The golf season is winding down and now fall is here. This time of year presents many busy days of course preparation for the upcoming winter season. Besides the usual tasks and projects at this time of year, controlling broadleaf weeds should be at the top of the list.
When I was a golf course superintendent, one of my favorite practices of the year was preparing our putting surfaces for the winter season. You may guess that was because it finally meant the end of another long season. Don’t get me wrong—that definitely was a bonus. However, the challenge and importance of winter preparation practices always intrigued me.
Currently, in a good portion of our ATS regions, the leaves are changing colors and falling. Cooler temperatures have arrived, and the days are getting shorter. A sure sign old man winter will be arriving soon. With this comes the closing of the 2023 golf season, and golf course superintendents will soon be strategizing and executing winter preparation plans for their golf courses. As these plans commence, the focus will be on fall fertilization, leaf cleanup, irrigation winterization, and making final snow mold applications, to name a few.
As of October 1, there are at least 13 different manufacturer early order programs. That doesn’t include separate programs offered by distributors like Advanced Turf Solutions. Is your head starting to hurt and your stomach getting twisted in a knot trying to keep track of it all? It is a lot to process and digest, so I thought we’d take a few moments to discuss ways to make the process more manageable and profitable.
