A Post About Posts

Recently there has been a lot of chatter about what the white topped posts mean...

You should not leave the path before you pass the first white topped post and you should return to the path before you pass the second white topped post.  That pretty much sums it up. No need to keep reading unless you are trying to fall asleep.  

In a situation where your ball lies well beyond the first post, you should stay on the path until you reach your ball and then turn 90 degrees to get to your ball (hence the term 90 Degree Rule).  If, from that point, you hit a shot to the green, you should go back to the path at a 90 degree angle.  I see people exit the path at the first post and then drive 50 yards down the fairway to get to their ball.  Then they drive another 50 yards to the second post before going back to the path.   The posts aren't meant to identify the exact location where you have to enter and exit.  They are simply "goal posts" you should try to stay between.  

Riding beyond the second post in the fairway and then turning back towards the tee to exit at the post is not part of the "rule".  Yes, at times the posts are really protecting the fescue more than the zoysia.  However, there are a lot of times where the reverse is true.  Earlier this week we had enough rain to create a number of wet areas, but not so much to require keeping carts on the path.  The posts, if followed, keep those wet areas from getting damaged.  From now until next spring the course will tend to be wetter and the zoysia will be dormant.  We need the posts to help us protect the course and that includes the zoysia as well as the fescue.