Winter is not "Down-Time"

Over the past four years here at The Gauntlet Golf Club, one of the most frequent questions I have been asked is "So, what do you do during the winter ?" And while there are plenty of other questions and golf course issues that raise the blood pressure, this questions still ranks high on the list.

I look at this question as an opportunity to educate our golfing membership, employees, neighbors, friends and families. Not everyone feels this way, however, and can easily become angered or aggravated when attempting to respond to this frequent and irritating question.

Much like sports, some of the best progress and biggest gains in golf course improvement are acheived in the off-season. Most of our improvement projects demand significant time, labor and sometimes course disruption. During the season, our course maintenance is pretty much devoted to daily play and special events which rarely leaves time to do more than minor adjustments and improvements.

The following list of activities and projects are not only ones that our staff performs during these winter months, but are outlined to help the membership and other employees better understand what winter maintenance entails. This list of winter duties may surprise some.


GENERAL TASKS:

* Snow removal from paths, roads and parking lots

- Our maintenance employees, like most staffs, are responsible for snow removal (when we get snow). Snow removal includes plowing the entrance road, cart paths, parking lot and applying de-icing agents to walkways and stairs.



*Winter Play Set-up:

- Since we don't usually get significant snowfall here, there remains a demand to play when the weather is decent and thus golfers still have expectations for course conditioning. As a result, our staff continues to change pin and tee marker locations as frequently as necessary to accomodate play.


* Landscape Clean-up:

- Loose debris on the golf course can be a result of many things including snow, ice, wind and rain. This debris requires clean-up to both accomodate play and prepare the course for the Spring rush. This clean-up includes downed tree branches and accumulations of leaves, soil or anything that moving surface water leaves behind on the grounds. Remulching landscape and flower beds is another winter project that can be done.



* Monitoring Ice on Greens:

- If our greens have a substantial ice cover in mid-late February, it may need to be romoved or broken to allow gas exchange to avoid any loss of turf due to lack of oxygen. The threshold for Poa annua is assumed to be close to 50 days, whereas creeping bentgrass can tolerate continuous ice cover much longer.



* Snow Removal from Greens:

- While snow is sometimes welcome on the golf course, isulating the turf from dessicating winter winds and temperature extremes, we must sometimes remove it from our greens to hatsen ice melt and speed surface thawing during the Spring. When snow removal is required, we perform it manually so as to avoid mechanical damage to the greens.



* Winter Fungicide Applications:

- It may be necessary to make periodic, timley applications to control Snow Mold.



* Winter Weed Control:

- With our bermudagrass tees and zoysiagrass fairways, it is often necessary to control actively growing winter weeds, such as poa annua with pre- and post-emergent herbicides. This aids in enhancing definition between turf areas.



* Continuing Education:

- The off-season provides a great opportunity to continue our educations efforts, whether it be by attending the annual Golf Industry Show, local chapter meetings, USGA Regional Conferences, Pesticide Recertification Workshops, etc. Continuous Education is necessary to stay abreast of the newest chemistries, technologies, products and techniques in the industry. Not only may continuing education be required in certain circumstances, like pesticide recertification, it is an integral part to the success of a facility.



TYPICAL WINTER PROJECTS:



* Annual Equipment Maintenance and Repairs:

- Most of our equipment operated seven days per week during the growing season and in doing so, parts become worn, fittings loosen, bearings and seals wear out, engines and motors require tune-ups and wirings need to be inspected. Extensive preventative maintenance and repair in the winter is crucial for reliability during the season. Winter equipment maintenance will also help reduce costly breakdowns.



* Tree Maintenance:

- Each off-season, we perform some selective tree removal and pruning to improve both growing and playing conditions.



* Drainage:

- Having limited play in the winter results in a great time to address drainage issues on the course. These issues can include repairing existing drainage tile that is not functioning properly or the addition of new drainage in areas that drain poorly.



* Irrigation System:

- Annual attention is required for all facets of our irrigation system. Some of the services we perform annually on our system are; routine service of the pump station, leveling sprinklers, repairing broken sprinklers, etc.



* Bunker Maintenance:

- Winter is a great time to replace bunker sand, if needed, or to replenish sand if more is needed. With the silt and clay beneath our bunkers, it only takes a season or two before bunker drainage is impeded and needs to be "flushed out" or replaced.



* Maintenance Facility Improvements:

- An organized, clean and operational maintenance facility does not happen by itself and directing some attention to our facility goes a long way to improving employee moral, increasing productivity, and efficiency.



* Golf Course Accessories:

- Accessories include tee markers, ballwashers, waste baskets, bunker rakes, etc. All of these accessories endure the weather all season long and require restoration annually. For each accessory we will, clean, repair (if necessary), refurbish and repaint.





In addition to countless other projects that can be achieved this time of year, winter also serves as a great time to develop our maintenance standards and review our safety and training procedures.



So although some may think course maintenance completely shuts down during the winter, now you know it doesn't.