Surely you've noticed it when watching golf telecasts. Courses that play host to the U.S. Open and other televised events look like the game's version of the Garden of Eden. There are fairways groomed to cross-cut perfection, flowering plants sprouting nearly everywhere and fast greens. The commentators rave about how wonderfully the courses are prepared.

But these telecasts have misled viewers into believing that such standards should be commonplace. With intricately groomed turf shown on television week after week, many people believe that these standards should be maintained throughout the year.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Preparations for the Open begin years in advance. Maintenance plans mold course conditioning to peak for that one week when the world's best are put to the ultimate challenge. But visions of the courses are burned in the memories of television viewers, who ask a question that strikes fear in their course superintendents: "Why can't our course be like that one?"

There are four good reasons why most courses cannot or should not be kept in U.S. Open condition on a once-a-year basis, let alone year-round: it's environmentally taxing, it's impossible to push the turf to those limits repeatedly, it's frustrating to play and it's prohibitively expensive.

In this age of environmental awareness and commitment, championship conditioning on an ongoing basis is bad policy. It would take substantially more water, fertilizer and pesticide use than normal to sustain a program of championship conditioning.

The turf might not survive such intensive grooming. Putting green turf, rolled and mowed two or three times per day, cannot endure more than a week or two of such torture before it would fade away. Mother Nature has the final say in such matters, regardless of a player's expectations.

Besides, how many golfers really would want to play a course set up to Open conditions on a year-round basis? Play would slow to an unacceptable pace. The USGA establishes its most challenging conditions for the 13 national championships.

It is telling that, except for the Open and U.S. Amateur, the other 11 are conducted on courses set up to accommodate the strength and skill level of the respective competitors. More often than not, these are conditions found routinely at many courses.

Golfers are a persistent lot when they have a vision. If those first three reasons are not enough to sway them, the monetary needs can shift a player's eyes to reality. The Open and other big events are generally held on courses with sizable maintenance budgets, outlays that jump another 20 to 25 percent in the years leading to the Open. Every one of those extra mowings of a fairway or green requires a worker, gasoline and a piece of equipment — not to mention periodic repairs. The costs multiply quickly.

Manpower becomes the biggest expense. Host clubs that already have dozens of employees spend months arranging for dozens more volunteers to help in the last days before and then during the Open. They may be relegated to such chores as bunker grooming, practice tee repair or filling water coolers. If a host course had to pay even the minimum wage to these volunteers, the cost would become astronomical. At any other course seeking Open-quality conditions, that expense would be passed directly to its players, who would see their fees skyrocket.

Championship golf as seen on television is an aberration in this game. Viewers should enjoy televised events and appreciate the hard work that goes into creating a masterpiece for one week. But viewers should then set aside those maintenance standards and adopt reasonable expectations for the courses, which keep the game fun, affordable and environmentally friendly for the vast majority of players.