Tuesday March 17, 2020
We made an immediate shift to conducting all staff meetings in the parking lot, practicing social distancing.
Trying to eliminate as many touch points as possible became our focus:
- No use of the break room
- One employee per cart
- Remove bunker rakes
- Extra disinfecting & cleaning of equipment
- Split lunch
- Remove timecards
The staff communicated to clear any hurdle and limit as many touch points as possible. I am very involved with the day to day operations and I quickly learned, I could be involved and empower the individuals on our team to solve this rubik's cube of challenges. If I asked employees to be 'better', I needed to lead by example and use these circumstances as an opportunity to improve myself, for the safety and betterment of myself and the operation.
Social Distance Golf
Version 2.0 of social distancing golf, results in the setup you see in the image. The above ground cup was an issue for regular maintenance. If we wanted to mow or roll greens, the cup, had to be removed (touch point) creating additional issues. Colleagues posting on twitter helped come up with a solution that removed touchpoints, and streamline our maintenance. Thank you to Richard Jones, our Equipment Technician for making this happen.
Golf course maintenance is naturally a form of social distancing and we see this as an opportunity to work within the new socially acceptable guidelines. Last weeks sunshine helped productivity and ease our shift into these new procedures. It also helped us breathe a little easier in a time of so much unknown.
March 23rd, 2020
Governor Inslee issues a 'Stay at Home' order
A few questions immediately came to mind:
What exactly does that mean for us?
Who or what is essential?
California had determined golf would be closed, while New York was allowing golf to be open. The Golf Alliance of Washington sent an official inquiry to the Governor's office for clarity on the order. Within 24 hours the Governor Office received more than 3,000 inquires for clarification. Our national association, GCSAA, has combined each states mandate into one document, for reference.
Here is the official order for Golf courses in Washington:
March 25th, 2020
Under the order to limit operations to minimum maintenance we put a plan in place, that myself and assistant managers had already discussed and planned for the possibility that it would need to be implemented. Our priority was to get everything mown and our list of weekly tasks completed.
Tee markers, garbage cans, flags, and all other accessories were removed from the course and locked away until further notice.
March 27th, 2020
I've received numerous texts and emails about what our plans are during the mandated closure. Here are a few of the most common ones:
What are your plans for aerification?
Lets focus this answer to greens aerification. There is no plan to move up aerification during this mandate. The bentgrass is not growing enough right now for aerification. Aerifying now would create an opportunity for Poa to invade any open void, and contaminate our greens. Aerification is an important tool each year for maintaining turf quality, but this year has resulted in our need to make adjustments. However, the adjustment to increased topdressing and no aerification is not sustainable over the long term and would be detrimental if done every year.
One scenario our staff has discussed is only deep-tining greens. We are considering this as an alternative, as it requires less contact, and heals more rapidly compared to our normal aerification process.
When we do open how long will you keep the modified cups in place and other non-touch practices?
Great question, and hard to know exactly. We will continue to follow CDC and Washington State guidelines. Modified cups and no bunker rakes could be part of golf through Summer.
How often will you mow?
Mother nature will dictate most of that. Simply put, we won't mow more often than we have to, but enough so that there isn't a decline in quality of turf.
What does minimum maintenance look like?
That is a moving target right now. We split the staff into different teams, working different shifts, which helps cover our ability to continue operations if one team were to become sick and needs to be quarantined.
Many of the items we have prioritized during this mandate, won't be directly noticed when we return to golf. Some examples of needs that we are tending to include; raising sprinkler heads, walking path improvements, seeding rough and native areas are on the list. Continual evaluation of priorities will take place daily and allow us to adjust our operation for the safety of the staff and improvement of the golf course.
If you zoom in far enough into the picture you can read the letters (words) the staff is holding up.
It says "THANK YOU!"
Thank you to everyone who is doing their part to help others during this pandemic, and thank you to our membership and Board of Directors making it a priority to ensure the staff feels supported and safe. I know I feel supported and safe, and thank you. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
My best to you and your family. Be safe.
