March work

Although it isn’t technically spring yet, we are in “spring cleaning” mode. Waking the course up from winter is a slow process and is our focus in the month of March.

One of the first projects we start in March is to clean out the flower beds on the property. While the style of our course and grounds is not to have large, extensive flower beds, we do have several areas of evergreen and perennial shrubs scattered around. The shrubs receive any necessary pruning, the bed itself is edged and cleaned and the fresh wood chip mulch is applied. We typically do this work over the course of the entire month, often using frost delays and wet days when we can’t accomplish other jobs on the course, to work on the flower beds.

Another of our main March tasks is to recharge the irrigation system. Although the irrigation system is buried deep enough in the soil to likely survive and hard freezing, we still choose to blow all the water out of the system at the end of the fall. Because irrigation is so important to the maintenance of the golf course, it isn’t worth the risk for us to leave it full of water and potentially have a freezing issue. But, come March, and warmer temperatures and near-zero chance of freezing into the soil, we pump water back into the pipes.

We slowly crank the pumps back up and let water fill all the piping across the property. Once the system has reached full pressure and is stable, we start to methodically check every sprinkler on the property. We use our radio control to start and stop every sprinkler, making sure it is operating correctly, and as importantly, making sure it turns off correctly. The whole process of refiling with water and then testing everything takes 3-4 days.

Often, the change from air to water can cause little issues with the functionality of the sprinkler and we want to get all of those potential issues corrected before we get into the season and need to fully relay on the operability of the system. Of course, issues can and do arise during the season as well, but running through everything now, when there is no actual need for water, at least gets us ready for the season with everything in working order.

Most of the turfgrass on the course is still waking up from the winter and has very little need for attention in March. However, there is many other things on which we can focus at this time, allowing the Grounds staff to be ready for the season.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org