Greens at East Lake

[gogolfing]

The announcement today that the greens at East Lake are in critical shape is just more bad news for the tour. Apparently they have known for a while, but have not said anything to the players until yesterday? While I have enjoyed the Fed Ex Cup because it has spiced things up, I can't believe the amount of controversy over the past three weeks. I think the attention is coming to the tour for the wrong reasons; does anyone think Finchem is on thin ice here? Or is the fact that the players are making more money than ever (thanks to Tiger, not the Commissioner) going to let all of this blow over? It will be interesting to see how the Tour's Policy Board reacts once the dust has settled.

Any thoughts ???

[alf174]

The condition of the greens are due to the lack of rainfall in the SE these last couple of months and the club is trying everything they can to address it. I think that its a big stretch to say that it will cause some kind of shake-up at the PGA.

[soup]

I think the point is more that the announcement of the condition of the greens didn't come until less than a few days before practice rounds were to begin.

I'm not a greenskeeper or a degreed horticulturist (or whatever those guys are) so I can't really comment on what needs to be done. However, the contraptions they had setup in Tulsa for the PGA seemed to keep those greens in good shape. If you can keep greens alive in Tulsa, shouldn't you be able to keep them alive in Atlanta?

Are there any pictures of East Lake online yet? I bet the greens are going to look like the chipping green from "Tin Cup"'s driving range.

[alf174]

Its not like some competitors will play good conditions and the rest bad, they all have to play the same course. Heck, for a chance at a $10M annuity I'll play and not complain one iota .

The greenskeeper was interviewed on the Golf Channel this evening and they will allow practice on all holes except for three greens; his rating of the course from 1-10 is 5-8 depending on where they place the hole.

[gogolfing]

I think the point is more that the announcement of the condition of the greens didn't come until less than a few days before practice rounds were to begin.

This was more my point; I know there is a level playing field, it was just more the timing of the whole thing. Almost like 'we've had some bad press and some of the top players are pissed, let's not pile it on'. It just seems from some of the interviews over the last three weeks (Tiger, Phil, Ernie) that the players are becoming more and more disgruntled with the Commissioner's office.

[rmgr]

I wanted to go real bad, and still kind of do, but paying $84 for a ticket is kind of expensive...

[cubfanbob]

This is ridiculous... I know it's been unseasonably hot this summer, and they've had a drought in that area... but haven't they ever heard of watering the frickin' greens???

[gripitandripit]

If the greens are as bad as reported, the people at East Lake should be red faced. How can a premier course thats supposed to host the Tour Championship let the greens get away from them? Its not like they don't have a sprinkler system. Thats terrible

[Shindig]

You know, I'd be surprised if these guys didn't do all they could do to get the greens in great shape in time. Although I will wonder how it compares to the munis I play, it won't be for lack of effort on their part.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

If the greens are as bad as reported, the people at East Lake should be red faced. How can a premier course thats supposed to host the Tour Championship let the greens get away from them? Its not like they don't have a sprinkler system. Thats terrible

I totally agree. I'd love to give them the benefit of the doubt but I just can't see how this can happen. Especially for a tournament that's the final stage of their new playoff system and going to be for $10 million. Whether it's justified or not this is another strike against the FedEx Cup playoffs.

[SubPar]

This is ridiculous... I know it's been unseasonably hot this summer, and they've had a drought in that area... but haven't they ever heard of watering the frickin' greens???

Watering the greens does not cool them off. The heat is the issue with bent grass. In fact if you water greens in the heat of the day it WILL kill the grass because in direct sunlight it gets the surface even hotter.

I am surpised they did not "tent" them all last week though. An elevated cover that allows air flow while providing shade might have helped. It will be interesting to see the guys trying to score on greens that are not perfect. Welcome to the world of the muni golfer! But a lot of these guys play Pebble Beach in the spring when the greens are rough. Tiger won't play there that time of year for that very reason. Suck it up, cry babies! SubPar

[mybloodinvt]

it's not like it's larry, darrell and darrell are taking care of the greens at east lake. i am sure they did everything they could humanly do to keep the greens alive. it was a bad break with the weather. oh, and this is not the first time east lake has hosted the tour championship. they have been hosting it for quite a few years. i think the timing of the announcement was a bit suspect, like they didn't want anymore bad publicity after the jabs tiger, phil and ernie took at the commish. the fedex cup is stupid. it probably will continue, at least for a few years, but not without significant changes mandated by the players. i don't care what they do, i still think it is stupid.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

Welcome to the world of the muni golfer!

Haha, yeah. But you know what? I'd be willing to bet crappy East Lake greens still look amazing to muni golfers. It's all relative.

[FIJIGolf23]

Say what you want, but I know for damn sure that I would be just as pissed. To go from playing courses every week that the balls rolls true to a course where you are just at the mercy of the green is not enjoyable. It doesn't matter what the playing level is.

[Rusty2228]

I know it is tough to be sad for them they play golf as their job etc... But look at it from their prospective, they have played well enough to get this far, and have the chance a very sizable payout. However, this payout is going to be influenced more than ever because of luck. Would you want your paycheck, no matter how large or small, affected by something that could have been fixed, alleviated, and/or avoided?

The problem with the greens is that the greens are bent grass not bermuda which handles heat better. Most courses in the south are bermuda so it can't be said that they were unaware of this possibility. Also from what I have read they only started restricting members a week ago. Seems like they should have known about the problem prior to that.

I think the PGA just handled the whole deal poorly and the players have a right to be upset.

[FIJIGolf23]

I know it is tough to be sad for them they play golf as their job etc... But look at it from their prospective, they have played well enough to get this far, and have the chance a very sizable payout. However, this payout is going to be influenced more than ever because of luck. Would you want your paycheck, no matter how large or small, affected by something that could have been fixed, alleviated, and/or avoided?

Well said!

[WhiteSoxFan]

Watering the greens does not cool them off. The heat is the issue with bent grass. In fact if you water greens in the heat of the day it WILL kill the grass because in direct sunlight it gets the surface even hotter.

I heard a very eye-opening interview this morning on Making the Turn with Peter Kessler on XM. He spoke with the super-intendent at East Lake about the issue. First, I have to give Carl Spackler props for going on the radio - I'm sure this guy is taking some serious heat right now.

So, he explained basically exactly what SubPar just said - over 100 degrees bent grass starts to die. They had 28 days over 90, and 11 of them were over 100 in August. If you water them, not only does that make the grass hotter, it depletes the plants of oxygen, just making things worse. The best they could have done was spend $100's of tousands of dollars installing power and fans, but he said it just didn't make good business sense to do so, especially given the fact that they didn't know the weather was going to continue being hot like it did. He also said that he's gotten hundreds of emails from super-intendents across the country letting him know how bad they feel for him and that they know he's been doing all he can.

[ettsn]

Exactly. And it's not like bermuda could've fared much better, either. I live up by Sugarloaf, maybe 10-15 miles from East Lake. Come look at my front lawn!

Besides, with the storm we're enduring right now (and will likely continue tomorrow and Saturday) a little brown grass will be the least of their worries.