The dreaded cow path

Golfers hate worn, brown and/or dead grass, and probably blame the superintendent.  They rarely take any responsibility themselves – especially if it means walking around an area of poor turf to save it.   I’ve seen Haley’s Comet as often as I have seen a golfer walk further in the name of better agronomy.  It’s that rare.  However, in many cases, the design itself is the primary culprit in the inability to grow grass. 

As a young boy, my grandfather showed me how cows always took the same path back to their stalls.  As a young apprentice golf course designer, my mentors hammered home the “golfer to bovine” similarities – they both travel an easily predictable path, taking the shortest, straightest, and flattest route (or some easily predictable combination of all) from where they are to where they need to go - either driving or walking.  You can count on it like you count on the sun rising. While we may debate the merits of a bunker here, or bunker there for strategy or challenge, we can’t debate the fact that a bunker between path and green will cause problems. 

You can’t fight either Mother Nature or human nature. That is especially true on public golf courses.  While some lower play private clubs may have budgets to conceal the problems, the combination of high play and poor circulation means you just can’t mask problems, and expect to “get away with it” for long.

Since I design mostly in the public course arena, I have always made good circulation one of my “first among equals” design considerations (along with drainage, speed of play, more drainage, more speed of play, reasonable challenge for Joe Six Pack over the desires of some Tour Pro who will never show up, more drainage and reasonable play for Joe Six Pack, just to name a few…..)  Consequently, I strive to avoid design features that block routes that golfers naturally want to take, knowing the wear spots will sprout like weeds in the spring. 

I use a variety of design techniques.  It starts in routing, if I am designing a new course.  Sometimes, it is difficult to change the routing of an existing course.  If the next tee is:

• Near the front the green, golfers will stop on the front corner, as shown on the left side graphic. 
• Positioned at the center of the green, golfers will stop parallel to the tee at the side of the green. 
• Behind the green, golfers may stop near where the pin is located, or drive to near the next tee.  This speeds up play, avoiding the need for the next group to wait for them to clear the green.  It facilitates the best circulation and spreads foot traffic over a wider area, as shown on the right side graphic.

The enclosed graphic demonstrates the predictability of wear patterns based on poor green/tee relationships and feature placements. The pink areas being primary walk up access routes, and the red stripes showing areas that will wear.  The graphics also shows how any bunkers or mound placement should consider traffic patterns.

To start, the walk up areas need 1.5-2 feet of width per 1000 rounds, or 60-80 feet for a 40,000 round course.  I have rebuilt greens at 100,000 round per year courses, and found that 150-200 feet of opening would have worked great…..if only it was possible!  As the old saying goes, “the wear areas are in the details” or something like that, so I also consider:

• •The entire opening requires gentle slope (25% is the maximum, but the 3-10% range is better for seniors and appreciated by all).  There must be one access area at <5% for ADA required wheelchair access.  The slope should be as constant as possible.
• •If the green has a wider side, placing the path on that side spreads traffic better.
• •The typical modern design pattern of mounds shaping inside corners of the green causes golfers walk around them, and cow paths at their base.  The middle graphic shows this effect.
• •Avoid even small mounds in the main access area to avoid worn spots on either side.
• •Ditto for flower beds, boulders, and especially trees, which compete for irrigation resources, usually winning and stressing turf.
• •Make sure walk up areas are well drained, as damp ground combined with heavy traffic never works.
• •Use wider path the entire length of the green to encourage spreading out traffic. Short “pull outs” for parking only concentrate traffic.
• •Paths may be closer behind the green – normally 45-60 feet from the green edge, but as close as 35-40 feet in the back. It encourages cart parking towards the rear of the green - Some golfers will exit at the opportunity, but others will drive further for a shorter walk, spreading traffic. 
• •The right side graphic shows how small ridges can encourage cart parking in desirable area - golfers won’t exit where they need to step immediately over a mound.  The ideal walkup area is bordered by straight lines (red arrows on the graphic) If your outside walk up zone edges have curved arrows, there will be wear spots at the curve.
• •If walkers are commonly allowed, consider their routes, too. Avoid bunkers and mounds that interfere with the direct walk to the next tee, knowing that the middle tee gets most use, and lower volume equals narrower pathways.

That list may seem restrictive, and it sometimes is.  On the highest play courses, both circulation and speed of play concerns naturally limit the number of practical bunker locations. For most courses with moderate play, we can find great visual and strategic bunker locations that work for golf, and work for maintenance by reducing those dreaded “cow paths” we all hate.