About This Document
Wisdom of the Seasons is a year-by-year reflection on nearly two decades of stewardship at Kenmure Country Club, drawn from the Superintendent’s monthly Course Clippings newsletters published between 2007 and 2014. These articles chronicled the rhythm of course maintenance — from frost delays and drainage work to summer stress management, bunker rebuilding, and the art of aerification.
This compilation distills that archive into twelve chapters, one for each month of the year. Each section blends the practical side of golf course maintenance with the reflective lessons that come only through experience — how weather, soil, grass, and people interact across the seasons.
All material is based directly on historic writings by Josh Laughridge, Superintendent of Kenmure Country Club. While the tone has been modernized for readability, the wisdom and voice remain true to the original Course Clippings that have long informed and educated Kenmure’s members.
Compiled and written by Josh Laughridge
Superintendent, Kenmure Country Club
Flat Rock, North Carolina
Wisdom of the Seasons
January
January at Kenmure brings a quiet beauty—a dormancy across the fairways—and a chance for the maintenance team to prepare for the year ahead. With the turf mostly at rest, we turn our attention to projects that are hard to tackle in busier months. In various winters, our crew has repaired drainage lines in soggy fairways, removed problematic trees and underbrush, and even fixed infrastructure like sinkholes and culverts. These off-season improvements, such as installing new drain pipes in chronic wet spots, pay dividends when spring rains arrive and help eliminate the “spongy” areas that plagued us in years past. January is also when we service equipment and even construct new course accessories—one year we built fresh tee markers and refurbished benches so everything would be “fresh and new” for the coming season.
While heavy snowfall is rare in our North Carolina mountain climate, deep winter occasionally surprises us. We’ve learned that a blanket of snow can actually do more good than harm: during one memorable winter, the course sat under eight inches of snow for ten days, giving the turf a break from foot and cart traffic and posing no lasting damage. Still, more often than not January is a mix of cold rain and crisp sunny days, and we strive to keep the course playable whenever weather permits. The grass is dormant and fragile now, so we urge golfers to tread carefully: stay on practice mats at the range and keep carts on paths on wet days, because any divot or rut now will persist until spring growth heals it. Our team does its best to allow cart use as much as possible even in winter, but we’ve endured stretches (like one long rainy spell in December) when the ground was simply too saturated to allow traffic. On those days, protecting the course is paramount—even if it means asking for patience from players.
Amid these winter chores and tough calls, the new year brings a sense of optimism. We reflect on the past season’s lessons and plan the next improvements. January’s slower pace even allows a brief breather; as one update quipped, “Happy New Year from the golf maintenance crew!” – a moment to appreciate the support of the membership and look forward to a great season. Stewardship is our guiding philosophy: even in the year’s cold start, we know every tree trimmed, every drain installed, and every policy enforced is done for the long-term good of the course. By month’s end, as days slowly lengthen, we’re already envisioning the emerald fairways of spring and feeling grateful to care for this course through another cycle of seasons.
February
February often straddles the line between winter’s deep freeze and spring’s first promise. In the mildest years, we get a head start on spring work under bright blue skies; in harsher years, we’re still digging out from snow or enduring morning frosts. We’ve learned to seize any window of good weather. One especially mild winter allowed us to accomplish over 4,000 feet of drainage installations on holes #2, #4, #5, #13 and others by early March. Our crew “utilize[s] the entire staff” whenever conditions allow, knowing a dry winter is a golden opportunity to fix wet spots before the spring rains. Indeed, drainage is the winter project focus every year, and by February we often see new pipes already yielding benefits as formerly soggy areas begin to firm up.
On cold or stormy days, when the ground is frozen or snow-covered, we turn indoors and to small details. The maintenance building becomes a workshop: repainting battered ball-washers and benches, refurbishing signs, and constructing accessories. In one productive winter, the team sanded and repainted all the outdoor furniture (even the bocce and tennis chairs) and built a brand-new style of tee markers to debut in the spring. We also catch up on equipment maintenance in the shop, ensuring mowers and carts are in top shape for the heavy use ahead. February is often when new equipment arrives as well – for example, in 2012 we expanded our fleet with five new greens mowers and a large rough mower, representing the latest technology to improve our efficiency. That huge rough mower (twice the size of our old one) dramatically increased how fast we could cut rough grass, a blessing once growth kicks in.
Still, February can remind us that winter isn’t done with us yet. Some years, cold rains and occasional snow flurries dominate the month. In those times we reinforce our frost delay protocols and communicate them to members. Each frosty morning presents a tricky puzzle: we weigh overnight lows, soil temperature, humidity, cloud cover, wind, and forecasts from the National Weather Service before deciding when play can safely begin. No two days are alike, and it’s “almost impossible to predict the exact time play can start when we have a frost delay,” as we’ve explained to members. The rule is simple: no one hits the course until the frost is gone, because frozen grass blades can shatter under foot or wheels, killing the turf. Rest assured, during delays we are “constantly checking the temperature and conditions on the ground”, ready to send maintenance out and open the course as soon as it’s safe. We know golfers are eager to play, and we “end the frost delay as soon as we possibly can” without risking damage. In fact, we often create temporary greens on a few problem holes so play can start earlier on frosty days—an innovation we introduced so early tee-times could proceed while the real greens thawed in the morning sun. This kind of adaptation shows our commitment to balancing turf protection with member enjoyment.
As February wanes, hints of spring emerge. We might spot the first hardy daffodil near a tee or notice the sun lingering a bit longer in the evenings. The crew’s spirits lift with each warm day, thinking of the season ahead. By late February, we’re scheduling key spring operations: for instance, deep-tine aerating of fairways might begin now so turf has time to heal before summer, and the calendar for greens aerification is marked for mid-March (weather permitting). The planning we do now—ordering seed and fertilizer, tuning up sprayers, finalizing our agronomic calendar—reflects the wisdom of winter: use these slower months to set the stage for success. In the Carolinas, spring can arrive overnight. When it does, we’ll be ready with fresh tools, renewed turf systems, and a team eager to see the course green up once again.
March
March ushers in a season of awakening at Kenmure. Each day brings a subtle change: maples budding red, birds returning to the ponds on #8 and #10, and the dormant fairways hinting at green. For the Superintendent and crew, March is a critical month where preparation meets opportunity. Springtime weather has returned, and with it our maintenance staff’s excitement for the new growing season. The work we accomplish in March lays the foundation for the entire year. As one early “Course Clippings” article put it, “the work that we do in April builds the foundation for our success throughout the year” – and much of that foundational work actually kicks off in March.
Top of the list is aerification, the most important (and sometimes most disruptive) task of the spring. We typically aerate greens in mid-to-late March, just as the turf starts actively growing. On a chosen Monday, specialized machines punch thousands of small holes in each green, pulling up cores of thatch and soil. It’s laborious but vital: “Aerification is a short term disruption that has long term benefits for the course…Greens, tees, and fairways will all die eventually without aerification,” as we reminded everyone in one educational article. Removing cores alleviates compaction, allows oxygen into the root zone, and makes space for fresh sand topdressing that improves drainage. We know it’s hard for golfers to see smooth greens deliberately punctured—indeed, aerification often “coincides with beautiful weather and disrupts greens…which appear perfectly healthy”, putting the superintendent “on the most wanted list” for a few days of bumpy putts. But the payoff is huge: deeper roots, healthier grass, and firmer, truer putting surfaces in the months ahead. We reassure members that within about a week the holes start to heal, and within a month the greens are fully recovered and rolling nicely. In fact, we pride ourselves on efficient aerification – one spring we noted the process “could not have gone better” with ideal weather and dry sand that brushed in easily, ensuring a “quick recovery”.
March is also time for a flurry of other spring preparations. Wall-to-wall fertilization of the entire golf course usually begins by late March, giving the grass the nutrients it needs to “green up” and grow vigorously. In the same stroke, we apply pre-emergent herbicides to keep crabgrass and other weeds at bay before they sprout. If temperatures allow, we start mowing the fairways and tees – a task that arrived astonishingly early in one warm winter when we mowed all short grass in mid-February, “something we have never had to do before”. That early trim was a clear sign: we had built a very good root system the previous fall, and the turf was ready to grow. By late March, mowing becomes more regular; we’re sharpening reels and checking heights of cut to ensure we don’t scalp the tender emerging blades.
Communication with golfers is another focus as the season ramps up. We do our best to let everyone know what’s happening on the course so there are “no surprises.” Daily maintenance plans are shared with the pro shop, and we post information sheets when major work (like aeration or spraying) is underway. In today’s era, we even have an online maintenance blog to provide timely updates and in-depth explanations of projects – continuing the spirit of the old “Course Clippings” newsletters in a modern format.
March can be fickle in the mountains. We often get a taste of spring followed by a late freeze or even a dusting of snow. But overall, the month marks a turning point: the golf course emerges from hibernation. As “spring is just around the corner”, we cross our fingers that no late hard frosts will nip the new growth. The crew starts extending their hours to keep up with nature’s quickening pace. By the end of March, Kenmure’s fairways show stripes again from the first cuts, and the azaleas near the clubhouse are swelling with buds. The golf season is truly underway, built on the careful, “proper timing of fertilizer and pesticide applications” and all the groundwork laid in these early spring weeks.
April
April is the busiest month of the year for our maintenance team, and perhaps the most rewarding. The entire golf course transforms in just a few weeks: brown turf turns vibrant green, trees leaf out seemingly overnight, and flowers burst into bloom around tees and clubhouse grounds. It’s also a month when nearly every aspect of course maintenance is in play. We often say that April’s work sets the tone for the quality of conditions all year long. Having emerged from winter, the course now demands full-time care and a flurry of projects, and we gladly oblige.
Mowing intensifies in April. The combination of warming temperatures and our March fertilization leads to an “explosion of growth” in the grass. Fairways and tees that barely grew in winter suddenly require cutting 3-4 times a week to maintain ideal playing height. Our crew works long hours to keep all the grass cut and the clippings cleaned up. We deploy blowers behind mowers to disperse clumps of cut grass, since we have no on-site disposal area and can’t leave unsightly clippings on the turf. The greens, having been aerified in late March or early April, start to heal and firm up this month. By mid-April, we usually see putting surfaces “rolling nicely” again as the topdressing sand settles and the grass grows through the tiny holes. We often give the greens extra attention now – light fertilizers to spur growth, additional rolling to smooth the surface, and plenty of watering as needed to help them recover fully. It’s gratifying to watch the putting quality improve day by day, knowing that our careful timing and hard work paid off.
April is also planting time. Landscape maintenance around the course and clubhouse swings into high gear. We edge and remulch all the ornamental beds, prune shrubs, and spread fresh pine straw in natural areas. By tradition, we don’t put out the summer annual flowers until after Mother’s Day in May (to avoid any late frost), but April is when we prep the beds and finalize our plant orders. On the golf course, one of the loveliest sights of April is the flush of azalea blooms – we make sure to mulch around them in late winter, and their reward is on full display now. Every April we also apply a “fresh coat of mulch” in key areas, giving the whole property a tidy, vibrant look for the season start.
While nature provides plenty of work in April, we also keep up with ongoing improvements. Drainage projects from winter are monitored closely; by now, newly installed drains on holes like #1 or #17 start to dry up formerly mucky spots as spring rain percolates through. We mark any lingering thin turf areas from last year’s damage for re-sodding or seeding. This is also when we repair any winter wear and tear: for example, April is a great time to patch weakened turf on green collars or fairway edges with fresh bentgrass sod (we often order sod in early spring for this purpose).
Communication with members remains vital in April because so much is happening. We make a point to notify golfers of any disruptive work. If we need to spray an herbicide or fungicide on the course, we try to do it very early or late in the day and “stay well ahead and away from golfers”. If chemicals must be applied on greens in play, we send out an e-mail notification and advise the Pro Shop so there are no surprises. We also reassure everyone that the products we use are “very safe to humans and animals”, applied in low doses heavily diluted with water. In fact, we add a blue turf colorant to our spray mix, partly to help us see where we’ve sprayed and also to quickly spot any clogged nozzles by the absence of dye on the grass. It’s a neat little technique that improves our precision and gives golfers a visual cue that spraying is in progress.
By the end of April, the course is usually in excellent shape. We’ve emerged from the aeration and cleanup mode into full grooming and polishing mode. Tees, fairways, and greens are smooth and growing uniformly. The rough is lush (sometimes too lush – but our new mowers are up to the task of taming it). Many members return from winter travels around this time, and it’s a joy to hear positive feedback on how “nice and green” everything looks. One spring, I was invited to the Men’s Golf Association opening breakfast, and I appreciated hearing their “nice comments on the golf course” coming out of winter. It reinforced that our spring efforts were hitting the mark. As April closes, our team takes a brief satisfied breath – the foundation for the year is laid, and now the fun of maintaining peak conditions (and fine-tuning details) really begins.
May
May is a month of full bloom and busy fairways, when the course truly shines and member play picks up pace. By now, the last traces of winter are gone. The golf course is green and growing once again and all eighteen holes are playing beautifully. Any aerification holes in greens have long healed, and we usually have the greens rolling true and fairly quick by mid-May. The cooler mornings of early spring finally fade away; in fact, by May “the end to the cold mornings” has arrived, and we relish the mild, long days for golf.
One of our key focuses in May is flowers – specifically the planting of annual flower beds that add so much color to the course and clubhouse area. We always wait until the week after Mother’s Day to do this planting, a rule that has saved us more than once from a late frost harming tender blooms. This tradition is well-known among members: as soon as Mother’s Day has passed, they’ll see our team out in force, spades in hand, filling beds with begonias, impatiens, petunias, and more. We typically get all annuals in the ground within a single week in May. It’s a big job, but an important one – those flowers will be lovingly maintained from now until late October. In fact, keeping the flower beds weeded, watered, and fed becomes “a full time job from that point until late October”, but it’s worth it for the beautiful backdrop they provide. We often acknowledge how much members appreciate the flowers; donations from members have even funded plantings (I recall one year over 70 azaleas and 5 dogwood trees were planted along the entrance road in memory of a member, thanks to a generous fundraising effort). Kenmure golfers have a keen eye for landscape beauty, and May is when we deliver it in spades (literally and figuratively).
Routine course maintenance is in full swing by May. The grass growth is steady, not as explosive as April’s, but enough to keep mowers busy every day. We balance mowing schedules with other tasks: “cleaning up beds, mulching, spreading pine straw, and removing weeds” around the property. It’s always a juggling act to coordinate landscape work “in between taking care of the normal maintenance needs of the golf course playing surfaces”. Nonetheless, the course conditioning is typically excellent now – fairways are plush, having been fertilized and now regularly groomed, and greens are at their spring peak right before the stress of summer. We apply preventative fungicide treatments in late May, ahead of the coming heat (as part of our broad program that will exceed $100,000 in chemical costs through the year). Our goal is to keep the playing surfaces as healthy as possible entering summer. We also continue spot-treating weeds like dandelions and clover; by May their spring emergence is slowing, but we stay vigilant with daily spot-spraying so as not to let any go to seed. This targeted approach (as opposed to blanket-spraying everything) saves labor and money while being just as effective.
Member engagement is high in May, with more folks out enjoying the gentle weather. We make efforts to communicate and educate during this pleasant season. If you’re not receiving our email updates, this is a great time to sign up – I send out regular maintenance updates via email so members know what’s going on, from scheduled sprays to cultural practices. In the past, we’ve even run little educational contests: after aerification, I once invited members to read an article about it on our blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a sleeve of golf balls. It was a fun way to encourage people to learn why we punch holes in their beloved greens each spring.
The atmosphere around the club in May is optimistic and appreciative. Golfers often comment on how beautiful the course looks – vividly green turf, flowering dogwoods, and freshly mulched gardens. We, in turn, thank them for their support and remind them to help us keep conditions high by following cart rules, filling divots, and fixing ball marks. By late May, as azaleas fade and days turn warmer, everyone senses that summer is around the corner. This is the sweet spot of the golf season – a time to savor mild weather and a course in peak spring condition. And if the weather gods have been kind (no surprise freezes or floods), we transition into June with the course in as good a shape as it’s been all year, ready to take on the challenges of summer.
June
June signals the start of summer stress season for our bentgrass turf, a period our team approaches with a mix of concern and determination. The first of June marks the beginning of what we often call the “90 days of Bentgrass Hell” – the roughly three-month span of heat and humidity that truly tests our course’s grass. As soon as Memorial Day is behind us, we see temperatures climb and rainfall patterns shift. “The rise in temperatures combined with the cart traffic is never a good recipe for healthy grass,” one June newsletter observed, and that holds true every year. Longer, sunnier days mean more irrigation is needed to keep soil moisture up, yet afternoon thunderstorms (if they occur) bring bursts of relief along with a downside: humidity and the threat of turf diseases.
In fact, a wet summer can be as challenging as a dry one. We learned this firsthand during some exceptionally rainy summers in the past. While we appreciate the cooler temperatures that come with thunderstorms, excessive rainfall fuels fungal diseases that thrive in warm, wet conditions. Dollar spot, pythium blight, brown patch – these are just a few of the turf maladies that can explode in June’s humidity. We combat them with a strong preventive fungicide program. Our chemical budget is significant (yes, over six figures annually on fungicides and other treatments), and we strive to “get the maximum effect from everything we apply”. Typically, we try to schedule major sprays for Mondays, when the course is closed and we can cover large areas without worrying about play. Even so, with June’s frequent disease pressure, it’s “impossible to cover all the spraying needs in one day”, so occasionally we must treat greens or fairways mid-week. We always notify the pro shop on such mornings and use that blue indicator dye to make our presence obvious (and ensure overlap coverage). Some fungicides have a strong odor; as I’ve candidly told members, if you’re especially sensitive to the smell, “it may be best not to play that morning for your own comfort”. Thankfully, spraying greens on a busy play day is a rare occurrence (usually only a few times a year). Our understanding membership has been very cooperative when these situations arise.
June is also when our summer maintenance crew settles in. Many years, we hire a few extra hands (often school or college students) for the peak growing season. Training takes place in late May, and by June “we are shaping up to have an excellent crew for the summer months”. With the extra help, we can keep up with mowing the rough, which is growing fast thanks to spring rains. In 2012, adding that new giant rough mower paid off especially well – “the rains are even more welcome…as we can quickly catch back up on the mowing due to the productivity of our newest rough mower”. That mower could devour acres of ankle-deep rough in a fraction of the time it used to take, meaning even if thunderstorms kept us off the course for a day or two, we could recover quickly. June is also the month we host one of our biggest events: the Member-Guest Tournament. In early June, with the crew fully staffed and the course in its early summer condition, we focus on “providing the best possible course conditions for the Member Guest”. By then, most of the spring landscape work is finished and our attention turns to polishing the golf course – fine-tuning green speeds, striping fairways for definition, and ensuring every bunker and tee is in top shape for tournament play. It’s all-hands-on-deck to make sure a good time is had by all, and it’s a point of pride for the maintenance team.
One of the hardest decisions in June (and throughout summer) involves cart traffic management. We are “committed to allowing cart traffic in the fairways as much as possible”, yet also “committed to having a good stand of grass” in those fairways. Those dual goals can clash on the hottest, wettest days of summer. Years ago, we instituted a rule that on days forecasted to reach 85°F or above, the course goes Cart Path Only. We found this proactive step hugely beneficial: “We used this rule last season and had great success in maintaining a much higher population of grass” during the brutal summer months. June typically brings our first string of 85+ days, and with them, we implement “cart-path-only days” or at least restrict carts to paths for certain vulnerable holes. We also strictly enforce the flag system (handicap flags that allow limited fairway access) — reminding everyone that only those with genuine mobility issues should use them, and even then, on certain extreme days “it will be strictly cart path only with no flags issued”. In member communications, I have not hesitated to be frank on this issue. I once wrote, “The fact that driving to your golf ball makes the round more enjoyable to you is not a valid reason to ask for a flag”. We had noticed some abuse of the privilege, and curtailing that has helped reduce wear in sensitive areas. Additionally, we place signage (like on #8 fairway) to guide cart drivers away from choke points – e.g., keeping them out of the narrow neck by the pond – and I often implore, “if you’re in doubt whether to drive through a certain area…eliminate the doubt by staying on the cart path”. These measures, while inconvenient to some, are for the greater good of the course. Without them, we’ve seen what can happen: in drought years with no natural breaks, continuous heat and traffic can literally beat fairways to death. As I cautioned during a particularly dry June, “without getting natural heavy rain we will still need to have days where the turf is ‘Too Wet’ and the rule is ‘Cart Path Only’…We are only doing what is best for the grass”. We know that what we do today affects the course weeks later – doing too little, too late in terms of protection could leave us with dirt instead of grass. That is wisdom earned through some painful summers.
So in June, we tread carefully. We monitor soil moisture daily, adjusting irrigation and hand-watering “as needed on a daily basis throughout the growing season” because “the unpredictability of nature” keeps us on our toes. We strive for that perfect balance of not too wet and not too dry, which on our clay soils is extremely challenging. Plans and schedules can change in an instant with the weather – a dynamic that keeps us sharp and adaptive. At the end of a long June day, when the sun finally dips and the sprinklers whir to life, the team can step back and appreciate a job well done: the course is still green, the greens are smooth, and golfers enjoyed their rounds. We’ll be up at dawn to do it all again tomorrow, knowing that each day without turf loss in June is a small victory on the road to surviving the summer.
July
July in the mountains of Flat Rock is as beautiful as it is brutal on our golf course. This is the month that truly tests the mettle of our maintenance program – and of our bentgrass fairways in particular. As I often say to members, “July weather always has the potential to make or break the health of our turfgrass.” All the planning, preventive measures, and resources we’ve invested come to bear now. There are a wide variety of factors that will influence the vitality of the grass through the summer: extreme heat, lingering humidity even at night, heavy or scant rainfall, intense ultraviolet radiation day after day, and of course cart traffic when the turf is at its weakest. We hope every year for moderate conditions, but “rarely get anything close to ideal” in July. More often than not, Mother Nature throws a mix of challenges at us.
The root system of the grass is a critical focus in July. By now, the roots that grew so vigorously in spring have begun to shrink – bentgrass naturally loses root mass in high summer, even with perfect care. I remind my staff (and sometimes the membership) that “the root system of a bentgrass plant is always in decline during the summer months, even in the best of conditions”. Our job in July is to maintain as much of that shrinking root system as possible until fall arrives. Those roots are the plant’s energy bank; if they wither away, the grass above can’t survive. Thus, every decision we make this month – from chemical applications, to irrigation timing, to how we manage traffic – “can greatly affect the quality of the golf course for the rest of the season”. This is why you might see us syringe (lightly water) greens in the heat of midday, or apply wetting agents to help water penetrate the soil. It’s also why we might ban carts from fairways with little notice if we see the grass wilting. We know the stakes are high in July: saving the turf now means better conditions not just next week but into the fall.
Over the years, July has taught us some hard lessons and prompted changes in our maintenance approach. The late 2000s and early 2010s included a couple of record-hot summers that nearly did our bentgrass in. “The last two summers have been very hot,” I wrote in an August report one year, noting that July and early August had severely tested our bentgrass and caused disease and heat stress damage in fairways. We responded with increased fungicide applications around greens and in roughs to protect as much turf as possible. Still, some fairways “took the most punishment” and had to be partially reseeded come fall. Those rough summers led us to double-down on drainage and aerification in the off-season. In one winter after a particularly brutal year, we accomplished more aerification than ever before, poking extra-deep holes in fairways and applying additional fertilizer to help them recover. And it worked: the following season we saw the fairways rebound, reminding everyone that it was “not by any miracle” but by “much work and attention given…during the off season” that the course healed. That experience reinforced a core principle: prepare for the worst, and the turf will have a fighting chance.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of July maintenance is how we handle golf carts. We’ve already touched on our cart-path-only rules in hot weather and the importance of adhering to the handicap flag policy. By July, we often have to tighten those restrictions further. Some days, even a morning of 80°F can stress the grass if humidity is high, so we might declare a “no flags” day where even those with handicap flags must stick to paths. This never goes over joyfully, but most members understand it’s temporary and necessary. I’ve pointed out in communications that when this course decided to plant all bentgrass fairways years ago, it operated as cart-path-only all year long – a testament to how delicate bentgrass can be in our climate. We’ve obviously relaxed that to allow carts most of the time, but “going to cart path only full time in the summer isn’t the miracle cure for all our problems, it’s the only one that’s free”. In other words, we can (and do) spend tens of thousands on chemicals, water, and sod to repair damage, but simply keeping carts off the grass during extreme weather is an immediate, cost-free way to prevent damage in the first place. That perspective sometimes resonates with folks when nothing else will.
How does all this translate to the golfer’s experience in July? Ideally, if weather cooperates a bit, you still find decent if not excellent conditions. We fight hard to keep greens smooth and moderately quick – rolling and mowing whenever it’s safe to do so (e.g., in early morning before heat spikes). We might ease up on mowing heights to avoid scalping weakened grass, so greens might slow down a touch, but they remain true. Fairways, if luck holds, stay green but may thin in spots despite our best efforts. On a fortunate year, like the summer of 2014, we catch some breaks: “This summer has truly been a gift from Mother Nature and has given our bentgrass a relatively stress free summer season,” I was delighted to report in one September. We know better than to expect that regularly, though. More often, by late July the fairways show patchy areas of stress. We often mark these areas as Ground Under Repair to keep play (and carts) off them. Tees and green surrounds also feel the brunt of constant play and heat, but those we can hand-water and nurse more easily (plus many of our tee boxes are in shade or get some afternoon respite).
In the middle of the summer battle, it’s important to keep perspective and communicate our philosophy of stewardship. I frequently remind our team and members alike: “Grass has been dying in the fairways from the stress of summer long before I came here, and it will continue to die long after I am gone” if extreme weather hits. That’s not fatalism, it’s realism. We aim to control what we can – and there’s a lot we can do – but at the end of the day, “the weather patterns are a variable that we cannot control”, and we have to roll with what nature gives us. When nature works with us, “it makes great things happen”, and when it doesn’t, we adjust and do our best. Every July evening that ends with the course still in good shape feels like a win. And when a difficult July ends with some turf casualties, we don’t despair; we simply resolve to fix them and improve our strategies for next year. After all, August – and hopefully a break in the heat – is just around the corner, and with it comes the promise that our bentgrass will live to grow another day.
August
August often arrives like the climax of summer, pushing our course and crew to their limits before the gradual relief of autumn sets in. By August, the cumulative effects of heat, humidity, and heavy play can be seen on the turf. In particularly tough years, parts of fairways or rough may be browned out or thinned, despite all our care. We take stock of these areas, knowing that cooler weather (and our intervention) will help them rebound. It’s a month of both persevering through peak stress and beginning the first steps of recovery.
Historically, August has delivered some extreme weather lessons. One vivid memory is the drought of 2007. By that August, “the golf course had suffered through a drought all summer long and the irrigation system [was] the only reason the entire course [wasn’t] brown.” Our main irrigation lake was drawn down to worrying levels – we couldn’t even refill some ponds on #8 and #10 until the lake received more rain. We were essentially running on a finite reserve, praying for the typical late-summer thunderstorms to replenish our water supply. Thankfully, August in our region usually brings at least some rain relief, and indeed we hoped (as I wrote then) that “August typically yields some good rain showers for this area”. That year, every drop was precious. We made it through with a lot of careful water rationing and by the grace of a few timely storms. It underscored how fortunate Kenmure is to have its own reservoir – not every club did, and some courses had to let large areas go completely brown. The following year, 2008, Henderson County actually enacted its first-ever mandatory water restrictions, though our use of non-potable water from our reservoir meant the golf course was not as severely affected. We still exercised extreme caution in water use, knowing the lake is “far from an unlimited source” and that “during these times of low rainfall we must be very careful in the amount of water we use”. These drought episodes imparted a key wisdom: water is life for our course, and conserving it and expanding storage (when possible) is crucial. It also validated practices like deep aerification and soil amendment, which help the soil retain moisture when rain is scarce.
On the flip side, some Augusts have been exceedingly wet and cool – a blessing in some ways, but not without issues. Abundant rain can keep the turf green, yet as mentioned earlier, it encourages disease and can saturate soils, leading to muddy conditions and more cart restrictions. We have seen Augusts where we had to intermittently go Cart Path Only even without high heat, simply because the ground was waterlogged from frequent thunderstorms. Members might wonder, “Why ‘Too Wet’ in August?” and the answer is that a string of rainy days can leave us no choice. I often echo a mantra: “What I am trying to say is that without getting natural heavy rain we will still need days that are ‘Cart Path Only’. These practices are for the greater good of the golf course”. Interestingly, that statement was originally made in the context of needing rain – noting that if we don’t get enough natural rain to cool the turf, we have to impose cart restrictions to mimic the respite rain would provide. But it applies in reverse, too: if we get too much rain, we need to keep carts off to avoid tearing up the saturated turf. Either scenario – drought or downpour – sees us come back to the same philosophy: protect the grass now, so it can thrive later.
By August, the wear patterns from summer play are very evident. We pay special attention to spots near cart paths where many enter and exit – these tend to get worn and compacted, sometimes turning to dirt by end of summer. A few years ago, we implemented a new traffic policy to address this: routing carts differently and resting some traffic-intensive areas. The difference was stark. As I happily reported in late summer of 2007, “the relief of wear and compaction to these areas is evident and will keep the turf strong…The amount of dead and worn areas will be dramatically reduced through less cart traffic.” By the end of that August, we indeed noticed a “big difference” compared to the previous fall – far fewer bare patches where carts usually congregate. That success has informed how we manage cart flow each subsequent summer (e.g., using ropes, stakes, and rotating entrance/exit points on fairways).
Despite August’s challenges, there is a subtle turn by mid-month: the days start to get a bit shorter. The sun’s intensity diminishes slightly, and nights occasionally bring cooler air down from the mountains. Bentgrass, sensing the break is near, often perks up a little. If we are lucky enough to have an August with moderate heat or some cloudy afternoons, the bentgrass thanks us. In fact, in one recent year, we had an unusually kind summer overall, and by August I noted that the bentgrass had enjoyed a “relatively stress free” season thanks to Mother Nature’s gift. Typically though, we aren’t that lucky, and we have to grind through until Labor Day for real relief.
August is also when we start planning for fall renovations. We assess which fairway areas are simply not going to make it without help. Grass that has thinned out or died in patches will need overseeding or sod. Often, we will order sod in late August for delivery in early September, targeting the worst spots on greens collars or fairways for replacement. If disease like grub damage has appeared (sometimes we see evidence of grubs in late summer despite preventative treatments), we plan curative actions and repairs. By late August, we also schedule the fall aerification dates – usually greens in mid-September and fairways/rough in October. Knowing that helps us communicate to members and coordinate with the golf calendar. We even begin meeting with the Greens Committee around now to discuss winter project priorities, because once fall arrives, we want to hit the ground running on those improvements.
In the day-to-day, August is about keeping everything alive and playable. It might mean hand-watering hotspots on greens every afternoon, or skipping fairway mowing for a day or two to avoid stressing the grass (letting it grow just a bit taller for resilience). It definitely means continuing our chemical vigilance – fungicide rotation to avoid resistance, watching for insect pests like armyworms or sod webworms that sometimes appear late summer, and staying on top of weed breakthroughs. And always, reminding golfers to help us help the course: fix your ball marks, fill or replace your divots, and stay on the paths when asked. By this time of year the turf’s ability to heal is at its lowest, so any damage caused by play lingers. One autumn I gently urged, “Please remember to fix all ball marks and fill your divots. This time of year the healing capacity of the turf is much slower…Set a good example for others in your group”. That was in November, but it applies equally in August when growth is stagnating in the heat. Our members have generally been very conscientious, and they understand that we’re all stewards of this course’s condition.
Surviving August is an accomplishment for the course and crew alike. When we finally get a cool morning or a hint of fall breeze toward the end of the month, it’s as if everyone—people and grass—breathes a sigh of relief. The light at the end of the tunnel appears. We’ve managed and mitigated the worst summer could throw at us, and now we can look ahead to recovery. In the wisdom of the seasons, August teaches endurance and reinforces that vigilant care plus member cooperation can shepherd the course through even the toughest times. As September looms, we’re ready to mend what’s been hurt and celebrate what came through unscathed.
September
September brings a palpable shift at Kenmure: the mornings turn crisp, shadows lengthen earlier in the evenings, and the golf course begins to recover its vigor after the gauntlet of summer. For the maintenance team, it’s a month of renewal and repair. Our cool-season bentgrass, having endured the worst heat, now gets a second wind. And we help it along with everything in our toolbox.
One of our main September tasks is restoring any turf areas that suffered during summer. After a particularly hot season, you might notice some thin or browned patches in fairways and approaches. Early in the month, we go hole by hole, assessing damage and formulating a plan to rejuvenate those spots. This often involves seeding and fertilizing the weakest areas. “During the month of September we will be prepping and seeding the areas of turf in the fairways hardest hit by disease and heat stress,” we informed members after one tough summer. We prioritize sections that can heal in time for fall play: for widespread thin areas, broadcasting a bentgrass seed blend works well (with ropes to keep carts off while it germinates). For more concentrated damage, we may lay sod strips for immediate cover. It’s not unusual for us to close some holes to cart traffic entirely for a couple of weeks in early September to protect new seedings. In those cases, we put up signs and ask golfers to skip that hole or remain on paths, explaining that “these holes will need some time to recuperate before they can be reopened to traffic”. The majority of fairway turf usually survives summer with only minor scars, so on those fairways we manage traffic with daily adjustments (like using “signage” and ropes to shift carts around). By mid-month, thanks to cooler nights and occasional rain, a lot of the stressed turf begins to bounce back on its own – a testament to bentgrass’s resilience once it’s back in its comfort zone.
September is also aerification time again. Many golfers dread hearing that word twice in one year, but we typically schedule a fall aerification of greens (albeit a less intensive one than in spring). For example, we often aerate greens in mid-September, once temperatures moderate. In 2011 we did it on September 19th using our “normal procedure”. In some years, instead of pulling cores we use alternative methods like DryJect or solid tines that are faster to heal – we did this in a prior fall and it proved to be “a very golfer friendly way to treat the greens”, causing minimal disruption. Regardless of the method, we aim to get the greens opened back up (to breathe and relieve summer compaction) and then healed quickly under ideal growing conditions. Typically, a September greens aerification heals even faster than an April one, because soil temperatures are warm and bentgrass grows actively in early fall. We communicate the plan early: letting members know which days the course will be closed and that by late September the greens “should be on their way to healing back up” nicely. We also aerify fairways and rough around this time (if not early October), but that is often done more gradually, a few holes at a time to minimize disruption. Members have seen our tactic of closing one hole for a day to aerify it, then moving on to the next – it’s an effective way to avoid major interruption, as “we will not be moving on to the next hole until the first one is completely clear of plugs and debris”, and golfers just skip ahead one hole during that process.
With the onset of autumn, disease pressure wanes significantly. Our fungicide spending drops off, and the crew can ease up on the constant spraying cycle. In fact, fall conditions are usually so good for turf that September and October offer some of the best playing conditions of the year. The fairways regain their density and color, the greens hold their speed with less fuss (since cooler weather naturally firms them up), and even the rough, while still thick, grows at a slower, more reasonable rate. I often note to the membership that “the golf course will be in excellent shape and the fall weather should make for some great days to get out and play golf”. Indeed, many consider September in the North Carolina mountains a little slice of golfing heaven.
We do still face one big challenge in September: Leaves. By late month, the earliest fall hues appear on maples and poplars, and leaves start peppering the fairways. It begins innocently enough, but we know what’s coming – an onslaught of leaves that will occupy our team deep into the fall. Early in the leaf season, our approach is to keep playing surfaces clear each morning. We assign a couple of staff with backpack and tow-behind blowers to move leaves off greens and tees before play. However, on windy days, it can feel like a losing battle: “areas we have cleaned of leaves in the morning may be covered up again by the time your group reaches that hole,” we warn golfers. By the end of September, leaf removal becomes a dominant task, and we acknowledge to members that it’s “impossible for us to keep all surfaces 100% clean of leaves during the fall”, especially if the wind is up. What we can promise is that greens and primary landing areas will be blown regularly, and we’ll do our best to collect and haul off the accumulating piles.
September also brings a sense of gratitude and reflection from our side. After the trying summer, I make it a point to thank the membership for their cooperation. For instance, following a summer with many restricted play days, I wrote: “Thank you very much to all the membership for bearing with us on all the ‘Flags Only’ days that we had during the summer. I can assure you that every little bit always helps.”. That is the truth – each time someone chose to keep the cart on the path when it was borderline, or fixed an extra pitch mark, or patiently waited out a midday spray, it helped the course survive and thrive. By September, we can often see the fruits of those collective efforts: turf that’s rebounding, not ruined.
Another positive note in recent Septembers is the increased communication with and involvement of experts to continually improve our course. We’ve had visits from agronomists (like Dr. Leon Lucas from the Carolinas Golf Association, who came one October) to evaluate conditions and advise on improvements. His written report, which we shared on our blog, provided valuable third-party insights and affirmed some of our plans for soil and turf management. Encouraging members to read such reports or our blog posts keeps everyone informed and part of the journey of course improvement.
As September days tick by, excitement builds for the fall golf season. The oppressive heat is gone; we’re all enjoying cool mornings and warm, pleasant afternoons. The course usually has a full calendar of member events, from charity tournaments to club championships, and we relish setting up the course to its full potential – lush fairways, swift greens, maybe a difficult pin placement or two for the club championship to test the best! By the end of the month, with turf healthy and leaves only starting to fall, Kenmure shines. It’s extremely satisfying to hear golfers say the course is the best they’ve seen it all year. And it sets the stage for October, when the scenery will be stunning and our focus shifts to preparing the course for winter while still delivering prime playing conditions.
October
October is autumn in full glory at Kenmure Country Club. The ridgelines around the course blaze with reds, oranges, and yellows, and crisp morning air greets our maintenance team each day. It’s a favorite month for many members – the weather is generally dry and mild, perfect for golf – and our job is to keep the course in top shape while simultaneously starting to winterize the turf and facilities. It’s a bit of a juggling act: fostering great play now, yet doing the necessary work to ensure the course endures the coming cold.
A key agronomic event in early fall is often a second aerification (if not done in September). By October, we either have just completed it or are finishing aerifying fairways and roughs. Aerifying fairways in October works well because the turf can heal in the still-warm soil, and it relieves compaction just before winter when the grass won’t be growing much. We usually proceed hole by hole, perhaps “a few holes at a time, then clean them off before continuing,” and we’ll “close the hole that is being aerified” to expedite the work without golfers in the way. This method, though slightly disruptive, actually minimizes the overall inconvenience – golfers skip one hole and we complete the task much faster than if we were dodging play. By the time we finish aerifying all 18 fairways (often by late October), the first few are already nicely healed and you’d hardly know it was done.
For greens, if we aerified in September, October is about nurturing them to 100% and enjoying their best performance. If weather delayed our greens aerification into early October (it has happened – one year heavy rain pushed us back a week), we adapt. In one October, “Greens aerification went smoothly after [a] one-day delay caused by rain”, and once we started, “everything went very well and we [were] happy with the results”. Post-aerification, we often increase greens rolling to daily for a week or two, which “firms them back up and smooths them out”, aiding a quick recovery. In the favorable October weather, the holes heal rapidly – it also helped that in that example, “the weather [was] conducive to a fast heal time”, so within days you could hardly tell we’d punched them. By mid-October, greens are typically in fantastic shape: smooth, adequately fast, and free of summer stresses like grain or disease. Many golfers comment that fall greens are the best, and we agree.
While turf care continues, leaf management becomes an increasingly consuming task in October. Early in the month, leaves start to blanket the course in earnest. Our team shifts into leaf-clearing mode nearly every morning, using blowers and sweepers. The drone of leaf blowers becomes a familiar soundtrack to fall golf. We know it’s not the most peaceful noise, so we make efforts to be courteous. We remind our staff to “be as courteous as possible when using blowers around golfers, especially when near the tee boxes and greens”. Often, if a group is hitting, the crew will shut off blowers and wait or move to a distant area. Members have been patient with this necessary nuisance, understanding that without those “many loud blowers” running, the course would soon disappear under a rustling carpet of leaves. Even with constant work, it’s a “fairly large job” that takes weeks to complete each year. Kenmure’s terrain doesn’t allow us to just blow all leaves into the woods in many areas – in fact, only a few holes have spots where we can blow and leave them. On most holes, we must corral leaves into piles, load them, and haul them off-site or to a dumping area. One newsletter noted that “there are only a few holes…that allow us areas to blow the leaves into the woods. This means that the majority of the leaves must be bagged up and transported to the top of the mountain where they are dumped”. It is a Herculean effort for our crew. We dedicate as many people as we can to leaf removal without neglecting mowing and other duties. Windy days are our biggest obstacle – a breeze can undo hours of raking in minutes. We let golfers know that if it’s particularly windy, “it will be impossible to keep the playing surfaces 100% clean at all times”, but we’ll get them as clear as feasible.
October is also the time we finalize our winter project list. The Greens Committee usually meets this month (after seeing how the course fared over the season) to decide on offseason priorities. Drainage improvements are always high on the list – by now it’s almost an annual tradition because as one project succeeds, we identify the next “wet spot” to tackle. For instance, after the success of extensive drainage additions one winter, we “plan[ned] to continue on with these projects” the next winter, hoping for another mild season that would allow us to get a lot done. Bunker renovations might also be on the agenda if any remain in need of new sand or drainage. In recent years, we systematically refreshed many bunkers. By 2014’s winter plan, we aimed to do “as many greenside bunkers…as we can get to by the end of the winter,” focusing on new sand and drainage fixes. If October is dry enough, sometimes we even start a bit of winter work early – for example, edging bunkers or clearing brush in out-of-play areas while the weather is pleasant.
Meanwhile, golfers relish October. We typically lower the height of cut on the fairways just a notch in early fall, knowing the turf is healthy and the cooler weather allows a tighter cut without stressing the grass. This means those lucky autumn rounds are greeted with crisp lies on fairways and extra roll on drives. The rough also slows its growth, so it’s more forgiving (unless we’ve overseeded some areas, which can briefly produce some lush spots). With major tournaments over, we can also have a bit of fun with course setup – maybe a “tough pin” day or creative tee placements for a fall scramble event.
By the end of October, the course transitions again. The vibrant foliage begins to drop in earnest and a carpet of leaves covers the ground no matter how diligently we blow. The turf growth slows significantly as soil temperatures drop. We often manage to aerify fairways/rough before the end of the month so that turf can heal as much as possible while growth still occurs. A dry October is a huge blessing in that regard, and some years we’ve noted with relief that “it was a dry October…and the greens have healed nicely from the fall aerification”, allowing everyone to enjoy the “remainder of the fall golf season” on smooth surfaces. At month’s close, with the first frost usually behind us, we shift mowing schedules and start raising cutting heights a notch to give the grass a little more leaf surface for winter (especially on greens, where we want to head into winter with healthy, not scalped, turf).
Looking up at the hardwoods around #18 in late October, you see more branches than leaves, signaling that winter is near. Yet, often the days are still comfortable and golfers linger, getting in those final rounds before the holiday season. For the maintenance team, October is exhausting with long hours mulching leaves and prepping the course for dormancy, but it’s also gratifying. There’s a sense of closure in the air. We kept the course in great shape through the main season, and now we’re tucking it in, even as players squeeze in as much golf as they can. With November coming, our mindset will fully pivot to off-season mode, but October – ah, October is a sweet spot where course beauty and playability are at a peak and our labors are largely about preserving that status quo as nature gradually powers down for winter.
November
November brings a noticeable quiet to the club. The days are much shorter, the air cooler, and many members begin migrating to warmer climates or focusing on holidays rather than golf. For those of us tending the course, November is the start of the true offseason work, even as we remain open for play on good weather days. This month straddles the line between the end of fall golf and the beginning of winter projects, and we have to be nimble to handle both.
One of our primary ongoing tasks in November is leaf cleanup, which usually reaches its climax in this month. By now, most trees are dropping leaves steadily. As earlier noted, this is a massive job – “a very large one that usually takes most of the crew’s labor resources for a two-week period” at its peak. In reality, it can stretch longer depending on how protracted the leaf fall is. We deploy every available hand and machine: backpack blowers, tow-behind blowers, leaf vacuums, and lots of tarps and rakes for corners the machines can’t reach. We attempt to keep playing surfaces clear on a rolling basis. Typically, we’ll have greens and tees blown early morning, fairways blown toward late morning, and roughs/piles collected in the afternoon. But leaves have a mind of their own. We caution players that “areas we have cleaned of leaves in the morning may be covered again by the time your group reaches that hole”, especially if wind or a late drop occurs. Patience is key, and we appreciate the understanding that “it will be impossible to keep the playing surfaces 100% clean at all times during the height of the leaf fall”. Rest assured, by the end of the month, we will get the vast majority of leaves off the turf. We usually haul countless trailer loads of leaves to our dump area on top of the mountain – literally tons of material. It’s no wonder we emphasize this aspect in nearly every fall communication: the volume of leaves is astounding and relentless, but we tackle it relentlessly as well. By mid-to-late November, the trees are mostly bare and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief (and maybe get the ringing sound of blower engines out of our heads).
With leaf removal and less mowing to do, November is the ideal time to execute cultural practices like aerifying the fairways and rough (if not completed in October). We often schedule fairway aeration for early-to-mid November. Our approach is to take it hole by hole: “one hole at a time and we will not be moving on to the next hole until the first one is completely clear of plugs and debris”. During this, we close the active hole to play, asking members to skip ahead, since “the tractor doesn’t move very fast and it would slow our progress too much if we did not close the hole”. Members have generally been fine with this – they get it that missing one hole is better than having 18 Swiss-cheese fairways all at once. Using this method, an entire course’s fairways can be aerated over a couple of weeks with minimal disruption. Once done, the aeration holes in fairways will largely persist through winter (we don’t worry about growing them in fully until spring), but we ensure all the pulled cores are removed or broken up so as not to interfere with any play. Similarly, we often aerate the roughs and some tees now. By finishing in November, those areas have ample time over winter to settle and will come back strong in spring.
Turf healing and protection is another theme of November. As temperatures drop, the grass’s growth slows dramatically. We enter a quasi-dormant phase for bentgrass and especially for the warm-season grasses (like any bermuda in clubhouse lawns or native grass areas). This means any divot or ball mark left now could linger for months. We gently remind everyone of this: “Please remember to fix all ball marks and fill your divots. This time of year the healing capacity of the turf will be much slower and it becomes even more important to take care of any damage”. We encourage golfers to set a positive example by diligently repairing damage, knowing it benefits everyone’s playability through the winter. Our staff continues to double-check greens for unhealed ball marks during routine maintenance as well. We also raise mowing heights slightly in November, particularly on greens, to buffer the turf going into winter. Greens might get a tad slower but it’s a conscious trade-off: we want a bit more leaf tissue on the plant to improve photosynthesis on those short, cool days and to enhance winter hardiness.
By November, frost delays become a regular morning occurrence. It’s not unusual that the first frost hits in October (like October 19 in 2009), and from that point on, frost delays are part of the routine on clear nights. We reiterate our frost protocol to members as needed: we monitor diligently at sunrise, we don’t allow any traffic on frost-coated turf, and we will get play going as soon as it’s safe (even employing temporary greens if only a few shaded greens remain frosty). One update noted that by late fall “frost delays will become a regular part of our morning routine” and that we “will be monitoring the course closely” to start play “as soon as possible”. We also mention that cold temperatures slow grass growth, signalling the transition to winter projects for our crew. Indeed, as mowing needs drop, we redirect labor to tasks like drainage work, path repairs, and clubhouse area upkeep.
In November, we usually commence some winter projects in earnest whenever play is light or on closed days. Common ones include: drainage installations (you’ll see us trenching in fairways or roughs and installing pipe and gravel), bunker renovations (if scheduled – for instance, fixing the greenside bunkers on #18 was on our list after the season one year), and bridge or path repairs. One fall we replaced a rusted-out culvert under the #17 cart path that had begun to let the path sink – we got the new pipe in and planned to repave that section when temperatures allowed. Another recurring winter project is tee and tree work: leveling tees, removing diseased or overgrown trees, etc. In late 2009, for example, we removed several diseased or storm-damaged trees and addressed an old wooden bridge on #18 that needed new decking. All these projects ramp up in November. We coordinate with the pro shop to ensure any interference with play is minimized (for example, closing a hole if a fairway is trenched, or working on Mondays or quiet afternoons).
As Thanksgiving nears, the course typically settles into semi-dormancy. Fairways might still show green but growth is negligible. Greens hold color longer (we sometimes apply a little iron or pigment for aesthetics), but eventually even they take on a bronzed look after hard frosts. We consider covering greens with tarps in winter only if extreme cold is expected, but at our elevation it’s not usually necessary except in severe cold snaps. However, we do prepare temporary greens on a few holes that historically have heavy frost shade (like #5, #9, #17, #18). On those brutally cold mornings, rather than delay tee times until noon, we can sometimes route play to a temporary green so golfers can keep moving while the main green thaws in the sun. It’s not a frequently used trick, but it’s in our back pocket.
One more thing happens in November: we often see an uptick in wildlife activity on the course. As humans play less, deer venture out more on the fairways at dawn and dusk. Flocks of turkeys scratch for acorns on tee boxes. Even the occasional black bear might wander across a far fairway in search of the last berries (a rare but memorable sight!). We don’t mind sharing the course with these autumn visitors – in fact, it’s part of the charm of mountain golf in the offseason.
By the tail end of November, after the last of the leaves are collected and the first truly cold rain hits, we know the curtain is closing on the growing season. This month can feel long for the crew, with its endless leaf rounds, but once it’s done, there’s a sense of accomplishment. Typically, we’ll have a course in great shape heading into winter: turf is healthy, clean, aerified and breathing, and our big winter projects are underway with a solid plan. As we turn the calendar to December, the focus shifts almost entirely to those projects and to riding out the winter – with one eye always on the weather. But before that, there’s one more month and one more season’s reflections to go.
December
December arrives with a chill and a quieter rhythm at Kenmure. The golf course takes on a peaceful, almost hibernating character. Gone are the crowds of golfers and the constant whir of mowers. In their place, frost-coated fairways glisten on sunny mornings, and the maintenance team methodically works through winter improvement projects. Wintertime is fast approaching, and the leaves are falling rapidly, a superintendent wrote in an early December newsletter. That line rings true every year – by now most leaves have fallen, and any stragglers are quickly dealt with. The course is as clean as it’s going to be, and we turn our attention fully to strengthening the course for next spring.
One big focus in December is drainage work, continuing the efforts from November. We usually tackle the worst remaining wet areas, often in fairways and approaches where heavy clay soils trap water. “The winter months ahead will be spent addressing drainage issues in the fairways and approaches,” we told members one year. That encapsulates December well. You might see a trench across #1 approach where we’re installing a new drain line, or a crew digging in the middle of #17 fairway to put in French drains where water accumulates. We choose targets based on the prior season’s observations – remembering those “spongy spots” on #1, #2, and #9 that we vowed to fix, or the area on #13 that never fully dried. By December, with the soil moist but not yet frozen, it’s perfect for excavation. We often get a lot done: one winter we installed over half a dozen new drains on various holes and noted “great success with this last year and plan to continue”, hoping for another mild winter to accomplish it all.
Another major off-season task is bunker renovation and maintenance. In recent winters, we’ve systematically rejuvenated many of our bunkers by replacing sand and repairing drainage. In the winter of 2013-14, for instance, we started with “the greenside bunkers on number twelve,” then tackled those at #4 and #7, aiming to renovate as many greenside bunkers as weather allowed. December is when such work is fully underway: we peel back the old sand (often finding “not much sand at all in many of the traps,” which at least makes removal quick). We inspect and fix drainage pipes beneath – many bunkers have drains that silt up or collapse over time, and those get dug out and repaired or replaced. Then we add brand new sand, a special angular sand that compacts well and drains efficiently. As I reported to members, “the new sand drains very well and I think everyone will enjoy better conditions in the bunkers” once the project is done. Indeed, a fresh layer of white sand and crisp edges can make an old bunker look and play like new. By focusing on greenside bunkers first, we improve playability where it affects scoring most. Fairway bunkers are often secondary unless they had acute problems (like the #18 fairway bunkers which we planned to address after 2009’s wet year). December gives us the downtime to do this heavy lifting. If you wander by the course on a winter weekday, you might see a pile of sand next to a bunker and a few bundled-up crew members swinging picks and shovels – slow, dusty work, but satisfying when you see the end result.
Winter tree work is also a December mainstay. With the course quiet, we can remove trees that we’ve marked due to disease, safety hazards, or agronomic benefit (e.g., too much shade on a tee or green). For example, one winter we took out several diseased trees and those damaged by storms, making the course safer and also improving sunlight and air flow. This is careful work – often requiring professional arborists for larger trees near play areas – but winter is the safest time to do it, and without leaves we can fell trees more easily. We sometimes mention this in our reports so members aren’t surprised to see a familiar tree gone. Generally, they’re supportive when they learn a tree was either dying or its removal would help turf quality on a green or tee (there’s that stewardship principle again: sometimes you have to cut down a tree to save the grass).
December also involves a lot of indoor work and equipment rehab. We service all our mowers, changing oils, grinding reels, replacing worn parts. The mechanics are busy rebuilding engines or sharpening hundreds of blades from mowers and utility vehicles. Additionally, the crew does painting and refurbishment of course accessories: one winter, as noted earlier, we repainted all the ball washers, trash cans, and even did club projects like sanding and painting the patio furniture. By doing this in winter, we can emerge in spring with everything looking fresh and working reliably.
On the golf side, December typically means frost delays and occasional course closures due to weather. If it’s mild and the course is open, we often operate on reduced hours (starting tee times later to avoid frost and having fewer staff on hand). Many December mornings, the turf stays frozen until the sun climbs high. We even prepare temporary greens on a few holes as noted, to allow some play on frosty days without damaging the real greens. The membership by now is quite understanding of winter rules: they know to stay off frosty grass (walk in the rough or on cart paths only until thawed) and to be patient with delays. We communicate that “each day presents a different set of variables” with weather, and we always “attempt to err on the side of caution to protect our golf course”. The trade-off for an early tee time just isn’t worth the turf damage. If the frost is heavy and taking long to melt, that’s when we might route to the temps on #5, #9, etc., just to get folks out a bit sooner.
By mid-December, usually the golf course is largely at rest. We might still mow greens occasionally if it’s warm (to keep them from getting shaggy) or roll them to smooth frost heave, but frequency is way down. Fairways won’t need mowing at all if fully dormant. This allows us to give the crew some well-earned time off around the holidays. We usually rotate a smaller crew for essential tasks on days the course is open, and otherwise let people take vacation. It’s a time to reflect on the past season’s accomplishments and challenges.
In communications to members, December is often when I express gratitude and season’s greetings. For instance, “The maintenance staff at Kenmure would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. The golf course will be open throughout the winter months and I’m sure there will be some nice days to come out and enjoy it.”. That sentiment from 2007 still holds true. We pride ourselves that, barring snow cover, our course is playable year-round – a benefit of our climate and our efforts to maintain turf even in colder weather. We encourage the die-hards to come out on those freak 60-degree January days that sometimes occur, and to enjoy winter golf which has its own charm.
December is also a time to evaluate and celebrate improvements. Looking back on 2009, I proudly wrote, “This year was a great year for the health of the golf course…adequate rainfall and less heat really showed. The grass was very healthy going into the fall…We were very pleased with our new grub control product and had the best results I have ever seen – no damage in any fairways or approaches, unlike years past.”. It’s important to acknowledge such wins, because every season will have its trials, but collectively we keep raising the bar. We might also recap the big projects accomplished (e.g., “all front nine bunkers got new sand,” or “4200 feet of drainage installed,” etc.) to remind members of the investment and progress made. Often, we’ll note something like “a very full plate now when it comes to winter projects”, listing a few like #18 bunker and drainage on deck, and express hope for “a mild winter to allow us to do all the things we have in our plan.” Mild or not, we’ll tackle as many as we can, that’s for sure.
Finally, December and the year’s end reinforce the philosophy of stewardship and balance that guides us. We’ve shepherded the course through each season’s unique hurdles: protected it from frost in winter, nurtured it in spring, defended it in summer, repaired it in fall. We’ve also tried to keep our membership informed and involved, so they understand why we do what we do. At heart, the superintendent’s job is about caring for a living thing (the course) over time – adapting, learning, and improving year after year. In one November newsletter, I reflected that we attempt to provide conditions to suit a wide range of golfers, “without making things too difficult or too easy,” and that we hope all players “find Kenmure an enjoyable golf experience” regardless of skill. We also stressed that we listen to member feedback and that their support “has an impact on what you are seeing on the golf course”. In other words, we see this as a partnership between the maintenance team and the club members – all of us working together to keep the course thriving.
As December closes and a new year approaches, we often take a moment to say “Thank you for your continued support of the club” and that we “look forward to seeing everyone happy and well” in the coming season. The wisdom of the seasons is that each month brings its own trials and teachings, but through experience we’ve learned to anticipate and embrace them. From the hopeful projects of January to the dogged perseverance of July, and from the reflective repairs of fall to the resting grounds of December, the superintendent’s journey is one of constant learning and dedication. It is my honor and joy to practice this stewardship year-round, knowing that the reward is a beautiful golf course that our members can enjoy in all seasons for years to come.
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