Reply To: Course Concerns

[JOHN HERNDON]

Chad- while I can agree that some posts are redundant, green condition can’t be overlooked. We played Caledonia on our annual trip 3 months ago and the greens in question were terrible. In a friendly competition event, putting can’t be ignored. Knowing that’s where a lot of strokes are gained or lost, this matters. I was in contact with the Caledonia staff for 2 months leading up to our trip and was told repeatedly that they were coming in nicely. That’s a bold faced lie. They still aren’t good 3 months later. They need to irrigate and fumigate that issue but want to take the slower, more economical approach. While some may agree with that approach, lower your rates if you do that. Caledonia is one of my favorite courses in the country when it’s in its usual shape so I have a hard time being critical but do something. Each participant usually gets 2 premium courses and 2 run of the mill tracks. I had Caledonia, Shaftesbury, MBN South, and Lion’s Paw last year. The cat courses are a disaster these days. Boarded up guard shack, busted out windows in houses, tree branches in the fairways, and completely destroyed cart paths. You can’t give people courses like that. We walked on the putting green for that final round at LP and just laughed and walked off in disgust. The “everyone is playing the same course” defense isn’t the best one here. We pay what we pay to put on sand and holes? So everyone has to play in subpar conditions? All of these courses know when the event is. Bust your tail and get your course ready ahead of time.