The Not-so-Perfect Augusta National

I'd like to share with you a great blog post by fellow Superintendent, Chris Tritabaugh, that provides amazing insight on what Augusta National Golf Club looks like when it's NOT hosting The Masters.  Many of you will be quite surprised at what you're about to read.

 

The Augusta Syndrome

 

Nowhere will you find a greater love/hate relationship than the one that exists between Golf Course Superintendents and Augusta National Golf Club. We love watching the tournament as much as the next golf fanatic but the expectation placed on our industry in general by this "Tradition Unlike Any Other" is enough to make many superintendents pull their hair out.

What Augusta National and The Masters is for golf course superintendents is a wonderful example of what can be created with unlimited resources. I cannot fathom a guess at the golf course operations budget Augusta works with each year but it is likely safe to say the golf course operations at Northland could be funded for quite some time with one season's expenditure from Augusta. A few things the average golfer should know about Augusta before thinking their course can be maintain anywhere near the same.

1. Augusta is closed during the heat of the Georgia summer. I do not know the exact date but fairly soon the course will close for the summer and not re-open until the fall. All major maintenance to the golf course is done while closed. Closing during the summer also allows the bentgrass greens to be maintained without the stress of tournament conditions during the most difficult months for growing cool season turf.
2. With the exception of the greens, which are bentgrass, Augusta features perennial ryegrass playing surfaces during the months it is open. During the summer the perennial ryegrass in the tees, rough and fairways withers and dies with the heat while the underlying Bermudagrass dominates. Each fall before opening ryegrass is re-seeded and becomes the beautiful surfaces on which The Masters is played. Other than the greens The Masters is essentially played on a disposable surface.
3. Many of the micro-climates in which the greens are located are "climate controlled"; it is rumored many of the putting surfaces feature sub-surface heating and cooling. On shaded greens, artificial light is used to manage quality turf and during the summer, greens in the full sun are covered with shade tents to lessen heat stress.
4. Putting surfaces at Augusta are also frequently rebuilt meaning turf and rootzones are almost always perfect for maintaining excellent playing conditions.

The photo below shows Augusta National without its "make-up". If you want to view the entire course go to Google Maps and zoom in until the view changes to this summer shot.

Augusta National Golf Club in the heat of the summer

 

The photo above shows Augusta sometime during the summer. The ninth and the 18th green sit next to each other in the middle of the photo. 18 and the putting green above it are covered by shade tents. In the bottom left-hand corner you can see the eight green being reconstructed, while most of the bunkers are covered with black plastic to protect the white sand from contamination. The turf during this time of the year leaves very little to be desired.

An interesting look at how a major celebrity looks when they are sitting at home on the couch during the off-season.