Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4

Lesson 4. Parts of A Golf Course

Terms
apron: the front area between a green and the fairway
bermudagrass: the most important warm-season National Science
turfgrasses for golf courses in the southern climates. It Education
Standards, Grades
can be used on putting greens, tees, fairways, and roughs 9-12
in southern climates. Unifying Concepts
and Processes:
bunkers: A hazard consisting of an depression area of
bare ground usually covered with sand. Systems, order, and
organization
collar: The zone surrounding the green, ranging rom two Evidence, models
feet to several feet wide. Its mowing height is a little and explanation
higher than the putting green. Science as Inquiry:

creeping bentgrass: the most important cool-season Understanding

about scientific
turfgrass for golf courses in the northern climates. It can inquiry
be used on putting greens, tees, and fairways in northern
Abilities to do
climates and in the transition zone. scientific inquiry
cup changing: a daily routine to change the location of Life Science:
the ball cup following certain patterns (to be uniformly Interdependence of
used for the 18 holes: all cups on the front of the green, organisms
back of the green, or so on). Matter, energy, and
organization in
fairway: It is the area between tees and the green with a living systems
mowing height of 1/4 to 1 inch depending on turfgrass Behavior of
species and cultivars. organisms

fibrous root system: a root system without a main root History and Nature
of Science:
and all grasses have a fibrous root system.
Science as human
hazards: any bunker or water hazard. Roads, cart path, endeavor
and trees are not hazards. Nature of scientific
knowledge
practice green: the green area of a golf course used for
Mathematical Skills
practice of putting usually near the club house.
putting green: the area to putt the ball into a hole. The
area on a golf course with the lowest mowing height
(between 1/10 to 3/16 inches ) and a smooth surface due
to the ball speed requirement.
roughs: the areas that surround the putting green,
fairway, and tees and provide the background which the
game is played. These areas are also covered with
turfgrasses.
Syringing: a light irrigation during a summer day to cool
off the turf surface

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4
tee: the area to start a hole. A tee is mowed at 3/8 to 3/4 inches depending on
turfgrass species and cultivars.
USGA specification: a commonly used construction model to enhance the
putting green quality. It includes a 12-to-14 inch root mix zone with sand and
peat moss mixture (by volume: 80-90% of sand; 10-20% of peat moss), a coarse
sand zone of 2 to 4 inches, and a pea gravel zone and course gravel zone. A
sub-drainage system is underneath these layers (Figure 1).
USGA: The United States Golf Association founded in 1984.
winter over-seeding: Seeding cool-season turfgrasses onto warm-season
turfgrasses at or near their winter dormancy to keep the green playing turf on
southern golf courses. The best winter over-seeding turfgrasses are rough
bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.
Performance Objectives
The student will
• label the layers of the putting green structure - USAG
specification and natural soil green.
• describe management requirements of putting greens.
• list three stressful conditions affecting putting greens.
• describe the major management practices used for tees and
fairways.
• list the functions of roughs, bunkers, and hazards.
• describe the major management practices used for roughs,
bunkers, and hazards.
Materials Needed
For the class

• A piece bermudagrass sod or creeping bentgrass sod at the

green mowing height (depending on your location)
For each student

• Student sheet
Background Information

A golf course is a golf site with a variable number of holes. Creeping bentgrass
cultivars (more than 20) are the only putting green turfgrasses used in the
northern regions and the transition zone.
Hybrid bermudagrass cultivars (about 10) between common bermudagrass and
African bermudagrass are the only putting green turfgrass in the southern
regions. Improved cultivars of both putting green turfgrasses were not available
until the 1950s. In the last 50 years, many high quality putting green cultivars
have been developed. The new improvement we are looking for is to have stress

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4
resistance, herbicide resistance, and pest resistance for these two putting green
turfgrasses.

Golfers spend 40% of their playing time on putting greens. A golf course
maintenance crew spends 60 to 80% of their time and effort to maintain the
putting greens on a golf course, which are only 1 to 5% of a whole golf course
area. The main purpose of the USGA specification is to have an improved root
mixture zone for turfgrass growth with proper water drainage and better
nutrient and water retention than native soils.
It is common to mow the putting green once a day during the growing season
and mowing is the most labor intensive practice on putting greens. Only two
species of turfgrasses are being used as putting green turfgrasses: creeping
bentgrass and bermudagrass, which can tolerate a low mowing height as low as
1/10 inch.
On the average, the construction of a USGA specified green will cost $15,000 to
30,000. On the average, an 18-hole golf course has about 2 to 3 acres of green
areas. The intensity of the maintenance of roughs is quite low compared with
that on putting greens, fairways, and tees. The low intensity of maintenance
does not mean neglect.
The rough turfgrasses include all cool-season turfgrasses and warm-season
turfgrasses suitable as lawn turfgrasses. Usually a blend or mixture of different
turfgrasses is used for roughs. The rough areas can be any areas of the golf
course except water bodies, trees, bushes, flowers, roads, and buildings.
Roughs can range from a few acres to a 100 more acres.
The roughs are usually mowed at 1.5 to 4 inches every week to 10 days
depending on the turfgrass and the intensity of maintenance. Weed control is
the most common pest control practice except some serious conditions of other
pests. The desired characteristics of roughs include conditions insuring some
degree of penalty, ease in finding golf balls, soil erosion control, and minimal
maintenance requirements.
There are no limitations on shape, or number of bunkers of a hole. Based on
location there are green bunkers and fairway bunkers. Bunkers and hazards
are easily seen by golfers and they can not be hidden. Weed control, sand
raking, edging the bunker to make the bunker look neat, and removing debris
from the bunker are the regular maintenance practice of a sand bunker. Water
hazards should be well defined with painted lines.
A tee is the area where a golfer starts the first shot for the hole and it can be
any shape. Multiple tees of a hole are designed for different groups of golfers.
The total tee area of a golf course consists of two to three acres depending on
the design and the intensity of play. The more rounds of play, the larger the tee
areas should be.
The suitable turfgrasses for tees include creeping bentgrass, Kentucky
bluegrass for cool regions; and bermudagrass and zoysiagrass for warm regions.
The components of quality of good tees include smoothness, firmness,
uniformity, resiliency and tolerance to close cutting.

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4
Fairways are the largest areas of medium to high maintenance turf on a golf
course. The average acreage of fairways is in a range of 30 to 60 acres.
The shape of fairways is elongated with natural edge lines. The fairway can be
broken by any natural hazards or artificial designed bunkers, water bodies,
trees, and the landscape. The suitable turfgrasses used for fairways include:
bentgrasses, annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and
fine fescues as cool-season turfgrasses; bermudagrasses, zoysiagrasses, and
seashore paspalum as warm-season turfgrasses.

Table 1. Comparison of Some Management Factors between Creeping Bentgrass

and Bermudagrass as Putting Greens

Comparison Categories Creeping bentgrass Green Bermudagrass Green

Minimum Mowing 1/8" 1/10"
Height
Major cultivars Penncross, Pennlink, G and Tifgreen, TifDwarf, FloraDarf,
A series, Penneagle, L-93, Champion
SR1020, Providence

Intensity of culture High intensity of pest High intensity management

management in most for insect and diseases
regions
Most unique problems Summer stress and Mole cricket and nematodes
diseases
Most common Traffic and thatch control Traffic and thatch control
problems
Unique management Syringing on hot summer Winter over-seeding with cool-
practice days season turfgrass
Fertilization season(s) Spring and Fall Summer
Stressful season Summer Fall

Teacher Preparation
• Information on putting greens.
• A piece of sod of creeping bentgrass or bermudagrass.
• Visit the USGA web site: www.usga.org to get general information about golf
course management.
• Contact the supe rintendent of a local golf course and arrange a visit for the
class.
• Gather materials for the class.

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4
• Visit the GCSAA web site: www.gcsaa.org and www.usga.org to get general
information about the golf course tees and fairways.
• Contact the superintendent of a local golf course and arrange a visit for the
class.
• Gather a camera and tape measures.
Procedure
Before the visit to a golf course (10 to 15 minutes)
1. Ask the students to describe greens, tees, fairways, roughs, bunkers and
hazards
2. Explain the basic management practices on a golf course:
Ø Mowing
Ø Fertilization
Ø Irrigation
Ø Cultivation
Ø Pest management
3. Explain the basic management practices of bunkers and other hazards
During the visit of the golf course (20 to 35 minutes)
1. Ask the superintendent or the assistant superintendent to give 10 minutes of
lecture on golf course management
2. Each small group will record the green management
3. Each group will count tees, bunkers, and hazards
4. Ask questions to finish the student sheet
5. Be careful not to interfere with golfers during the process
6. Each student will write down the interview information in the student sheet
After the visit
1. Review the tape and photos taken during the visit
2. Share the interview results among the small groups
3. Each student finishes the student sheet
Reflection
What did you learn about creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass?
What are the putting features of the two kinds of turfgrasses?
Describe the differences between a broadleaf plant and a grass plant
What other turfgrasses can be used in your area for tees and fairways?
What do you think the tee position of the hole you just worked on?
What is your general impression of the fairways and tees of the golf course?

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Is the superintendent happy with the tee and fairway conditions?
What other turfgrasses can be used in your area for roughs?
What do you think the bunker and hazard positions of the hole you just worked
on?
What is your general impression of the roughs of the golf course?
Is the superintendent happy with green, tee, fairway, roughs, bunker, and
hazards?
Did the superintendent mention anything in particular?(such as shade condition,
a pest problem, or poor drainage)
Enhancement
• Talk to local golf course superintendents about their putting green turfgrasses
• Visit web site http://www.ntep.org for more information about creeping
bentgrass and bermudagrass turfgrass cultivars
• Find the local telephone book and call the superintendents of another golf
course to ask management questions.
• Compare the golf course just visited and the phone interview of the other course
in their management.
• Visit more golf course to learn more management on tees and fairways
• Visit the website provided
• Visit more turf related web sites.
• Visit additional golf courses.
• Collect samples of the USGA specification materials.
Assessment
Determine the students' performance based on
• the degree of accomplishment on the student sheet.
• the performance during the class or the field trip.
• the participation in the discussion and the reflection questions.
• the degree of accomplishment on the "Scoring Rubric".

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4

STUDENT FACT SHEET Student ________________ Date____________

PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE

1. Putting greens are the central focus of a golf course and golfers on average
spend 40% their playing time on greens.
2. USGA Putting Green Specification was designed for better playing surface,
improved root growth, and better drainage.
3. Only two species are used as putting green turfgrasses: creeping bentgrass
and bermudagrass.
4. A putting green is normally mowed at a height less than 3/16 inches.
5. Tees and fairways require a lot of maintenance as well.
6. The maintenance of rough is similar to lawns, and all turfgrass species are
suitable as roughs.
7. It costs millions of dollars to build a new golf course.

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4

STUDENT SHEET Student ________________ Date____________

PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE

1. Write the definition:

apron:

bermudagrass:

bunkers:

collar:

creeping bentgrass:

cup changing:

fairway:

fibrous root system:

hazards:.

practice green:

putting green:

roughs:

syringing:

tee:

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USGA specification:

USGA:

winter over-seeding:

2. Label the typical USGA specification for putting greens.

3. Define the functions of each layer of the USGA putting green.

4. While interviewing the golf course superintendent and other crew members, find
out the following information:
1) Type of turfgrass used for the putting green ________________________
2) Mowing height and frequency __________________
3) The total green areas __________________
4) The number of green you visited ___________
5) The estimate total area of that green ___________
6) Does the golf course have a practice green? _____
7) Describe the green you visited.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

8) Attach a photo of that green (if a picture was taken)

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A SCORING RUBRIC Name ________________Date _____________

PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE

The purpose of this

lesson was

The main method(s)

or procedure(s) we
learned was (were)

The best example(s)

that I can use to
describe the content
of this lesson

Subjects or courses
that I can relate this
lesson to

The information of
this lesson can be
applied to

In summary, what I
learned

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4

Cup changing zones

Putting Green
Apron
Collar

Root zone mix 12-14" of sand and peat moss

Pea gravels 4" with 8 to 10 mm in size

Coarse sand layer 2 - 4"

Drainage tiles 4" to 6" in diameter

Native soil

(Courtesy of USGA)

Figure 1. A Putting Green Showing the USGA Construction Layers

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4

Figure 2. A Typical Par-4 Hole

Green

Bunkers

Fairway

Tee

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Unit V Golf Course Management Lesson 4

Golf Course
Career Profile Builder

A golf course builder is a professional who interprets the golf course architect's
design ideas into reality through construction. Golf course builders are the people who
build golf courses under contract with a golf course owner. This profession requires
knowledge and skills in construction engineering and training in the area of construction.

It is a complicated job and a huge operational project to build a golf course. It

usually takes several months, even years to build a golf course. In many cases, it
involves millions of dollars to finish a golf course. A golf course builder works within a
designated budget.

A golf course builder supervises a crew of workers with suitable equipment and
proper supplies to build a golf course. The main construction includes: removal of
materials from the site to prepare for building; green construction, fairway construction,
tee construction, installation of irrigation system and electricity system; cart path
construction; special constructions such as bridges, water bodies, and desired
landscapes. The most critical part of construction is the green construction to meet the
desired playing conditions designed by the golf course architect.

Sometimes, a golf course builder also finishes the planting of a golf course
including all turf areas and other plants such as trees, shrubs, and ornamentals. Golf
course builders in North America belong to their organization - Golf Course Builders
Association of America (http://www.gcbaa.org).

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