Embedded: Musselburgh Greenkeepers Unearth 500 BC Skull

A bunker on the 4th at Musselburgh with Mrs. Forman's in the background (Click to enlarge)From the Scottish Daily Record, sounds like routine bunker repair work on the fourth hole led to quite a find.

It was initially thought the skull was about 100 years old but archaeologists discovered it dated from the Iron Age – about 500BC.

It has been sent to Dundee University’s forensic anthropology department for further examination. Experts now hope to dig up the rest of the girl’s skeleton. The nine-hole Old Golf Course, is owned by East Lothian Council.

A council spokeswoman said yesterday: “On discovery, the police were contacted so that they could determine if this was ancient or related to something more recent.”

The fourth is one of my favorite holes in golf, as you may recall from my video posted last December. And of course, Musselburgh is one of the great places in the game.

Update on 2013-03-03 05:35 by Geoff

**Jim Moriarty thinks he knows who the skull belongs to. ;)

John Deere Donates $1 Million to The First Tee

A nice donation but I thought this component was even more interesting:

The $1 million donation will be used to enhance the experience of The First Tee participants in a variety of ways. Besides supporting The First Tee network, funds will be used to create and launch a golf maintenance career- oriented youth development program, in conjunction with the PGA TOUR. Local chapters of The First Tee will partner with the TOUR’s Tournament Player Courses (TPC) to provide the opportunity for high school-aged participants to learn about topics in agronomy and golf course maintenance careers. As a planned extension, participants will also have the chance to experience what it’s like to maintain a TPC golf course during a tournament week.

USGA Gets Into The Branded Stimpmeter Business

Knowing how Executive Director Mike Davis feels about the negative influence of faster green speeds on cost, pace of play and even in driving people to anchor putters, today's announcement of a USGA-logoed. $110 Stimpmeter won't go down as one of the best days in the organization's history. While they advocate the Stimpmeter for consistency, superintendents will tell you that the Stimp ends up encouraging faster greens.

Especially when they say this:

While different layouts present distinct challenges, each course needs to offer competitors consistent conditions in order to provide a fair test. And one of the most important aspects of course maintenance is uniform putting surfaces.

Not only do variations in speed from green to green negate a player’s skill, they also greatly decrease enjoyment of a round.

Remember when it was a skill to scout out a course and note the slight variations in speed?

Even for golfers playing a recreational round, a course with greens of varying speeds can be a bewildering, frustrating experience.

Millions of golfers, from U.S. Open contestants to beginners, have benefited from the Stimpmeter, a simple tool offered by the United States Golf Association that allows superintendents, agronomists and course officials to accurately measure the speed of greens and provide consistent playing conditions.

You can order it for $110 according to this link, but get this slab of plastic for just $75 if you trade in your old Stimpmeter. While supplies last! And let's hope for the sake of the superintendents of the world, they last and last and last.

Update on 2013-01-26 07:38 by Geoff

**John Paul Newport reports on the new Stimpmeter and the history of the device. He says they are not for sale to anyone who wants one. I'm still looking for that fine print here:

As exciting as this new Stimpmeter is, you and I won't be able to get our hands on one, even if we come up with the USGA's $110 asking price. That's because the rules-making body won't sell Stimpmeters to ordinary golfers, only to clubs, golf-course superintendents and tournament setup officials.

I'm not seeing that restriction here:

Hug Your Superintendent: '12 Hottest On Record In U.S.

Reports Justin Gillis...

The numbers are in: 2012, the year of a surreal March heat wave, a severe drought in the corn belt and a massive storm that caused broad devastation in the mid-Atlantic states, turns out to have been the hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous United States.

"Greenkeepers have played a starring role in home-team preparation since at least the 1980s when the Ryder Cup became more competitive after decades of U.S. dominance."

Mark Peters files an excellent WSJ look at the various course setup tactics, fetishes and other neurotic acts of Ryder Cups past, whether they really matter and how Medinah super Curtis Tyrrell will be doing his part for Team USA.

On a recent afternoon, Mr. Tyrrell, the director of golf-course operations, was zipping around Medinah in a cart overseeing last-minute preparations as corporate tents and concessions rose around the course. Even as players and fans start to see some of the gamesmanship Mr. Love has planned, other plans remain private.

"Some of it is real obvious, with the mowing heights in the rough," Mr. Tyrrell said. "But there are a lot of things that are meant for the team only."

There is also an audio segment featuring Peters talking to Tyrrell.

Correct Bunker Maintenance, The Australian Way

I was poking around YouTube for a video and stumbled on this "Correct Bunker Maintenance" instructional from Kingston Heath Director of Golf Justin Burrage and Course Superintendent Hayden Mead.

Besides showing us how the Australian-style of raking looks and should be maintained by the golfer, I just never get tired of looking at those bunkers! Plus, with a number of American courses adopting the method, this video might be useful.

And don't forget that Kingston hosts the Australian Masters this November 15-18, though I'm not sure if Golf Channel will be showing the best piece of golf architecture to host a professional tournament in 2012.

Video: Fixing The UK Lost Ball Problem: Bring Back The Sheep!

With the record rain the UK has received in June the native grasses seem to be almost guaranteed to cause a long ball searches and lost balls on most courses. But while walking Muirfield, host to next year's Open Championship, I noticed this next door to the 9th hole...

"The world is wasting water on a truly colossal scale, according to the United Nations."

Sarah Morrison in the Independent shares details from a new United Nations report to be presented at the World Water Forum on the future of water usage. The good news? Golf didn't get mentioned. The bad news? Well, just read the story...

Demand for water is expected to increase by 55 per cent over the next four decades, according to a new study to be presented at the forum in France. Framing the Water Reform Challenge, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), points out that rapid urbanisation, climate change and the altering global economy are putting growing pressures on water supplies. In around 40 years' time, more than 40 per cent of the world's population – 3.9 billion people – are likely to be living in river areas in the grip of severe "water-stress". The UN warns this could also be felt in parts of Europe, affecting up to 44 million people by 2070.