A snow-covered golf course always makes me feel a bit poetic. The clean, uniform appearance transforms the familiar landscape into something quiet, bright and untouched. A once-busy golf course full of players, maintenance equipment and wildlife is now covered with a soft, unbroken blanket. In this stillness, the snow offers a striking reminder that every surface can be renewed, every routine can be reset, and every space can invite a new beginning.
Winter is a good time for people in the golf course maintenance industry to relax and reflect. The 2025 season will be remembered as one of the most difficult many of us have ever been through. Long stretches of hot and dry weather in some areas, or excessively hot and wet weather in others, led to maintenance challenges throughout the Northeast. Couple poor weather with another record-setting year of play, and superintendents, their teams and the golf courses they oversee are tired.
Looking back on the year, it’s important to celebrate your successes and think about what you can do better, but try to at least pause for a few weeks so you can start 2026 with a new, fresh view. Allow some time for new ideas and new energy to gather. I promise you, whatever it is that you are worried about now will still be there in a few weeks’ time. Let the break of a snow-covered golf course invite you to imagine what you might do differently when golf ramps back up again in the spring.
I know the entire Green Section joins me in thanking everyone that we worked with and learned from this year. It is because of the people in this great industry that we enjoy what we do so much. Good luck this winter and next season, but before we turn the page on 2025, take some well-earned time for yourself and your loved ones.
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 – bgietka@usga.org
Information on the USGA’s Course Consulting Service
Contact the Green Section Staff