Well, winter is finally here and the most frequently asked question I hear is "what do you do this time of year at a golf course?"  The answer is "we do a lot of different tasks this time of year."  Here are just a few of the things we've been working on so far this winter.

Here is Brad, he is and has been our Equipment Manager since the course opened 12 years ago.  Brad's knowledge and experience are a huge assest for the Maintenance Department and his services are appreciated!  Brad is checking the reel for its quality of cut and to see if there is contact between the reel and bedknife.  This is a great time of year to service our equipment so that it's ready to go this spring.   We have a total of 28 reels in our fleet of equipment that will need to be serviced.



 This is one of our tee mower reels that is about to be sharpened on our Foley grinder.

 Tee markers!  Need I say anymore!  We will scrape, sand, add new logo stickers and finish these things with four coats of polyurethane.  This process is one of the more labor intensive tasks that we do.  With five sets of tee boxes on the course, this adds up to a lot of tee markers.   We will have 200 individual tee markers ready to go this spring, we always make a few extra for the ones that get lost or broken.

 Jon has been the Assistant Superintendent here since 2006 and he really enjoys peeling off the old stickers from the tee markers.  Jon started working here in the fall of 2000 and his services are greatly appreciated!

 Hazard stakes are in abundance throughout the course and these things take a beating!  Every winter we scrape these clean, sharpen the points if they need it and repaint them.

Another row of stakes that have been painted!



 We have a total of six clocks set throughout the course to remind our golfers to keep a nice pace of play.  These clocks are also sanded and painted.

Last but not least, our "150" posts.  They are sanded and repainted each year.  These posts are on every hole except for the par 3's.  They are located 150 yards from the centers of each green and are used to help golfers with yardages and also help with the pace of play. 

The Stone Ridge Maintenance Department hopes everyone had a great new year and we wish you the best in 2011!