Spike Marks

[chilepepper]

55 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Not me.  Apparently not any golf courses either.  

 

Just my observations from working on courses back then vs playing a lot now .

Your mileage may vary

[Lihu]

11 minutes ago, Patch said:

I hardly ever see actual soft spike  golf shoes being worn anymore.

I tend to golf with  seniors, and most of the shoes I see being worn are tennis shoes. These tennis shoes might have decent tread on them, but they are still just tennis shoes. 

Most spike damage I see are drag marks which tells me the wearer is not picking their feet up when walking.

I don't wear spiked shoes of any kind, since I prefer wearing a comfortable walking shoe. I do own a pair of soft spikes, but I only wear them in wet, slippery weather. That or if the course requires spikes of some king, which is pretty rare. 

It probably depends upon your location. AZ has mostly flat and dry courses, whereas many other places there could be slopes and mud all over the place. Spikes help a lot just to keep you from slipping around during your swing.

[DrvFrShow]

14 hours ago, Rulesman said:

How does that work? Poa annua grow as a result of seed germination. How do spikes make any difference? It is not a fungus or disease.

The annual form of Poa annua produces stemmy seed heads that often grow in a circular pattern around the leaves, especially when the turf is mowed regularly. The perennial types of Poa annua essentially survive only in very close-cut turfs like golf course greens.

 

the course says that people's spikes carry the seeds in from the fairway and other parts of the course. That's the reason they don't allow them. They've been able to maintain nearly poa free greens because of it. that's their logic.

and Eric, thanks for the link. I've been living under a rock regarding the proposed rule changes over the winter. The weather has been really nasty that I haven't even picked up a golf club yet. Too cold to even go to the range. Hoping to sometime next week and at least get to the driving range and see if I even have a swing. One local course is still a swamp. We had so much rain this winter it was insane - even for WA.

So basically in 2019, there would be absolutely no excuse for anyone to move their ball since they'll be able to repair scuff marks on the green. Thanks.

[Rulesman]

15 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

the course says that people's spikes carry the seeds in from the fairway and other parts of the course. That's the reason they don't allow them. They've been able to maintain nearly poa free greens because of it. that's their logic.

Unless shoes are wet or muddy, sufficient seeds will not stick to shoes to make any difference. They certainly are no more likely to stick to spikes that a pimple or plain soled shoe.

Interestingly Poa annua, or annual meadow grass (known in America more commonly as annual bluegrass or simply poa). Many golf putting greens, including the famously fast Oakmont Country Club greens, are annual bluegrass

 

[iacas]

On 4/8/2017 at 8:07 AM, David in FL said:

Not me.  Apparently not any golf courses either.  

Exactly.

[DrvFrShow]

On 4/8/2017 at 3:28 PM, Rulesman said:

Unless shoes are wet or muddy, sufficient seeds will not stick to shoes to make any difference. They certainly are no more likely to stick to spikes that a pimple or plain soled shoe.

Interestingly Poa annua, or annual meadow grass (known in America more commonly as annual bluegrass or simply poa). Many golf putting greens, including the famously fast Oakmont Country Club greens, are annual bluegrass

 

And most of the greens up here are poa, which if you play on them before noon are fine. If you putt on them in the late afternoon can be a nightmare.