Golfers need the golf course to be perfect and smooth while playing. It is when the role of greenskeepers comes into the picture. If you have played golf, you might have noticed the perfection in the grass. There are no bumps, and it has even been cut so that there is no issue in front of the golfers while playing.
But does this mean that the present scenario has been like this since the beginning?
Well, the previous times had some different things. Let’s understand them.
During earlier times, the grass on the golf course was controlled naturally because of the rabbits and sheep as they used to graze it intensely. However, technological developments and the invention of mechanized mowers have offered various advantages. These machines can mow the turf consistently. Also, it was considered an important practice during the early days of golf and gained major momentum in the 1900s. The use of heavy-weight rollers was at a major level that resulted in soil compaction and led to a decline in turf health.
Golf Course Maintenance
You should not confuse the golf course maintenance process with mowing and rolling. The latter has the following benefits to offer:
- It helps in controlling the vertical growth of grass.
- It helps in spreading the grass laterally.
- It helps the players in going for shoots of higher density.
- It helps in the production of smooth surface conditions.
- It helps in creating lesser friction with the ball and helps in increasing the green speed.
When putting greens comes into the picture, lightweight rolling is done. It offers primary benefits like the following:
- It helps in increasing the green speed.
- It helps in promoting smooth surface conditions.
- It allows cutting the height of the grass while the speed is maintained.
- It corrects soil heaving and helps reduce algae and dollar spot disease.
All these steps are taken to improve the health of turfgrass and enhance its quality.
But, when we talk about golf course maintenance, it is a complicated process. It is one step ahead of mowing and using the sprinklers to keep the course fresh for morning sessions.
The servicemen do various maintenance activities like repairing and replacing the club assets whenever needed, mowing and chemical treatments, eliminating the ball marks, and improving the playing conditions, so there are no last-minute panics.
All the clubhouses work efficiently as they have workers who do the needful, like inspecting the irrigation systems, checking the water quality, and ensuring proper maintenance of the carts.
The superintendents and their teams ensure that they are taking the right steps to produce and maintain attractive golf course conditions. It is important for good playability.
Process Of Cutting The Grass On The Golf Course
When the growing season is ongoing, the mowing takes place 5-7 days within a week. So, it can be said that the grass is cut almost every day. The fairways are worked upon twice or four times a week. The roughs are worked upon once or twice a week. The steps are commenced and concluded before the playing begins. Also, it is not possible to do all of it at once. The golf course is 25-50 acres long, so mowing takes time. It cannot be done in a single day.
Here is a tip to conduct this process in a better way. The fairways should be mowed when it is dry. You might have seen many people do it on wet grass, especially in the mornings. But it results in the production of clipping debris. However, if you do it in the afternoon, the yielding results in a cleaner surface, and you get your hands on a better cut quality. You can visit the website for other tips and tricks for amazing maintenance and golfing experiences.
The golf course superintendents prefer completing the fairway and opt for rough mowing before moving forward with the play. It is because mowing while the pay is going on can present inefficient damages. Also, fairway mowing needs atleast 3-4 hours to reach its final stage. However, if you plan to do rough mowing, it will take more time. Sometimes, the time is also dependent on the availability of staff.
Not having experienced staff or mowing equipment can sometimes impact the process and lead to time consumption.
Here are some steps to help you move forward with the mowing operations correctly. They are as follows:
- You should know the facts. If you have staff not well-versed with the tips and tricks for better efficiency, you should help them with the same.
- You should know the right directions to conduct the process, so there are no problems for the players.
Maintenance does not mean it should be done once, and there is no need to look at it again. It is important to inspect the grass every week. Here are some things that you can do weekly:
- You should ensure washing the carts daily.
- You should ensure that the carts are fully charged. You should check it daily.
- It would help if you recharged the batteries.
- You should ensure checking the tire pressure and oil leakage regularly.
- Also, it would help if you did not miss on inspecting the level of water coolants daily. The carts should be repaired.
Sometimes, the keepers can use various chemicals to keep the unwanted weeds away. Many treatment substances can be used for the maintenance process. However, the frequency and methods depend on the climate and the location of the golf course. But, there are some common chemicals used for the maintenance purpose that is as follows:
- Pre-emergent herbicides
- Herbicides
- Fungicides and insecticides
- Growth regulators and plant hormones in the form of stimulants
These have gained popularity in recent years and have partnered with environmental experts to emerge as organic treatment options for golf courses.
Conclusion
The periodic maintenance of the golf course is important as it helps keep up with the strategies that suit emerging times. But, it is a challenging process. Hence, it would help if you kept checking on the timelines to do full justice to the process and help the players enjoy a wonderful experience.
