March- What do you do in the winter?

We had major snowfall throughout January and February that dropped well over 2ft of snow on the golf course. The accumulation of snowfall acts as an insulator/blanket for the turf, keeping it safe from the harsh winds and below freezing temperatures. The snow mold fungicide applications, applied back in November, will help protect the turf from any diseases while covered in snow. Overall, we experienced a normal winter with relatively mild temperatures but above average snowfall.  

March brings with it thawing and flooding due to the heavy snowfall. However, the golf course handled the melt very well. The additional drainage we have been working on over the last two seasons worked very well in draining the golf course. Over the last 10 days, we have completely melted giving me a chance to walk the golf course and asses any potential damage. I'm pleased to report, we came through the winter looking very good. Greens, Tees and Fairways were disease free and had very minimal signs of winter damage.

The weather is beginning to break and with warmer temperatures on the horizon golfers are getting antsy to get back on the course. Here is a link USGA Twitter account talking about the thawing process of the Greens and the potential damage to the root structure if the Greens are opened too early.

USGA Greens Section

It is important to be patient during this transition time and not to rush the opening of the Greens as it can have a devastating effect later in the season. We need our root systems to be as strong as possible when getting into the heat and humidity of July. The last thing we want is a setback in early spring due to a few days of mild weather. We will continue to monitor the forecast and as we get consistent warmer temperatures, both daily and over night, we will begin to look for our opening date. Our opening date has historically lined up with an early April opening, outside of a few outlier years. 

When someone asks what I do for a living and I tell them, I'm a golf course superintendent, two comments/questions typically follow: 1) "I bet you have the nicest looking home lawn in the neighborhood?" and 2) "What do you do in the winter?" I've found over the years the answers to both questions are pretty much the same of most superintendents. To question one- a tongue and cheek but partly serious- "No, I don't get paid to take care of my own lawn."  and question two "There is still a lot of work to be done throughout the winter to prepare for the following season."  This winter has been no different. While it is more relaxed around the shop with a smaller winter staff of 8. We stay quite busy around the golf course, shop and clubhouse. 

Carlos Gonzales is our equipment manager taking care of our fleet of mowers, carts, and equipment. Every winter he leads up the team in doing preventive maintenance on all mowers and carts. This includes oil changes and tune ups to all pieces of equipment as well as freshly grinding and sharpening all blades and reels.

On days we couldn't get out onto the golf course our staff power washed, cleaned and waxed each piece of equipment. The Grounds Department has over a million dollars worth of equipment. Preventive maintenance allows us to preserve its value, insure it is in quality shape and prepared for the following season. Below you can see the difference between how a piece of machinery looks after a full season of use and what it looks like after it goes through our preventive maintenance process. Almost looks brand new!

At most clubs in the North, the Grounds Department is responsible for snow removal at the clubhouse and to clear all fire lanes on campus in case of emergency. This season saw us under a lot of snow and while the club was closed for the majority of the winter, we are still responsible for clearing paths for both employees and emergency personnel.  The staff stayed quite busy on what felt like a day to day basis plowing the parking lots, shoveling the sidewalks and cleaning walk ways through the tunnel!

As stated earlier, it is a more relaxed environment through the winter and staff take the opportunity to use some well deserved vacation time. However, you can see there is plenty of work to keep us busy. Our goal is to be ready and prepared for when the weather breaks and golfers return to the coure. It is right around the corner!

Kirk