Though standard golf courses & mini-golf courses vary widely in price and size, they are similarly affected in the winter months.
October and November months are harsh on golf and mini-golf courses in numerous ways and many golfers prepare the courses so that they are ready for a game in the spring. Golf professionals even refer to this as “putting the course to bed”. If you own any of the two courses, our amazing preparation tips will help you convert your normal course into a “winter golf course”.
But first, let’s learn about the difficulties faced by golfers in winters. So let’s dive right in.
Problems that Golfers have to Face in Winter
- Moisture
A little moisture caused due to melting snow and thawing soil can make golf courses soft and wet. Sometimes, a sudden stop may shear the grass away from its roots. Players face a lot of problems playing on the inadequate courses.
- Slippery Grips
Many professionals suggest not to hold the clubs too tight. During winters, when the grips are drenched, it becomes difficult for golfers to make a grip, due to which the clubs get thrown out of their hands numerous times.
- Downpours
If by some miracle you’ve managed to dry out after being caught in a light rain shower after the first few holes, don’t be too pleased with yourself – the inevitable downpour awaits. Many sudden downpours can make you end up getting completely soaked.
- Managing Tees
During the winter frost, snow can misbalance the tees and disturb the calculation to strike the ball. For keeping tees in fine condition, many courses lay down mats on the tees. The first challenge that golfers have to face is getting the tee into the mat.
Tips to Prepare Your Golf and Mini Golf Courses for the winter
- Remove ball washers:
During fall, you need to fill your ball washers with a mixture of water and antifreeze to prevent them from freezing overnight.
When winter arrives, remove the ball washers completely. While the ball washers are out, it might be a good idea to service and maintain them for the new year.
- Clear out pond muck from smaller ponds:
While the water is low, you can put some RV anti-freeze into the pond to prevent it from freezing with colder night temperatures.
- Replace flags that you don’t want to be damaged:
Due to some nasty winds, your damageable flags need to be replaced with so-called “winter flags”. Along with flags, you need to replace the flagsticks too. Colder winds can damage your good flags, so keeping some backups on hand for the winter months is a wise idea.
Put some flags that can withstand cold winds. We recommend you Tackimac’s Numbered Tube-Lock Flag Sets. They are engineered in a way to maintain their good looks despite long exposure to wind and sun. The flags come with stronger stitching, including bar-tacked corners and four rows of fly-hem stitching which ensures durability. The set contains 9 flags with flag size 20” * 14”.
When it comes to flagsticks, you should go for 7 ½’ Royaline as it is one of the most popular and economical flagsticks that you’ll find on the internet. Due to its ultra-strong, resilient, and solid fiberglass construction, it is perfect for the winter months. You won’t have to worry about the fading of the colour in the future as it comes with veil-wrapped protection which also prevents splintering.
- Winterize the irrigation system:
The irrigation system needs to be winterized to prevent freezing in winter. The freezing of the system will result in broken pipes and a badly damaged sprinkler head.
For winterizing the irrigation system, you would have to remove all the water from the pipes. To accomplish this task, you will need a large compressor that can be attached to the mainline pipe at the pump house.
The compressor will work as air forcing equipment which will let the air out through the system. In the meantime, you can ask your crew to systematically run each sprinkler-head until the lines are left with no water.
- Clean the mini-golf course:
Thanks to their ease of management, mini-golf courses don’t face much trouble in winters. You can set up a mini-golf course indoors or outdoors. For precaution, give your mini-golf course a nice pressure wash to clean it up.
- Application of fungicides:
This is one of the major preparations that you need to do before winter arrives. For best results, apply fungicides as close to snow cover as possible. If you won’t apply these, the golf course will decimate at many parts due to the growth of pink and grey snow mold.
- Improve Traffic Control:
During winters, the growth of grasses occurs slower than any other time of the year. This reduces the speed of divots and ball marks healing process. In addition to this, the concentrated traffic can wear grass down to nothing.
Many professionals redirect the cart and golfer traffic regularly to limit the wear and tear. You can also restrict the paths of carts more frequently. Shift tee markers to points that aren’t used as often to prevent primary teeing areas and protect concentrations of fairway divots.
- Empty your soft drink machines:
You might want to empty any machine that sells soft drinks or soda to prevent them from freezing, exploding, and making a mess.
Parting Notes
Follow these easy tips to make your golf course live longer. Our products at Tackimac will be a great aid in your preparation process. No matter what course you own, you’ll find all necessary as well as accessory golf supplies at our store. We ensure our inventory meets high-quality standards at competitive prices.
Order exceptional golfing gear today and for more golf-related equipment, do check our website.
Thanks for reading!