Hole moving

The process of moving holes on the greens isnt a long or difficult task but is a very important one to ensure that wear gets spread evenly across the green and to allow golfers a different challenge as they play each week. I thought I would show how the hole is moved and what the staff have to think about during the task. 

Above is the equipment we need to take with us each time. There is the hole cutter, cup remover, changing board, scissors, depth gauge, towel, alternate flags, mallet, spanner and hole position guide. 

First the new position is selected using the position guide. This ensures that the hole is positioned across the whole green over 6 moves. This helps spread wear and having a guide helps staff know where the pin is roughly located each time the hole is moved. Other things to take in to consideration is damage to the green, old plugs, weather forecasts and potential debris issues.

Once selected the hole cutter is knocked into the green and the plug is removed. 

The old cup is removed and the new plug placed in the hole. 

Once put in it is important that the plug sits level in the green so the turf is not scalped off when cutting.

The new hole is trimmed with curved scissors to remove excess growth

The cup, cleaned, is replaced and set using the depth gauge and the flag colour is changed to it's corresponding colour.

The pin replaced and onto the next green

The holes are moved twice a week in winter and three times during summer. 

Today we have cut greens again before more rain arrives, continued with ditch clearance and painted markers.