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Cart traffic on moisture-stressed turf can lead to damage, thinning or loss that will take time to heal. If fairway firmness is a priority, minimizing cart traffic should be a priority also.

Firm fairways are often a top priority for golfers, but there are factors that impact how far fairways can be pushed to deliver these conditions. The reality is that when a large number of rounds are played using carts, maintenance practices must be adjusted to mitigate the extra stress – which can limit fairway firmness.

Producing firm fairways requires turf to be managed in a moisture-stressed state. However, additional stress from increased rounds and cart traffic can be the tipping point for turf damage or loss to occur if irrigation practices have been tailored to deliver firm conditions. Damage in the form of wilted tire tracks and turf thinning is the result of carts being driven on stressed turf. Protecting against this stress requires increased irrigation, which reduces fairway firmness.

If fairway firmness is a priority, the impact of cart traffic must be understood. Having policies that minimize cart use would be in the best interest of the golf course in this situation. A few options for reducing cart traffic include limiting how many carts are available each day, limiting cart use to certain parts of the day, developing a caddy program, offering pull carts, reduced rates for walking, and implementing cart restrictions when hot and dry conditions are experienced.

For many golf courses, reducing cart usage can impact the bottom line because cart fees are a revenue source. However, if the goal is to maximize fairway firmness there are going to be trade-offs with cart use. Reach out to your regional USGA agronomist for more information on how to manage cart traffic and optimize turf health and playability.

Central Region Agronomists:

Zach Nicoludis, regional director – znicoludis@usga.org

Information on the USGA’s Course Consulting Service

Contact the Green Section Staff