I wish I could find the link, but somehow last week I stumbled on a blog by an Australian Super who spent three years as an assistant super at ANGC. He described in great detail how the course is maintained on a year around basis, with a special emphasis on the build up to the Masters. As someone who struggles to keep our maintenance meld in line with our affordable pricing, in other words, “just good enough,” it was both fascinating and Oz-like. My take is that it is all in the attention to details and the people doing the work. At his time there, he said they had a permanent year-around staff of 12, including a full time agronomist. My impression was that the process is very consistent from year to year with the major variant the weather.
A few tidbits that surprised me:
They use as little fertilizer and water as they can to keep the grass from growing and reduce clippings.
They sharpen the mower reels daily to insure the grass is cut, not ripped.
For the month leading up to Masters Week, they hand water everything.
The greens are tested daily for water content, nutrients, health, etc.
The prep crew of 40 is expanded by about 60 volunteers for the final prep and tournament.
Everyone must sign a confidentiality agreement, so he couldn’t tell all.
And so on. Interesting stuff, at least to me. I wish I could post the link.