After 52 days, I’m a little surprised that my little pots of grass are doing so well. I water them regularly, though, and give them a trim once a week (usually on Fridays), which are good things to do for your grass, potted or not.

Here are a few more tips for growing healthy grass. This time they come from golf legend and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus and the experts at Lawn-Boy.

Get your equipment into shape. After sitting unused for several months, spring is the perfect time to check and change your mower’s oil, air filter, and spark plug or plugs. Check your blade to see if it needs sharpening or replacing. You may want to contact your local dealer to schedule a spring tune-up.

Use the right mower. Today’s mowers combine professional-level effectiveness with lots of user-friendly features to make mowing easier on the body. “In golf, there are dozens of technology and equipment choices. The same is true when people are trying to find the right lawn mower,” says Nicklaus. Check out Lawn-Boy’s mower guide to see which features you need in a lawn mower.

Fix bare spots. You probably don’t have divots in your backyard, but you might notice a few unsightly bare spots that need fixing due to disease or pets. They’re easy to repair. Just clear away the dead-looking patches, sprinkle grass seed on the newly exposed soil, add fertilizer, and keep the area moist.

Aerate. Golf courses aerate regularly to loosen the soil and to let water, air and fertilizer make their way down to the grass plant’s roots. Home lawns can benefit from this procedure as well. Mature lawns can often become compacted, reducing the ability of critical nutrients to reach grass roots.

Get more lawn, and golf, tips and advice from Jack Nicklaus.