Recurring March tasks

Spring is a busy time, not only for the golf course, but also other parts of the property. Like year’s past, the Grounds department uses March for lots of spring cleaning and preparation for the season. Though the weather has been up and down, we have still made progress towards gearing up for the busy months.

We have a few regular tasks that we like to concentrate on in March- pruning shrubs, cleaning and edging flower beds, mulching the flower beds, and working at soccer. There are a few reasons that each of these is well-suited as a March job. First, the weather is usually cooperative enough to consistently get out on the course and not do any damage. But frost delays are still very much a reality so some of our March jobs are easily done without getting on the grass. Another key to the timing of these jobs is that there is relatively little else we must do on the course. The Bermuda grass needs little to no attention, the rough is not growing enough to need to be mowed, and while the greens do require inputs, their relatively small area make them easy to manage. This allows some March jobs that are labor intensive to receive our entire staff or close to it, for extended periods of time, enabling us to finish larger projects in a reasonable time.

The weather is still cool enough that most shrubs on the property have not started growing for the spring. So, we prune off any dead parts, trim it back as needed, and generally clean it up for the season. While we are working on the plants, we also edge and clean the flower beds. If we cut a crisp edge now, it will remain all season. And we also clean out any weeds, sticks, and other debris that has collected over the winter. The flower bed work especially lends itself to cold, frosty mornings because we do not have to traverse in the grass to do the work.

Once the flower beds are fully prepped, we also work on putting fresh wood chip mulch in the beds. Our wood chip mulch comes from on-site. We collect all tree branches, limbs, and other materials in a central location, far to the left of #5. When feasible, we have our tree company come in and use their large tub grinder to chip an entire year’s worth of material for us. We never run out of chips. Similar to pruning and cleaning the beds, mulching is also a great cold morning task.

Knowing that we have lots of work at the pool starting in April, we also use March for lots of work at the soccer field. We aerate, seed, and sod certain sections all at this time. The soccer field is the same mixture of grasses found in the rough on the golf course: cool-season species like annual bluegrass, tall fescue, and ryegrass. These grasses really start to explode with growth in mid-late March and April as the air and soil temperatures warm up. By accomplishing these cultural practices now, the field is ready to for the upcoming soccer season.

Timing certain jobs for March has worked well for us for several years. Finishing these jobs now will allow us to be ready for course maintenance as more of the course wakes up for the year.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please be careful not to damage the lip of the cup when retrieving your ball after putting out.

 

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