During a heat wave, the maintenance staff members at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash. worked shorter days and started earlier in the morning. They worked in shifts and kept water and sports drinks on ice. Aldarra also has an air-conditioned maintenance shop where the crew could take breaks as needed.

As challenging as extreme heat and other adverse weather conditions can be for turf, they have an effect on maintenance staff members as well.

“It’s taxing on people to work under those conditions,” said Sean Reehoorn, Golf Course Superintendent at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash. “Especially with everything that happened [during the pandemic]. It modified everything. It completely snowballed.”

During this year’s heat wave, the Aldarra staff members worked shorter days and started earlier in the morning. They worked in shifts and kept water and sports drinks on ice. Aldarra also has an air-conditioned maintenance shop where the crew could take breaks as needed.

“We didn’t want people going out alone. We had a buddy system,” Reehoorn says. “We always have two people together. If someone’s not feeling well, they’re not stuck somewhere by themselves.”

Reehoorn also encourages staff members to speak up if they do not feel well, and COVID has made him much more aware of their needs, on and off the job.

Before COVID, Reehoorn notes, “I never really cared about what my staff did away from work.” Now, however, he wants staff members to reach out to him if they have an issue such as no home air conditioning. Last year, crew members, particularly those who are older or have medical conditions such as asthma, wore masks outside.

“You start to care about people in different ways,” says Reehoorn. “I want people to feel supported.”

During extreme heat, Golf Course Superintendent Dave Peterson encourages Silvermine Golf Club (Norwalk, Conn.) staff members to stay hydrated, take frequent breaks, and find shade if needed. The grounds crew will also report to work earlier in the morning, so that they’re not working in the heat of the day.