What is required for a golf course maintenance operation to be successful? While some might say that an adequate budget, quality equipment and a large staff are most important, this is not universally true. Some facilities have access to these resources and still experience challenges. At the same time, facilities with a limited budget, old equipment and few employees can deliver quality conditions and maintain a high level of golfer satisfaction. What makes the difference?
Regardless of budget, location, turf species or course design there are four practices every golf course can implement to achieve more success: communicating effectively, educating and cross-training employees, using data to guide decisions and creating a positive work environment.
Communicate Effectively
The ability to effectively communicate the rationale behind maintenance practices and their impacts on playability is critical. Having a maintenance plan for the season is certainly recommended but the ability to adapt is vital. The importance of being able to confidently make decisions that stray from the plan and communicate the reasons for the change to golfers, decision-makers and staff cannot be overstated. Fortunately, there are several effective communication outlets for greenkeepers.
Being available on the course to speak with golfers and answer questions as they play is a communication method that is not always utilized. It is understandable that a greenkeeper has other priorities to address, but this level of customer service goes a long way in maintaining golfer satisfaction. Conversations on the course are an opportunity to learn about golfers’ views and to educate them firsthand about any issues that may be impacting playability. This type of communication needs to be brief yet informative, so golfers can continue with their round and not hold up play.
Providing the golf shop staff with daily updates about course conditions also helps keep golfers informed. Multiple stops at the golf shop may be required throughout the day to ensure accurate information has been relayed among the staff and to keep them aware of changing conditions. Some facilities schedule a weekly meeting between the golf shop staff and head greenkeeper to discuss golf and maintenance schedules so everyone is aware of any changes or issues.
Social media, blogs, email and facility newsletters are effective outlets for updating golfers about what is occurring on the course. Electronic communication makes it possible to provide real-time updates, so golfers are aware of anything out of the ordinary that may be encountered during their round. Newsletters are an opportunity to provide periodic updates and information regarding non-urgent topics.
Communication with the maintenance staff is just as important as communication with golfers and decision-makers. A greenkeeper must have the ability to effectively communicate with the staff as a group and in one-on-one situations so that each employee has a thorough understanding of the tasks they are completing and events on the golf course. The ability to communicate is especially important when educating and training.
Educate and Cross-Train
The number of employees required to maintain a golf course differs from location to location. Expectations, budget and course design play major roles in determining how many employees will be required to maintain quality conditions. The seasonal nature of golf course maintenance requires most facilities to employ a core of full-time staff and hire seasonal employees when the workload increases. Regardless of how the agronomic team is structured, educate and cross-train all employees so the staff is well-rounded – the results will be positive.
Training employees to specialize in a few tasks may make it easy to set the schedule every morning, but is this best for the maintenance operation? When more employees know how to efficiently perform a wide range of maintenance practices, it is possible to rotate the daily schedule so complacency does not develop.
In addition to keeping employees engaged in their work, cross-training allows for seamless transition when employee turnover occurs. Training an employee to perform an unfamiliar task midseason is a challenge and can negatively impact playing conditions due to the likelihood of mistakes occurring. This situation is easily avoided by evaluating each employee’s skill level and maximizing their value to the staff by training them to perform as many tasks as possible.
In addition to routine instruction about safely operating equipment, training employees to identify problems on the course can help avoid major setbacks. If an issue does develop, it is not necessary for an employee to diagnose the exact problem. Simply being trained to recognize something is wrong and alert a manager will help prevent many problems.
Prior to assigning the first tasks of the day is an ideal time to update the staff on topics such as quality of cut, hydraulic leaks or mower skips. These brief conversations will help employees understand how to identify and address each issue. Use pictures so that employees have a visual representation of what issues to look for on the course.
Use Data to Guide Decisions
Experience is a helpful for turf managers and should be heavily relied upon when making decisions, but it is not the only resource. Fortunately, today’s greenkeepers have access to services and tools that provide accurate data to help guide agronomic decisions.
Nutrient Status
Lush, rapidly growing turf does not produce the best playing conditions and should not be the goal of a fertility program. Instead, playability and turf health are balanced by supplying enough nutrients to withstand environmental stress, maintenance practices and golfer traffic. Soil samples should be sent at least once a year to an accredited lab to measure nutrient levels. The results help turf managers determine the proper amount of nutrients to apply so any deficiencies can be addressed.
Some facilities choose to test every green, tee and fairway each year. Others reduce annual testing costs by setting up a rotation where samples are collected from six of each playing surface every year. This method puts every playing surface on a three-year rotation for measuring nutrient status.
Organic Matter Content
Using a soil probe or hole cutter to visually assess the mat layer and root growth is a good habit, but this is not an accurate method for determining the exact quantity of organic matter in the soil profile. Undisturbed samples should be sent to an accredited soil physical testing lab to obtain an accurate measurement of how much organic matter is present in the soil profile. The results generated by testing these samples can then be used to determine which cultural practices should be performed to properly manage organic matter.
It is not necessary to send samples from every putting green. Collecting samples from an average green, a problematic green and one of the best-performing greens will suffice. Samples should be sent from the same putting greens to the same lab at approximately the same time of year so accurate comparisons can be made from year to year.
Water Management
Irrigation water quality can fluctuate throughout the year. Poor water quality can impact nutrient absorption, plant protectant efficacy and overall turf health. Water quality should be routinely tested to determine if supplemental practices are necessary to avoid turf health issues. Interpreting the results generated by a water quality test can be challenging. The USGA article “Understanding Water Quality and Guidelines to Management” is a valuable resource for interpreting water quality reports.
The widespread availability of portable moisture meters has changed how greenkeepers irrigate. Being able to accurately quantify how much moisture is in the soil profile gives greenkeepers the ability to target areas that require supplemental irrigation and rehydrate them accordingly. If your facility is not currently using moisture meters to guide irrigation decisions, it is time to invest in one of these tools. The USGA article, “Identify Soil Moisture Status More Accurately than Ever Before!” provides guidelines for how moisture meters can be integrated into a golf course maintenance program.
Create a Positive Work Environment
The work environment of a maintenance operation is a direct reflection of the head greenkeeper’s management style. It is already a great challenge to hire and retain quality employees; management practices that create a hostile work environment will only compound labor issues and decrease productivity. Focusing on creating a positive work environment helps with employee retention, makes work enjoyable and ultimately produces a better product on the course.
Assigning and explaining tasks is very different from ordering an employee to complete a task. Shouting orders is less effective than asking an employee to complete a task and explaining why that task is important. Recognizing the difference can go a long way in creating a positive work environment.
Every day is busy on a golf course but investing the time to learn more about each employee helps build a positive relationship with the staff. Joining the staff for lunch when it is possible provides an opportunity to interact on a personal level and have a conversation that does not relate to work.
Employees completing the daily maintenance tasks can provide valuable insight about ways to improve the operation. The offseason is an ideal time to meet with employees and discuss where they viewed weaknesses in the maintenance program. Including employees in the maintenance operation evaluation process gives them a sense of ownership in the tasks they complete every day.
The practices discussed in this article have a place in every maintenance program no matter the budget, turf species or location. The return on investment for implementing these practices is significant considering minimal or no investment is required. These improvements just take commitment.