Turf Opening at Learning Centre

The Driving Range will move on to the turf beginning Tuesday May 24th after Victoria Day. Cutten Fields members are fortunate to have access to fantastic practice facilities including our learning centre, and driving range. These facilities are very well utilized, and must be managed efficiently to maximize use and quality. It only takes 8 weeks to move the ropes through the entire range tee under the current schedule. Achieving the quickest possible turf recovery after a practice session is partially dependent on how golfers pattern divots. There are three common methods of divot patterns golfer make while practicing. All golfers at every golf facility are encouraged to make linear divot patterns for optimum turf recovery.

Why is the linear divot pattern best for turf recovery?

A scattered divot pattern removes the most amount of turf because a full divot is removed with every swing. Scattering divots results in the most turf loss and uses up the largest area of a tee stall. This forces the golf facility to rotate tee stalls most frequently and often results in an inefficient use of the tee.

Concentrated divot patterns remove all turf in a given area. While this approach does not necessarily result in a full-sized divot removed with every swing, by creating a large void in the turf canopy there is little opportunity for timely turf recovery.

The linear divot pattern involves placing each shot directly behind the previous divot. In so doing, a linear pattern is created and only a small amount of turf is removed with each swing. This can usually be done for 15 to 20 shots before moving sideways to create a new line of divots. So long as a minimum of 2 inches of live turf is preserved between strips of divots, the turf will recover quickly. Because this divot pattern removes the least amount of turf and promotes quick recovery, it is the preferred method.

Keep practicing and enjoying our wonderful practice facilities.