I read with great interest Ron Whitten's article "Stressed Out." Ron did a very nice job of explaining a really difficult situation. As a PGA professional, I feel sorry for the superintendents and the pressure that they are under to have turf "firm and fast." We have educated golfers to think "tournament brown" is how every golf course should be. If you watch PGA Tour events on TV, you will always notice that if there has not been any rain by Sunday, the golf courses will have brown and purple areas of turf that have been stressed out by maintenance practices. The lack of watering and short mower cuttings is all fun and games until extreme weather conditions start destroying turf. A number of wonderful facilities in Indiana lost enough turf last year that they were temporarily closed.
The PGA, USGA, and greens committees need to take a step back and educate golfers that turf health is the No. 1 priority. Most facilities in this economy do not have the budgets needed to do all of the hand-watering that is needed to maintain "firm and fast." I played in the PGA Championship in 1994 at Southern Hills. I had a late afternoon tee time for the first round. I remember walking on the first green and some of the turf peeling off the ground and sticking to my shoes. I believe Southern Hills closed after this event and had to redo their greens. Grass is supposed to be green!
Todd M. Smith
PGA Golf Professional
Rock Hollow Golf Club
Peru, IN
Bob Carney
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