On Tuesday, October 27th a group of about 30 members of The Ford Plantation had a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes of Championship Golf Course Management and Maintenance Program.
Nelson Caron (Golf Course Superintendant) gave a very professional tour of the golf course and specifically talked about the challenges of irrigation and drainage of a low country golf course, greens keeping (and maintaining putting surface consistency from green to green), daily course maintenance decision making, various breeds of grasses (and their pros and cons), specific challenges currently being addressed at the golf course (greens, drainage and irrigation).
Nelson also gave us some tips, which sound simple but I must admit I had it wrong on a few of these pointers. Like how to properly fill in a fairway divot so that the grass will grow back quickly but also so that the lawn care equipment, which is set to very tight cutting tolerances, is not damaged. How to repair green pitch marks, the right way and the wrong way.
It was also fun to visit the workshop and see the fleet of equipment it takes to run and maintain a top course like the Pete Dye Course at The Ford Plantation. How much maintenance takes place and the tolerances that the equipment is set to run to was truly impressive and surprising, these are not your back yard lawnmowers, and they are run more like a fleet of aircraft!
I have been playing golf for over 25 years and this was the first time I got to go behind the scenes. It was truly informative and I encourage more events like this to take place and more attendance, there really is a lot to learn.
Great job Nelson and crew!
Mark Arlow
912 445 0160
Keller Williams Coastal Area Partners - 912 459 5001
