It’s that time of year again when golf course superintendents across the country aerate their greens, and in the case of your cold-weather regions, start the course winterization process. At Wiltwyck Golf Club in Kingston, New York, Jason Nalepa is the golf course superintendent, a role he’s had since 2018 after joining the Wiltwyck team almost 25 years ago. Nalepa’s in-season staff consists of him and his assistant, A.J. Perry and five other individuals; while his off-season team is just him, Perry and one other.
“We aerate our greens twice as the season starts to wind down - once just after Labor Day and the other in late October,” Nalepa says. “We’ll evaluate our green conditions in the spring, and if they require another aeration, we’ll do so.”
Nalepa says his September aeration consists of small holes, a top dress of light sand and no plugs being pulled. The greens are back in action in about 10 days for members to enjoy. In contrast, his aeration later this month will utilize much larger holes with more sand of course. They’ll pull the material out of the ground and start to prepare the course for winterization. With September being a prime month for golf in the area, Nalepa’s members love the fact that the greens heal so quickly after the initial aeration.
The process of aeration helps remove organic matter and reduce the soil compaction beneath the surface to enable water, fertilizer and plant nutrients to seep through for greater health and nourishment of the roots for good growth. After a season of mowers, sprayers, rollers and foot traffic, the greens need some relief, and that’s what this process does. Nalepa says he’ll generally aerate the course’s fairways and tee boxes every other year due to his limited crew size. He adds that the dual aeration in the fall is a bit unconventional, but it’s worked for Wiltwyck, as the club that was founded in 1933 is renowned as the best club in its area of the Hudson Valley.
“We do it so late in the fall that as long as we’re happy with the greens’ appearance in the spring, we’d prefer to get our golfers going on the course,” he adds.
Course winterization is next on Nalepa and his team’s agenda. They use GreenJacket covers to protect eight problematic greens each winter that had been affected by ice damage in the past. “When I was just starting here, there were greens that were trouble every spring,” Nalepa shares. “There was a lot of ice damage and dead grass every spring. The covers we use consist of two layers - a foam insulation layer that no one sees and the impermeable cover that stands out when members play our temporary nine-hole layout during the winter. With the care we put into our work, they know we have the best interest of the golf course at heart.”
Nalepa plays the timing of this process by ear, watching the weather with each passing week to monitor when that first snowfall might arrive. They’re literally on standby to apply the covers at the drop of a hat. They’ll sort the covers in early November and organize the insulation foam so they’re ready to go when needed.
“We push it as long as we can so the greens can get their last chemical application before we cover them,” Nalepa explains. “Doing this as late as possible allows it to last all winter. We usually do this shortly after Thanksgiving.”
Nalepa says snow mold starts to show itself when the turf has been under snowpack for a long time with multiple thawing and freezing cycles. They spray this winterization chemical application to tees, fairways, greens and the rough adjacent to these areas. As soon as he sees the first snowfall in the forecast, he and his team get this final application done and cover the eight most vulnerable greens.
Interestingly enough, Nalepa did say that a nice dry powdery snow on the greens is great for them, as it acts like a blanket like the winter covers do. It’s the thawing and refreezing that causes concern to superintendents in cold weather areas of the country.
After the holidays, Nalepa, his assistant Perry and the only other maintenance crew member kept on during the winter will clean, repair, break down and rebuild all maintenance vehicles and machinery. They’ll sharpen blades and change the oil so these vital tools are at peak performance during the very busy Wiltwyck Golf Club season. In season, Nalepa and his crew are on the property by 5:00 a.m. but allow themselves to sleep in during the winter, starting their days at 6:00 a.m. instead. They’ll work on irrigation and drainage projects and always stay busy to ensure that Wiltwyck remains the destination golf course that it’s been for decades.