Did any courses go through with a rest period?

[Oddsocks]

When courses were forced to close during the winter covid period, it was common for green keepers to comment how the resting closures during wet months ie now did the course well. moving forward they would like to close to minimise wet weather wear and give members better spring summer courses, I recall an article being published to.

So to date, are any forumers aware of this actually happening or did courses carry on their old ways?

 

[SammmeBee]

Not sure many could afford it!!

 

[Oddsocks]

I would have assumed that with every club full with waiting lists and a good few reintroducing the joining fee, this would be the opposite.

 

[Golfnut1957]

We have no plan for full winter closures and so currently we are doing what we have always done.

When the course gets too wet they close it. Currently, the condition is not too bad, by the end of February certain areas will be mud baths, by May it will have all recovered, by the middle of summer it will be pristine. Thus, it ever was.

As an aside, last summer, following the closures for lockdown, it was no better than any other. Due to the greens staff being furloughed it may well have been slightly worst.

 

[Bratty]

No planned closure at our place. Was the wettest I've known it yesterday, and it was difficult to maintain posture on a swing.
I would imagine some courses would have closed... but not ours, as we have visitors and societies, etc. after 11.30am. Money talks.

 

[Oddsocks]

Strange though if you this about it.

1- a closure would allow them to do much needed work with little inconvenience such as tree felling, releveling of tees and refurbishing bunkers. Often with things like tree felling, due to the clean ups and make safe times the work takes longer to complete than it would if it was done during a closure.

2- instead of recovering by mid/lste spring there would be next to no bare patches by end of feb. This would include poor condition first cuts, fringes etc.

3- a lot of bar staff are zero hours contracts so running costs would be reduced inline.

4- how many booked times cancell through bad weather. If it’s closed you can forecast zero traffic, if it’s fully staffed and a batch of tee slots (especially visitors) don’t show you could effectively lose money.

The only one I see losing is the club pro but lots of these would rely on lessons. With a shop being manned with no traffic it’s again running at a loss, with the pro being able to focus on intensive lessons at approx £50 an hour 10 hours is a nice days work and arguably more then they would make in the shop?

 

[Golfnut1957]

Strange though if you this about it.

1- a closure would allow them to do much needed work with little inconvenience such as tree felling, releveling of tees and refurbishing bunkers. Often with things like tree felling, due to the clean ups and make safe times the work takes longer to complete than it would if it was done during a closure.

2- instead of recovering by mid/lste spring there would be next to no bare patches by end of feb. This would include poor condition first cuts, fringes etc.

3- a lot of bar staff are zero hours contracts so running costs would be reduced inline.

4- how many booked times cancell through bad weather. If it’s closed you can forecast zero traffic, if it’s fully staffed and a batch of tee slots (especially visitors) don’t show you could effectively lose money.

The only one I see losing is the club pro but lots of these would rely on lessons. With a shop being manned with no traffic it’s again running at a loss, with the pro being able to focus on intensive lessons at approx £50 an hour 10 hours is a nice days work and arguably more then they would make in the shop?

There is a hell of a lot of generalisations and assumptions there.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Aside from covid we've not been closed bar the odd day for snow or because it's been too wet. The course needs a rest but unless we're going to close it because of the conditions it won't happen and even then it'll be for the shortest period possible. Not all out staff including the bar staff aren't on zero hours so need paying as do the office staff so if we're not getting money in, then of course if starts to cost. In a perverse way, another covid lockdown for a few weeks would be a godsend for the course (assuming the staff are looked after as well)

 

[jim8flog]

We only close in exceptional wet weather, lightning or snow. With the latter I have been a member 35 years and it has only snowed here about 5 of those years.

 

[SurreyGolfer]

Played this morning. Course has been no buggies for most of winter and has implemented a pathway system to try and protect some of the worst areas. We are a very low-lying course though and it was very wet underfoot today. Can't see us closing unless it becomes a bog and unplayable.

 

[Oddsocks]

There is a hell of a lot of generalisations and assumptions there.

Same could be said about life

 

[pokerjoke]

Our course is wet and today and for all last week 18 temps and 6 mats.
There’s no doubt tee boxes and greens could be open.
Will the course recover? they usually do.
Clubs continue to take our money but what are they actually giving us for our money.
Imo my club is being too protective.
Today was a joke of a round with 150 yard par 3 a 100 yards and 400 yard holes playing as 2 par 3s
No comps,no putting greens open,18 temps it’s just not worth it.

 

[Oddsocks]

Our course is wet and today and for all last week 18 temps and 6 mats.
There’s no doubt tee boxes and greens could be open.
Will the course recover? they usually do.
Clubs continue to take our money but what are they actually giving us for our money.
Imo my club is being too protective.
Today was a joke of a round with 150 yard par 3 a 100 yards and 400 yard holes playing as 2 par 3s
No comps,no putting greens open,18 temps it’s just not worth it.

The crunch question is would you have rather it was fully closed and fully protected instead of being part open and boring/poor to play?

 

[pokerjoke]

The crunch question is would you have rather it was fully closed and fully protected instead of being part open and boring/poor to play?

Imo it doesn’t need fully protecting it’s certainly playable.
I don’t pay 12 months membership only to play 9

 

[Oddsocks]

Imo it doesn’t need fully protecting it’s certainly playable.
I don’t pay 12 months membership only to play 9

But would you be prepared to pay the same cost but for 10 months and know they for the wettest 8 weeks greenkeepers focused on most of the external work while the course was resting?

 

[pokerjoke]

But would you be prepared to pay the same cost but for 10 months and know they for the wettest 8 weeks greenkeepers focused on most of the external work while the course was resting?

Not really
As I said it’s playable
It’s actually been a shortened course since November which is ridiculous as it’s been so mild.
We have some 40yard tee boxes but have mats 50 yards further up the fairway which to most is baffling.
I think the club could do more,maybe some tee box sand seed or whatever the mix is,then move accordingly.

 

[Crow]

But would you be prepared to pay the same cost but for 10 months and know they for the wettest 8 weeks greenkeepers focused on most of the external work while the course was resting?

The 8 wettest weeks of the year aren't the best time for course maintenance either.

You could end up with poor work that needs redoing when the course conditions are better, or even greater damage being caused by the greenkeepers working on a waterlogged course than golfers would have caused.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

We don't have "rest periods", just close when the ground is saturated, like now.
Currently I would say the ground is too soft to do anything around the course that involves more than a person.

What we are doing though now is testing for leatherjackets after the massive damage sustainied last year.

 

[patricks148]

I suppose courses using mats is a sort of rest period. With the amount of people now playing during winter at ours the place would be destroyed without their use

 

[sunshine]

Strange though if you this about it.

1- a closure would allow them to do much needed work with little inconvenience such as tree felling, releveling of tees and refurbishing bunkers. Often with things like tree felling, due to the clean ups and make safe times the work takes longer to complete than it would if it was done during a closure.

2- instead of recovering by mid/lste spring there would be next to no bare patches by end of feb. This would include poor condition first cuts, fringes etc.

3- a lot of bar staff are zero hours contracts so running costs would be reduced inline.

4- how many booked times cancell through bad weather. If it’s closed you can forecast zero traffic, if it’s fully staffed and a batch of tee slots (especially visitors) don’t show you could effectively lose money.

The only one I see losing is the club pro but lots of these would rely on lessons. With a shop being manned with no traffic it’s again running at a loss, with the pro being able to focus on intensive lessons at approx £50 an hour 10 hours is a nice days work and arguably more then they would make in the shop?

Your logic and arguments are missing one key element: the customer (AKA member). People pay a lot of money to be members of a golf club. If the weather / course is playable, people want to play golf.