Winter is Not 'Down Time'on the Golf CourseThe golf season really begins in the winter,so use that time carefully and effectively.BY BUD WHITE AND TY McCLELLAN

Golf course amenityrepair, refurbishment,or replacement areimportant tasks thatmust be accomplishedevery year for apolished look on thegolf course.

o what do you do during the winter? Betterquestion: Who in the golf course manage-ment industry has not been asked this

question more times than the number of hairson our head? Okay, perhaps that's an exaggera-tion, but there are things that make all of uswant to pull out our hair, and for turf managersthis question qualifies as one of them.

Superintendents who are highly skilled incommunication (and patience) look at this as agreat opportunity to educate their golfing mem-bers, the green committee, neighbors, and evenfriends and family. Although some superinten-dents can easily convey a concise, calculatedresponse, others become angered, or at the veryleast aggravated, in response to this frequent andsomewhat irritating question. This begs otherquestions such as, "Why are there no articles orbooks available to turf managers concerning

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winter maintenance?" and "What took us solong to do so?" In searching through the Turf-grass Information File, textbooks, and the WorldWide Web, it doesn't take long to realize thatthere is a lack of resources on the topic of wintermaintenance.

Much like sports, the biggest gains in golfcourse improvements are achieved in the off-season. Necessary and/or desired courseimprovements oftentimes demand significanttime, labor, and occasionally large equipment,all of which result in varying degrees of coursedisruption. This being the case, the real gains areachieved when additional man-hours are avail-able and work can be performed most efficientlyand without causing undue interference to play.During the golfing season, golf course mainte-nance is geared entirely to daily play and specialevents, leaving little time to do more than makeonly minor course adjustments andimprovements.

In northern regions of the country wherewinters eliminate play for several months of theyear, or at the very least cause restrictions forplay, maintenance staff levels typically increasesometime in April and reach peak levels shortlythereafter. Staff levels then decrease aroundThanksgiving, leaving anywhere from five toeight full-time employees on average, includingthe superintendent and mechanic. Simply put,for real gains to be achieved, golf courses shouldthink twice about how many full-time staff theyshould keep through these important wintermonths. Furthermore, sufficient staffing through-out the winter is needed in preparation for bestcourse conditioning when the course opens inthe spring.

For northern courses, winter is the time ofyear in which maintenance budgets are closelyinspected; adjusted, and approved. The numberof full-time staff needed during the winter

months is a typical question that plays heavily onthe budgeting process. Ultimately, the appropri-ate answer to winter staffing levels depends onmany variables and is specific to each facility.

The following list of activities and projectswon't encompass all that can be performedduring the winter months, nor is it supposed todo so. Rather, this article is intended to assistgreen committees, boards of directors, and othercourse officials to appreciate and better under-stand what winter golf course maintenanceentails, and to be better educated about deter-mining winter staffing levels for their course.The list of winter duties and projects outlinedbelow might surprise the average golfer.

GENERAL DUTIESSnow Removal from Roads and ParkingLots: Most, if not all, northern golf courseshave at least some snow removal responsibilitiesduring.the winter. Depending on acreage andannual snowfall, snow removal requirements forsome courses will be much more extensive thanfor others. Given the unpredictability of winterweather events, it is generally required that atleast one person be kept on call for clearing snowduring such events. Snow maintenance includesplowing roads and parking lots, blowing orshoveling walkways, and applying de-icingagents.

Winter Play Setup Duties: Whilegenerallynot recommended in the northern United States,some winter play does occur and golfers still have

. expectations for course conditioning. It shouldalso be noted that if winter play is allowed, notonly should more staff be in place during thewinter to accommodate play, but many· morelabor hours will be required to repair the coursefor the beginning of spring play (another articlein itself).

Landscape Cleanup: Snow, ice, wind, andrain require debris cleanup across the property,whether it be to accommodate winter play or toprepare the course for spring opening. This in-cludes downed tree branches and accumulationsof leaves, soil, or anything that moving surfacewater leaves behind on the grounds. Remulch-ing landscape and flower beds is another greatwinter project.

Covering Greens: For courses that annuallysuffer winter damage to their greens, coveringthem with straw, tarps, or synthetic covers, andheavy sand topdressings, just to name a few, can

be essential to avoid turf loss. Many man-hoursare required in covering and protecting greens,particularly if covers must be removed or appliedseveral times throughout the winter.

Monitoring Ice on Greens: If by mid-February or early March continuous ice coverstill exists, it may need to be removed or brokento allow gas exchange to avoid turf loss due tolack of oxygen. Although winter injury is poorlyunderstood despite decades of research, thethreshold for Poa annua is assumed to be closeto about 50 days, whereas creepingbentgrass can tolerate continuous icecover much longer. Regardless of theseguidelines, monitoring of ice is neces-sary in northern states and, dependingon the intensity and duration of thewinter, breaking ice to save greensmay be required.

Snow Removal from Greens:Snow is welcome during the winter,insulating the turf from desiccatingwinter winds and temperatureextremes, but sometimes it must beremoved from greens to hasten icemelt, speed surface thawing duringthe spring, or allow surface melt tobe directed off the greens where itcannot accumulate and refreeze. Snowremoval from greens is almost alwaysperformed manually so as to avoidmechanical damage to green contours.

Monitoring Course Conditions:In addition to monitoring the golfcourse regularly, many superintendentsfrequently perform plug checks tomonitor turf health and check forwinter damage. This is done byremoving soil samples and placingthem indoors on window sills wherethey warm with sunlight. Doing so inadvance is a great way to determine ifwinter turf injury will be an issue, in which casecommunication and recovery plans can begin.

Winter Fungicide Applications: Innorthern climates, various numbers of timelyfungicide applications are used for control ofpink snow mold, or Microdochium patch(Microdochium nivale), and gray snow mold(Typhula spp.) that frequent most cool-seasonturfgrasses.

Winter Weed Control: For facilities in thetransition zone, where bermudagrass and zoysia-

Painting greens is anincreasingly popularproject on dormant,non-overseededultradwarf bermuda-grass greens.

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grass go completely dormant, controlling activelygrowing winter weeds, such as Poa annua, withpre- and post-emergent herbicides is a must. Aswith all pesticide applications, staff are requiredto be trained and certified.

Burning Native Roughs: Burning in earlyspring is the best weed control method and thehealthiest management for maintenance andcleanup of native vegetation. It has always beenMother Nature's way of maintaining the nativeplains. In addition to a burn permit, make sureto notify applicable parties in the area whenburning, including the fire department.

Advance Ordering of Fertilizers,Pesticides, and Other Chemicals: Bulkordering of fertilizers and pesticides during thewinter months can produce significant costsavings as a result of early order discounts, butdoing so requires excellent forecasting, budget-ing, and planning, all of which takes time.Although this certainly applies to all facilities,those owned by management companies,government agencies, municipalities, and thelike require a minimum of three bids for eachspecification of a product purchase. Dependingon the situation, creating detailed specificationsto obtain fair, competitive bids for everypurchase order can be quite demanding ofyour time.

Capital Purchases: Maintenance equipmentand other capital purchases typically requiresimilar purchasing and bidding processes, asoutlined above for chemicals and fertilizers.

Continuing Education: Whether it be theannual Golf Industry Show, local superintendentchapter meetings, USGA regional conferences,pesticide recertification workshops, etc., con-tinuing education is needed to stay abreast of thenewest chemistries, technologies, products, andtechniques. Continuing education is requirednot just in certain instances (such as pesticideapplicators); it is integral to the success of thefacility.

TYPICAL WINTER PROJECTSAnnual Equipment Maintenance andRepairs: Some equipment operates seven days aweek all through the growing season, and othersrun two to three days per week on average. Partsbecome worn and need to be replaced, fittingsloosen, bearings and seals wear out, engines andmotors require tune-ups, and wiring needs to beinspected.

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Extensive preventative maintenance in thewinter is crucial for equipment reliability duringthe golfing season, and reducing costly break- _downs results in substantial cost savings. Addi-tionally, there simply is not time to have multiplepieces of equipment waiting for parts or repairduring the summer. While breakdowns in thesummer cannot be eliminated, winter preventionand maintenance can go a long way in assistingwith equipment durability and dependability.

Keeping equipment clean and operatingefficiently does not just mean a better conditionedgolf course; it also increases equipment longevityand trade-in value. "The value of the mainte-nance fleet more than justifies preventativemaintenance and regular service. Maximizingthe investment in equipment is good businesssense and important to the viability of theoverall golf course operation." 1 Do not forgetequipment painting needs as well.

Mower Blade Sharpening and ReelGrinding: With dozens of reels and blades onmultiple fairway, green, tee, and rough mowers,diligent sharpening and grinding of cutting unitsin-house takes weeks. Some courses contract outthis work, but it can be very expensive. As such,investing in reel and blade grinding/sharpening

equipment, and performing this job in-house,can produce significant cost savings. Bearings,seals, and roller rebuilding are necessary, too.

Tree Maintenance: Selective tree removaland pruning is needed annually to improvegrowing conditions by increasing sunlightexposure and air flow. Trees or branches thatunduly interfere with play or intended archi-tectural design should be eliminated. Annualwinter tree maintenance also includes thinningof dense tree populations to reduce overcrowd-ing, clearing understory brush, raising canopiesfor improved air flow, and addressing treesdamaged during winter storms.

Drainage: Limited or no play during thewinter is a great time to address deficiencies indrainage. This includes repairing existing drain-age tile that has become compromised and nolonger functions properly, or the addition of newdrainage in areas that drain poorly. To improvepoorly draining areas or small pockets that holdwater, this can also be achieved throughregrading drain basin contours.

Irrigation System: All facets of an irrigationsystem require annual attention. This includesroutine servicing of pump stations as well asupgrading deteriorating irrigation components,

Snow cover completelyshuts down anymaintenance operations ...or so many think.

leveling heads, and mapping of new irrigationlines and heads.

Putting Green Collar Maintenance andLeveling: Collars are areas of the course that

~re often overlooked, but they benefit fromroutine maintenance. This includes leveling,redefining widths, expansion, and relocation.

Tee Leveling, Rebuilding, and Expan-sion: Intense play and divoting from the centersof teeing grounds may produce surface uneven-ness that causes playing areas to remain wet, assurface water no longer exits off the tees as orig-inally designed. The opposite also can be true. Ifaggressive divot-filling programs are in place,excess accumulation causes the center of tees toform a crown. Or, throughout the season it maybe obvious that a tee is simply undersized for theamount of play it receives, which is most likely onholes 1 and 10, where additional practice swingsare frequently used. In either case, the wintermonths provide a great opportunity to level,rebuild, or expand tees for the upcoming season.

Bunkers: The general industry standard forthe lifespan of bunker sand is five to seven yearsbefore it must be replaced. This occurs becausesilt and clay impede bunker drainage and offerpoor playability. Winter months are a great time

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Drainage constructionis a perfect winterproject when play andother seasonalmaintenance jobsare minimized.

to replace bunker sand, if needed, or replenishsand if more is needed. To keep bunkers drainingproperly, it also is wise to inspect the drain sys-tem so that tile lines can be cleaned or replaced.

Cart Path Repair: At some point, highwaysand streets require repair, and cart paths are nodifferent. Winter months, when temperature andconditions allow, are a great time to prepare cartpaths for the upcoming season. Curbing can bebuilt as well.

Maintenance Facility Improvements: Anorganized, clean, and operative maintenancefacility does not happen by itself, and directingsome attention here goes a long way to improv-ing employee morale, better productivity andefficiency, and attracting and retaining qualityemployees.

Pump House, Rest Stations, and OtherSmall Buildings: There is no rule that statesthat these structures must be eyesores. Rather,when routinely painted and well maintained,even these facilities can be aesthetically pleasing.

Golf Course Accessories: These includetee markers, wastebaskets, ball washers, benches,bunker rakes, bag racks, etc., and because all areoutdoor accessories that endure the elements, allrequire restoration every now and again. Golfcourse accessories should be cleaned, repaired,refurbished, painted, or built new, when neces-sary. New or updated accessories are noticed bygolfers.

Soil Testing: Although it may not be prac-tical to obtain soil samples during the winter, it

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is an opportune time to review soil test resultsfrom the previous season (and past years toevaluate trends, if any). Fertility needs should beaddressed, and changes, if any, can be anticipatedfor the upcoming season. This allows for latewinter soil amendment applications that may bein order.

Water Testing: Winter is a good time toestablish baseline numbers on water purity, aswater should be at its purest at that time. Byrunning a water test in the winter and again inmidsummer, the relative ranges of water qualityused to irrigate your golf course can be obtained.

Miscellaneous: Other projects that canbe performed during the winter may includeinstalling a brick patio outside the clubhouse,installing a deep well, repairing a leaking waterfountain line, cleaning/servicing/painting/installing large fans used to circulate air ongreens, refurbishing the facility's main entrancegate, and everything in between. Winter alsopresents a great time to develop maintenancestandards and review safety and trainingprocedures.

There's lots that can be achieved during thewinter months, and a winter crew can do somuch for your course over time. Continuity ofstaff throughout the year is extremely importantin regard to developing an experienced, respon-sible, and efficient crew. Similarly, staff continuitythroughout the winter reduces time spent train-ing new employees from one year to the nextand minimizing rookie mistakes that can bevery costly.

The exact number of employees to staffthrough the winter depends upon specificrequirements of the facility. Keep in mind thatcourse conditioning and preparation for thegolfing season really begins in the winter, sothink again and carefully weigh all the optionsbefore considering crew layoffs during thewinter. Come time for the member-guest, clubchampionship, or any other significant event atyour course, you'll be glad you did.

REFERENCEINelson, M. 2004. Mountain standard time (February,2004). USGA World Wide Web Site.

BUD WHITE is directorand Tv MCCLELLAN is anagronomist in the USGA Green Section's Mid-Continent Region.