Editor’s Note: This article describes practices that are working well at a particular golf course. All golf courses are different, and any practice or tool should be evaluated based on the unique circumstances.

One of the fundamental steps in achieving this goal is tracking and managing putting green turf growth. We measure clipping yields daily to know where the greens stand regarding nitrogen release and growth rates. Coupling that data with soil temperatures and moisture readings helps us grasp what is driving the growth rate and allows me to anticipate and (hopefully) avoid surges in growth over the weekend that lead to loss of speed and diminished putting quality. Spoon-feeding nitrogen also helps us maintain steadier growth rates throughout the week. If you are not currently collecting clipping volume data at your course, I can’t recommend this practice strongly enough. It takes very little time to do, especially if you’re only tracking a few select greens, and it allows us to monitor growth and adjust mowing, rolling and applications accordingly before the weekend hits.

Fairway rolling can improve playability without more mowing

Fairway rolling has become one of my favorite tools for improving weekend conditions without increasing labor intensity. At Fairview, we use five staff members to mow fairways and another three to mow approaches. That’s tough to do on a weekend and the fairways don’t necessarily need to be mowed daily. If we roll fairways and approaches, we can do all of them with just three staff members: one rolling, one mowing the collars and a few side-to-side passes in front of the greens, and one to blow any debris and move and replace cart directional signs. From a golfer’s perspective on Saturday and Sunday, the fairways are dew-free, firm and appear to have been freshly mown, but we are able to accomplish this effect with five less staff members than mowing while minimizing turf stress. As an added benefit, we reduce disease pressure by knocking the dew off. We also use fairway rolling on tournament days so that we can send those five extra staff members to do other detail work for these special events. There are fairway rollers available for just about every budget. We use a tow-behind model that was less than $20,000 brand new, and I have seen other courses use homemade versions with success.

We don’t roll fairways when soils have a lot of moisture to avoid excessively increasing compaction or creating surface disruptions in wet areas. We also avoid rolling fairways during extremely dry weather to minimize traffic stress on the turf. Courses with finer soils may want to use lighter fairway rollers to minimize compaction. To avoid turf stress where fairway rollers start and stop, sometimes we roll right up to the green and sometimes we will fully mow the approaches and only roll the unmown fairway. This technique helps spread the wear and tear of multiple rolling days. If time and staffing don’t allow you to roll every fairway on a weekend morning, it may be beneficial to focus on landing areas or holes that are played early in the round before dew burns off.

Extend the maintenance window with lighting

One of the greatest constraints on weekends is the amount of time available before play begins. As tee sheets fill up and multiple-tee or shotgun starts become more common, maintenance teams are given less morning hours to work with. In order to get the course prepared ahead of play – especially on weekends – working in darkness is a necessity at many courses during at least part of the year. That’s certainly true for my team. Since COVID, Fairview’s membership has increased, our rounds have nearly doubled, our tee sheet is full and times start forty minutes earlier than they did in 2019, so different lighting solutions to aid with morning course maintenance have become essential for us.

Whenever we purchase new equipment, we try to make sure lighting is part of the package. We have some older walking greens mowers that did not come with lights, but we purchased rechargeable LED lights and mounted them with magnets. This approach also works great for turbine debris blowers and any other equipment that doesn’t have built-in lighting. All our staff members have good-quality headlamps that allow them to perform tasks like changing hole locations, moving tee markers, and raking bunkers safely and efficiently while working in darkness.

A real game changer for us was purchasing an LED tripod from the Milwaukee company. We have this mounted in the back of a utility cart and it lights up an entire green complex. This has been very helpful for setting up the driving range tee and raking bunkers by hand. We have also used it to extend our days during construction projects and aeration. We purchased the larger batteries for this setup and get several hours of bright lighting with one charge. There are various light stands available, many of which can be purchased for less than $1,000 with batteries.

Targeted rough and bunker maintenance

With limited staff and time, you can’t get everything done perfectly for every weekend day – so superintendents have to prioritize. When it comes to rough and bunker maintenance, we take a targeted approach around weekends to make sure that the most noticeable and impactful areas are addressed.

Rough mowing has a direct impact on pace-of-play and golfer satisfaction. We perform targeted rough cleanup passes on Thursday or Friday afternoon around fairway landing zones and greens. This helps keep pace of play moving on the busier days, especially when our rough is growing quickly. More balls are found quicker and they are easier to advance.

Bunker conditions get a lot of attention, but there is only so much the maintenance team can do on the weekend. At Fairview, we try to keep up with edging and sand depth checks during the week. This sets the table for weekend success. For many courses, hand raking every bunker on both weekend days may not be realistic. Good results can still be achieved by prioritizing greenside bunkers and spot-raking high-traffic fairway bunkers. To prevent our bunker raking staff from feeling like they need to rush on the weekend, we have the rest of the weekend crew help rake the last few holes after they finish their other tasks ahead of the bunker crew.

Staffing solutions

Courses typically rely on a significantly reduced amount of staff on the weekend and budget limitations or overtime restrictions make it difficult to increase the number of people available. Your staff also can’t be expected to work every single day of the golf season, so it’s important to give members of your team a break on certain weekends. Part-time help can be a good option, and I have found people from schoolteachers to police officers interested in working on the course for a few hours on the weekend in exchange for some “free” golf. If you can train people to get some of the easier jobs out of the way on weekends, everybody wins. Even if it’s just filling divots or fixing ball marks, it elevates overall weekend conditions.

We also cross-train our staff as much as possible to ensure maximum flexibility. I try to have a good number of team members that can complete multiple weekend tasks such as changing cups, adjusting the irrigation system, operating greens mowers and hand watering areas of the course. Redundancy in skills prevents bottlenecks when someone is absent. It also offers opportunities for staff members to help finish other tasks if their work is done early. We also rotate weekend assignments to prevent burnout. In my experience, a focused, motivated crew can accomplish more in fewer hours than a fatigued team that is already stretched thin.

Technology is a force multiplier

New technology is constantly creating opportunities to increase productivity, which will only help superintendents improve weekend management. Robotic mowers are beginning to gain steam in reducing labor requirements for maintaining certain areas of the course. This could really help with mowing primary rough areas ahead of and throughout the weekend. Moisture sensing technology also helps optimize playing conditions and makes it easier for watering staff to prioritize their efforts. At Fairview, we use portable moisture meters to map out putting green moisture levels so the hand watering staff knows right where the dry spots are as they work around play on busy weekend days. We also use remote sensing technology to measure and map fairway moisture. This has helped us save time and water, the golf course plays better, and golfers have much less interaction with staff trying to run sprinklers or hand water on weekend afternoons because we are able to address dry areas ahead of play with greater precision.

Engineering the weekend

Optimizing weekend conditions with less staff and limited time is both a management challenge and an agronomic one. I don’t want the course playing better on Wednesday and Thursday than it does on Saturday and Sunday, but I also don’t want to push the turf or my staff past the breaking point to meet weekend expectations. To me, great weekend conditions are the result of disciplined agronomy and careful planning, not emergency measures. With preparation, sequencing, restraint and a few relatively low-cost tools, we’re able to prioritize prime time in a way that is sustainable throughout the year.