Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/130253
5/9/13 8:43 AM Page 1 THE FINAL WORD BY RICK MUNRO The Augusta Syndrome There are those golfers who after watching 10 hours of golf on the Saturday and Sunday of the Masters suddenly become course architects and superintendents. By the time Masters Sunday has come and gone, many are also convinced that their course could and should look like Augusta, "I know what would be great at our course… we should mow the fairways right down to the edge of the pond and plant gardens of azaleas behind the bunkers. We'll shave the greens down and have them stimp at 12… all the time. I'll speak with the superintendent when he has some spare time." Augusta National is closed for months prior to the event so that the course can be in top condition for that special week. While the everyday superintendent struggles to fill out his work crew to maintain the average golf course, Augusta National has superintendents from all over the world volunteering their vacation time to help prepare the golf course for the likes of Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen. Often these well-educated and talented superintendents are spending their "time off" raking bunkers at Augusta National. The point is that while it is great to see a golf course in such nice condition the reality is that most superintendents out there are battling to maintain the conditions they are providing. With environmental pressures mounting like never before, it is time for golfers to understand that Augusta National is an exception, not a rule. There is nothing wrong with brown spots on fairways and in the rough, in fact, brown spots can often indicate healthy turf and a superintendent who is training the turf to withstand drought and conserve water. Mowing turf at fairway or rough height down to the edge of a pond is not the environmentally friendly way to maintain a golf course. Ideally, an 8-metre buffer of non-maintained turf should be left to protect the water from contaminants, such as grass clippings, that may run-off the fairway. This buffer also provides suitable habitat for any wildlife that chooses to make its home at the water's edge. In order for golf courses in North America to continue to operate in the era of environmental protection, golfers are going to have to accept less than perfect conditions, especially through the heat of summer. Superintendents who feel forced to mow greens to one-tenth of an inch, because the guy down the street belongs to a course where the greens stimp at 13, often face disease pressure that can only be quelled by the use of dreaded pesticides or copious amounts of water to keep the turf alive. Turf on golf courses will withstand much more stress if kept longer. The goal for putting greens should be consistency, not necessarily speed. These are supposed to be natural surroundings that are BY THE NUMBERS BY JEFF SUTHERLAND Kureluk Shoots Record Score Calgary's Jamie Kureluk may have shot the lowest 9-hole score ever recorded in professional competition after blistering the par 36 back nine at Carnmoney G&CC in just 25 strokes! When Jamie Kureluk stepped onto the first tee for the opening round of the RBC Insurance Alberta Open on May 26th, 2011 you knew he had to be feeling fairly confident. The 34-yearold Calgarian who played the Canadian Tour in 2002, 2003 and 2006 had won the opening event on the Callaway/Fletcher Players' Tour held at Edmonton's Blackhawk Club a couple of weeks previously. "I was feeling pretty good," he recalled of starting the round over the 6800 yard, par 71 layout."I came into this tournament hitting it all right and was in the mindset that in 86 the first round you don't want to go too crazy." Not wanting to go 'too crazy' translated into a round that actually did not start that well. On the fourth hole, a par three, he would four-putt for a double bogey. Not a great start but even a confident Kureluk likely could not have known how a birdie on #7 would be a precursor of things to come. From the 10th through the 18th, he would score only red numbers sticking approaches to under ten feet on five occasions. It was on the 13th where he took full advantage of Carmoney's pure putting surfaces. "The hole was playing 203 yards to the pin which was on the back top tier of the green. I took a seven iron and hit it hard but ended up short on the lower tier and was left AUGUSTA IN 1952 AUGUSTA TODAY friendly to wildlife and benefit the environment. Superintendents need support from golfers in the form of acceptance of less than perfect conditions. As a superintendent my favourite tournament to watch is the British Open where the course plays fast and hard. Aesthetically the courses may not be perfectly green, however, environmentally speaking, they are. The day the average golfer comes to appreciate Carnoustie the way they appreciate those hallowed grounds in Georgia is the day we start solving the Augusta Syndrome. Rick Munro has worked in the golf course maintenance and construction industry for 20 years and has professional certificates in Turfgrass Management as well as GC Environmental Management, Construction and Design from the University of Guelph. He is also principal of GREENSIDE Environmental Services specializing in Audubon certification aid for golf courses. Rick has written for Inside Golf for the past four years.he can be reached at fromthegreenside@gmail.com with a 40 foot double breaker. I then hit the putt just hard enough to have it run up and die in the hole." Five holes later, Jamie stood on the 18th tee having played his previous nine holes in an amazing 10 under and it would be more than understandable if nerves got to him at that point. "I remember that I had the wind in my face. If you get lazy you can head off to the right. I kind of pulled it and ended up with the ball more than a foot below my feet." With 199 yards to the pin, Kureluk pulled the trigger and hit an approach to 2 feet. "It was crazy. I was just playing out of my mind. I knew I had a really good streak going and at one point I started thinking about it and started adding it up but then stopped and just stayed in the moment. I wasn't really too concerned because if you miss one, it was still a great streak but the streak never ended." What makes this 25 even more amazing is that it was recorded on a par 36 nine unlike some of the pre-existing low nines ever reported. IMAGES COURTESY NUZZOGOLF COURSEDESIGN.BLOGSPOT.COM iG1304--proof