While playing the Mountain Course for the first time in over a month last night I couldn't help but notice what great condition the course was in. Darren Burns and his staff have done an amazing job keeping both courses in great shape considering the hot conditions early this month and a smaller staff than is needed.
With all the great things I can say about both courses I was disappointed with the amount of footprints in bunkers, ball marks on the greens and un-repaired divots in the fairways. All three areas require attention from our greens department but if everyone did their part the crew could focus their efforts elsewhere.
If your ball comes to rest in a bunker you're in a "hazard" and deserve to be penalized, however, for the ball to come to rest in someone else's footprints makes the shot even more difficult! Not only difficult it's frustrating especially when there are plenty of rakes surrounding the bunkers. Being in a fairway divot is probably everyone's biggest pet peeve. You can either replace the divot or use the sand and seed bottles provided on your cart to fill in the divots. I think enough has been said on repairing ball marks over the years that I don't need to discuss.
If we all do our part, everyone benefits!