Preferred lies...

Bratty

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Westerham GC. We have a bore hole, so can water freely, but no fairway irrigation, so can't water easily!
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Crazyface

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Why we don’t play proffered on fairways all year round has always boggled me. Pro’s get it after heavy overnight rain on perfectly manicured and tested courses yet the club hacker playing on over used, under maintained tracks do not- if a pro can’t play of a damp fairways they should change career!

Preferred lies at the moment for courses in my area.

I agree with this. It would save the course getting damaged as well
 

Oddsocks

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I'll ask again.
How does using PL protect the course?

In my opinion, playing from a divot especially one that’s deep only further impacts the damage as you have to hit down on it so much. Yes this is a skill and part of our game, but slot of courses do not reseed divots and allow natural recovery which in all fairness never really happens. At my old club over a 10 year period one hole got that bad in the approach area to the green that people started hitting an iron because they were assured a better lie. Again my opinion but you should never be penalised for hitting the fairway.
 

KenL

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In my opinion, playing from a divot especially one that’s deep only further impacts the damage as you have to hit down on it so much. Yes this is a skill and part of our game, but slot of courses do not reseed divots and allow natural recovery which in all fairness never really happens. At my old club over a 10 year period one hole got that bad in the approach area to the green that people started hitting an iron because they were assured a better lie. Again my opinion but you should never be penalised for hitting the fairway.
With PL you would have 2 divots instead of one.
Any club that isn't re-seeding divots, especially in popular landing zones, should be!
 

Oddsocks

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With PL you would have 2 divots instead of one.
Any club that isn't re-seeding divots, especially in popular landing zones, should be!

They should you are correct but many don’t or simply cannot afford or have the resources to.

Based on your theory, should we all drive and then pick the nearest divot to play from so the course stays immaculate?
 

Imurg

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Just because PL are in force it doesn't mean you have to take them up on the offer.....
And the chances of there being a better piece of ground within 6 inches are pretty slim, at the moment, unless you're in a divot..
 

Smiffy

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Just because PL are in force it doesn't mean you have to take them up on the offer.....
And the chances of there being a better piece of ground within 6 inches are pretty slim, at the moment, unless you're in a divot..
I think that to protect fairways properly, if you are playing in a Texas scramble you should all drop your ball into the first players divot rather than sit the ball up like a dog's bollock. I'm all for course preservation.
 

Oddsocks

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Just got back from playing Reigate heath, the club has done remarkable work keeping the greens to the standard they but the fairway cracks were quite scary!

The 18th looks like shattered glass in some spots with gaps close to 2 inches wide, I put my Pw down one to see the depth and the complete shaft to the bottom of the grip was under ground and I still hadn’t touched the bottom…. Their lake on 14 must have been 15ft lower than it’s normal level.
 

KenL

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Just got back from playing Reigate heath, the club has done remarkable work keeping the greens to the standard they but the fairway cracks were quite scary!

The 18th looks like shattered glass in some spots with gaps close to 2 inches wide, I put my Pw down one to see the depth and the complete shaft to the bottom of the grip was under ground and I still hadn’t touched the bottom…. Their lake on 14 must have been 15ft lower than it’s normal level.
Scary stuff. Hopefully get some rain soon for the whole country..?
 

Oddsocks

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We had about 40 mins constant light rain which will no doubt help, my thoughts are that of the ground is that cracked the water will wash through the cracks missing the roots for growth.

When you look at the cracks, i can imagine the recovery time being months if not years, not weeks.
 

Mandofred

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We had about 40 mins constant light rain which will no doubt help, my thoughts are that of the ground is that cracked the water will wash through the cracks missing the roots for growth.

When you look at the cracks, i can imagine the recovery time being months if not years, not weeks.
We finally got some rain last night....enough to put some small puddles on the practice ground. We have nothing like the damage that is being done in the south. If we could get the same amount of rain for a few days our course would snap back fairly decently....not likely to happen though.
 

Canary Kid

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Just got back from playing Reigate heath, the club has done remarkable work keeping the greens to the standard they but the fairway cracks were quite scary!

The 18th looks like shattered glass in some spots with gaps close to 2 inches wide, I put my Pw down one to see the depth and the complete shaft to the bottom of the grip was under ground and I still hadn’t touched the bottom…. Their lake on 14 must have been 15ft lower than it’s normal level.

Do you mean Reigate Hill? That has a lake on Hole 14. Reigate Heath is twice around a nine hole.
 
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