Thursday
Mar182010
In Defense of Brown - Part 1
Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 11:25AM
No, I don't mean UPS. I mean brown turf.
In America it seems golf courses must be green. It's been that way for at least a decade and a half. We have television and Augusta National to thank for that. For a large portion of the golfing world the golf season begins with The Masters telecast. It comes at the best time of the year-the NFL is dormant, MLB hasn't gotten revved up, and the NCAA men's basketball tournament (during which there were countless promos for The Masters) has just ended-and the Augusta National Golf Club, built on the grounds of an old nursery, is at it's dogwood-blooming, HD-Technicolor tv, green greener greenest best. The golf course appears to be utterly perfect, groomed to a greater degree than the finest English gardens. In fact, since the days of Frederick Law Olmsted, America has not seen such a garden as Augusta National. The golf holes seem to flow as naturally as Rae's Creek and the dogwoods perennially bloom on cue. Put it all together and the golf season begins . . . green.
But green comes at a price. At Augusta green comes from vigorous watering, meticulous chemical application and a comprehensive autumn overseeding. The end result is stunning. But the front end of that product for the first week of April is an extremely well funded private club with an essentially unlimited maintenance budget. The entire spectacle that is The Masters is orchestrated to be, well, green.
In America it seems golf courses must be green. It's been that way for at least a decade and a half. We have television and Augusta National to thank for that. For a large portion of the golfing world the golf season begins with The Masters telecast. It comes at the best time of the year-the NFL is dormant, MLB hasn't gotten revved up, and the NCAA men's basketball tournament (during which there were countless promos for The Masters) has just ended-and the Augusta National Golf Club, built on the grounds of an old nursery, is at it's dogwood-blooming, HD-Technicolor tv, green greener greenest best. The golf course appears to be utterly perfect, groomed to a greater degree than the finest English gardens. In fact, since the days of Frederick Law Olmsted, America has not seen such a garden as Augusta National. The golf holes seem to flow as naturally as Rae's Creek and the dogwoods perennially bloom on cue. Put it all together and the golf season begins . . . green.
But green comes at a price. At Augusta green comes from vigorous watering, meticulous chemical application and a comprehensive autumn overseeding. The end result is stunning. But the front end of that product for the first week of April is an extremely well funded private club with an essentially unlimited maintenance budget. The entire spectacle that is The Masters is orchestrated to be, well, green.
in Golf
Golf
Reader Comments