With many facilities seeing an increase in revenue due to more rounds being played, USGA agronomists are hearing an uptick in discussions about where investments can be made to improve golf courses. While this is good news, a desire to invest in golf course improvements also requires some caution to make sure that money is spent wisely. To get the most benefit from course improvement projects, it’s important to have an overall master plan to prioritize and guide investments. These plans are often developed with the help of a golf course architect, but experts from various fields can be called upon to contribute depending on a course’s specific needs.

While a golf course may need to be closed for periods of time to implement various aspects of a master plan, it is not always necessary. Depending on the scope of the work that is planned, it is often possible for a golf course to remain open – at least in part – while improvement projects and infrastructure upgrades are completed. The expertise of a golf course architect and the course superintendent can be utilized to prioritize where investments are made as well as managing the logistics of how these projects are completed.

Beyond working with a golf course architect, decision-makers can benefit from the expertise of industry professionals like irrigation consultants, drainage consultants, arborists and USGA agronomists to support the development and implementation of a master plan. Contact your regional USGA agronomist to learn more about how a customized Course Consulting Service package can be tailored to meet the specific needs at your facility or a GPS Service visit to help prioritize maintenance inputs based on golfer-traffic patterns.

Central Region Agronomists:

Paul Jacobs, agronomist – pjacobs@usga.org

Zach Nicoludis, agronomist – znicoludis@usga.org

Information on the USGA’s Course Consulting Service

Contact the Green Section Staff