Firm & fast: will it last?

Late-night infomercials extol the virtues of the latest fad: losing pounds, reversing hair loss and other gimmicks. As consumers, we think if pitchman says it’s so, it must be true.

Does a similar philosophy hold true in golf? The game’s powers that be are endorsing “firm and fast,” along with “brown is the new green,” as noble ways to protect and promote golf. I support reducing chemistry and excessive irrigation to enhance playing conditions and environmental quality. However, there’s much more to attaining firm-and-fast conditions than less water and more sand top dressing.

Going firm and fast

Before you buy into it, answer these questions:

•    Does “firm” ground mean golfers will play “faster”? No more plugged lies or balls bouncing backwards in spring when the ground is saturated? Does reduced irrigation, less nitrogen and more top dressing equal ideal playing conditions in a shorter time period? Will these things create better playing conditions faster? I’ve yet to hear anyone explain what this means to the super, the one who has to coordinate the work.

•    What type of course are you responsible for? Before achieving these vague conditions, define your course. Links and parkland are two very different designs, layouts, playing conditions and quality. Links courses have wide fairways, few trees, flat terrain and are near water. Parkland courses are inland, tree-lined, with narrower fairways, clay soils, cart paths and very often real-estate developments.

•    Who is requesting these new playing conditions? Is it the better player or the higher handicapper? The better player loves this setup because he has the talent to play on firm-and-fast surfaces. It’s also probably the better player sitting on your greens committee. But how many members or customers can take advantage of—and therefore enjoy—such a course? Will creating unpredictable playing conditions bring more people into the game? Will it take longer to play the course? Is this cost-effective?

•    What are the positives of a firmer and drier golf course? Does multi-dimensional playability make the game attractive to beginners? Will women enjoy this type of course? Will the learning curve to master these conditions be so long that new golfers lose interest? Players probably can adapt to this new paradigm, but how long will it take, and at what cost?

Whenever there is a change in course conditioning or philosophy, it’s usually handed down from those without the knowledge or experience to understand the difficulty, cost and time necessary to make it work. Then the burden falls on those who do. So before nodding your head and saying you’ll do your best, consider these concerns:

•    Do you have the budget, staff and time to establish this plan and execute it effectively?

•    Will brown but healthy turf impact your job security, especially if your dependent on tourist play?

•    Will it involve the entire course or be feature-specific? What about going firm and fast just on the greens, where half the game is contested?

•    Does fast and firm fit the course’s architectural design, quality and integrity? Can it handle an unpredictable ball response? Will you be unfairly penalizing those who are playing their way around? Will golfers want to come back and play again?

•    What are your agronomics? Soil-based greens may require more time to build up enough sand to create a drier surface. Will you need to install internal drain lines – at additional cost – and cultivate more playing-time inconvenience during the season?

•    Review your turf cultivars: bent or Bermudagrass, Poa or paspalum? Each requires a different approach.

•    Consider the vegetation around putting greens, teeing grounds and fairway corridors. Too many trees may block sunlight and air movement. Do you want to be the one who tells members trees must be removed to attain the desired conditions?

Daily prep vs. tournament prep

It’s easy to make a course hard but hard to make it fair and competitive.

•    Set the course for the play you encounter each day. In this slumping golf economy, the goal is for players to have fun and return for another round.

•    Include a setup for women and beginners so they can enjoy the unpredictability of the course but not be uncomfortable in their attempts.

•    If you’re seeking firm-and-fast conditions, they should be everywhere, including fairways, teeing grounds, roughs and bunkers.

In the long run, firm-and-fast conditions could be the shot in the arm golf needs. Maybe it will bring out thousands of new golfers looking for fun and excitement. We should all hope so. But it may not. And even if it does, it won’t save the game in a week, a few months or even a year.

As with everything else in golf, and especially in course maintenance, only time will tell. But however long it takes, and whatever path your course takes, you need to go into the process with your eyes wide open and with the full support and understanding of management.

And that might be the hardest job of all.