This could actually be a good time for golf course maintenance

With many golf courses closed again for draining, wouldn’t this be the best time to cut and redesign lots of tee boxes as they will then have plenty of time to grow in? A good time to sharpen the boundaries around the greens and sand bunkers. Do you fill in the bare spots and even holes (tripping hazards) where there used to be grass?

It was particularly noticeable when driving on the cart path – Turtle Mound was closed for a while after Helene and the tee boxes on some holes are basically dirt. I can’t think of a better time to do this maintenance since there’s no game going on.

These were never supposed to get this bad in the first place – never before 2018 when we had greenkeepers calling the shots. For those of you who weren’t here back then, somehow that generation had no problem keeping all the executives as pristine as the championship courts.

Yes, I know there are more people here now – but just like in years past, tee times during snowbird season are usually full of executives.

Since there are “exactly the same” number of tee times per hour (course play and wear and tear) regardless of how many additional homeowners move here, only the percentage now here for the summer adds to the additional wear and tear.

This generation is doing a great job with growth and new areas – but for whatever reason, “something” in golf course maintenance has changed for the worse.

In the long run, it is far more expensive to completely replace the aisles rather than fertilize, fertilize, and use weed control as routine maintenance.

Some improvements have been made to the championship courses – but they are still not what they were before 2018. Pride of ownership is absent, except for Glenview, Tierra Del Sol, Southern Oaks and Shallow Creek. Even Lopez, which used to be as beautiful as Glenview and has already had all three 9s completely redone, doesn’t look nearly as crisp and perfect as it once did. In case you didn’t know, it’s not at all apparent that Lopez has spent millions there in recent years looking at the current conditions.

People are more likely to repair ball marks and holes when the golf courses are in good condition – rather than when they feel like it won’t make a difference anyway.

And finally, for those who use their putter heads to get the ball out of the golf hole: They chop off the edges of the cups. Please invest in the rubber or plastic ball gripper that you can attach to the end of your putter grip.

Michael Levesque is a resident of the village of Richmond.