what does it take to maintain a golf course

Golf course maintenance is best defined as taking action to properly maintain and manage a golf course so that all resources work as expected for public use. It may include repairs, mowing, cart availability, aeration, pest management and extermination, to name a few. Regular maintenance is conducted by a full-time, onsite maintenance crew.

Full Answer

What is involved in golf course maintenance?

Golf course maintenance is more complicated than mowing a lawn and turning on the sprinklers at night. In this guide, we’ll review important aspects of golf course maintenance, the chemicals greenskeepers use to treat turf, and the risks of falling behind on preventive maintenance (PM) tasks. We’ll begin by defining golf course maintenance.

What are the requirements to work at a golf course?

They should be physically fit, detail-oriented, able to work under pressure, and skilled at repairing routine assets. Most golf clubs require at least a high school diploma or GED and some equipment maintenance experience. What Do Golf Course Maintenance Workers Do? How Much Do Golf Course Maintenance Workers Make?

How much does it cost to maintain a golf course?

Hawaii is, on average, the most expensive state in which to maintain a course, at $1.44 million a year. That’s followed by tracks in the southwestern U.S., where the average yearly maintenance cost is $1.05 million. Because they have such a short season, courses in the north central states come in, on average, at a bargain $556,000.

Is your golf course maintaining its amenities properly?

Without maintaining these amenities, a golf course can pose a health risk to users. It’s essential for golf course management to periodically review and update its maintenance strategies to keep up with emerging situations. This enables management to focus servicing resources on the parts of the golf club that are integral to member satisfaction.

How hard is it to maintain a golf course?

Maintaining an average 18-hole golf course – which is larger than 70 football fields – takes work and lots of it. The average 18-hole course may also have dozens of bunkers, a few miles of cart paths and many other course features. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of work to maintain all the different components.

How much water does it take to maintain a golf course?

In California, an average 18-hole golf course sprawls over 110 to 115 acres and conservatively uses almost 90 million gallons of water per year, enough to fill 136 Olympic-size swimming pools, said Mike Huck, a water management consultant who works with golf courses statewide.

Can owning a golf course be profitable?

Profitable golf courses are generally selling for six to eight times EBITDA, while courses that aren't profitable tend to sell at 0.8 to 1.4 times revenue.

How do you maintain golf turf?

Proper mowing includes daily mowing, daily changing of mowing patterns, mowing at the correct height, precise adjustment of mowers, daily cleaning and sharpening of mowers, training of mower operators and visual inspection of results. Mowing is the single most important practice in greens maintenance.

How many acre feet of water does a golf course use?

Using water use data nationally, an 18-hole golf course uses an average of 152.5 acre-feet of water per year to irrigate 80.7 acres of turfgrass.

Do golf courses waste a lot of water?

(Inside Science) -- In California's current historic drought, there's one particularly easy target when it comes to pointing fingers: green golf courses. Courses around the U.S. suck up around approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day for irrigation.

Is owning a golf course a good investment?

Golf course properties typically have great resale value, selling at two to three times that of an average home – which is a magnet for investors.

How much revenue does an average golf course make?

Golf Course Owners make between $30,000 to several hundred thousand dollars per year. However, golf course owners sometimes will lose money if the course has a bad year.

How many acres are needed to build a golf course?

“This means an 18-hole course of all short par 3s could be built on as little as 30 acres, while an intermediate length or executive course of 18 holes of par 3s and 4s would require 75-100 acres, and a full size par 72 course would need 120-200 acres.

How often are golf greens watered?

It's better to water “deeply and infrequently,” Cutler says. About a third of an inch every two to three days is a good goal.

How often should golf greens be replaced?

20 yearsA very general rule for the life expectancy of greens is that the construction should last at least 20 years. Over that 20 year period there are likely to be major changes in the golfer's expectations for how the greens should be maintained.

How often should golf greens be mowed?

How often putting greens are mowed is dependent on staff size and budget, but grass type and weather also play a role. On average, greens are mowed at least five days per week, and in most cases six or seven days per week.

Are golf courses bad for the environment?

Environmentalists argue that golf course land is not only a waste of space, but also harbors harmful impacts to the earth and environment, such as pesticide use. This negative impact occurs by using large quantities of water and destroying habitats for wildlife species.

Do golf courses use recycled water?

Nationwide, approximately 13% of golf courses use recycled water for irrigation. More facilities would gladly convert to using recycled water, but the main limitation is the lack of a piping system to deliver the recycled water to golf courses, which can cost $1 million per mile or more to install.

How much water do golf courses use in Arizona?

119,478 acre-feetThe records show 219 golf courses across Arizona used a total of 119,478 acre-feet of water in 2019. The average amount of water used per course was 504 acre-feet during the year, or about 450,000 gallons a day.

How much water do Utah golf courses use?

about 38 million gallonsThe U.S. Geological Survey's most recent water-use data showed that Utah uses about 38 million gallons of water on golf courses every day — enough to fill almost 58 Olympic-size swimming pools, as reported by Deseret News.

What is Golf Course Maintenance?

Golf course maintenance is best defined as taking action to properly maintain and manage a golf course so that all resources work as expected for public use. It may include repairs, mowing, cart availability, aeration, pest management and extermination, to name a few.

How Much Does it Cost to Maintain A Golf Course?

Of course, before you decide on a maintenance plan for your golf course, it will be useful to understand the costs of the most common and essential maintenance actions.

Golf Course Maintenance Staff & Crew Breakdown

If you’re just starting out in the golfing industry and are hiring a crew from scratch, it’s important that you understand the roles of essential personnel. The average size of the maintenance team at a golf course is around 28 people (9 full-time, 16 part-time, 3 other).

What Are Common Golf Course Maintenance Tasks?

A lot goes into running and maintaining a successful golf course. A few of the most common—potentially daily—tasks for course upkeep include:

Benefits of Golf Course Maintenance

Most regular golfers look forward not only to playing, but to the tranquility of golf course scenery, as well as the benefits of belonging to a club (if you course offers club membership). To provide exclusive benefits for your members, however, you’ll need to perform routine maintenance and inspections.

How to Reduce Golf Course Maintenance Costs

It’s probably clear by now that you shouldn’t skimp on proper maintenance if you want to establish a successful golf course. That said, you should absolutely consider ways to reduce your overall maintenance costs. Here are a few simple ways to ensure a great golfing experience for your guests at a lower cost to you:

What tools are needed to cut a golf course?

Both to keep the course looking immaculate, and to deal with any damage or problems that may arise over time. Specialist tree cutting tools are a requirement for this, such as chainsaws and loppers.

Why do you need a sprayer on a golf course?

Sprayers are needed on a golf course to apply liquid fertilizers, plant growth regulators, and other plant protectants or pesticides. With today’s evolving technology, the precision to apply products thru a sprayer has never been better. A high quality sprayer is most important on a golf course to save both money and the environment.

What is the most common type of mower used in golf courses?

Or more accurately, several different types of mowers. Some of the most common – and important – mowers include: Riding Greens Mower – These mowers are typically used to mow greens in a quicker, more economical fashion.

Why is aeration important in golf?

Aeration Equipment. Aerating a golf course is an important step in the process of “ turf management ” to keep the green looking good, and more importantly performing well. The aeration process helps relieve compaction as a result of all the foot traffic. It allows air and moisture into the turf, creating a smooth and firm putting green ...

Why use rollers on golf ball?

Rollers also help to reduce dry spots as it allows more moisture to penetrate the turf. In addition to this, it also helps with seedbed preparation and reduces weeds, moss, and algae.

What is the most important thing in a golf course?

The greens. They are the most essential element of any course, but because of labor and equipment they are also the most expensive things to maintain — even if some of our demands are a costly waste. Firm and fast is the golf standard for greens.

What is the best way to keep greens from burning out?

Firm and fast is the golf standard for greens. That’s achieved by mowing, rolling and hand-watering the greens to prevent them from burning out. It’s time-consuming and pricey.

Who is the vice president of Billy Casper Golf?

That’s a question owners ask all the time,” says a weary Bryan Bielecki, vice president of agronomy at Billy Casper Golf, which manages nearly 150 golf courses in the U.S. “You can’t spend less and expect the same exact product. You have to sacrifice something.”.

3.0 Best practices in golf course maintenance

A golf course is a challenging landscape that requires constant upkeep. Therefore, the success of the golf course needs to have skilled employees to maintain it.

4.0 Checklists for greenkeeping in golf course maintenance

Many golf courses use checklists to ensure that they are constantly performing at their best. Checklists can be used for almost every aspect of the course, from watering the turf and pruning trees to mowing fairways or fertilizing greens.

6.0 Top 10 ways to cut costs in golf course maintenance

Golf course maintenance is an expensive investment for any course. The cost of mowing the grass, fertilizing the soil, and keeping the course in good shape can rack up a sizable bill. It is not always easy to think about how to cut costs in golf course maintenance.

7.0 Managing grass for optimum playability, appearance, and quality

The grass is the most natural and versatile of all sports surfaces. It is also the most expensive to install, maintain, and replace. Grass requires more attention than other sports surfaces; mud is more easily cleaned from a synthetic surface or gravel track than a grass field.

8.0 How to build an efficient irrigation system for golf course greenkeeping

An irrigation system designed and installed properly can go a long way in protecting the turf growth on golf courses. Irrigation systems come in various configurations depending on the type of irrigation system that is being used.

9.0 A Successful golf course requires regular maintenance

A successful golf course requires regular maintenance. This includes mowing the grass around greens and tee boxes and clearing fallen leaves or debris from cart paths. It also means replacing and repairing divots in fairways and repairing sand traps.

11.0 How to maximize the operating life of a golf course

There are many ways for a golf course to maximize its operating life. The most important thing is to know the customer and invest in their happiness.

What does 90 degree mean in cart paths?

Also: When a course says cart paths only, that means cart paths only. Same goes for the 90-degree rule, which is grounded in grade-school geometry and is just about as easy to understand. One aspect of it does call for clarification, though.

Can you use a tee to repair turf?

Though you can use a tee to do the job, a divot-repair tool is more efficient. A common error is to dig down and pull up, which can tear the grass roots and kill the turf. The proper technique is to work around the pitch mark, pulling the surrounding turf toward the center of the depression, as shown here. 2.