Herd Mentality

A busy golf course is always a good thing, especially in tough economic times like we have experienced the last two years.  One of the big challenges we face is directing golfers away from areas we need to protect from cart traffic without being a hindrance or slowing play down.  Golf carts have become almost mandatory for most players these days, and with the convenience a cart offers, comes a great deal of damage to the golf course.  Damage may be a strong word, but it is no doubt accurate. 

For whatever reason, most "drivers" seem to follow other tire tracks into the fairway and then again when they exit.  We fondly refer to them as "cattle trails" which if you aren't familiar, refers to cattle following the same path to and from pasture no matter how much room they have.  The results can be much worse during the heat of the summer when the grass plant is already under severe stress from increased mowing and drought stress. 

If left uncontrolled, compaction and wear will very quickly amount to thin or nonexistent turf in these areas.  Compaction is a concern in all areas of the golf course, but especially at entrance and exit points of our fairways.  We try to monitor and control wear in these areas with a combination of rope and stakes and cart directional signs that can be found in many of our fairways. 

Please respect signage and roped areas, they are not meant to be a nuisance, but are for the betterment of the course and our players long term.  We ask that carts enter the fairway at 90 degrees once they are beyond the forward tees and exit the fairway when directed by signage or before the beginning of the approach.  Here is an informational video the USGA created to inform players of proper cart etiquette. 

Note the comments on parking adjacent to greens and tees with all four tires on the path.  The picture below shows what just one tire off the path in a high traffic area near a tee box can result in, not very pretty.

It is for the same reasons that we do not allow carts onto ALL par 3 holes and #13.  These holes offer a minimal amount of entry and exit points and very little room for us to manage the traffic.  For patrons with physical limitations we offer blue flags that distinguish them from the rest of our cart fleet.  They are expected to abide by course rules, but are allowed off of the path when all other carts are restricted to the path.

We also offer a very unique vehicle that allows players with very limited mobility to play our course.  For information about this vehicle or with any other questions, please contact our golf shop at (303) 438-8997.