to start on. The upper body will move the club back and the lower body will move the club forward.

The third law or angle of approach deals with the ball position feature of posture. The trajectory you wish the shot to fly on is determined by where you position the ball between your feet. For normal trajectory shots my preference is that wedges are played in the center of the stance. As the club gets longer move the ball forward based on the length of the club, with the driver being played off the forward heel. To play a lower shot move the ball back a few inches from normal ball position.

The fourth and fifth laws deal directly with your grip. You will find that it is far easier to start with a square clubface with your ball in the center of the clubface and let the hands simply hold the club throughout your swing. It is extremely challenging to have the clubface opening and closing during the swing. An open clubface at impact causes the ball to curve right for a right-handed player and a closed clubface causes the ball to curve left.

The sweet spot, the greatest amount of mass in the club head, is in the center. It is much easier to hit the sweet spot when the hands play the neutral role of simply holding the grip rather than moving the sweet spot around.

Perfect your individual grip and your individual posture and you will hit shots the start on the line you want, curve the way you want, or not at all, fly on the exact trajectory you want, and travel the distance you want.

If you need help with your grip or your posture please don't hesitate to call me. My goal is for you to achieve maximum enjoyment of the game in a minimum of time.

To schedule a lesson with one of our PGA Professionals please call the golf shop.

By Ken Crandall

The chip shot can be a golfer's best friend or worst enemy. If you can chip the ball close enough to the hole to make the putt, your score will improve and so will your confidence level. On the otherhand, if you are unable to hit solid chip shots close to the hole, your score will rise as your confidence falls.

To hit better chip shots, move the ball back in your stance. Be sure and stand erect, then hit the ball with a descending blow. Keep you wrists firm throughout the shot. Be sure and accelerate through the ball. The result will be more solid chip shots that go where you are aiming. You will hit better chip shots and enjoy the game much more!
Close