YORK, Pa. — When you think of golf, what do you see?
Fresh manicured fairways? Rolling greens? Carts for the taking?
But how does a golf course make this happen?
FOX43's Tyler Hatfield went to Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York Township, York County to learn what it takes to create the best playing experience every day.
The employees say it all starts with maintaining the grounds. But, this isn't your father's lawn mowing technique.
“We mow greens every day; they're mowed at an eighth of an inch. So even a little bit of growth every morning is mowed off," said Richard Green, grounds superintendent at Heritage Hills. “On the fairway, it has five cutting heads, and they're adjusted to a half inch.”
Grounds crews also have to “cut cups”—which means moving the pen around the green.
“If we get a lot of play one day, we'll move it from the back to the center and move it around," said Green. "So we're not wearing out this very fine grass.”
As the morning progresses, players need a way to go out on the course.
That’s where starters and player assistants come in.
Evan Winters, a starter at Heritage Hills, said he has to get to the course at 6 a.m. and take golf carts down from the garage.
Winters said the better prepared you are, the less stressful this job can be.
“I bring down all the carts in the barn. I stage them, wash them and get them ready," said Winters. "That way when it does get busy, you're already set up, and you can kinda feel like you don’t have to rush everything. You can just enjoy the day a little more.”
But Winters said the best part is assisting players on the golf course.
“I love the freedom of it; I love being able to come out here," said Winters. "I help people love the game even more and just make their lives easier on the course.”
And to make their lives easier, Shane Stell, operations manager at Heritage Hills, says it takes more than meets the eye.
“It’s not just going off the first tee every single day," said Stell. "We have to shotgun people backwards, forwards, mornings, afternoons, so there’s a lot of planning that goes on for the daily running of the course.”
All the employees at Heritage Hills agree on one thing about working on a golf course.
And it's pretty simple.
“Love golf and be passionate about golf," said Winters. "If you don’t love golf, it might not be the place for you.”