How do you handle winter play?

Superintendents in cold-weather climates are increasingly finding themselves trying to strike a balance. Their members and customers want to play golf through the winter and advances in turf science and changes in the climate are making that a viable option, even in locales where it might not have been in the not-too-distant past.

But the turf professional must still prepare for the variabilities that accompany winter weather; cold temperatures, biting winds, and the possibility of snow and ice. All of this must be considered with an eye on their facility’s bottom line.

How do they strike that balance?

Greg D’Antonio, superintendent and facilities manager, Concord Country Club, West Chester, Pennsylvania

“I think ultimately what I’ve realized is the course is here to be played. The members pay dues and they want to play. So, I think, ultimately, revenue and member satisfaction is kind of top priority, and agronomically we have to find that balance. But I think it’s also our job to find that balance while letting them play.”

Patrick McMahon, superintendent, Eagles Ridge Golf Club, Lakewood, New Jersey

“We go cart-path only after Thanksgiving to limit the abuse that the course takes and we then just kind of vary the traffic pattern. We have 27 holes, which is nice. We actually close a nine weekly and rotate that throughout the wintertime to break up the play a little bit.”

Mike Dunk, director of grounds, Coyote Crossing Golf Club, West Lafayette, Indiana

“After Thanksgiving until probably around March 1, if the greens are completely frozen, and we can’t stick a tee in them, then we do not play golf. If we can stick a tee in them, then we’re open to play golf.”

Mark Knapke, superintendent, Mercer County Elks Golf Club, Celina, Ohio

“Anything after December 1 is bonus golf. Members are just glad to get out and exercise and play. We try to make sure all the leaves are taken care of, but all mowing has stopped. If we get some real warm weather, we will roll the greens and change the cups, but still no mowing until March. Maintenance of the golf course is more of the priority this time of year with projects and fertilization.”

Tartan Talks 77

Listening to somebody discuss listening on a podcast might provide a spark to refresh one of the most critical skills for longevity in the golf industry.

“It’s a lot of the job, especially when you have a wide-range of clientele,” Gary Brawley says of listening in an appearance on the Tartan Talks series. “At a private club, you have your ‘A’ golfers who have their agenda, you have our senior golfers who have been members for 30 years that want a certain thing and don’t want to change, you have the ladies. You have to listen to them all and balance them all.”

Brawley has done a solid job of listening over the years. His career spans more than three decades and he launched his own firm, Gary Brawley Golf Design, in 2015. Brawley has become adept at listening to clients describe water challenges and then implementing plans to address them. Brawley’s firm is based in Peoria, Arizona, and he executes most of his work in the Southwest. He says three-quarters of his current projects feature a water-related component. That percentage isn’t likely to decrease soon.

“It’s not just Arizona,” he says. “We all have to be the best stewards we can of that resource. The big picture is everywhere. We have to be out there, we have to communicate.”

The podcast can be found on the Superintendent Radio Network page of all popular distribution platforms.

Industry buzz

Heritage Landscape Supply Group acquired WinField United’s Professional Products Group. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Professional Products Group is a green industry distributor that provides technical expertise, solutions and service across multiple markets, including golf. The group operates 16 distribution locations across 12 states. PPG will continue to be led by Scott Gault, along with its experienced sales and operations team. The company is transitioning its name to Heritage Professional Products Group. … Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge founder JohnnyMorris will receive the 40th Old Tom Morris Award at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. Morris used golf as an avenue to get people out to enjoy nature. After purchasing the Big Cedar property in 1987, he had Jack Nicklaus design Top of the Rock in 1996. The 9-hole, par-3 course was renovated in 2014, the same time Buffalo Ridge was renovated by Tom Fazio. Morris added Mountain Top, a 13-hole Gary Player design in 2017. BillCoore’s and Ben Crenshaw’s Ozarks National opened in 2019 and Payne’s Valley, a 19-hole Tiger Woods design, debuted in 2020. … Superintendents and golf maintenance professionals filled more than 1,300 seminar seats at the annual Carolinas GCSA Conference and Trade Show Nov. 14-16 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The final tally of 1,356 participants in education seminars was 10 seats shy of the record-high set in 2019. The number of exhibiting companies in 2022 was 186, down six from last year and down 28 from the record 214 set in 2018.

Course news

Golf course architect Erik Larsen and St. Johns County completed a public golf course effort at the St. Johns Golf Club in Elkton, Florida. Larsen worked on the project for seven years and collaborated with director of golf/general manager Wes Tucker and his staff, the St. Johns County board of county commissioners, and Wadsworth Golf Construction Company. St. Johns Golf Club course was established from potato farmland as a county-owned facility in 1989 and operated as a 27-hole course despite poor conditioning and with nine holes going fallow a decade ago. After weighing whether to sell the land for housing, St. Johns County opted in 2021 to approve funding on an $8 million renovation to develop an 18-hole course. The course has a new routing, expansive short-game area, beginning and finishing holes closer to the clubhouse, TifEagle Bermudagrass greens, TifTuf Bermudagrass fairways and zoysiagrass bunker faces. … Occano, a new real estate community developed by Dilweg along the Albemarle Sound of North Carolina, partnered with Arnold Palmer Design Company and Signet Golf Associates to revitalize a course that opened in 2009. The $3 million project included enhancing bunkers, expanding and restoring greens, resurfacing cart-path bridges, ornamental plant conversion, and tee space additions. … The ASGCA honored the following architects and courses as part of its fourth annual Environmental Excellence Awards: Brookline Golf Course, Brookline, Massachusetts/MarkMungeam; Columbia Golf Course, Minneapolis/Kevin Norby; Como Golf Course, St. Paul, Minnesota/Norby; Las Piedras, Punta del Este, Uruguay/Thad Layton; and Union League National Golf Club, Swainton, New Jersey/Dana Fry and Jason Straka. … Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, was selected to host the 2033 U.S. Women’s Open. One of the five founding USGA clubs, Chicago Golf Club will be hosting the event for the first time.