What is new for 2021 in the Golf Course Maintenance Department

What is new for 2021 on the golf course? The look at the tees will change for 2021. After the Covid year of 2020 and having some “no touch” items like ball washers, it was decided to continue using the wet towels the Golf Shop provides each golfer and eliminate the ball washers. Our trash containers also looked very 1970’s and we needed a fresh new look. We are going to be installing a Volko Chief Garbage Can, there will be 1 on each hole. These are 25-gallon cans that are underground. You step on the lid to make it open, deposit the trash and move on. Keeping up with the suggestion of golf course architects Pete Dye and Tim Liddy, the only thing at the tee will be a bench to rest on.

In the golf course maintenance department, we have a new control system in the South pump station. This is a huge upgrade for us, this new control package will allow us to have constant communication with the pump station via our cell phones. We will be able to operate it and monitor it without coming back to the golf course at 10:00 at night. At the North Pump will be getting 2 new pumps, a new pump base and new piping on the interior. This is very much needed; our high saline water just eats away at the metal and has rusted out a lot of the current pump station. We will be installing the new unit on February 10th. I am sure you have seen our crew using their TDR moisture meters on the golf course, testing the soil moisture on our greens, tees, and fairways. This year the Spectrum Technologies has added an EC meter to the TDR meters. EC meters are used to measure the amount of salt or salinity of the soil. We now be able to use these meters to see how the irrigation water is depositing salts to our greens and we will be able to see if our mitigation efforts are working. For example, if we put down a wetting agent with an organic acid and flush the green, does this truly move some salts out of the root zone or are we wasting your money. I am very excited that we will be able to use science to help us provide a better playing surface.

One of the new pieces of equipment for us this year is a new dump truck. Our old unit was rusting out and needed a lot of repairs to keep it safely on the road. We ordered this new vehicle the end of October and it arrived February 1st. We must mount the snowplow on it, and it will be ready for use. It is a 4-wheel drive unit so it should be much more stable in the snow than our old unit.

Obviously all of the new construction will be a thing for 2021. Please keep in mind that things are going to get a little hectic while we coexist with the construction team trying to do their work efficiently and safely. Be patient with all of us because we will have to do things in a different fashion or manner than we have done in the past. With that we look forward to a great year and we hope you enjoy your golf courses.