It seems like not too long ago we were all in the middle of a 14-day mandatory quarantine to slow the spread. Almost two years later, the virus is as persistent as ever and its impact has gone well beyond toilet paper shortages. The impact of the virus has extended deep into the golf course maintenance industry and just how severe and permanent some of the effects will be is still to be determined. However, there are some specific challenges brought on by the pandemic that both golfers and key stakeholders should be aware of, especially when making budgetary decisions and setting expectations for daily conditioning. Here are five of the biggest challenges that the pandemic has created for golf course maintenance:
- Labor has unequivocally become one of the most frustrating topics for superintendents. The issues seem endless – wages are up, the labor pool is smaller than ever, COVID-19 issues and precautions have staff in and out of work, and reliability in general is a challenge. Needless to say, it is difficult to organize daily maintenance operations when the number of employees showing up varies significantly from day to day. The long-term impact is that total staffing numbers are down for many operations. This influences how much work is accomplished each day and season.
- One of the positive changes for golf through the pandemic has been a surge in rounds played. This is great for the game but can be a maintenance challenge due to the added traffic, ball marks and divots on tees. For the most part, these issues can be managed if budgets are adjusted to reflect the need for increased inputs. In some cases, permanent changes like tee enlargement, cart path installation or selective tree removal will be necessary to help turf withstand the increased traffic.
- Common materials such as topdressing sand, fertilizer and maintenance equipment are much more expensive than they were a few years ago. If budgets have not been adjusted to compensate, course conditions are sure to reflect the reduction in inputs eventually. In some cases, the cost to ship some of these materials can be more than the cost of the material itself! As you might imagine, the labor challenges extend well beyond the turf industry and are affecting prices for shipping and general material availability.
- Some construction materials and golf course maintenance equipment have been very scarce due to high demand and supply chain issues. Some courses have delayed projects because they cannot acquire necessary materials. Not only is it hard to find maintenance equipment, the availability of golf carts and golf equipment has been limited in many markets as well.
- As discussed earlier, total rounds are up at most facilities. This is a good thing, but it’s important to recognize that one component of the surge in rounds has come from an increase in new golfers. These players are not as familiar with golf etiquette, especially as it relates to course care. For this reason, golfer education might be a more important aspect of a superintendent’s job than ever before. If more golfers are fixing ball marks, filling divots, obeying cart rules and raking bunkers correctly, playing conditions will be better and the maintenance team will be able to focus more of their time on other tasks.
The increase in play due to the pandemic is something all who play the game or work in the golf industry should embrace. It is a promising sign for the future of golf. However, as play has increased operational challenges associated to cost of goods, labor and limited availability of equipment are making it increasingly challenging to provide conditions that many have come to expect. USGA agronomists are here to help with solutions to manage increased traffic and improve course conditioning. If you would like to discuss any of these issues further, feel free to contact your regional agronomist.
Central Region Agronomists:
Paul Jacobs, agronomist – pjacobs@usga.org
Zach Nicoludis, agronomist – znicoludis@usga.org