Adapting to change

The following took place on a turfgrass website managed by the director of the UW-Madison research station. I did some editing and disguised the identity of those chatting. All approved the use of their thoughts.
 

TO: Noernetters

FROM: Bogey Calhoun

RE: Dreaded Big Cup Tourney

Help!! I need fortification for why I don’t want any part of this perversion of golf on our course. I’ve heard these events stink. Who out there can enlighten me? I have several questions and concerns. I’d appreciate some input on logistics.
 

TO: Noernet

FROM: Jack Morley

RE: Big Cup

We started doing this a bunch of years ago. Big cups were put out once a year during one of the men’s year-end tournaments. We’d set the cups in extremely difficult locations. It was a slight pain to set up, and the day after was a little worse because of the attention needed to get the plug back correctly. All in all, it was not a complete pain but a little uncomfortable. We’re not doing it this year because players have grown tired of it and believe it was too “mini golf–like.” Good luck!
 

TO: Netters

FROM: Steady Eddie Middleton

RE: Big Cup Tourney

I’d also call it a pain and it is extra work, but we’ve been having them for over 20 years and they’re very popular with our customers. We do three events a year.

We use commercially available cup liners and put each plug in its own numbered Tupperware container. We replace the plug and green mix back where it came from and tamp it with a 12-inch by 18-inch tamper. Despite hand watering and care, the plugs are visible for weeks.

It takes skilled labor to cut the cups, and care must be taken when mowing. You can use 8-inch circles with a lip you lay over the normal cut, but our players don’t care for them. I would avoid the Big Cup Tourney, but have fun with it if you cannot.
 

TO: Noernet

FROM: Scott Fennimore

RE: Big Cup Tournament

I echo their comments. It’s giggle golf at best. A member said, “If you want to play games, go to a casino.” I like his attitude but haven’t been able to avoid big cups or footgolf events. It’s only a matter of time before Ringling Brothers pitch the Big Top.
 

TO: Noernet

FROM: Tom Morris

RE: Big Cup Tourney

Call me a resistant old crank, but why all the efforts to re-invent a game with such a rich heritage? I know – I’ve read about making it more fun.

Maybe golf courses got over-the-top difficult, even with game improvement clubs. What if golf courses were 6,000 yards instead of ego-driven 7,000–plus yards? What if trees weren’t planted in every void between holes in the interest of “beautification?” What if greens rolled nine feet? What if playing anything less than 18 holes was still considered golf?

Difficulty, expense and time requirements are problems. There are golfers and there are people who play golf. We have no shortage of well-intended people who play golf with ideas and inventions on how to improve the game and how you play it. That’s how we end up with today’s courses and “total” club facilities.

Got to get back to work. Looking into the cost of adding paddleball courts, resurfacing tennis courts adding a hot tub and calculating the return on those investments.
 

My guess is conversations among superintendents like the one above are happening all the time. Desperate times require desperate measures, and golf may be getting close to that. But we are not there yet, in my opinion. We are in a sifting and winnowing stage, figuring out a path to some prosperity. Some goofy ideas will be tried and likely rejected. But it is difficult to argue against trying, no matter how aggravating it can be.

Monroe Miller retired after 36 years as superintendent at Blackhawk CC in Madison, Wis. He is a recipient of the 2004 USGA Green Section Award, the 2009 GCSAA Col. John Morley DSA Award,  and is the only superintendent in the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame. Reach him at groots@charter.net.