Golf Course Etiquette 101: Divots, Ball-Marks, and Footprints.

The number one complaint I hear from golfers on the course at Glendale is actually three that come in a tie for first place.
1. Why are there so many divots on the course?
2. Why are there so many ball-marks on the greens?
3. Why are there so many footprints in the bunkers?

I have no good answer as the questions are the same today as they were twenty years ago. Golf is the only sport I can think of where there is no referee or official to supervise daily play. The game relies on the integrity of the individual player to follow the rules and show consideration for other players on the course. The photo below was taken yesterday (Monday morning after a busy weekend of golf at Glendale).

These are the divots that were picked up off the fairways before we mowed them. There are at least several hundred in the cart and almost every one of these divots could/should have been replaced. Some were filled with sand/seed divot mix, but many were not. It took three of our staff (myself and our two assistant supt's) 75 minutes each to pick up all these divots. That's 3.75 hours of labor to pick up the divots so we don't beat up our fairway mowers and leave a huge mess of chewed up divots after mowing. The amount of ball-marks on greens was similar to the amount of divots above. 10-20 on every green that needed to be repaired prior to mowing. Some of the bunkers looked like a well played in kids sandbox. Our staff is here to take care of all this each morning, but it's the golfers who played late on Sunday afternoon who had to deal with the poor course conditions. Golfers need to take ownership of their own fairway divots, ball-marks on greens, and footprints in bunkers.
It all comes down to having respect the game, the course that it's played on, and other players on the course.
Steve Kealy
Golf Course Superintendent