If you’ve worried about muddy footprints or ruts causing issues on your course, there is a tool you can use even if the issue is extensive.
This article is part of GCMA Insights – topical content for golf industry professionals, discussing the things that matter to those who work in golf clubs.
Maybe this year we’ll have a white Christmas, but it’s a better bet that conditions will be soggy rather than snowy.
The UK has experienced some of its wettest winters since records began over the last few years and, despite a summer of drought, rainfall in October was 13% above the 1991 to 2020 average, according to the Met Office.
Heavy and persistent rain on a golf course, alongside the wish of many members and visitors to play all year round, produces mud.
Even with management in place to try and deal with the footfall, you may still have areas of your course that have suffered unusual damage.
Sometimes these areas can be quite large and it’s impractical to mark them out with painted lines or stakes.
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If your club finds itself in this position there is a specific Local Rule that can be employed where there is extensive damage due to heavy rain and traffic.
It gives committees the authority to declare unusual damage, such as you might get from the deep ruts of vehicles or deep footprints as ground under repair.
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You can find it on The R&A’s rules website, or on the governing body’s rules app, under Model Local Rule F-4.
But the suggested text for notice boards reads:
“Ground under repair may include areas of unusual damage, including areas where spectators or other traffic have combined with wet conditions to alter the ground surface materially, but only when so declared by an authorized referee or member of the Committee.”
This article is part of GCMA Insights – topical content for golf industry professionals, discussing the things that matter to those who work in golf clubs.
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