Plan for the Best, Be Prepared for the Worst

While I start to plan out next year’s fertilizer applications, fungicide programs, aerification dates, projects to be completed and labor budgets, it is hard to imagine what 2021 will bring. As I look back on this year, I know we all took a roller coaster of a ride.

Most of us saw the lowest our clubs have been in a long time with cutbacks, furloughs and even layoffs. Those who weren’t cut from the crew had to go out of their way to meet CDC guidelines to keep them and their families safe. We came in early and wiped down all touch points in the facility and equipment. We moved our morning meeting out into our equipment storage area so we could communicate with the crew as a whole and still maintain a safe distance. A few employees still tested positive and with an already cut crew it was hard getting the course mowed.

Meetings and continuing education have been virtual only, which might be a positive to some. I find that if I do not have to be at a location at a specific time for a meeting, I’ll miss it. I know it’s convenient to have a meeting on my cell phone or office computer. Everyone knows how it is, you get distracted at work, an unforeseen problem and an hour later and you have missed the meeting altogether.

We have also witnessed some club highs, at least for us. We haven’t had the number of rounds we are having now since the late 90’s. That comes with downfalls as well — less time to prepare the course, more traffic and more divots. I also feel like with the number of golf rounds going up, the average round time played is much less. This might be because people are getting better at golf or could be people are still requesting single carts when they are playing with multiple people. We also do not have bunker rakes on the course, that could speed the round up a little. Either way it seems like a race to get back to the fast paced world. Along with that I think, this is only an opinion, that with the faster pace of play, golfers are not taking the time to fix ball marks and divots.

With all the preparation I did last year for 2020, not much worked out. Going through all of that made me realize, plan for the best and be prepared for the worst. Sure, we had to cancel orders and postpone some cultural practices. We made a lot of adjustments, but for the summer of 2020 it was not that bad. It’s hard to fathom what 2021 will have in store for us but I will guarantee that at our course we will do what we must do to accommodate the members and staff to keep everyone safe.

Andrew Foster

MAGCSA President