This is an excellent video done by the USGA on problem greens. Pay close attention to the issues they address and think about Highlands CC greens. While we do well managing our greens, it is no easy task. Please consider the following:
1. Shade- greens like 2, 3,15,16 etc can see as little as 1.5 hours of sun/ day. All plants rely on sunlight to grow. No sun= no growth= no recovery or healing from wear. Greens require 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day to sustain life. Think about that house plant you once had that died due to lack of light. Grass is no different.
2. Pin locations- I think it is excessive to think a green would have 14 pin locations, that should all be used to enable the different areas to recover after use. Essentially a pin would only be used once every 14 days. At HCC, #10 green has the most locations at 9 while the average is about 4-5 per green. This means we use many locations more twice a week since we set pins 7 days a week.
3. Entry and exit points- think of 2 green and 16 green...the wear and tear from golfer foot traffic is substantial because all 13,000 rounds of golf we do walk over the same exact spot. The golf cart alone has caused more traffic problems because everyone parks in the same spot and enters the green at the same area as opposed to walkers who enter the green at different points across the front.
4. Speed- our daily average is 11 feet. Many times this summer we reached 12' and even 13' on occasion. According to the USGA, our greens should average a daily speed of 8 feet to accommodate pin locations of 2.5% slope or greater. Again, pretty unrealistic expectations that probably wouldn't be tolerated long!
In short, managing HCC greens has taken many years of tweaking and experience to learn how to dial in their management and meet the needs of the membership, while maintaining adequate turf health under far from ideal growing conditions. While we reach a time of year where sunlight decreases more each day, I can expect some minor thinning in areas that receive extreme traffic like the back of 16. That collar is the most difficult place of the golf course to keep in acceptable condition due to these factors. As I often say too, managing 18 greens is a lot like having 18 children in that you simply cannot manage them all the same. Depending on their individual microenvironment means some can be treated more aggressively than others. Greens such as 2 or 16 however, have to be backed off of in order to maintain turf coverage. This might mean we raise the height of cut to promote healthier turf and roots. This also may mean they roll a little slower this time of year but it is necessary if grass coverage is wanted.