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With the Club Championships last week, we thought we would focus on the Course and what it takes to provide a championship playing experience to our Members all year long.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the morning air at the Club Maintenance Building as the Course Maintenance team begins their 5:30am shift. The crew prepares equipment, performs safety checks, and discusses the day's tasks at their morning meeting before heading out in the glow of dawn to mow, water, and ready your course for the day.
More than 20 mowers, two greens rollers, and 14 hard-working course maintenance team members work tirelessly to maintain the teeing areas, fairways, greens, and native areas at Mayacama. The Golf Course consists of 2.5 acres of greens, 33 acres of maintained fairways, 57 bunkers, plus countless acres of native grasses in play. Visualizing those numbers makes it easy to understand how it takes more than 2,000 staff-hours per month to keep the course and grounds meticulously maintained.
First, they prep the surfaces by removing debris from fairways and repair ball marks on greens. Then, fairways and teeing areas are mowed three times a week, with greens getting cut five days a week. Various patterns are mowed at different times of the year to keep the grass in top shape. Greens are then rolled daily to maintain a 10 to 11 stimp rating. The stimpmeter is a tool used to measure the speed of greens, an essential tool for Course Superintendents and Head Golf Professionals.
The firmness and speed of the greens and fairways are a delicate balance to maintain. A perfect marriage of watering and keeping things green and making sure the greens roll at a championship speed can be challenging. The weather also plays a big role in this and often dictates what needs to be done on the course. Moisture levels are measured twice daily to maintain this balance.
Of the 14-person crew, a few dedicated employees in Course Maintenance have been working at Mayacama since the very beginning. Rodrigo Silva and Jaciel Alberto were on the team that helped build Mayacama from the ground up. They were recognized early on for their knowledge and skills and were hired to help maintain the course they built. For the last 18 years, Rodrigo has handled irrigation, and Jaciel excels with many projects on the grounds. Another notable employee, Eloy Rosas has worked with us for 16 years and handles spray applications around the course.
The Course Maintenance team has many more responsibilities as well. They manage trees when they’re dying or downed, maintain the native plants and grasses, and work on fire mitigation by clearing brush and dry grass in key areas. Mayacama is thoroughly maintained to always play at a championship level, and ensuring the course remains in top condition takes a lot of hard work from our dedicated and knowledgeable team.
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