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Across the Southeast, the pandemic has impacted golf in many ways. Many golf courses have experienced record numbers of rounds following the spring, which is usually the time of year that play slows down at many southern courses. Summer is typically the period when bermudagrass fairways and roughs get extra TLC and conditioning with aeration, vertical mowing, added fertilization and sometimes sand topdressing. These practices help ensure peak turfgrass quality entering the fall, helping to carry the golf course through the cooler months when growth and recovery is impeded by lower temperatures and reduced sunlight hours and intensity.

I have visited many golf courses where increased rounds coupled with single-rider cart policies have negatively impacted the turfgrass. As an example, whereas the average number of summer rounds on a golf course in south Florida may normally be 30 to 60 per day, some courses are seeing 150 or more daily rounds during what is typically their slower season. Factor in single-rider carts and those 150 rounds now equate to even heavier traffic if every golfer takes a cart instead of walking. Here are a few things to consider about traffic on the course as we continue through this highly unusual year:

Cart traffic stress

 While the average weight of a golf cart can vary from around 500 to 600 pounds, this does not account for the weight of acid batteries, which can add another 400 to 500 pounds. So, say a cart with batteries and one set of clubs is 1,000 pounds. Add one rider that weighs 150 pounds, and you have 1,150 pounds in total. Traffic across one area of a fairway or rough where just 50% of the carts travel with 100 rounds of single riders equates to 57,500 pounds of weight on that turfgrass per day. That is almost 29 tons daily. Over the course of one month this equates to the weight of four Statues of Liberty (225 tons) compacting grass in a rough or fairway. Double the rounds to 200 or more, which can be common during the winter months in places like Florida, and factor in the slowing or total cessation of bermudagrass growth and the compaction and turfgrass damage can be incredible.

Foot traffic stress

 It is an unfortunate reality that some putting greens have one area of approach for golfers walking on and off the putting green. Following the previous example, we have 200 golfers with an average weight of 150 pounds walking off the cart path, across the rough, through the collar and onto a green. If 50% of the golfers follow the same tracks, that equates to 7.5 tons of daily foot traffic on that specific area of turf.

Options for reducing damage from cart and foot traffic 

There are ways to mitigate the turfgrass wear and damage caused by traffic. One option is to limit the number of cart rounds allowed daily. Courses can also enact cart-path-only rules throughout the winter or on certain days of the week. Protecting vulnerable areas with ropes or flags and periodically changing the traffic pattern can disperse the weight and compaction of cart and walking traffic over a wider area.

While there are courses that have tried to implement one or several of these actions, I was told that some golfers disregard these traffic control measures entirely. To add to the frustration, golfer complaints have increased regarding the quality of the roughs and fairways. Through the summer grass can be coaxed to grow and recover, but in the winter, heavy wear and tear can easily lead to a playing surface consisting of grass stems devoid of leaves where the ball rests on the soil surface.

Hopefully, this article will reinforce to golfers the importance of respecting traffic control measures and the daily directions about where carts and foot traffic should and should not go. Hitting golf shots off stems and dirt during the winter is no fun. The longer-term impact is that the grass in these areas may not recover come springtime. Let’s all cooperate to ensure that fun golf and enjoyable conditions endure for everyone.

Southeast Region Agronomists:

Chris Hartwiger, director, USGA Course Consulting Service – chartwiger@usga.org

Steve Kammerer, Ph.D., senior consulting agronomist – skammerer@usga.org

Addison Barden, agronomist – abarden@usga.org

Information on the USGA’s Course Consulting Service 

Contact the Green Section Staff