Watching Wimbledon tennis, we hear about the great care required to keep the grass courts in perfect condition. We are also subjected to in-depth analyses of the groundskeeper's efforts in preparing the cricket pitch to favour the home team. We see the immaculate condition of soccer fields before a game starts.

A golf course is all these added together and multiplied ten fold. Over 100 acres of undulating fields with different varieties of grass, cut to different specified lengths, right down to the putting greens, are trimmed evenly to measurements in millimetres. Lakes, ponds, streams, sandy bunkers, thousands of trees, flowers and shrubs: who is responsible for what appears to be a Herculean task of keeping all these elements in good condition?

A lot of possible headaches in golf course maintenance are minimised with good course design, construction and landscaping. However, no matter how much foresight and design skills are employed during construction, the reality is that keeping an immaculate green is an ongoing and demanding prospect.

Once the course is built, it starts to mature and nature steps in. Without intensive maintenance, the course soon degenerates, as often seen in under-funded or loosely managed facilities.

In most parts of the world, sophisticated machinery and expensive organic and inorganic enhancers play a much more important role than humans. However, in Nepal and other less affluent countries, it is preferable to make use of people, providing much needed job opportunities.

Work on the golf course starts well before sunrise-to ensure it is playable for the early morning enthusiasts, and carries on until close to sunset. Some of the daily tasks include cutting greens and fairways, watering the grass, applying required pesticides and fertilisers to keep the grass healthy, planting and trimming the flora, smoothing out sand bunkers and the never-ending removal of weeds.

Most of the maintenance team start out in easier jobs. With training and experience they work their way up to more complex tasks of cutting the greens and applying exact doses of fertilisers and medicines. For example, Bacchu Ram Pandey at Gokarna Golf Club began as a layman but today has adequate knowledge to handle the greens. Recently when I commented to him that hundreds of visitors have shown great appreciation for the smooth greens at Gokarna, he replied, "I really enjoy my job and we are all lucky that golfers enjoy the playing conditions of this course. We try to give our best to keep it in this condition."

It is quite natural that, as in many other fields, people forget the ones who work behind the scenes. It is no different on golf courses and we should remind ourselves of this and appreciate the hard and dedicated work put in to keep the environment at these enjoyable levels.

Even a slight loss of concentration while performing sensitive maintenance tasks can spoil the playing conditions, which immediately invites criticism from discerning golfers. However, don't forget the converse: give encouragement for a job well done!

Most comments from visitors are compliments on the great design of the course or the beautiful natural conditions. Occasionally, when we receive a compliment like this one from a visitor from across the world-"Wow, the course is playing wonderful, the greens are true and very well manicured and the bunkers are great even after it has just rained!"-we smile and let them know that they are appreciating the work of our maintenance staff.

Deepak Acharya is a golf instructor and Head Golf Professional at Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa, Kathmandu. [email protected]