Winter in the Grounds Department

If it has wheels or reels, Phil is hard at work getting it ready for 2012!

Thursday December 22 marks the official start of winter. With the course put to bed and ponds already buried under multiple inches of ice (and now thawed again), the grounds crew has officially shifted gears. It occurred to me that many of you may not have any idea what it is we do during the coldest months of the year- so I thought I would give you all a brief overview.

Our highest priority is snow and ice removal. Anytime the club receives a fresh dusting (or a full bore arctic dousing for that matter) you can expect to see us hear plowing, shoveling, and salting. Back at the shop, Phil is hard at work getting all the machines prepped for another year of duty.  Carts, Mowers, and even our larger machines all need gaskets and gears replaced, hydraulic hoses repaired, reels ground etc.

Meanwhile, every piece of furniture that spends the summer season on the course must be repainted or oiled and touched up.  Ball washers are completely broken down, sanded and repainted, as are the tee markers and pins. Benches are oiled and any damage to them is repaired.

Everado Garcia, a 37-year veteran of Cress Creek grounds, restoring a trash basket.

Winter is also our time to restock all the products we exhaust over the course of the season. We inventory the entire department, from paint to pesticide, and decide what needs to be ordered. This can be an especially tedious project as that running out of certain products during the course of the season can throw a very large wrench into our exacting summer schedule.

For us, winter is really about preparing for the coming year.  Anything we can do to get ready for spring we do. Our goal is to hit the ground running when the sun comes out again, and the ice disappears.

Happy Holidays,
Elliott Dowling