During the month of August, I learned a lot about divots. As part of an exercise to better understand the challenges of course maintenance, I spent five early mornings a week at CommonGround Golf Course filling divots.
What did I learn? Mostly that a lot of golfers do not seem to repair their divots. I learned that divots come in all sizes and shapes. Some are big, some are small. Some and fat and some are skinny. Some are deep and some are shallow. Some have been filled with sand and seed and many others have been left empty. Some have replaced turf in them that has died (sad). Others are growing back beautifully thanks to a conscientious golfer.
Speaking of conscientious golfers, the CGA introduced a new program earlier this year at the CGA’s CommonGround Golf Course to encourage golfers to take better care of the course.
As a nod to the real “Grounds Crew” who work tirelessly behind the scenes every day to prepare the course, and to honor our course name, we named the program GroundCrew. We added the tagline “Replace Repair Respect” and commissioned a logo design to reflect the ethos of the initiative.
The “dragon tool” logo (a dragon fly with a ball mark repair tool-shaped body) has become a visual reminder to rake bunkers, repair ball marks and replace divots. In many cultures the dragon fly is a symbol of mindfulness, transformation and good luck. What a perfect message for an initiative that asks golfers to pay attention (mindfulness), repair the damage they make (transformation) and help those behind them (good luck always comes to those who help others).
So, no matter where you play your golf, we encourage you to become a member of GroundCrew. The golfing gods are always watching, and you will be rewarded.
