There was discussion during the U.S. Women’s Open telecast about the maintenance team adding a little water to the greens around the hole location. This is a common practice at USGA championships and something that can be used for routine course setup too.
Our championship agronomy team commonly refers to this practice as “painting the cup,” or providing a light syringe around the day’s hole location. Our primary goal is to add a little more water where we expect a lot of foot traffic. When the weather is dry like we had at Lancaster Country Club, preventing midday wilt and maintaining adequate putting green health is our utmost priority. Just a little additional water before play starts is often enough to stave off wilt until we can get back on the greens later that day.
Another reason this is done is to maintain playability around challenging hole locations. A little additional water can prevent a hole location from becoming too difficult. Keep in mind that this practice will not work on holes cut into a steep slope or on greens that are too firm, but if the slope is slight or the greens are on the firm side of average, a light syringe may be enough. Next time you’re looking to buy yourself some time on a hot, dry day or want to provide a little security for a tricky hole location, give “painting the cup” a try.
Northeast Region Agronomists
Darin Bevard, senior director, Championship Agronomy – dbevard@usga.org
Elliott L. Dowling, regional director, East Region – edowling@usga.org
Brian Gietka, agronomist – bgietka@usga.org