Ask the Greenskeeper – Page 2 – Blog.Greenskeeper.Org

Posted on June 2, 2015September 9, 2015 by Cate R

Golfing Healthy Lifestyle – Snacks to Attack the Back Nine

Leaving the house with a healthy meal under your belt, doesn’t mean your work is done! A day on the course requires that you keep your body fueled and your mind sharp for the long haul.

Too often golfers think of snacks as something they throw in their bag or grab at the turn. Unfortunately, many snack choices are processed foods high in sugar and or refined carbs, such as pretzels, crackers, cookies, granola bars, etc. In addition, they’re usually low in quality protein and natural fats. Consuming such nutritionally inadequate foods will give you a good chance of riding the bogey train on the back nine!

Make a commitment to consuming more nutritionally balanced, whole foods. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. Plan ahead and enjoy delicious treats that provide consistent energy and maximum focus. Start by replacing refined carbs such as pretzels with simple whole foods like walnuts. Stop focusing on calories and start focusing on nutrients. Make it your goal to consistently choose whole foods over processed products. Always read labels and, although it might seem obvious, avoid foods containing words you can’t pronounce.

Enjoy snacks with natural fats, like avocado, nuts, nut butters, seeds, etc. Sustainable energy is NOT about eating low-fat, but rather finding low-sugar alternatives. If you like something that has a bit of a sweetness, try including some fresh fruit. Always balance carbs with protein and fat when possible. Fat lowers the glycemic load of any type of carbohydrate, meaning the sugar from that food enters the blood at a much slower rate. The lower the glycemic load of the food, the better. Fat also provides high satiation, keeping you full long after you eat so you can focus on the shot at hand instead of your growling stomach.

Pack From Home
Almond Butter with Apple, Cucumber or Celery
Beef Jerky + Walnuts + Pear
Cheese + Apple + Ham
Chicken + Olives + Hummus + Carrots
Hardboiled Eggs + Guacamole + Tomato
Organic Peanut Butter + Celery
Red Pepper + Carrots Sticks + Olive Oil + Balsamic
Yogurt + Blueberries + Pecans

At The Turn
Beef jerky, mini bag of walnuts and a pear
Sausage, couple slices of cheese & an apple
Tuna on 1 slice of sourdough with tomato & avocado

Keep Golf Healthy!

Cate’s Bio
Cate Ritter is a Primal Nutrition and Kitchen Coach for Cate’s Nutrition Kitchen in Pebble Beach CA. With a successful career as a top junior and collegiate golfer, Cate knows the importance of nutrition when it comes to having a competitive edge on the course. Previously a Resident Nutritionist at the Staley Performance Institute, part of the Performance Team at the ASU Karsten Golf Course Ping Learning Center and an active Nutrition Coach at The Raven Golf Club Academy in Phoenix. Cate’s success in Scottsdale and Phoenix, AZ have allowed her to expand Cate’s Nutrition Kitchen (CNK) to Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Jose, the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding areas of Northern California. Cate’s coaching services are part of Make The Turn Performance at Poppy Hills Golf Course, NCGA (Northern California Golf Association), Youth On Course, Santa Lucia Preserve, Carmel Valley Athletic Club, Om Studios, Method Athlete, and Nike Junior Golf Schools. Her work has been featured on ABC15 News, U.S. News and World Report, Golf Digest, GolfWRX, Golf Tips, Golf Today Northwest, PopGolf Mexico, GolfPunk UK, and The Arizona Republic. Read more athttp://www.catesnutrition.com/about-cate/

Keywords: golf, golf course, nutrition, heath, golfing healthy lifestyle

Posted on May 20, 2015May 11, 2015 by Vic Flores

Club Fitting: Why Shafts Matter

Think of the shaft as the engine of the golf club. You are swinging the club at 50, 70, or 120 mph and without the right shaft, there is little chance that you can return that club head to the ball consistently. An ill-fitted shaft will twist and bend during your swing in ways that make it nearly impossible to strike the ball squarely with any regularity. Look at slow motion golf swings on the internet and note how much a shaft will torque during the swing and that should confirm in your mind the need to have the right shaft in your clubs.

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Stock Shafts vs. After-Market Shafts

You’ll hear people ask if a shaft is “stock” or “after market.” What does this mean? A stock shaft is a shaft that comes standard in a golf club that you can purchase off-the-rack at any golf store. An after-market shaft refers to a shaft purchased separate from a club that typically requires a club builder to install it for you. Often you will see a high-end, after-market brand on your stock driver, but don’t think you just got a $300 driver shaft in your $299 driver purchase. The stock versions of these shaft brands are not constructed the same nor do they perform the same as their after-market cousins. See the image below for the real Matrix Ozik Xcon shaft (top) and the Taylor Made version of it.

On rare occasions, a true high-end shaft will be offered stock in golf clubs, but consumers generally won’t know one way or the other. The paint scheme on the stock shaft will be different, but the construction of the shaft may in fact be the real deal. Again, this is the rare exception to the rule and you’ll need to consult with your local club fitter to get the straight scoop.

Do I Need an After-Market Shaft?

The answer to this question varies. In irons, stock steel shafts are typically the same version as the after-market option. A club fitting can determine if you fit into a shaft offered stock in the club head that best suits your swing. Sometimes your swing may be best suited to an after-market shaft not offered by the manufacturer of the club you hit the best. Only a fitting can determine this.

With hybrids, fairway woods, and drivers, after market is typically the best route. Stock shafts offered in these clubs generally perform inconsistently. A common flaw is that they spin more than is optimal, reducing distance. Finding the right after-market shaft is no easy task though. Most golf stores don’t let you test these shafts so you end up buying shafts based on what you’ve heard from friends or what the employee tells you is a “good” shaft. Unfortunately, a “good” shaft may not be good for your swing. Find a club fitter that allows you to test these shafts before you purchase them.

The takeaway is that shafts matter. Quality shafts are manufactured to offer various spin, trajectory, and flex characteristics that should be expertly matched to your swing. Fitting after fitting confirms that most golfers play shafts that make it difficult to have any consistency in their ball flight. While your swing may have a lot to do with inconsistent ball striking, why add a layer of difficulty to the game by playing shafts that don’t produce your best shot when you put your best swing on the ball?

The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.

Posted on May 13, 2015May 11, 2015 by Vic Flores

Club Fitting: For the Birds?

The debate over club fitting never ceases. Some contend the “Average Joe” golfer gains nothing from a fitting since his swing presumably changes as much as the wind direction on Soldier Field. Others say the quickest way to improvement is to allow a fitting to find the arrow that the flawed Indian can shoot the straightest. Which is it?

The first contingent has a valid argument if “Joe” tops most shots and whiffs the rest. The leading edge of most clubs will scull and top the ball about the same. Otherwise, a quality club fitting is the best first step to chip away at that pesky handicap.

Many a golfer will tell you he’s waiting until he fixes his swing to get a new custom set. Lessons are envisioned, range sessions are theoretically penciled in…but rarely do golfers find that the additional time they need to accomplish the feat. It’s hard enough to strike the ball well with properly-fitted equipment, let alone trying to “pure” a 12-year-old club with a licorice shaft.

What to look for when searching for a club fitter?

Hit off of grass. Golf is played on grass, not mats. Therefore, you should not rely on hitting balls off of a mat when making expensive purchases. This should be a no brainer.
Get fitted outdoors where you can watch the ball fly. Watching the ball fly for 10 feet does not give you any indication of how well you hit a club. A launch monitor attempts to extrapolate where the shot would have gone, but even with vastly improved technology, the data is wrong quite often. Your body subtly adjusts to what your eye sees, and hitting into a net does not let your brain process the visual feedback.
Ensure your club fitter builds your clubs. Wheeling out a fitting cart and ordering a set straight from the manufacturer is not a custom club fitting. Manufacturers have tolerances that allow for variations in each club which can cause a set to have many inconsistencies. You want your club fitter to determine what specs are best for you and then order the club components from the manufacturer so he can build your set. Having the fitter install the shafts correctly, bend the lofts and lies as they should be, and get the proper weight and shaft flex consistent throughout the set is critical.
Flightscope and Trackman both manufacture state-of-the-art launch monitors that actually follow the ball in flight. A good club fitter can do the majority of the fitting without spending much time analyzing the data from the launch monitor. HOWEVER…you, the customer, will benefit from seeing the results of each shot on the screen. Seeing is believing, and you’ll walk away confident if you can see the improvement in the numbers for yourself.
Doppler-radar launch monitors should be used. Flightscope and Trackman both manufacture state-of-the-art launch monitors that actually follow the ball in flight. A good club fitter can do the majority of the fitting without spending much time analyzing the data from the launch monitor. HOWEVER…you, the customer, will benefit from seeing the results of each shot on the screen. Seeing is believing, and you’ll walk away confident if you can see the improvement in the numbers for yourself.
After-market shafts should be available to demo. Shafts that come in stock clubs can range from good to horrible. Most professional golfers use aftermarket shafts and don’t get paid to do so. Why? Because aftermarket shaft options are higher quality and are built to perform better and be consistent from shot to shot. We’ll revisit this topic in more detail at a later date.

Playing with a custom set of clubs adds enjoyment to the game. You will hit the ball better with a custom set. Costs can sometimes be just a tad higher than an “off-the-rack” set. Be careful though…custom club fitting can be like taking your car to the mechanic. Insist on using a fitter with the previous five capabilities or you’ll leave some benefits on the table. You’ll probably encounter warehouse club fitters that will insist they can offer a comparable fitting indoors while hitting into a net, but common sense should tell you otherwise.

Conclusion: Custom club fitting is for you, if you want more birds!

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Posted on April 23, 2015April 22, 2017 by Vic Flores

Aerification: The Who, What, When, Where and Why I do What I do

Aeration Golf Course Maintenance

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I am Iain Sturge, golf course superintendent

It’s everyone’s favorite time of the golf season.

NOT!

For the Golfer, it can be a nightmare; paying good money only to find out no one told you the course was recently maintained. (Thank Goodness for Greenskeeper.org!)

For the Golf Course Superintendent or Greenkeeper it’s a good thing — relieving compaction, removing thatch, and amending the soil.

Perfect! Well, only if you are a golf green.

Like topdressing, Aerification is a necessary evil to maintain a healthy green. There are several ways to conduct the process, from using the smallest needle tines to iron spikes 16 inches long by 1-inch diameter. It is sound advice to anyone who has a lawn, sports field, or golf course with a wet spot, dry spot, compacted soil, just about any area that isn’t doing very well, to use aerification as the first and probably the best solution to fix the problem area. With golf greens and other areas around the course, routine aerification is done more as a preventative measure to maintain the health of the greens and other areas.

While heavily sanded, sometimes bumpy, slow greens after aerification are definitely not a golfers’ dream, but it probably is one of the most important things that my maintenance staff performs. An ideal soil profile should contain 50 % soil, 25% water, and 25% air. A few days after aerification, when the green has healed; returning to a normal surface, the green reaches this ideal proportion. As every day goes by, through normal maintenance practices and foot traffic from golfers, the soil becomes more compacted leaving it harder for water and nutrients to reach the roots. Please remember we are maintaining a living, breathing thing. It’s not static but constantly growing. Maintaining this proportion of soil/water/air allows the grass to be at it’s best, especially with the low height of cuts used when mowing the surface. If aerification is never performed, over time the roots will eventually be choked-out, unable to breathe, and will begin to thin out and die.

The most common technique used to aerify a golf green would be a ½ inch or 5/8 inch hollow core tine on a 2 by 2 pattern, meaning that every 2 inches you have a hole. This would be followed by a heavy application of sand. This sand filled hole allows water to flow freely carrying nutrients down to the roots as needed. One of the biggest benefits would be the reduction of compaction, allowing the roots to penetrate deeper, reducing the summer stress, and increasing the grass’ defense against disease. Like you, the healthier the green is the less prone to disease it is. Another great benefit is the removal of thatch, that spongy feeling layer on the surface of the green that turns a birdie putt into a bogey. This would most commonly be done 2 times a year or 3 times per year as the greens mature. You will find most superintendents will also aerify the greens with a much smaller

hollow core tine or a small solid spike or needle tine, this is not very disruptive to play and the putting green is returned to normalcy within a few days, this can be done as much as once a month.

The actual process of aerifying a green is not, on its own, very costly, but the closure of the course and loss of customers during the week following has a larger cost impact. This brings us to why when you look on the greenskeeper.org website, my course, Hidden Valley in Norco, is the only red flag the first week of July. We listened to our customers. We capitalized on a slower time of the year and picked up other courses’ golfers from the typical spring and fall aerification seasons. You may think that’s only one time a year, but I have been known to aerify twice in 2 days. First, with an 8-inch long solid spike, relieving compaction at a much deeper level, allowing my water to carry sodium out of the soil profile. This is followed the next day with a ½ inch core tine 2 by 2. Plus, I like it hot! Sand goes in easier and grass heals faster.

Whatever method used, it’s the Greenkeeper’s choice. It’s part of a necessary process to maintain a healthy green. We temper this because we know it is disruptive. We try to make this maintenance period as short as possible. It’s no secret about the work I do. It’s my job to make the impact of maintenance as little as possible. This is where communication to you, our customers, is so important — Thanks to JohnnyGK and Greenskeeper.org. Consider this, at the end of the day behind every great golf green there has to be several days of down time where maintenance must be performed; even Augusta National closed for 5-months before the Masters. I am not saying I need to shut down our golf course, what I am saying is if you want great playing conditions certain concessions need to be made to help keep the condition of the golf course superior. One of these concessions, aeration, although disruptive, allow me to produce consistent playing conditions you have come to expect from my golf course.

Some Additional Information about Iain. . . .

Who the hell are you? I am Iain Sturge, golf course superintendent, Hidden Valley Golf (Now at Bear Creek Golf Club, Murrieta- CA)

Course, Norco, California, 34 year-old tall skinny guy from England. Been working on golf courses for around 25 years, different labor laws there. For those 25 years I have been lucky enough to work on some prestigious golf courses, including, Woburn Golf & Country Club, the host of the British Masters and the Ladies British Open, and happy to be part of the early stages of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, fantastic golf course to be playing every afternoon.

Educated at the Oakland Agricultural School in North London with pig farmers and horse breeders, which also covered turf horticulture. Moved to the big old U S of A, at 22 years-old, after 8 years, 6 states and a hell of a photo collection I have decided to call Southern California home.

After spending many a morning logging into the greenskeeper.org website and finding it amusing, reading peoples variety of opinions about their golf experiences based on course conditions. I will not lie to you, going to work on a Sunday morning, after no sex the night before, after spilling coffee down my white shirt, pulling up to the gate realizing my keys are still in the kitchen, then finally making it into the office with my coffee stained shirt, to see complaints about common maintenance practices, makes me fall off my trolley. So as my course is in Norco, Horsetown, USA, I decided to get off my high horse and if you can’t beat them join them — I volunteered to write a few columns on the site, just explaining why superintendents do what they need to do.

It is my hope a little knowledge will go a long way for many of you to understand what I do to make your golf experience enjoyable and memorable. Because let’s face it, any day is a good day if you’re playing golf.

Keywords: Golf Course Maintenance, Aeration, Golf Maintenance Schedule, Consistent Product

Posted on April 21, 2015April 22, 2017 by Vic Flores — 2 Comments

Topdressing Greens — A Greenkeeper’s Viewpoint

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Golf Course Maintenance: Topdressing Greens and Why

Why are you putting sand on the greens?
You’ve made them slow and bumpy!

Stop!

Really?

The practice of spreading sand on the greens — Topdressing — has been part of golf maintenance for ages. With so many benefits to the putting surface and overall health of the green, topdressing is truly a necessary evil for all. Trust me, do you think I would spend thousands of dollars a year to upset my paying customers; ruining the blades of my mowers for sadistic pleasure? No. Simply put, if you want greens to putt like glass, use what glass is made of — SAND!!!!!

The practice of working sand into the top layer of the green has benefits for the player as well as the superintendent. The

To properly topdress a green you need to work the sand into the greens; spread it around.

benefit to the player is obvious. Topdressing gives a smoother, firmer surface that will receive shots better, provided you can actually hit the green from yardage. For the superintendent we like smooth greens (we also play golf.) Seriously though a superintendent is concerned mainly with the dilution of thatch, the modification of soil structure to the top layers of the green, and to stop the greens from being scalped by the mower during the summer months. A side benefit, I am currently using sand to stop rabbits from chewing my greens. Simply put, the quickest way to achieve slow, bumpy greens is to STOP applying sand.

There are many different things to take into account before you put any sand on the greens. First, you should consider what sand or sand/soil mix was used during construction of the green. Matching particle size, shape, and organic contents is important to stop a layering effect in the green. Layering can prevent the movement of air, water, and nutrients through the soil profile leading to a black anaerobic layer. Second, you need to consider what you are trying to achieve by topdressing. If you

have an older green, heavy topdressing may be required to achieve a smoother more playable surface. On the other hand, if you have a new USGA spec green you will only need light, frequent topdressing through the growing seasons, mainly spring and fall. When growth of the plant slows during summer and winter it is not necessary to apply as much sand as the plant is not

Topdressing a green. It's necessary! — Topdressing a green. It’s necessary!

growing as much. The more your plant is growing the more topdressing is needed to keep thatch from accumulating beyond a manageable point. Topdressing is only one of several practices used to achieve the desired surface that golf is known for, others include verticutting, grooming, and of course aerification. We can touch on these on a later day.

Although you may think sand is sand, go the beach, it’s gotta be cheap there is tons of it. With the cost of the sand and trucking, a 25 ton load being delivered to the course can be anywhere from $1200-$1800 depending on the quality of sand and distance from the pit.

Next time you are at a golf course and you hear that the superintendent has been spreading sand, appreciate the fact that he is trying to make your greens smoother and in turn your game better.

Some Additional Information about Iain. . . .

Who the hell are you? I am Iain Sturge, golf course superintendent, Hidden Valley Golf Course, Norco, California, 34 year-old tall skinny guy from England. Been working on golf courses for around 25 years, different labor laws there. For those 25 years I have been lucky enough to work on some prestigious golf courses, including, Woburn Golf & Country Club, the host of the British Masters and the Ladies British Open, and happy to be part of the early stages of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, fantastic golf course to be playing every afternoon.

Keyword: Golf Course Maintenance, Topdressing, Golf Course Maintenance Schedule.