Lip Liner or no Lip Liner? That is the question...

We were asked to experiment last year with a plastic lip insert that sits above the cup to give the impression the hole is painted. There has been much discussion at committee level about whether to continue with it or not.

Here are some of the points we have discussed to help shed some light on the issue and have included a POLL for you to voice your opinion.

We were asked if daily painting of the holes is feasible? Hole painting is time consuming and comes with a cost. If each hole took 2 minutes to paint, it would add nearly 4 hours of labour/week to the hole changers duties. It's easy to make a mistake since many of the holes are changed prior to sun rise and a poorly painted hole is not pleasant to look at. You may also risk slight yellowing of the turf around the old hole in warmer weather which can slow recovery time. 

We do agree that holes can and should be painted for special events.  

The plastic lip liners are quickly installed. They are designed with a ridge to sit on top of the cup and are pushed into the hole along with the cup and set with the cup setter.  They sit a millimeter or two below the turf and the hole needs to be perfectly cut to ensure a clean path for the cup to pass through, so there is not a lot of room for error. Sometimes on our rocky and tree root filled greens it's more difficult then you think. We have noticed those members using their putter to remove the ball from the hole will catch the liner and lift it above the surface. We have also seen the natural expansion and contraction of the green over the day force the liner above the turf. 

However the sight line of the hole is improved.

The ball will have a tendency to lip out on a perfectly cut hole and fall in on a deteriorated hole. No doubt the lips are in much better condition at the end of a day with the liners in. We also feel the old hole recovers more quickly.

Does any of this matter? The true argument is whether they impede the ball from going into the hole or not. If they do then I believe they shouldn't be used, if they don't the discussion continues.

What's your opinion?

How Did The Course Winter You Asked?

Well, by the look of the following pictures we wintered just fine!
Our staff removed the green covers yesterday revealing a sigh of relief as even our most troublesome greens braved the winter.


3rd Green

We protected our 3rd and 5th greens with a two cover system this past winter. A breathable cover was laid on the green first, followed with a solid (non perforated) cover on top. This solid cover prevented ice from coming into contact with the turf grass. Last week we shoveled the ice remaining on these covers off and removed the solid cover leaving the breathable cover on. Leaving this cover on allowed the turf to acclimatize to the temperature preventing shock to the plant prior to full exposure to the elements.


5th Green

Some recovery time is required for the greens to fully heal from the late fall aeration. This is minor compared to having to deal with winter kill.


13th Green

Unfortunately Mother Nature has reminded us 'it's not over until the the fat lady sings'. The snow we received today and cold weather will likely keep staff off the course until the first week in April when we begin spring clean up.

Smart Sticks

A new addition to the course this year will be an upgrade to our flag poles called Smart Sticks. The new poles have an embedded prism into the pole of the flag stick. This will help provide those using yardage finders a reflective surface to aim at.

These more traditional style poles are thinner then our previous poles offerring a softer bounce if your lucky enough to chip or putt a ball off the flag pole when left in. The lighter flag pole should casue less marking of the greens when dropped by golfers ready to putt. The poles are yellow with a black bottom as before.