Early this morning, before the sun was peaking over the horizon, a group of workers woke up and headed to the golf course. In Baltimore, these men headed out to the city’s five local courses and began to work on the green landscape to create the course that we all want to play.
At the same time, even more workers did the exact same thing, and carved different pathways through the hilly central Pennsylvania countryside.
These were the greens keepers and course operators who get the courses in the peak condition that every golfer needs them to be. To put it simply, without them, we don’t get to tee it up every day.
“Right now, our courses are in fantastic shape, and we’re working to make them ever better,” said Russell Bateman, the director of operations for the Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation. “The snow cover provided a kind of a nice rest for the courses and prevented them from drying out. It hurt economically, but the courses are ready to go.”
During the winter months, it is people like Bateman who make sure that the golf courses stay in the good condition that they are expected to be in. 
Whether this means a dryer winter, or more snow, there are always things to do. Obviously this winter had record snowfall, so what do the operators do now?
“We have a lot of clean up right now because the snow did break a lot of branches,” said Bateman. “And every spring we roll the greens, tees, and fairways prior to mowing for the best results. But the snow helped the grass.”
These are the behind the scenes players who have to work the hardest so that golfers can come back out in the spring and start playing. Once this time of year comes around, there is a pressure to get the golfers back out there.
“I think people definitely are anxious to start playing,”said David Fink, who works at the Golf Club at South River. “We all know people are trying to play, and courses rely on the operations crew to get start playing as quick as possible.”
What it means for the clubhouse
It becomes obvious how important the jobs are to the golf course, and this means that golf pros and managers are waiting for the OK from the maintenance crews.
“The start of each new season provides a unique challenge for us at Shawnee, and without the proper care to the golf course, golfers couldn’t play,” said Jay Voelker, a golf sales manager who works at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort “Without them, we can’t get customers to come back, and our business wouldn’t survive.”
Especially at a place like Shawnee, which is a 27-hole, semi-private course that has hosted the 1938 PGA Championship and the 1967 NCCA Championships, the springtime means anxious golfers.
“Most golfers are willing to accept the fact that a course may not be in peak condition until late spring,” Voelker said. “But for me, if we are not putting our ideal golf course out for the public to play we must, in turn, compensate for that by striving for the absolute highest level of customer service.”
This means that golfers can sometimes expect discounts or cheaper rates of play during the springtime. These types of offers stretch across the Mid-Atlantic, and are provided right here in Baltimore.
And even though these courses are in different areas, the grounds crews are working on the same job, getting the course in great condition.
“As far as our groundskeepers, their main focus right now is to clear the course of any and all debris,” said Voelker. “Once that has all been cleared and the soil temperature rises to a safe level we will begin with heavy mowing.”
People who are in on the sales side of promoting courses and sponsorships like Voelker are the ones who might provide the most pressure to get people back on the fairways, but they also realize how important the course operators are.
As Voelker puts it, “our business is completely reliant on them, and they’ve done a great job so far to get things ready.”
What does the spring mean for the regular golfer?
As the courses are getting ready for summer, the discounts are offered. But most people are wondering what kinds of conditions to expect, and if courses are prepared to host them.
Here are some golfers at Pine Ridge, a course prepared by Russell Bateman
“I’ve played both Clifton and Pine Ridge, and both courses are in pretty good shape,” said Brendan McGowan, a Towson University student. “The snow greens actually help me, and can give a lower score.”
Courses are providing an option for golfers to go out and get some good scores because of the great shape that they are in and it still being early in the golf season. Softer greens, wider fairways, and slower greens can only help birdie attempts, which is exactly what golfers want to hear.
“Right now is one of my favorite times to play,” said Luke Perry, a 23-year-old Catonsville native. “There aren’t as many people to wait for and they’re still in good shape.”
Golfers need to know that this is a great time of year to play, and the grounds crews throughout the area have worked hard to make sure the courses are as good as they can be.
“I’ll always try to play at this time of year, and I was surprised at how nice the courses were playing,” said McGowan.
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