Care for Your Courses
We need all golfers’ help to maintain championship conditions on your East and West courses.
Treat your courses with
R.E.S.P.E.C.T Repair your ball mark and one other. Every divot should be replaced when possible. Sand should be thoroughly raked each time you are in a bunker. Park your cart at least 30 feet from greens and tees. Enter and exit bunkers from the flat back side. Care and think about the members playing behind you. Together this will make a HUGE difference.
PACE OF PLAY Be aware of where you are at all times relative to the group in front of you. In a four-hour round, you should achieve the following checkpoints on time: EAST COURSE East Course snack stand 4th tee clock station 7th tee clock station 13th tee clock station 16th tee clock station
WEST COURSE West Course snack stand 3rd tee clock station 6th tee clock station 13th tee clock station 16th tee clock station
The clock at each station represents your starting time. For example, if your group has an 8:00am starting time, when you reach each station, the clock should read 8:00am or earlier. If the clock reads later than your starting time, please make every effort to catch up and reach the next clock station on time. The goal is to increase awareness of your pace at key points along the course to help groups maintain an acceptable pace of play.
All groups playing at Baltimore Country Club are expected to meet our 18-hole Pace of Play standards: •
4 hours or less for a foursome
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3 hours, 15 minutes or less for a twosome
The following Pace of Play recommendations are provided to help everyone meet these standards: •
A tee time is the time a group should be hitting the opening drives and not the time to arrive at the tee.
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The USGA Rules and Baltimore Country Club strongly encourage a prompt pace of play and to employ “ready golf ” for all games.
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Keep up and in position with the group ahead on the course.
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The USGA Rules allow three minutes to search for a lost ball.
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Prepare to play your shot while others are playing their shots.
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Play it forward! Play the appropriate tees and enjoy your round.
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Invite faster groups to play through.
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The USGA Rules permit putting with the flagstick in the hole to speed play.
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Use the pace of play clocks provided on each par 3 tee to measure your pace. The clocks should read your tee time or earlier.
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Repair all ball marks and prepare to putt (read the putt, clean your golf ball, etc.) while others are putting.
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Move quickly to the next tee and do not mark your scorecard on the putting green.
REPAIRING BALL MARKS
1. Begin by inserting the repair tool into the soil behind the rear of the ball mark at about a 45-degree angle. 2. Gently push the top of the tool toward the center. 3. Continue to push into the center, around the ball mark, until the indentation is filled. Less is more, therefore this should be done three or four times; anything more may add injury to the damaged turf. Avoid prying actions that tear live roots and bring soil to the putting surface. Doing so causes significant damage and slows recovery. 4. Use your putter or foot to tamp down the repaired area to make it smooth and level with the rest of the green.
REPLACING DIVOTS As you play the Club’s courses, you will find four divot bottles on each golf cart that are able to be used on any surface on both courses; however, THE PREFERRED METHOD for divots remains to put them back in place when they are large enough and intact. On the East Course, please refrain from throwing the bentgrass divot in the roughs, as bentgrass is not the desired species for this area of the course.
DIVOT PATTERNS Warmer temperatures and longer days mean more time to practice and work on your game. In order for the grass on the range tees to be in the best condition possible for the season, please follow the USGA Linear Divot Pattern described below.
Linear Divot Pattern
The linear divot pattern involves placing each shot directly behind the previous divot. In so doing, a linear pattern is created and only a small amount of turf is removed with each swing. This can usually be done for 15 to 20 shots before moving sideways to create a new line of divots. So long as a minimum of four inches of live turf is preserved between strips of divots, the turf will recover quickly. Implementing a linear divot pattern restores all turfgrass species and imparts significant season-long benefits for the course.
Scattered Divot Pattern
A scattered divot pattern removes the most amount of turf because a full divot is removed with every swing. Scattering divots results in the most turf loss and uses up the largest area of a tee stall. This forces our golf team to rotate tee stations most frequently and often results in an inefficient use of the tee.
Concentrated Divot Pattern
A concentrated divot pattern removes all turf in a given area. While this approach does not necessarily result in a full-sized divot removed with every swing, by creating a large void in the turf canopy, there is little opportunity for timely turf recovery.
GOLF CART ETIQUETTE •
Golf carts are equipped with the GPS technology to assist with your golfing experience. The GPS will inform you of the preferred areas for cart traffic.
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In addition, to maintain championship conditions, the technology will assist you as to where to proceed with the golf carts when approaching green and tee complexes as well as avoiding fine fescue areas. If by chance you go into a restricted area, the system will prompt you to reverse the golf cart out of that area.
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Please use cart paths where available and avoid driving off the edges to prevent wear.
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Please be careful of driving on slopes and avoid sudden starts, stops, and sharp turns.
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In regards to safety, there should be no more than two riders per golf cart. At no time should anyone be standing on the back or side of the golf cart while it is in motion.
CART PATH WEAR
PUSH CART ETIQUETTE •
Please keep push carts off tees and green complexes.
BUNKER CARE •
Please rake bunkers after playing a shot and tap the sand from your golf shoes before walking on the putting green.
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Be sure to tap the sand from your shoes near the edge of the bunker to avoid tracking sand on the putting surface.
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Place the rakes outside of the bunkers.
TAP SAND OFF SHOES
SAND ON PUTTING SURFACE
LIGHTNING POLICY The BCC Lightning Policy is in place to protect and ensure the safety of members and staff. All members must strictly adhere to this policy. Disregard of the policy may result in disciplinary action. •
The WeatherBug detection system sounds an alarm when a lightning strike is recorded withing a 10-mile radius of the Club. You must return to the clubhouse immediately.
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When the siren sounds, all members are required to vacate all outdoor facilities immediately and seek shelter indoors.
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Three brief five-second horn blasts indicate it is safe to return outside.
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Shelters on the course are meant for rain cover only.
It is the responsibility of each Baltimore Country Club member to know the rules and procedures of the Club. The Golf House staff is ready to assist you should there be any questions.