Anyone else play on a course that should have been closed this weekend?

[dufferman]

Played Pine Ridge GC on Saturday in Camberley, the course was awful. Boggy, puddles on greens, fairways were mud baths, yet the course remained open. Not only did it make playing a real drag, but it surely means that the course won't be back up to a good standard for months?!

The 3rd (par 3) had the biggest joke of a temp green I've ever seen. It was possibly the worst part of the fairway, with chunks missing and sandy holes all over. The hole was the regular size, we all 3 putted, one even 4 putted.

Anyone else play on a course like this this weekend?

I would HIGHLY recommend giving Pine Ridge GC a wide birth over the coming weeks...

 

[CMAC]

most parkland courses up here are like that- Open but mud glorious mud- greens are hairy as they are not being cut, and the rain continues everyday, with 30mm forecast for the next 48 hrs- however, if they stay shut all through this they are crystalising a loss, not easy for clubs in this Bog awful weather

 

[Alex1975]

I did not pay on a course that should have been open......

Actually I really don't know that, I just really really wanted to play!!

 

[Oddsocks]

Our course was wet enough to close 15 of the 27 holes, that told me enough so it was range only .

 

[In_The_Rough]

Ours has been like it for weeks, they have never shut once and the place is a real mud bath now. All around the temporary tees there is not a blade of grass to be seen and elsewhere around the place is looking a bit shabby all over, greed that is all it is at our place.

 

[dufferman]

Do the clubs not realise that, in the long run, the damage will be terrible??

 

[Khamelion]

I think it depends on the financial state of the course. My dad's home course should be closed, water logged, muddy, pretty poor and going to get worse, but the course has lost so many members last year they cannot afford to annoy the regulars who want to play in fear of losing them as well.

They don't seem to realise that in the long run they will do more damage than good and when the season picks up, those that whinged during the winter to play, will be the ones that whinge during the summer because the course is in really poor condition.

 

[In_The_Rough]

All about money mate getting people on paying. The course I play at is not a private members so they pretty much do as they please as there is nobody they have to answer to. With all the others in the area shut they are determined to stay open. They had just over 80 paying and playing on Sat and at £19 a round it's well over £1000 in green fees but as you say the long term damage is the issue, but at the risk of sounding snobby the players they attract probably do not give a toss anyway so long as they have got somewhere to hack it round at weekends that is all they are bothered about.

 

[MegaSteve]

Do the clubs not realise that, in the long run, the damage will be terrible??

Once the good weather kicks in the ground tends to recover quicker than we think it will.... Hopefully...

Used to play Wexham regularly and they had a never shut policy and by May you'd hardly know the parts of course that were just shy of a bog...

 

[Oddsocks]

I think it depends on the financial state of the course. My dad's home course should be closed, water logged, muddy, pretty poor and going to get worse, but the course has lost so many members last year they cannot afford to annoy the regulars who want to play in fear of losing them as well.

They don't seem to realise that in the long run they will do more damage than good and when the season picks up, those that whinged during the winter to play, will be the ones that whinge during the summer because the course is in really poor condition.

It's this reason that I'm seriously considering a change of course if my oz plans don't pull off, I'd rather be at a members course that closes instead of a course that still relies heavily on pay and play green fees especially at weekends.

Alot of members chose not to play this weekend for the exact reasons above , so instead the course was flooded with pay and play members. Great so the people who invest membership into the club get crap conditions for the next month while the p&p players return to their own course which will be in half decent nick :rant:

 

[One Planer]

Played Pine Ridge GC on Saturday in Camberley, the course was awful. Boggy, puddles on greens, fairways were mud baths, yet the course remained open. Not only did it make playing a real drag, but it surely means that the course won't be back up to a good standard for months?!

The 3rd (par 3) had the biggest joke of a temp green I've ever seen. It was possibly the worst part of the fairway, with chunks missing and sandy holes all over. The hole was the regular size, we all 3 putted, one even 4 putted.

Anyone else play on a course like this this weekend?

I would HIGHLY recommend giving Pine Ridge GC a wide birth over the coming weeks...

Not us.

Course closed all weekend

 

[cookelad]

Ours was a bit borderline, I reckon in the same condition midweek we'd have been closed!

Heard a lot of people last year giving it the (as above) it should be closed or it'll take months to repair etc but, when the dry weather appeared there was no evidence of damage caused by playing. Grass is pretty hardy stuff it takes quite a determined effort to kill it!

 

[jimbob.someroo]

Ours was ok yesterday. Pretty wet but playable. Friday though should have been shut, especially as it rained all day.

The clubs are in a horrible position at the moment as most are not doing amazingly money-wise and so to close the course not only stops anybody paying guest fees (although why would you at the moment?!), it also could potentially make others think about whether or not to renew their subscription.

If you start being known as a club that closes a lot, it could seriously hinder membership with current people maybe looking elsewhere and new people less inclined to join. From that poll the other week on here about how many days was your course closed, how many on here would have been clambering to join a club that had closed for 30 days last year?

Added to that the fact that we can't really guarantee any weather in the next couple of months ... I think we had snow in March last year?!

 

[In_The_Rough]

Here what you are saying and yes it was around the Easter hols when the snow came down last year. Certainly at private clubs it is a fine line between shutting and thinking of the long term benefits or opening, lets not forget these people that moan when it is shut will be the first in the queue to moan when the course is not at it's best a month or two down the line

 

[Robobum]

If The Oxfordshire was a members club - it probably would have been shut. The greens and tees were top quality but getting from tee to fairway and from the green to the next tee was through patches of ankle deep muddy puddles which were unavoidable on some holes.

 

[dufferman]

I know it's tough, and if the course recovers quick enough all is well and good. But there are roads not 1 mile away that are closed due to flooding, which is the first time I've seen it where I live (only been here a year though). That was a good indication that the course should be closed! I played assuming they wouldn't have the course open if the conditions were awful... how wrong I was!

 

[garyinderry]

nature is a wonderful thing. it really doesn't take long to repair itself once the grass starts growing and some sunshine rains down.



lee park is a bit of a mud bath although I do remember the first at Mersey valley being unbelievably muddy last year.


playing in these conditions is a slog but once you start to play in decent conditions again the game seems so much easier.

one game a week in the mud is enough for me atm.

 

[Piece]

Played Pine Ridge GC on Saturday in Camberley, the course was awful. Boggy, puddles on greens, fairways were mud baths, yet the course remained open. Not only did it make playing a real drag, but it surely means that the course won't be back up to a good standard for months?!

The 3rd (par 3) had the biggest joke of a temp green I've ever seen. It was possibly the worst part of the fairway, with chunks missing and sandy holes all over. The hole was the regular size, we all 3 putted, one even 4 putted.

Anyone else play on a course like this this weekend?

I would HIGHLY recommend giving Pine Ridge GC a wide birth over the coming weeks...

I played Pine Ridge too on Saturday (12pm tee off)...

Don't totally agree with your assessment, as I actually thought it was a bit better than I thought it would be. Granted it was very wet, but most all of the course was playable. The greens were fine to putt on (although slow!). Some areas had casual water, but relief was taken.

The temp green wasn't great but rather that than hole closed. Nice par 3 for me

From what I saw the course was chocker, meaning closing it would lose a lot of revenue. Fair play I think in keeping it open for those who do want a social game where other public courses won't open.

 

[Scrindle]

I played at my course on Saturday. Front 9 was closed with back 9 being open. All I can say is that if the back 9 were deemed to be playable in the condition they were in, I shudder to think what the front 9 were like!!

Some parts were ok, but a lot of areas just saw you getting thick muddy sludge coming up over the top of your shoes on the way to a tee box for example. Fairways were generally ok aside from the 10th and 11th holes.

The club needs to put down some gravel paths or similar for people to walk along.

 

[Hacker Khan]

but at the risk of sounding snobby the players they attract probably do not give a toss anyway so long as they have got somewhere to hack it round at weekends that is all they are bothered about.

Speaking as someone who was happy that there was a course that was open that I could hack round on Saturday, what was I supposed to do?

I'd agree that the long term state of the course for the members was not at the top, middle or even bottom of my thoughts, but then again I didn't hold a gun to their head to make them let me play and they were happy to have my money.