Careful Practice or Careless Practice? It's Up To You, the Player

Since the construction of our new practice tee, I'm constantly being asked how long will it take for the tee to recover?  How long before we are back to the front of the tee and will it be recovered?  Many factors factor into the recovery of the tee.  Weather, water, fertilizer and how the players choose to practice.  

Now that we are back on the practice tee, it's the perfect time to remind members the proper way to practice on grass. Picture's are worth a thousand words.  From the photos it's quite clear how recovery of the turf can be affected by the way players take divots from the tee.   

This player attempted to practice in rows but did not leave an adequate amount of turf between the rows. Germination will happen but the turf will take a great deal longer to fill in and recover.

This is an example of an area that was completely void of established turf.  The area has been over-seeded, the seed has germinated but the area will take a long time to fully recover and heal back to the quality we desire and expect. An area completely void of turf also leaves an uneven playing surface the next time we move the ropes through this area of the tee.

                                          
This photo is a much better example of how we would like players to practice.  There is more established turf between the rows, offering greater stability to the soil and protection of the young seedlings which will then have a better ability to thrive and mature.

Lastly, a perfect example of proper practice with excellent germination and recovery of the practice tee.  This area will recover at 10 times the speed of an area completely void of any turf.  When you are practicing please remember this simple idea for practicing, this will ensure the fastest healing time for our practice tee.