Sweating the Small Stuff

Keeping a course in top shape goes beyond controlling turf conditions; best practices also include budgeting for the selection and maintainance of fixtures and supplies.

by Betsy Gilliland (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
February 2007
 

The daily mission is simple for the golf course maintenance crew at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan.

“We’re trying to give [golfers] the ‘wow deal’ when they drive in the gate,” says Superintendent Paul Jonas.

And the prescription for delivering that dazzle factor is just as straightforward: To keep a course in top condition, the devil’s in the details. Sometimes, it’s the little things on a golf course that can really make a difference. So while club and resort superintendents have to remain keenly focused on the major factors associated with turf conditions and upkeep, they can’t neglect the important touches connected with course fixtures and supplies, including (but not limited to) lighting, signage and markers, fans and flagsticks, hole cups, ball washers, sand rakes, trash cans, benches and bridges.

And increasingly, the decisions for adding these final details—and then keeping them looking like new—are falling under the superintendents’ purview, as part of their overall course maintenance and management responsibilities. So many course and grounds directors are now applying the same discipline to specifying and budgeting for fixtures and supplies as they do to grasses, bunkers and greens, as well as keeping track of the maintenance needs for these items, and how they are contributing to overall golfer satisfaction.

Customer-Friendly Conditions
A National Golf Foundation study of avid golfers found that the quality of course conditions is the top reason golfers choose to play a course. In fact, 90 percent of the 510 respondents identified course conditions as their number one priority—far outdistancing price, speed of play, well-known designers, and proximity to home.

Dave Solga, Director of Golf Operations, Bully Pulpit Golf Course

“In today’s golf industry, good customer service is really a given. Everybody’s providing that,” says Dave Solga, the Director of Golf Operations at Bully Pulpit Golf Course in Medora, N.D. “What sets you apart today is the experience that people have when they play your golf course.”

The 18-hole, daily fee course in the North Dakota Badlands, at the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, is a resort destination that attracts many repeat golfers.

“Details matter,” Solga emphasizes. “Golf’s a game of inches, so from the maintenance aspect, every little thing on the golf course needs to be dealt with on a daily basis.”

At Secession Golf Club in Beaufort, S.C., John Davis, Director of Golf Course and Property Operations, says the international membership at his private, 18-hole golf club is even more acutely aware than most of the course conditions, because the golf-only club is a walk-only property.

Golfers pay more attention to course conditions when they’re on foot, Davis feels. “It’s the small picture, not the big picture,” he says.

Scott Thayer, Superintendent at Legends Golf Club in Prior Lake, Minn., agrees that all of the details included at his 18-hole, daily-fee course (named 2006 Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association) are equally vital.

“We’re a ‘member for a day’ type of course,” Thayer says. “All of the conditions need to be up to par to keep them coming back.”

Down the Center
Alan Nielsen, the Certified Golf Course Superintendent for 21 years at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Wash., agrees that course conditions in total are what matter most to members, and that the details factor heavily into their overall assessment.

“I’d rank [the contributions of fixtures and supplies] very high,” he says. “That’s a big part of what they come out here to enjoy and share with their guests.”

To make sure everything’s properly covered and nothing’s overlooked, Nielsen has adhered to a simple philosophy in his two-plus decades as the Royal Oaks superintendent.

“Everybody has to putt into a cup. Everyone looks at a flag.” — Alan Nielsen, Superintendent, Royal Oaks Country Club

“We call it ‘centerline maintenance,’” he explains. “Make sure the center line of the golf course is the best it can be, and then move out to the edges.”

Nielsen devotes $10,000 to $15,000 of his $860,000 annual operations budget to accessory-type purchases. The course gets new flags and cups every year, he says.

Royal Oaks Country Club budgets $15,000 a year for accessory purchases for the course, but Superintendent Alan Nielsen still keeps things simple. “It shouldn’t look like Disneyland,” he says.

“Everybody has to putt into a cup. Everybody looks at a flag,” he notes. “The green and tee complexes are both very important.”

And with more than half of his budget going toward labor costs, Nielsen makes sure to factor in that “a portion of that labor goes to the detail stuff.”

Pride in the Flag
Flags and flagsticks are important enough to the overall experience at Flint Hills, Paul Jonas reports, that they’re generally replaced twice a year. The private, 18-hole property created its own design for its flags and had them specially made when it opened almost 10 years ago.

“Those types of things seem minor, but it is a big deal,” he notes.

Although he has a $1.7 million annual budget, Davis says that Secession replaces course accessories and tools as needed. Next year, he says, the club probably will buy new bunker rakes.

“It depends on wear and tear, how they look, and their performance,” he notes.

Other course accessories such as signage, markers and trash cans should be well-maintained, Nielsen adds.

However, that does not necessarily mean spending more money.

“We’re trying to give [golfers] the ‘wow deal’ when they drive in the gate,” says Superintendent Paul Jonas of Flint Hills National Golf Club.

“Instead of throwing something away, maybe sand it down and paint it. Save some money, but you shouldn’t compromise the quality of the golf course,” Nielsen advises.

At Secession, the maintenance staff rotates the flagsticks, bringing them in and painting them each day. The crew at Legends GC, meanwhile, spends the winter replacing or refurbishing worn-out accessories and readying the course for the next year. Jonas also tries to save resources whenever he can.

“We make our own tee markers here, but we still have to budget for the varnish we put on them and the time it takes to make them,” he notes.

Avoiding a Mickey Mouse Look
While there are many items on the list of fixtures and supplies that can add to a good golfing experience, Nielsen cautions against having too much clutter on a course.

“I think ropes and stakes and too much signage can detract from the beauty of the golf course,” he notes. Taking the time to educate golfers through personal interaction and well-designed scorecards and other materials, he feels, is a more effective way to guide them around than an overload of signs and other on-course directing devices.

“It’s important to keep it simple and not let it get too glitzy,” Nielsen believes. “It shouldn’t look like Disneyland. It should all be simple, neat, and looking like it belongs there.”

Extra Detailing
Superintendents agree that sweating the small stuff includes more than acquiring the nicest-looking new fixtures. Consistently keeping a course in top condition also involves sound maintenance practices for the details, including weeding natural areas and regularly trimming curbs, cart paths, bunker edges and creeks.

A complete maintenance plan should include regular attention to the “touches” that accentuate the actual course.

For example, Secession Golf Club’s maintenance program goes beyond just keeping the greens fast and ensuring that the playability of the course, which is built around saltwater marshes, is up to the membership’s standards. It also includes regular attention to the extra touches.

“When we mow tees, all the yardage markers are edged every day,” Davis notes. “Every day looks like we’re ready for a tournament here.”

Nielsen agrees that consistency is the hallmark of a properly maintained course. “It should play or look the same, from the spring right through the fall,” he adds. “It shouldn’t have peaks and valleys.” Those drop-offs, the superintendent adds, will often come from neglecting to replace or repair worn-out accessories, or to trim ragged edges, before the members see them.

“As far as detail work goes,” Nielsen says, “people notice it when you don’t do it.”

And even if the reverse is true—it’s done and doesn’t get noticed—that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile. Like sports referees, the superintendents’ goal with course fixtures and supplies is to not get in the way of the game—and a job well done is when they haven’t become an issue.

“I changed [the flags and flagsticks] this year, and nobody said anything,” Thayer laughs. But from the overall positive reaction he continues to receive about his course, he still knows it was the right call. C&RB