How Do You Do That Golf Course Maintenance?

Anyways, during the mornin of one of the days of the touney, one of the amigos and myself decided to shoot a "How To" video of mowing the greens (We were double cutting that morning and were on #17, the last green we had to mow)... sort of a long story short, I showed my assistant superintendent and my superintendent the video, and they couldnt get enough of it... got to the point where my asst super would text me asking where i was at on the course so we could make another video 

They're actually pretty neat videos, especially if you're a golfer and wander how we do some of the things we do on a daily basis... I have tried to throw in some comical relief here and there, sometimes maybe going a little over the top lol Just figured I would post em in here and see what some of yall think about them 

Episode 1: How To Mow Greens  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89emtV0AWN0

Episode 2: How To Do B&C https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JLNYkI7V3Q

Episode 3: How To Aerify Greens (Needle Deep-Tine) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MVCIO5mAcY

Episode 4: How Do You Spend Your Days Off? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQm0s-7MXyw

Episode 5: The Indian Pterodactyl of ONSC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG_gU8zBz9A

Episode 7: How To Mow The Range Fairway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vliZrw3p0CI

Episode 8: How To Spray Greens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00v5hphh860

Thanks for any and all feedback or comments. Like I alluded to earlier, sometimes it's sorta hard to think of some comical relief to throw in the videos, so I am sorry if you dont have any sense of humor at all 

IMO, one of the best things about this whole situation, is that for all of the hours of hard work we put into the course on a weekly basis... at a course as nice and prestigous as the one we have... to be able to goof off and produce these types of videos like we have, is something that is sometimes hard to find in the normal working environment... absolutely love what I do and the people I work with... Hope yall enjoy the videos 

skipbone, sarcasm or not, thanks for the comment 

GoldenGoose, thanks for the comment, honesty, and opinions. I'm not sure if the "outdoors janitor" reference was supposed to hurt me or not lol, but I absolutely love what I do, at a golf course that has been in the Top 5 in NC for years (as high as #2) that hosts the ACC Tournament every year, holding a position that is very high up the chain of command, with benefits and the works... if that makes me an "outdoors janitor" in your opinion, then I am perfectly fine with that title.

I feel that your comment about just wanting to play golf and not care about the "insignificant" maint. details contradicts itself there. If you play golf and enjoy the game, I would go on to say that what we do on a daily basis is pretty dang important lol.

It has been my experience over the 7 years I have worked golf course maintenance, is that the members and golfers that complain about any particular thing we are doing maintenance wise, are typically the people that have no idea WHY we are doing that. All the golfers see is us doing something to the course that "hinders" their golf game. I obviously dont think that every golfer NEEDS to know everything we do and why, but I also think that its important for those golfers to understand that what we do is ultimately to make the golf course in the best shape possible for them to play on. I believe that if you know why we are doing something, then you can appreciate the course and the game of golf that much more. But again, thank you for your honesty man 

      1st. They start slacking on waste piles and cleanup, pine needles,green clippings and brush dumps start showing up closer and closer to the playable areas on the course., you go to look for your ball that just kicked into the bushes along the sides of the green and you find 5 grass dump piles just chucked in (out of site out of mind) WRONG!!

     2nd. Bunkers slowly get overlooked and not trimmed or kept consistent lots of times the grade of sand go beachy with rock and shell(especially in Florida)

    3rd Change in divot sand from fine colored green with seed to course and white with no seed. This is the number one way to 

take a pretty layout and cover it with ugly white scars everywhere.

    4th Aerifications become deep and super heavily sanded taking the course weeks to heel rather than days.

    5 The course superintendent avoids the membership at all costs and blames the work of his crew on lack of funds. 

    

Nothing is worse than watching a nice course go straight to dog crap and it's always a lack of money and a maintenance crew that does not give a damn and only wants the work to be as easy as possible.

As a golfer it is very refreshing to hear of a superintendent that takes pride in his work...keep it up for those that truly love the game your work is much appreciated.

 

Bluefin, when I look at potential jobs at courses (specifically Asst Super), pretty much every single course (if not every single course) has on their requirement list "attention to detail." Some people might think that is trivial or a "no brainer," but it is surprising how many things (big and small) somebody can miss if they arent paying attention. I actually accepted a job in MD as asst super last year, and my experience there was definitely an eye opening one when dealing with that concept. Learned a ton and am much better equipped now. At the course I work at now, the Asst Super will check the course first thing in the morning for anything out of the ordinary that we would have to fix first, and then come back around behind everybody (ex: greens mowers, tee mowers, cup changers, etc) to make sure everything is in great condition. It is most definitely a good thing, but if theres like 1 leaf or a few pine needles on or around the greens; or if the greens mowers didnt fix every single ballmark as they were mowing, he flips garbage... it keeps everybody diligent and not slacking though... hes been the asst now for like 8-10 years, so he knows what hes doin haha... Thanks again for your post, and I can at least speak for my course in saying we take absolutely nothing for granted, and work as hard as we can day in and day out 

Searchwarrant, I really appreciate that response man  I tell ya, it is really ironic how I got into this occupation. So after my sophmore year of college, i needed a job to help pay for some expenses and things; well my mom had thrown out the suggestion of applying at the golf course, and so i thought what the hell. I originally thought I was applying for one of the Pro Shop cart-guy positions (had a buddy in college that did that and would bring wads of money from tips every day lol), but a few weeks later got a call from the Super... started workin, doin the "lower level" work like weedeatin and fly mowin, etc, but I grew to enjoy working there more and more... After 2 years or so I decided to pursue it as a career, and the rest is pretty much history. Like I said a little earlier, I accepted the job of Asst Super at a course in MD last year, and it was a phenomenal experience. Now I am back at my course here in NC as the Spray Technician. Ton of responsibility and my bosses rely on me for things a lot, but wouldnt have it any other way.

In response to your dead grass question, are you asking like how would you resod that area, or are you asking potentially why that area died in the first place? If I were you, before I looked into resodding that area, I would try to pinpoint the reasons why it died (and there could be numerous reasons)... what kind of grass was it, is it in the shade, what is the soil composed of, are there trees around it, competing grass and/or weeds, how much water was it getting, etc... Once you can put a list together of problems, you can then look into what type of turf would best work in that environment... 2 quick experiences I have had dealing with stuff like this... On one side of my house here in NC, ever since I moved here there has been no grass really growing at all. There are 4 big oak trees lining that side of the house, and the ground/soil is composed of moss and that rock hard red clay. So what ends up happening is that almost any type of turf that is sodded, seeded, or planted on that side of the house, will be choked of water that is being taken up by the big roots of the trees, as well as the roots wont be able to grow well at all because of the type of soil; and thats not taking into consideration what type of turf you have as far as how much sunlight it needs. The other story I have is when I was working at the course in MD, there was one tee that about 1/3 of the turf on the tee would just not grown and gradually die. Talking to my boss about it one day, he said they had resodded that same area every year for the last 5 years. So what we decided to do this year was try and pinpoint a possible problem... What we found once we dug down a few inches in the ground, was that the soil was composed of "construction-grade"material (aka the type of dirt they put under roads; solid as a freakin rock). Due to that type of soil, the water, nutrients, etc would not be able to get to the roots as it should, and would eventually die. So, we ended up digging down about 8 inches and took out that dirt, and replaced it with greens-grade dirt before we resodded it. I havent talked to him about it lately to see how the turf is doing, but id imagine the turf has recovered very nicely. Thanks again for your comment, and if you have any other questions, just ask me 

I'll tell ya, there's nothin more stressful for me, personally, in my opinion, than trying to figure out whether it is necessary to water the greens if it's wilting with golfers in proximity. Because I am honestly trying to stay out of their way; saves a potential problem for me and the golfers... but you are exacttttttly right. I have had that situation numerous times since I have been working, and I would say that to my knowledge, the golfers for the most part have understood. Had a situation last summer in MD where I was going around one afternoon checking the greens... I get to #9 green and its just freakin cookin... I pull up to the green cause that was one instance where I needed water ASAP, and the golfers in the fairway start yellin at me to wait til they play through (even though there was another group behind them as well lolol)... id rather respectfully piss off a golfer for saving a green from wilt than having to explain to my boss why we have dead turf in the middle of our greens you are on the money with that video idea man... I read your comment and just started laughing because we wouldnt have to make that garbage up; it happens fairly regularly! haha 

SearchWarrant, the grass died due to dog piss? Was he like pissin in the same spot for a period of time or something? Do you know what kind of grass it was? As you can see from the videos, I at least try to have a sense of humor, and that carries over into work. Obviously, theres a fine line between when and when not to joke around and goof off, but I really feel like part of my job (not an obligation though) is keepin everybodys morale up as much as I can. I went on vacation to FL lassssst April for a week, and my asst super texts me like on that Tuesday and is like, "yo, get back here. Nobody's talking and are in pissy moods the whole damn day." lol But I feel that it is extremely important to not feel like work is an "obligation," but rather maximize that "want" to work. And, for me at least, that means sometimes exercising some comical relief for everybody haha But, with that being said, I just want to make it clear that my first line of business is to get my job done as efficiently as possible. But I couldnt ask for a better group of guys to work with or bosses to have. We have all been there for quite a while now, so we all know whats up. And the new guys we get every once in a while hit it off with us exceptionally well too. Thanks so much for your comments bro, and if you ever have any questions or want an opinion, I would love to help in any way I can 

StevenC, are you in golf course maintenance? I see you're from MD; Have you heard of or know where Chestertown is? It's over there on the Eastern Shore; that's where I had accepted the Assistant Super's job at last year. Nice place; enjoyed every minute of that experience. Yeah, we dont have the power cup cutter  Might have to throw that idea out to my boss at some point though, because you are exactly right, after changing the cups on every hole plus putting green and chipping green; and especially if the same person does it pretty much day in and day out like we have here at my course, it does some damn work on your lower back. Might just have to inquire about that piece of equipment. Thanks for the comment 

Sad because what you end up with are great designs in mediocre condition,without much personal service..I know we have moved into a different world these days but I prefer the old school where small private clubs were affordable and the conditions were a source of pride for the members as well as the staff that maintained them.

Bol with your career and props for your attitude

Some of this certainly true, but how can you argue with a person who probably can't wait to go to work every day?  Not many of us fall into that group.  I eventually hope I can do something that I thoroughly enjoy.  

Yeah, there are some very nice courses in FL... I graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland back in December 2010. Before I accepted the Asst. Super job in MD last year, my turf teacher actually offered me the asst job at his course down there. I actually was looking for potential jobs down there, especially since a lot of my college friends still live there, but sorta goin along with what you were sayin, the pay wasn't nearly enough for me to have been able to live in FL plus pay off all of my other financial obligations (school and truck loans, etc.)... im having enough trouble the way it is right now financially; but ive just been tryin to hang on and look for my chance to get ahead.

Thank you very much for the good luck... I am definitely gonna need some of that before its all said and done hahaha dont get me wrong, I try to have the best attitude and optimism as I can (not just with my job, but in life); but sometimes that doesnt always work out... I still get pissed with things that happen at work sometimes, but that usually doesnt last very long... 

Been freakin worn the hell out the last 2 days of work though. Was originally supposed to be sprayin all week before our big Member-Guest that starts tomorrow, but since it had been rainin all week and the course is still wet, I havent been able to spray at all instead, had to damn double cut greens this mornin and will do the same thing tomorrow. We have pretty damn big greens for the most part; and so we're mowing each green twice... but there's only 4 guys mowin... thats a lot of walkin! hahaha well, ima head off to bed so I can function and mow a straight line tomorrow... goodnight and thanks again for all the comments 

idk if you heard about what happened at Quail Hollow this year or watched the Wells Fargo Championship... apparently at some point I believe they verticutted the garbage out of their greens in preparation for the tournament... they verticutted so many times that it pretty much choked the grass out... So then they applied some sort of fertilizer (i forget what kind of fert. off the top of my head) at a pretty darn high rate; and proceed for SOME REASON to topdress the greens so much with sand that you couldnt see the greens at all. Well, needless to say, they essentially had an oven cookin on the greens, and they lost most of all the greens. Nine days before the tournament  they completely resodded I think 3 or 4 of their greens, and the rest of the greens had to be partially resodded. Players could only putt once on each green during the practice round lol One neat thing about that situation, is that at some point during that week (we were gonna be hosting the ACC Tournament about a week or to later at my course) the Golf Channel was interviewing some "head guy" there at Quail Hollow, specifically about the condition of the greens. He went on to say that he wished their greens were like "The Old North State's greens," and then said that he was gonna be making the trip up here to check out the course during the ACC Tourney. Pretty neat to get props on the golf channel hahaha thanks for the comment and I sure hope the course bounces back as good as it can 

StevenC,Rockville is prob about 1.5-2 hrs from Chestertown. You would just take hwy 50 over the Bay Bridge and go north for about 35-40 minutes or so. It's real nice over there; just really spread out. 

The way I got my first job at the golf course was simply going on the country clubs website and submitting an application. It was a general application; I wasnt necessarily applying specifically for GCM, but when the Superintendent called me up, just went from there. So if there's some courses in your area that you would be interested in working at, id see if there's an application on the website, or call the club to patch you through to the Superintendent and talk to him about it. The way I got my internship and then the Assistants position last year, was going online to turfnet.com and checking out all of the job listings and applying to the ones I was interested in. It's a neat website, and a ton of golf courses throughout America post their job needs on there. I would definitely use that as well to see if there was anything available.

The greens here at ONSC have great drainage. I say that, and I actually still had to stick around after everybody left yesterday to squeegee off puddling water on 2 of the greens (we got a ton of rain; this morning at work, every single bunker just about was washed out baddddd). At CRYCC (where I worked in Chestertown), we almost lost about 4 greens last summer due to horrible drainage under the greens. We had a company out of Canada come down back in December to install new drainage into those greens. It was an extremely neat process to watch, and will come pretty helpful later on if drainage to the turf is needed, at whatever course I will be currently working at. Thanks again for the comments, and if you have any other questions or want my opinion on something, dont hesitate to ask 

Keep up the good work!

 Thanks Hawk! One of the things I like most about it is that, at least for me, it's "self-fulfilling." If I mow a green (or pretty much any other job on the course), then I can see how good or bad a mowed it right after I am done, and go from there. Thanks for the comment and encouraging words sir; after a week of work like this I could use some haha Thanks again and have a great day!