Winter work in the mountains

Omni Hotels and Resorts has the privilege of managing two Golden Age golf resorts in the Appalachian Mountains, Omni Homestead and Omni Bedford Springs. The former owns two championship golf courses, The Cascades and Old Course, The Cascades designed by William Flynn and Old Course designed by Donald Ross, the latter is home to The Old Course, with major work done by Ross and A.W. Tillinghast.

It’s a massive responsibility to make sure both facilities survive the winter and are in tip-top shape when spring play begins, but director of golf and grounds Chuck Wagmiller at Omni Homestead and superintendent David Swartzel at Omni Bedford Springs know what it takes to thrive during the offseason.

The duo shared strategies they employ in preparation for winter and what they do to prepare their respective courses for play the following spring.

Winter prep

Wagmiller and his team take a holistic approach prior to the colder months and begin with these key steps:

• Apply snow mold prevention prior to snowfall on greens, tees and fairways.
• After final mowing of greens in late fall, apply the first of three Proxy+Stressgard to Poa annua for seedhead prevention.
• Winterize the irrigation system and clean the pump station intake screen.
• Complete system repairs, update sprinkler and nozzle information, evaluate noted irrigation issues.
• Edge and flush out all drainage trucklines to the system to ensure proper flow and performance. Cast iron drain lids are sanded and repainted.
• Remove tee markers, direction signs, tee signage and posts, wood flagsticks and bunker rakes to make sure they are like new in springtime.
• Complete simple building maintenance repairs along with washing golf course tunnels, outside F&B furniture and tournament scoreboard areas.
• Maintain in-house tee markers, directional signage, and driving range ball crates and benches to hold onto personal touch and the natural setting of golf in the mountains.

At Omni Bedford Springs, Swartzel shares specifics on course maintenance tricks to make sure The Old Course is ready for opening day:

• Add phosphite and green pigment to snow mold applications to help plants deal with winter stress and come out stronger.
• Apply heavy sand topdressing to greens, tees and approach areas after final mowing.
• Apply late-season fertilizer to fairways and tees when the turf is still green but not expecting much more growth for maximum storage of energy as opposed to pushing lush conditions heading into dormancy. Approximately 50 percent IBDU and 50 percent quick release at about .50 pounds N/M is applied.
• In general, keep turf stress-free and “happy” as possible headed into cold months.

Using winter to get ahead

At Omni Homestead, Wagmiller’s team is concentrated on course enhancements and maintenance practices to get ahead for the upcoming year. They include:

• Evaluate and add bunker sand to a minimum depth of 3 inches.
• Evaluate and redistribute areas that have greater than a 4-inch depth to improve bunker playability and consistency.
• Probe bunker edges to redefine bunker shape to original architectural design and hand-edge bunkers.
• Schedule greens, tees and fairway aerification following the golf season to eliminate the disturbance to these areas during the golf season and improve experience for overall revenue capture.
• Use relief and spin grind reels.
• Service all equipment during the offseason to minimize need to conduct service during the summer.
• Review and adjust job-specific training plans for upcoming operating procedures and re-certify training programs.
• Develop internship training plans along with seasonal staff recruitment efforts.

At Omni Bedford Springs, Swartzel takes a similar approach and is also cognizant of what the weather will allow.

• Check sand depths and redistribute/add sand, edge bunkers and raise sprinkler heads as weather permits prior to spring season.
• In late fall/early winter, four to eight bunkers are rebuilt in-house. By not contracting out the work, the product is kept at a consistently high level while avoiding the need for a large-scale capital project.
• Solid-tine aeration and verticutting beginning after mid-February.
• Drainage improvements throughout the winter, with snow removal often occurring to execute the task.
• Steam cleaning/degreasing, detailing and preventive maintenance for maintenance equipment.
• Removal of dead/declining or safety-concern trees.
• Continue education by attending conferences and meetings to stay current with the latest research and trends in the industry.