So, What do you guys do in the winter?

Everyone that works in the golf course management industry has been asked the question, What do you guys do in the winter?  If I had a dollar for everytime I have been asked this question, I would not have to work anymore.  I think it is important for the golfer to understand that the golfing season does not begin with the onset of Spring, but with the beginning of winter.  The winter months are when we are doing all the ground work to make the next golfing season a success.  I thought that I would share with you what is done during this critical time of the year, and dispell the myth that there is a long vacation for my staff and I during the winter months.

In October and November, we get the course ready to put to bed for the winter.  This includes cleaning up all leaf debris, and applying the last of the fungicide/fertilizer applications to the greens.  After Thanksgiving, we then go to work inside.  The following is a list of the activites that we will accomplish over the next two and a half months:

1. Servicing the golf cart fleet (60 total): This includes changing oil, filters, fueling, greasing the clutch, airing up or replacing tires, replacing sandholders, scorecard holders, roof drains, and fixing anything major such as the clutch and rear end

2. Winterizing the irrigation system

3. Winterizing the course restrooms

4. Refinishing and Painting: Tees, Ballwashers, Cups, Flags, Benches, Trashcan enclosures, Birdhouses

5. Servicing all machinery: Check antifreeze, Change oil/filters, Hydraulic oil/filters, Grease all fittings (some mowers have 60 fittings to grease), Number of units to service: Mowers (14 total), Sprayer, Tractors (4 total), Maintenance golf carts (7 total), Topdresser

6. Overhauling any of these machines that have major problems (engine or hydraulic) from the previous seasons use

7. Grinding all reels/new bedknives: (32 total)

8. Ordering and planning all pesticide/fertilizer/Plant growth regulator applications for the new year

9. Developing the maintenance budget (operating and capital expenditures)

This is the typical list of items we are in charge of during the winter months.  The items that are completed in these months, insures that the next golfing season is a success for both you the golfer and the maintenance staff at COGC.  The next post will cover grinding of the reel mowers and how critical it is for turfgrass health.

Shannon