Warren Golf Course // Warren Golf Course

The Little Things in Life….and in Golf

2011-10-13T14:00:00-04:00

The Little Things in Life….and in Golf

I have a friend who owns a local restaurant. He is always complaining that “everybody’s a food critic”, referring to the comments and criticism he receives from his restaurant guests. Well, we say “have at it”. Be a golf course critic! We go the extra mile at the Warren Golf Course to ensure we have the best-maintained course in the region and we want everyone to know it. That means doing the little things right… focusing our attention on detail.

Here are a few of the things we do routinely to enhance your golfing experience. The next time you visit us take a look and see if you can spot them. Better yet, the next time you play another course in the area, see if they are doing these things to help you enjoy your round:

All grass clippings, on greens, fairways and roughs, are blown and dispersed after mowing
I have heard it said that you can judge the quality of a golf course by the condition of the range balls…we purchase new range balls every year and constantly filter out any blemished balls to ensure they all are of the highest quality for our guests
Our greens have two distinct collars – the first is bent grass, the second is a deep green rye grass
Our fairways all have a three cuts of rough – a first cut of rye, a second primary cut of bluegrass and the deep rough of red fescue
Our tee boxes are lasered on a routine basis to ensure the edges are all perpendicular to the fairways
Our bunkers (all 89 of them) are hand-raked to ensure perfect lies
Our greens are walk-mowed to ensure the most consistent putting surfaces
Our golf carts are detailed on a weekly basis to ensure they are in top condition for our guests
Our maintenance crew repairs all un-repaired ball marks on each green, each day, prior to mowing them
Hole locations are changed daily. The next time you play the Warren see if you can spot any of the old locations. I bet you can’t. Our guys weave the grass together to disguise any seams that might indicate an old hole location
During leaf season, our crew picks up leaves on a daily basis
Spot any weeds on our tees, fairways or primary roughs? Can you say this about the other courses you play?

Remember, just because a particular golf course is green doesn’t mean it is well maintained. Please, be a golf course critic! It will lead to a better golfing experience for us all.

John Foster, General Manager

Condoleezza Rice Ace's the 14th hole at the Warren Golf Course

2011-09-19T12:00:00-04:00

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had a hole-in-one on the 14^th hole of the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame last Saturday, September 17^th. She used a 7 wood to make the ace on the 150 yard par 3. This was Dr. Rice’s first hole-in-one. Her achievement was recognized nationally during the NBC broadcast of the Notre Dame / Michigan State football game she attended later that day.

Dr. Rice received her Master’s Degree from the University of Notre Dame and was in town to help promote the Joyce Scholars program at the University. She is currently on faculty at Stanford University as professor of Political Economy in the Graduate School of Business and a professor of Political Science.

Congratulations Madame Secretary! It was a pleasure having you play our course. We hope to see you again.

Making the Game Fun

2011-09-01T16:00:00-04:00

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine what the factors are that are limiting the growth of golf worldwide. Most people assume it is either cost related or the time commitment required to play a round of golf. Interestingly though, it has been determined that the main factor causing people to leave the game, or for not taking it up, is the difficulty of golf. Despite the numerous advances that have been made in club and golf ball technology, the game hasn’t really gotten any easier, it has become even harder.

Why is this? Simple – most golf courses, and especially the ones that have been built since 1990, have been designed to challenge the best players in the game, completely ignoring the fact that 95% of the players that will play the course are mostly people with handicaps of 15 or higher. Golf course architects, egged on by the developers and / or owners, seem to design or renovate golf courses as if they will someday host the U.S. Open, rather than for their true clientele, the average golfer.

Here is a great example of what the average player is facing when they play a 7,000 yard course. By calculating the average driving distance and approach club distances for Joe Golfer and extrapolating similar distances that would correlate to touring pro’s, that 7,000 yard course for us would translate into an 8,800 yard course for them. How much fun do you think they would have playing those courses? It is estimated they would average scores in the low 80’s.

At the Warren Course we recognized a few years back that our course perhaps crossed the line of challenging to too difficult for some golfers. Granted, we have a portion of our clientele that require a difficult course (ND’s Men’s and Women’s Golf Teams) so we have to keep that in mind when maintaining and setting up the course. However, we have been able to please both groups through a number of changes over the past two to three years. Those are:

Cut back the fescue rough in the areas where the average player’s drive lands.
Introduced a new set of tees (white tees – 6,300 yards)) that offers an alternative between the blue tee yardage (6,700) and the green tees (5,400).
Have our starters suggest the appropriate tees for our guests to play depending on their skill level.
Installed new irrigation heads on all holes that throw water only on the fairways and primary rough, not the fescue. Over time the undergrowth that now exists and make the fescue so difficult from which to play, will disappear.

These changes have resulted in much more enjoyable rounds of golf for our guests. An added feature is that the pace of play, which has always been good at the Warren, has been reduced even more. Come out and play our Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design and see for yourself……golf should be fun!

John Foster

General Manager

Why Do We Aerify?

2011-08-17T10:10:00-04:00

Preventative maintenance is an integral part of successful golf course management. Golfers view aerification as an inconvenience that takes the greens out of play for a day or two, pulling cores or poking holes in the greens that can affect putting for many days before healing. To add insult to injury, aerification is best done in many parts of the country during mid-summer, at the height of the playing season and when most greens are in prime condition. Knowing the reasons for aerification may help golfers to understand how important aerification is to producing healthy turf.

Aerification achieves three important objectives

It relieves soil compaction
It provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green's roots through introduction of a soil modifier (a more preferred sand choice)
It reduces or prevents the accumulation of excess thatch

Like so many things, the quality of putting surfaces is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order for grass to grow at 1/8-inch or lower, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles.

Over time, the traffic from golfers and maintenance equipment tend to compact the soil under the putting surface. When soil becomes compacted, the air pockets on which the roots depend are crushed, and the roots are essentially left gasping for air. Without oxygen, the grass plants become weaker and will eventually wither and die.

Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, thus helping the grass plants stay healthy. In most cases, it's done by removing cores or poking holes in the compacted soil, allowing for an infusion of air and water that brings a resurgence of growth. The spaces are then filled with sand "topdressing" that helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward.

The bottom line is aerification is a necessary process that promotes turf health which in return can help a golf course superintendent produce quality putting surfaces.

Matthew Cielen

Superintendent of Golf Courses, University of Notre Dame

Warren Golf Course Using PitchPro

2011-08-12T12:20:00-04:00

One of the biggest pet peeves of golfers, superintendents and golf course operators is a green scarred with old ball marks. A properly repaired ball mark will heal in 48 hours, whereas an unrepaired or improperly repaired ball mark takes 21 days to heal.

Beginning August 12^th, all golfers at the Warren Golf Course will receive a logoed, PitchPro Divot Repair Tool before they tee off. They will also receive a quick primer on the proper way to fix a ball mark. Surprisingly, most players do not know how to properly repair them. I have even seen tour pro’s fixing marks in a way that is incorrect. Never twist the turf or use the tool to “push-up” the mark. Simply insert the tool on the raised, perimeter of the mark and push towards the center. Go around the mark on two to three places before smoothing it by pushing it down with your putter.

Click here to learn how to use the PitchPro Divot Tool

The PitchPro tool makes it virtually impossible to make a mistake. A number of high profile courses across the country have banned all repair tools other than the PitchPro, attesting to its effectiveness.

Top PitchPro Clients listed in America's 100 Greatest Courses

We hope this will help make the golf experience at the Warren Course even more enjoyable for everyone.

John Foster, General Manager

Coore Crenshaw Corner

2011-06-15T12:54:00-04:00

Coore Crenshaw Design Group - “The leading Golf Course design firm in the world right now” – Planet Golf

Did you know?

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are universally recognized as the greatest golf course architects in the world today
The Warren Course is one of only 20 golf courses in the world that are Coore Crenshaw designs
There are only four Coore Crenshaw courses in the U.S. that are accessible to the public. That list includes:

The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame

Bandon Trails Golf Course, Bandon, OR

Plantations GC, Kapalua, Maui, HI

The Dormie Club, Pinehurst, NC

Bandon Trails, Plantations and the Dormie Club green fees range from $150 - $300 per round

The Warren Golf Course fees with cart range from $39 - $65

Seems like an easy decision. Call today or make your tee time online.

Come and enjoy the Coore Crenshaw experience!

Warren Golf Course Team Competes in the 4th Annual Coore Crenshaw Cup

2011-06-10T12:27:00-04:00

Warren Golf Course General Manager John Foster, Superintendent Matt Cielen, ND Development Officer Greg Dugard and ND Alumnus Bud Gartland competed in the Coore Crenshaw Cup at Old Sandwich Golf Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts June 5^th through June 7th. The Coore Crenshaw Society was established in 2006 and the membership is comprised of the 20 golf courses Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have designed throughout the world. Each year the Cup competition moves to a different Coore Crenshaw course. Next year’s competition will be held at East Hampton Golf Club in East Hampton, New York.

This year the team from Warren finished 8^th. The real value of the event, however, is the time that is spent with other Coore Crenshaw course owners and operators as well as Bill and Ben themselves. Bill Coore updated everyone on the progress that has been made on their restoration of Pinehurst #2 to its original design in preparation for the 2014 U.S. Open as well as the recent completion of Barnbougle Lost Farm GC in Tasmania.

John Foster stated “We are so fortunate to have the Midwest’s only Coore Crenshaw designed course and we are one of only four Coore Crenshaw courses in the country that are accessible to the public. We are truly privileged to be part of the Coore Crenshaw family. Ben & Bill are without question the most highly respected golf course architects in the world today and the work they have done continues to garner the respect of even the most critical of golf course aficionados.”