For more than a few years, USGA agronomists have been preaching the importance of simplifying maintenance during Course Consulting Service visits. One way to streamline maintenance and focus on what matters most is to eliminate landscape beds on the course. While we’ve seen a lot of that happen – especially since COVID – areas around the clubhouse, pool, tennis courts and other off-the-course areas are still heavily landscaped and it’s usually the superintendent’s responsibility to maintain them.
One way superintendents are getting around the difficulties that come with a lean staff is to subcontract the maintenance of ornamental beds, mulch and other landscape areas. I recently spoke with two superintendents who have gone this route and both said that it is cheaper to hire a landscape company than it is to perform the work in-house. Even if they were authorized to hire additional staff to help with spring landscaping and other duties, finding labor continues to be an issue for these superintendents so hiring extra employees is easier said than done.
Spring is always one of the busiest times of the year on the golf course. Everything is waking up at the same time so grass needs to be cut while winter projects are finished and aeration is completed, if it hasn’t been already. All of this during a time of the year when new staff must be hired and trained, or you are waiting for staff to return. Add in the desire for new mulch and spring flowers in high-visibility areas and maintenance teams can get stretched way too thin. You might be able to take some pressure off yourself this season by hiring a landscaping company to pitch in with mulch and other spring projects so you can focus on what matters most.
Northeast Region Agronomists
Darin Bevard, senior director, Championship Agronomy – dbevard@usga.org
Elliott L. Dowling, regional director, East Region – edowling@usga.org
Brian Gietka, agronomist, Northeast Region – bgietka@usga.org