the eye of the golfer

using a player's perspective to get better results

Posted outside the clubhouse at Waverley Country Club, Portland, Oregon, is a list of each member’s handicap. Topping the list with a 1 handicap is David Jacobsen, brother of PGA TOUR professional Peter Jacobsen. Next is John Alexander with a 2 handicap. Interestingly, Alexander just happens to be the club’s golf course superintendent.

While not every superintendent plays a lot of golf, or as well as Alexander, most understand the game and walk their courses frequently. They realize that a narrow focus to achieve “ideal” conditions may not always be desirable.

“There are just so many times in our business after a hot and windy day that the inclination is to turn up the water in the evening,” Alexander says. “But being a golfer helps me understand that most members don’t mind seeing a little stress area here and there if the course plays more firm and dry. I don’t find it distracting when I’m playing to notice things that might need attention. I can be working on a project for a couple of days and only see one part of the course. Then I know it’s time for me to go out and play a few holes in the evening to see things from a golfer’s perspective.”

A Jacobsen SLF-1880 cuts an undulating fairway along the Willamette River.

Alexander shudders at the suggestion that a visitor might come away from a round feeling that Waverley wasn’t a great course. “Golf course maintenance is such a day-to-day occupation,” he says. “I’m only as good as the course plays that day. My challenge is consistency. I just can’t imagine ever being bored because the goal is always to keep the course in good shape.”

Great tradition
Founded in 1896, Waverley is one of the oldest clubs west of the Mississippi River, and has been the site of several U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior championships. Tiger Woods won the 1993 junior amateur at Waverley. Alexander, who has been superintendent since 1996, says golfers love to play Waverley.

“It’s an easy course to walk and has a perfect terrain change,” he explains. “There’s a little uphill and a little down- hill, but nothing too radical. The beautiful Willamette River borders the course on one side. There are great, old trees, but not too many, and several marvelous vistas. Waverley offers a good, quality round of golf. We’ve hosted great championships, but those days are past. At the tips the course plays at 6,600 yards, and that’s not long enough for today’s equipment. But because of the character of the greens, which have slopes and undulations, it’s challenging for the single digit handicapper. At Waverley, we revere the traditions of the game.”

These same characteristics make controlling green speed a challenge. If the staff got them to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, golfers could easily putt off three or four greens. The goal is to get in the 10- to 11-foot range.

“On the other hand,” Alexander says, “I don’t have to get into a speed race with clubs that have larger, flatter greens. On some of those courses 10.5 isn’t good enough. The fact that I don’t have to totally skin down our greens to get the target speed makes my job a little easier.”

Superintendent John Alexander says, "I'm only as good as the course plays that day. My challenge is consistency."

Regular topdressing
For all practical purposes, the entire course is Poa annua. Green speed is measured daily and Alexander promotes solid, basic greens keeping. Thatch is kept under control and there is a regular topdressing program.

“More than any other grass species, topdressing Poa annua regularly is critical to keeping our greens putting consistently and smoothly,” he says. “We are on a two-week interval. We have native soil push-up greens, and have added slit drainage on two of them. Otherwise, they drain well; they’re just as easy to take care of as USGA-spec greens. Over the years they’ve been well taken care of and sanded. We don’t get into deep and frequent aeration that is good for bentgrass or Bermuda grass. We’re just trying to maintain soil moisture at a constant level. On a USGA-spec green, you can load it up, let it dry down and the roots will go down. That’s a great tool if you have the right turf, but it wouldn’t work on our particular Poa annua greens.”

Winters are extremely wet in the Pacific Northwest, making drainage and fairway sanding very important.

“We used to put down 1/4 inch of sand four times a year,” Alexander says, “but with new spinner topdressers we put down 1/16 inch or less 10 times a year. The sand drags in very well and is not as damaging to mower reels. We do the most topdressing in spring and fall, backing off in summer. The high-stress time for our turf is July and August. We syringe in the afternoon so we don’t have to overwater at night. We try to keep the course firm, but still green. Pleasing everyone is a challenge.”

This year Waverley acquired two Jacobsen SLF-1880 super-light fairway mowers.

“There are three or four holes on the east side of the course with big fir trees going down both sides,” Alexander says. “It’s a little more shaded and wet in winter, and our heavier mower did some damage. With its lighter footprint, we felt the SLF-1880 would be a better option.”

Alexander is very pleased with the mower’s quality of cut.

“As we lower the height of cut from .450 to .375, we see the quality of cut actually improve. The mowers have 9-blade reels and the turf gets tight and beautiful. And, the SLF-1880 absolutely works better in winter with softer conditions. It’s a great mower.”