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| SUNRAYS JANUARY 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Frost delays on the courses are not a fun
way for course superintendents, staff or
golfers to start the day on a cold winter
morning. On these days especially, we
are all at the mercy of Mother Nature,
and staff works to get you golfing as soon
as possible; however, the maintenance
crews are unable to work during these de-
lays and, therefore, must get out in front
of play to set up the course for the day.
Why delay?
Frost is dew on the grass that crystal-
lizes, making the grass hard and more
susceptible to damage from traffic of
any kind. Once damage occurs on frozen
grass, it may not be noticeable for a day
or two, but the damage is irreversible.
When frost occurs, there are many fac-
tors that can contribute to how long it
will last. Temperature is, of course, the
main issue and also part of the misunder-
standing. It can frost above 32 degrees,
and we see it regularly in this area. Most
temperature readings that you see are
most likely the air temperature about six
feet off the ground, and not taken at the
soil surface. On a clear, cool night with
little wind, the surface temperature can
be several degrees cooler. When the grass
Notes from the Golf Committee – Frost Delays
Submitted by Gary Wilson, Director of Golf Course Maintenance
GOLF
Continued on next page
Continued on page 58
When I was elected to the MGA BOD two years ago as the 18-hole Playday Director,
my first order of business was to survey the membership regarding why they played
or didn’t play on Wednesday in the weekly Playday events. The survey results were
used to tweak the events calendar and to address the top pros and cons with a goal
of improving the MGA golfing experience.
The top three reasons our members played were: 1) they got to play with different
players; 2) they enjoyed the camaraderie and competition; and, 3) they enjoyed the
multiple game formats in use.
The top three reasons our members didn’t play were: 1) the pace of play; 2) a percep-
tion of sandbagging; and, 3) the serious or negative attitude of some of our members.
Along with the negatives, I asked for proposed solutions.
I am proud to announce that after two years of diligent work by the MGA BOD and
the Pro Shop Staff, we have made significant progress on two of these three issues
by implementing our member-suggested solutions.
Regarding pace of play:
We have: 1) empowered our Marshalls to move play along
and our Playday Directors and Pro Shop Staff are out on the course to assist in
this effort; 2) utilized fewer shotgun starts; 3) enacted local rules to speed up play;
and, 4) stressed picking up in our Two-Man events when a player is out of the hole.
Regarding the perception of sandbagging:
We have empowered our Handicap
Committee to monitor scores and adjust individual indexes to protect the field. This
procedure has met with mixed reactions from our membership, but everyone now
knows we are watching.
Regarding the serious/negative attitude of some members:
Here, I must
admit defeat. We couldn’t come up with a solution to “old” people’s attitudes, but
we’ll continue to encourage courteous behavior and fellowship between members.
Welcome to 2014! We had a busy
November and December. The new
WGA Board for 2014 was elected at
the November meeting. Congratula-
tions and good luck to our new of-
ficers and the new committee chairs:
Officers
President, Pam Pannell; 1st Vice
President, Ginny Patterson (web-
site); 2nd Vice President, Cathy
Brickner (play day); Secretary, Cindy
Klempay; Treasurer, Linda James
Committee Chairs
Handicap, Penny Stutz; Social, Mar-
goMaddux;Membership, Barb Jeppe;
Publicity/Historian, Liz Gove; Rules/
Web Advisor, Lynn Chapman; Sun-
shine, Lyn Gogis; Ways and Means,
Jacque Carver; Major Tournaments,
Becky Scofield and Pat Blanken-
ship; Prizes, Ellen Etheredge;
WGA 18-Hole Group
Submitted by Liz Gove
MGA News
Submitted by Mike Pender, President, MGA Board of Directors
Contact: 512-864-2997 or
These images show frost damage from normal foot and equipment traffic when no delay
was taken.
