The Art & Science of Golf Course Maintenance

The Art & Science of Golf Course Maintenance

have you ever wondered what happens on a golf course before you get to the first tee you’re about to find out [Music] [Applause] [Music] it is early today is something that i’ve never done before what we want to do is show what happens on a golf course from the time that adam and his team first show up on site to maintain the golf course until the first tee shot is hit adam i want to know what happens the first part of your day before your team gets here and then what it looks like when they get here before you actually get on the golf course can you tell us a little bit about that definitely it’s a very very important time for us and the team and especially our management team we’re really trying to prepare ourselves and our team the best we can for our day and it’s really mostly about communication communicating certain things that we’ve noticed in previous days and communicating expectations and tasks that we’re signing for that day and then the other main thing we do in the morning is we try to prepare our team by having the equipment warmed up and sitting outside and running so when when the morning meeting’s over we’re ready to hit the ground running and do you actually have a bit of a team meeting before everybody heads out on the course yeah definitely definitely so that’s something we start right at 5 15 on the dot and that’s a way for for us as a group once again to communicate those things that we we do well those things that we need to do better and also what what types of short and long term plans that we have for that day or that week okay well let’s get out there get some of these uh machines and equipment running so they’re warm ready to go should we head out on the course let’s do it all right [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] probably the biggest thing that we do is communicate well and we have to know as supervisors and and our team in general needs to know where everybody is right and and people need to work together to move around the course in an efficient way to make sure we stay ahead of play we start at the at the practice screens at the clubhouse yeah move our way to the first hole and then continue on from there and it’s it’s it’s really about just keeping everybody moving [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] first and foremost we’re always the most concerned about the greens i mean every superintendent every golf course that’s that’s everyone’s bread and butter right so right we’re concerned about the fertility level of the green we’re concerned about the moisture level a green that’s too wet will be too soft and not as fast a green that’s too dry definitely affects uh affects the health of the plant in general right so we’re trying to achieve optimum moisture optimum fertility yeah and make sure we’ve got a smooth uh fast putting surface for people to play on we’ve chosen at bear spot here to hand rake our bunkers instead of using a machine so that’s what we use is a hand brake so we try to keep the edges of the bunker as smooth as possible and undisturbed yeah and then we rake the bottoms or the flat part of the bunker just with a normal bunker ache like you’d see anywhere else and we try to do that on a daily basis if we can bi-weekly we take a team of usually six people okay with fly mowers and trimmers backpack blowers and that’s how we tidy up the edges of the bunker [Applause] [Music] i wanted to stop here on on just in front of the 16th green and just talk a little bit about this important practice that we do and mostly on the greens but it’s also on other surfaces on the course tees fairways and in this case an approach and that’s top dressing multiple benefits of it the first thing is is it helps break down that batch layer that’s that’s sitting on top of the turf and it’s going to make the surface more playable and firm in order to to have a variety of shots that can be made okay so that’s going to help and it’s also going to help keep the keep the surface of the turf a little bit drier when we top dress over and over over time so after it’s down i believe and correct me if i’m wrong but you actually come across and just sweep it in just like we almost are doing with our hands exactly but you would do with a machine or brush or broom or something like that yeah yeah just to work that sand into the top the top layer of the trip that’s where we want it i love it a lot of people i’m not sure understand how much top dressing we do but it’s a really really important maintenance and turf practice on the golf course adam appreciate it what a great day i want to thank adam for his time we’ve done a ton of touring today hopefully you learned something i know i have i’ve been doing this in my entire life we’ll see you next time [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Preparing a golf course for people to play is a daily process that requires one part art, and one part science. The process is much different than mowing grass. It requires constant communication, precision, and being able to adapt quickly on the fly. The golfers are coming and all superintendents must balance whats essential with what can wait while still maintaining the quality and course conditions members and guests expect.

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Barry Ehlert is a serial entrepreneur. His love & passion for business started young. His first venture of shoveling snow was done for tips. As a business graduate of Brigham Young University, Barry wrote an award winning business plan while attending his last year of university. He was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “Future Capitalists.” He grew a start-up in Dallas, TX to 8 retail locations, and over 100 wholesale accounts before selling the business, and returning home where he grew up in Calgary, AB. Barry followed his grandfather, and father’s footsteps with his passion for golf and business. He has grown Windmill Golf at one point to over 10 golf course through building new, acquiring, and management of golf courses. He has since redeveloped some courses, and has been focused on some of his new acquisitions while preparing to open Mickelson National in 2020. Barry recently decided to start a Vlog to provide insight into his life plus passion he shares for his family and business.