Driving Range Tee and Preferred Divot Pattern
(Strip Your Divots)
Word is getting out that our driving range facility offers a quality experience at a competitive rate. However, there is a downside to the increased traffic, wear and tear. In an effort to provide our patrons with a quality practice surface, we need your assistance.
The use of these simple practices should make for a better experience for all patrons.
Strip your Divots!
In the pictures above you see three different divot patterns, we’ll refer to them as footprints. The picture on the left is the most common pattern, and was made by a good player. This player was so impressed by the quality turf that they spotted each ball on virgin turf. The problem with this pattern is the size of the footprint. One person hits a large bucket of balls and renders the entire teeing box station useless. The picture on the right was made by another good player, whom understood the benefits of leaving a smaller foot-print. However, this pattern from a recovery standpoint turns out to be even worse. You see the beauty of creeping bentgrass, besides being a great playing surface, is its ability to creep. It has the ability to fill in voids by growing laterally using plant parts called stolons. In the photos above, the healthy grass on the perimeter of the voids has a long way to grow to repair this blemish. Therefore, it makes sense to leave strips of healthy turf between the divots. This scenario allows the healthy strips of grass to fill in the divots within a 4-5 week window. Between the above pictures is a copy of the signage we have posted in several areas on our practice range tee illustrating this striping method that produces the quickest recovery. So please do your part and remember to “Strip Your Divots!” The next person to practice thanks you!