This week you may have noticed our grounds staff core aerating areas in the rough that have been worn down by heavy cart traffic. Cart traffic can cause serious damage to all playing surfaces if not properly dispersed. With that said, the damage can also be easily avoided by paying closer attention to where we all drive and park our carts. For example #18 fairway had to be roped off because it was being used as a way to travel from the pro shop to the practice area. As a result the fairway received heavy amounts of unnecessary stress directly in the landing zone. This has led to us having to water this area almost 3 times as much as we normally would have. Obviously this leads to undesirable softer playing surfaces and overall unhealthy turfgrass plants. We've also witnessedour ropes being taken out by caddies, cut with knifes, and stepped on so carts can travel directly on the stressed turf. This is obviously discouraging and counterproductive to what we're trying to accomplish. Regardless, we hope this blog post leads to better understanding of why we use rope and traffic markers. Which reminds me, please pay close attention to the red and green traffic markers at the end of each fairway. As you would guess the green marker is where you should exit the fairway. Also know that we are very encouraged with the overall health of the playing surfaces. Though this may seem like a small issue after enduring the tough conditions of the last few years, every little detail matters when trying to restore a historic golf course to proper health.