Scottsdale golf course celebrated the Holiday Season

Our most significant tournament at Scottsdale golf course, The Rodeo, was held in recent weeks, with some outstanding golf played by both women and men. Kathi Clarke and Krissy Shanker were both playing well and took the net championship while Penny Rady and Percy Anderson put on their typical good play to best the gross field in the Ladies' championship.

The Men use the Shootout format with all 11 flight winners to determine their Rodeo champions. They play an alternate shot format with teams eliminated playing #18 three times. It all came down to the team of Josh Cormany and Steve Carr in a putt-off to secure the sterling silver belt buckle trophy. The field for both the Ladies' and Men’s fields had the largest participation to date and we look forward to more teams next year.

Recently, I was asked to do a video that focused on the golf course and how we all have the responsibility to adhere to the traditional rules and courtesies of the game. This video had the highest number of views of any I have done to date. So to recap, here you go...because we have one of the better-conditioned golf courses and provide some of the best playing surfaces possible.

Putting Greens:

Let’s start with the most important part of the Scottsdale golf course, the putting greens. No one wants to play on shaggy, ball-marked, slow greens.

Our tif- eagle Bermuda grass greens which are not overseeded, are some of the best in the Southwest. They typically have a Stimpmeter reading between 11 and 12 feet which is very fast. They are clean, and due to our maintenance practices of verticutting and topdressing regularly, they do not have grain and hold their intended line of roll very well. What we can do to help the Agronomy team is to fix ours and other ball marks as we walk the greens to our ball. Use the divot tool and twist/push the turf to the center of the imperfection and finish off the repair by smoothing out the turf by tapping your putter head to smooth the green. This practice will keep the greens in the best condition possible, and as they say, a ball mark that is not repaired will take weeks to heal.

Driving on Fairways:

This is preferred as shorter turf has more sun exposure thus a chance to heal, whereby driving in the rough will mats own the rye and lay over and not get any sun and heat and will stunt the Bermuda growth and it will die.

Fairway divots:

It is essential to repair divots in the fairways with sand and seed from the bottles on the carts, rather than trying to replace the divots. After you have filled the divot with sand/ seed tamp it level with your foot or club so another player’s ball will roll through or over the imperfection.

Bunkers:

Every player at a Scottsdale private golf course must rake their way out of any bunker and have the sand be as smooth and level as possible. It is very disappointing to have to hit a bunker shot from a previous player’s footprints, or a shot not repaired. Use the pull/push method of raking the bunker to remove lines, rake teeth marks, or anything else. When leaving any bunker,

The USGA asks that the rake is placed outside the bunker, parallel to the line of play. They do not suggest rakes either entirely in the bunker or half in half out.

Tees:

Whether hitting a tee shot at a Scottsdale private golf course, especially on par threes, it is your responsibility to pick up all broken tees, or tees left behind in the metal tee bins adjacent to the tee markers. Keep the tee clean of debris inclusive of tobacco products or sunflower seeds.

Lastly, Please note the dates and times of all Scottsdale private golf course tournaments which are now starting for the season, and can be seen on Foretees. You will notice you will be asked and responsible for declaring in advance, the tee box you are playing from so the professionals are properly informed. Should you have any questions, please let us know.

The plan is to have a fun, competitive season of golf, and should you have any questions, please let us know. Keep an eye on the progress of the new golf house as the construction is really moving along and we hope the finish is not too far away.

Last week I was asked what I thought of the recommendation of keeping your head down when you swing….My response was it might be a better thought to keep your head up and your eyes down as your eyes see the ball, not your head. Keeping your head down with your chin buried in your chest will restrict your shoulder turn on your backswing, just a thought….