Let’s face it, golf courses can be expensive to maintain. Their size and the level of care required to keep fairways, greens, bunkers and all the other course features up to scratch means costs can quickly mount up. Fortunately, as long as you’re savvy, it is possible to create a low-maintenance course, and here are some simple tips to help you along the way.

Opt for synthetic turf

Natural grass certainly still has its place on the golf course, but a rising number of organizations are switching onto the benefits of using synthetic turf. As artificial grass specialists Tiger Turf point out, these solutions need minimal care in order to maintain their quality and appearance. They require no watering, mowing, seeding, aerating, weeding, fertilizing or edging. This makes them significantly cheaper and easier to look after.

As an added bonus, they can be used year round because they are not affected by extreme temperatures. Also, unlike natural grass, which can only be grown in the right soil and light conditions, they can be used anywhere. If you opt for these alternatives to traditional turf, you can rest assured that your course will look good come rain or shine, and you’ll hardly have to do anything to keep it in tiptop condition.

Synthetic turf is especially useful for golf greens, which are notoriously hard to tend to. The grass remains at the perfect length and blemish free at all times. This can make the day-to-day running of your course much easier.

Ensure your course is easy to mow

Meanwhile, any areas of natural grass that you do opt to include should be easy to mow. Ideally, your mowers will be able to manoeuvre around your course quickly and easily, and this may mean removing some trees and other obstructions. As well as helping to make cutting your grass easier, removing unnecessary trees and bushes will help to increase the natural light that reaches your course, which in turn will help to keep your turf healthy.

Settle for a small number of bunkers

Bunkers can make a great addition to golf courses, but if your priority is to create a low-maintenance course, don’t be tempted to include too many. After all, raking and edging these features can be a time consuming and therefore costly process. So, when you’re planning your course, it’s best to settle for a relatively small number of bunkers. There’s also the option of converting certain areas into waste bunkers, which don’t require raking and are much easier to maintain.

Steer clear of collars

Another simple way to save money is to omit collars from your course design. These rings of turf, which surround greens and are somewhere between the grass height of greens and fairways, may be an attractive feature, but they’ll add to your employees’ workload.

As long as you bear issues like these in mind, you shouldn’t struggle to create a low-maintenance golf course.