For any golf course, the management of turf is the key to success. This is where putting greens management comes into the picture. The whole business of a golf course facility depends on how those greens perform. However, not everyone is successful in these terms. Focusing just on the current green speed can literally rip the turf apart for the future. So, what to do?
Here are some elements you need to focus on to get the most out of your putting greens. It’s about nailing the combination of each of these to strike a balance between speed and sustainability. So, let’s find out.
Evaluating Putting Greens
The first step is to assess the type of grass, depth, health of the roots, and target market perception. Then comes the most essential step that is evaluating the actual and expected situation.
After an assessment of each of these elements in putting greens, and then compare the consistency. For example, if you have planned to build a 12-inch deep sand grass, that is the ideal height, measure if it actually is. You can follow the ideal recommendations according to the physical parameters that the golf course operates in. To save some costs, you can buy used turf equipment that performs similar to the brand new counterparts.
Assessing the Ability of Golfers
The next step is to evaluate what the golfers expect from your facility. It depends on their ability to play golf on different surfaces. And if they are resistive to change, they would be rigid in terms of putting greens as well. Assess how they performed before and how they would like to improve their game in the future.
The best way is to hold discussions where they give feedback in real-time. From your part, the key to success is to meet those needs profitably. So, make changes that you think are correct.
Develop a Regular Maintenance Program
Once every piece of information is in your pocket, it’s time to apply for an annual maintenance program. You need to develop a maintenance plan according to the feedback and your own decisions. You can go with some tailored maintenance programs according to similar conditions, just like your competition. Or, you can come up with a totally new plan. Mostly, a combination of these two is ideal.
Some factors like grass variety, temperature, precipitation, time of the year, mowing equipment, vertical length, frequency, topdressing, soil and grass fertility, irrigation, etc. differ significantly. So, you cannot just blindly implement an already made plan.
Hold a Variety of Tournaments
Holding tournaments for golfers is a great way to assess the playing quality of your golf course. Telecasting the same on television can make other golfers wonder why their Golf course doesn’t play the same way. It’s a great way to get feedback from players whether or not they are members of a facility.
Also, you would know if your golf courses are ready to withstand such a significant event. It’s about testing your maintenance program in the real competition.
Developing a Maintenance Manual
What is a maintenance manual? It is the final step of developing your golf course’s brand equity in the eyes of the potential members. So, the maintenance manual consists of all the procedures, customer service, budget and schedule that concern potential golfers. It’s about keeping realistic expectations with all your methods that are implemented.
The ideal combination is when you reach at least 90% of your expected results through good agronomics and communication channels with all your customers. This is what putting greens maintenance will lead you to.
