Frost Holes 
A temporary small area which acts as a golf green during frosty weather, especially over the winter period.
The main purpose of a frost hole is to allow play to continue on a golf course whilst protecting the greens from unacceptable, or any, damage during frosty weather conditions.
Playing on a frosted green can crush plant cells, resulting in the affected area having blackened footprints once thawing takes place and also straw-coloured leaves and tips of leaves which are dying back following being crushed. In addition, if the surface has thawed and has a wet surface but the sub-surface
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Golf Ball Snaking
The sideways movement of a golf ball, primarily due to minor irregularities within the surface of a green, which can be especially pronounced towards the end of a putt as the ball comes to a stop.
Snaking affects the trueness of a golf green.
Golf Bunker Maintenance
A uniform, firmed depth of sand of about 100mm should be adequate for the base of most (sand-trap) bunkers, with a. depth of 50mm being aimed for on the face of bunkers. The angle of the face of a bunker will typically be no steeper than 30°-35°, otherwise the ability to maintain a stable and uniform sand surface will be problematic, requiring increased maintenance.
Sand chipped onto a green, from a bunker, should be dispersed on a daily basis and especially prior to mowing. Switching the green can not only disperse any sand on the sward surface but any small stones or grit will be
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Golf Bunker Raking Influencing Factors
The regularity and timing of raking bunkers can vary significantly from course to course, with some influencing factors being:
• Weather conditions: If it has been raining a lot then the sand can become firmed by the rain and will typically need opening up, whilst if it is consistency dry then wind blow can increase, meaning redistribution of some sand will be needed. In addition, much of the sand can start to form a surface crust and become hard, with golf balls often rolling out of the sand rather than being trapped as originally designed.
• The time of year: During the autum
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Golf Bunker Standards
Performance standards can also be applied to bunkers. For example, monitoring the uniformity of the firmed depth of sand, which might be from 100mm to 150mm on the bunker floor, and 25mm to 75mm on the bunker face.
A check on the evenness of raking produced with a smooth finish being form no more than ±6mm to ±18mm, and the extent of grass overhang, ranging from maybe no more than 12mm up to no more than 50mm depending on the standard desired around bunker edges.
A free draining bunker is an important criterion, so bunker drainage and water retention are standards which may also be con
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Golf Course Annual Material Requirements
The total quantity of materials that might be needed to maintain a golf course can vary considerably due to a number of factors, including:
• The size of the areas being maintained.
• The type of construction for the greens, tees and fairways.
• The soil type for the fairways, in particular.
• The size and number of sand bunkers present on the course.
• The available budget. This may be the current budget or a future available budget which may be enhanced from an existing one due to more funds becoming available.
• The desired standard of the sur
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Golf Course Hydraulic Oil Leaks
Many types of machinery now use hydraulic drives, especially to for the operation of cylinder mowers – ride-on greens mowers and fairway mowers. Unfortunately, the extend of pipe work can lead to hydraulic oil leaking onto turf area causing severe burning of the grass sward.
Oil may drip from worn seals or fittings, but often a leak will be forced out under pressure causing a continuous line of turf burn.
Regular servicing, maintenance, along with pre-start checks and post-use clean off are essential practices which reduce the chance of these oil leaks onto turf surfaces happening in th
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Golf Course Maintenance
There are four distinct turfgrass areas to the golf course which need to be considered: 1. Greens; 2: Tees; 3: Fairways, and 4: Rough (which can be sub-divided into Semi-Rough; Standard Rough, and Deep Rough).
In addition, the sand bunkers will form another area which need regular maintenance. Golf is a year-round sport, often with the use of winter tees from October to March and the occasional use of winter, or temporary, greens when the weather and ground conditions would cause undue wear and deterioration to normal greens if play continued on them.
There are five defined areas on a g
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Golf Course Maintenance Schedules
A general estimate of the number of occasions a task might typically be carried out over the 3-months of each season, but these would only be used as an informed forward planning guide as the current sward conditions, expected standards and prevailing weather conditions will influence the actual number of occasions any work might be required.
The total time in hours has been given as a general range and this too will clearly be influenced by a range of factors, including the type of equipment being used, the skill and experience of the user, material quantities needed and calibration requi
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Golf Course Performance Standards (A)
A range of performance standards can and should be used to manage the different surfaces on a golf course. These can help provide for well informed decisions on the effective and efficient use of resources needed to maintain not just the greens, but the entire course. Annual budgets can be quite significant for the maintenance of a golf course to a good standard, so ensuring resources are used wisely and efforts not wasted through ineffective or inefficient practices can result in significant cost-savings.
Significant differences, as well as how relevant or not some of the standards are, c
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