tournament

I heard this on a podcast recently, and I thought it was really well spoken. Please read, and perhaps read again, the quote below. Here’s the quote: What this kind of information has done for us, and what I think it can do for any golf course, anywhere, at any level, is allow the putting surfaces to be managed at a level that is at or near tournament performance all the time, on a daily basis.

I brought my measuring tools to Fukuoka Raizan Golf Club last week. I measured green speed before and after tournament play with the stimpmeter, among other measurements. Here are some of the observations I made during the JLPGA’s Sky RKB Ladies Classic tournament.

I worked at golf tournaments in consecutive weeks, first at Hazeltine National Golf Club during the U.S. Amateur Championship, and then flew to Japan to work at Keya Golf Club for the KBC Augusta Tournament.

Have you seen the remarkable USGA Green Section Record from last week? It’s got a podcast with Chris Tritabaugh ahead of this year’s U.S. Amateur Championship on the topic of playability.

I’ve measured more deviations in ball roll (bobble, chatter, and snaking) on golf course putting greens at the end of a day’s play, compared with measurements of ball roll deviation made prior to any play.

The 50th KBC Augusta tournament was played from August 24 to 27 at Keya Golf Club in Fukuoka, Japan. This was my ninth KBC Augusta tournament, and during each of these tournaments I’ve shared photos, ideas, and measurements related to the course maintenance work.

One of the measurements I routinely make on putting greens is the surface hardness—or firmness—as measured by the sdi golf course firmness tester. What I provide to the golf course superintendent, at least during tournaments, is a summary chart like this one.

The 50th KBC Augusta golf tournament will be held at Keya Golf Club in Fukuoka next week. This is an especially interesting golf tournament because of the grass types used—korai (Zoysia matrella) on greens, fairways, and tees, with noshiba (Zoysia japonica) in the rough.

I was in Japan for two weeks to work at the KBC Augusta tournament, have meetings, and visit turfgrass sites. On this trip, I made a deliberate effort to record some videos to show a few things that I find interesting about turfgrass management in Japan.

Andrew Thomson joined me from his home in rural southwestern Japan to discuss the variety of playing surfaces one can find around the world. And you won’t find many people as well-traveled, nor as familiar with the types of playing surfaces, as Andrew.