5 Years Ago

Five years ago today, 26 turfgrass professionals and students joined me from the Rocky Mountain region in New Orleans to help local golf courses and superintendents rebound from the devastating hurricanes of Katrina and Rita.

Upon our arrival to the Crescent City, it was hard to imagine what life was like for the people of this area.  

Lives were turned upside down.

Peter Carew, Superintendent for the City of New Orleans braved the storm that his home city witnessed. He was determined to bring the two city golf courses back to life. Today, Carew is still in New Orleans. He recently opened the Joe Bartholomew Golf Course that had been shut down from the storms. The course was buried by almost 10 feet of water.

Providing the residents of New Orleans a place to forget about life for a while was the greatest feeling and the most eye-opening experience of my career. 

Today, I can only hope the people of Japan and all those affected by the horrific events can find their "golf course" sooner than later.



Rules of Golf - Seminars - Colorado Golf Association

For all you rules geeks out there, here is a seminar just for you. This highly educational program is perfect for competitive golfers. Click on the link for more information and to register.

Rules of Golf - Seminars - Colorado Golf Association

Golf Heals

This link was sent to me today. Click here to view a great story out of Tacoma, WA. You my have seen it before. It could be one of the Golden Bear's best piece of work. All the best to a safe and happy holiday season.

Who's Your Favorite

Click on the title of this blog to vote for your favorite golf course in the state. Colorado Avid Golfer Magazine is now using the internet to cast votes on the best courses in the state. Now you have a chance to rank Vail Golf Club where it belongs. Vail GC has made some great changes over the past few years to improve our level of play. An irrigation replacement, pace of play model, structural improvements, Audubon certification are just a few of the reasons to cast your vote today, spread the word.

Rating The Course

The Colorado Golf Association (CGA) visited to rate the course today. They used a GPS device to locate all of the greens, tees and landing areas. I spent a few minutes speaking with Jerry and Eric as we met by the 5th green.

They were surprised to see a little bit of snow around the course.

DirecTV

The Masters is coming and most likely it will be the most watched tournament ever, for obvious reasons. The reason for this blog is if you are a DirecTV customer you can view the tournament on channels 701-705 all in HD for four days and it will give you the option to watch four different areas of the course including "Amen Corner". It will also provide a real time leader board at all times.

Does Golf Need The Olympics?

Thirty years ago today, I was two years old for the greatest victory in American sports history . Mike Eruzione's game winning goal to beat the mighty Russians to advance the US amateurs to the gold medal game was a pivotal moment for not only the country but the sport as well. Then the 2004-05 lockout sent the sport of hockey into an abyss. Last night's US/Canada hockey certainly helps to revive the sport of ice hockey.
This gets me thinking of the game of golf. Today there are more golf course closures, the Tiger Woods debacle and the economy, how low can it go? The game needs something to bring it back to a better life.
Olympics? probably not. But it does need more exposure, it needs a new face. Golf has the TV contracts and plenty of media coverage. The door is open, wide open. There are no signs of Tiger returning to the game right now, especially after what we saw on Friday, we may not see Tiger until 2011.
In 2010, golf will have its spotlight on some of the grandest stages the game has to offer; Augusta, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and the Ryder Cup. This is the time for faces to emerge to become new leaders and ignite the game once again. I look forward to seeing what golf has to offer in the future.

Pace of Play

This issue might be bigger than you think. Two of the driving forces in the game of golf today are price and pace of play. Price is a good indication on why Vail Golf Club has been busy with golfers this year, we have the best price around. Pace of play, in my mind, we are still one of the quicker golf courses to play in the valley, due to the flat terrain, open tee shots and shorter distance. When you consider the amount of play and the caliber of players that visit the course, anything is possible. Vail Golf Club is a public facility and we are open to all golfers of any skill level.
With that said, there are still areas for improvement. It certainly does not help when Tiger Woods complains to PGA officials about how is rushed around the course. Examples such as this does not help the average golfer when they venture out to their public golf course. Also, the golf course struggles when compared to newer public facilities such as an Eagle Ranch or the new Commonground in Denver. Design features in Vail, such as small greens, tight fairways, many water hazards and poor cart path layout all relate to slow play for the new guest or high handicapper. As teachers of the game, we look to continually educate not only ourselves, but our guests as well for a more enjoyable experience.
This week the staff at Vail Golf Club is taking another look at how to make this golf course player-friendly, by focusing on pace of play.
There have been many suggestions and ideas in the past, some great and some not. Many of them have been implemented already, such as rope and signage steering golfers around the course, alternative mowing heights in areas and having a well-rounded staff that educates each golfer prior and during their round.
Can these ways be improved? Of course they can, we continue to look for ways to improve all areas of this golf course, some take a little more research than others.

The Future of Vail Golf Club

Another great sight around Vail. Over the past few years the kids program here in Vail has really grown. Thanks to Alice Plain and her staff, it is really nice to see more excitement with youths in golf. It is extremely important at that age to get them into the game. Attention spans can be short as we all know, however the staff here in Vail does a great job keeping them entertained and most of all educated about this great game.

The New Private Course

Bethpage Black, the first public golf course to host the US Open. I think we'll start to see some more changes in course selection for championships in the future. Public is the new private, the demand for public courses have never been higher. There is something to be said about letting anyone play the same course that Tiger, Phil and the world's best play for our nation's championship, at a great price too!

The USGA and the PGA are thinking outside the box to increase numbers to the game of golf. I applaud the USGA for making this step and they are not stopping just with Bethpage. They continue to seek out great public courses around the country that can open the game to those who think it is still a "gentleman's game".