Let’s try to look after the course
In Winter, especially in Canberra, grass is either barely growing or fully dormant. This means that recovering from traffic, divots, ball marks, or any other wear takes longer in some cases, and in others, not at all.
Worn areas from cart traffic and accumulating divots are both good examples of damage from winter play that tends to hang around. Many courses overseas, as well as one in Canberra, have a frost policy that delays the start of play when there is frost. Most other courses in the area have policies in place that restrict the use of carts, or at least where they can be driven.
Managing the golf course in winter is challenging, and we must strike a balance between the demand for golf and the limited turf recovery, as well as the risk of poor playing conditions. At Lakes, we believe it is worth allowing a few die-hard winter golfers to play and accepting the potential damage this may cause.
BUT ………. to allow play all year round, we all need to look after the course, especially in Winter – here are some things that will help:
- Keep carts away from fairways, greens and tees and use the cart paths wherever they are available. If there is no cart path, drive carts in the rough.
- If possible, keep foot traffic to a minimum, especially in high-traffic areas. If playing Stableford, for example, and you have picked up before reaching the green, don’t walk on the green – there is no need.
- Before walking on the greens, at around 5m, “knock off” the ice build-up from your shoes.
- Be extra careful when repairing pitch marks on greens and divots in the general area – yes, please repair divots in the rough, not just on the fairway.
A couple of rules to be aware of:
Preferred Lies.
Currently at Lakes, we have preferred lies, one club length, in the general area cut to fairway height. (translation, preferred lies on the fairway). I think it is safe to say that this rule will be in place for some time.
Embedded Ball
You are allowed free relief from an embedded ball anywhere in the general area. This includes the rough.
It is essential to know that there is no free relief if your ball is embedded in an area where playing a shot is unreasonable; you do not get free relief. For example, if your ball is plugged deep inside a bush, you would have to take the normal unplayable lie relief and the penalty shot that comes with that rule.
Loose impediments
Dew, frost, and water are not considered loose impediments; however, water can be treated as temporary water at the player’s option. Players can remove loose impediments in any area of the course, including bunkers and penalty areas, but must be careful not to move their ball.
Key rules regarding ice and water as loose impediments:
Dew, frost, and water are explicitly not loose impediments and cannot be removed from the ball or your line of play or putt (except for frost from the teeing ground).
These can be treated as either a loose impediment (which you can remove without penalty, provided your ball doesn’t move) or as temporary water, allowing for relief under casual water rules.
- Removing Loose Impediments:
You can remove loose impediments (like sticks, leaves, or stones) from anywhere on the course, including bunkers and penalty areas, without penalty.
Clearing a path in the frost, from the hole to your ball is not allowed – we are not playing on sand scrapes.
