Happy Birthday Donald J. Ross!

Hello and welcome to The Greenkeeper!  Today is Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and the 150th birthday of our favorite golf course architect, Donald Ross. I will have a little more about Mr. Ross to share before we conclude, but I would like to start with an announcement, followed by a project update, and of course mention a few particulars about tomorrow.

On Monday I was joined by Dr. Jordan Booth, USGA Green Section Agronomist for the Southeast Region. Dr. Booth was here to conduct a course consulting service visit per my request. During our visit we were also joined by General Manager Billy Cleveland and Green Committee and Board of Governors member Jon Jarrett. Although we focused a great deal of time on our putting surfaces, Dr. Booth and I also discussed fairway composition, topdressing, and drainage, and he witnessed the ongoing bunker renovations.

Dr. Booth Hole 1

Mr. Cleveland Looks On

Mr. Jarrett and Mr. Cleveland Observing

The CCS is essentially a house call where turfgrass checkups are conducted. When we were under contract with the USGA as the 2018 U.S. MidAm Co-host we were the recipient of annual complimentary half-day visits for a number of years leading up to the event. Since that time the Green Section has undergone changes with tenured agronomists retiring or relocating to other regions. This was Dr. Booth's first visit to Carolina Golf Club and we look forward to his report in the coming weeks, as well as future visits.

Another thing that took place Monday was our friends from Arborguard were on hand to trim and prune back overhanging and protruding branches from several trees growing along the left side of Hole 9 and right side of Hole 10. This work was first mentioned in the Ross Report distributed October 7th but our busy calendar of events pushed the work into November. Special thanks to Mrs. Greenkeeper for snapping this pic as I was busy with Dr. Booth. I think the next opportunity you have to play these two holes you will be pleased with the final results as they maintained a natural appearance of the trees while creating extra space for you to work or shape the ball.

Arborguard Hole 9

As for our bunker renovations, Golf Course Services continue to progress through the golf course in reverse order currently working on Hole 13. When Hole 13 is finished, most likely early next week, 39 of the 71 bunkers scheduled for renovation this year will be complete. In other words we will have passed the halfway mark! For that we are thankful.

Installing Capillary Concrete Liner Hole 13

Speaking of thankful, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and once again all club facilities are closed with no staff on hand as we celebrate with our families. Those turkey junkies wishing to get their golf fix before, or after dinner are welcome to walk the course with their family and friends, including four-legged ones. The forecast for tomorrow morning is a low of 38 degrees so I do not anticipate any frost to form on putting surfaces, so feel free to come early if you wish. And if I do not see you, Happy Thanksgiving!

Now back to Mr. Ross, 150 years ago Donald J. Ross was born in the town of Dornoch, Scotland. Donald was only five years old when Old Tom Morris improved the links at Royal Dornoch Golf Club in 1877. We do not know if that particular visit by Old Tom made a lasting impression on young Donald, but we do know years later Donald would apprentice under Old Tom at St. Andrews before returning to Royal Dornoch to hone his skills as a player, club maker, and greenkeeper.

Young Donald Ross, Courtesy Links Museum, Dornoch

In 1889 Donald emigrated to the United States and embarked on the most prevalent career as a golf course architect. He is credited with the design or redesign of over 400 golf courses before his death in 1948, including our very own Carolina Golf Club ninety-three years ago in 1929. We owe what we have and much of who we are at CGC to Mr. Ross, so it brings me great pride to extend birthday wishes to the G.O.A.T. of golf course architects. Click here to read about how Royal Dornoch and Pinehurst are coming together today to celebrate our architect's legacy. 

And if you're interested in hearing and learning more about Donald Ross I have included the links to two past episodes of The Talking Golf History podcast. They were recorded in January 2020 with Bradley Klein, friend of CGC and author of Discovering Donald Ross. Hope you enjoy History of Donald Ross Part 1 and History of Donald Ross Part 2. 

Happy Thanksgiving,

Matthew Wharton, CGCS, MG