I have decided to include a winter series to the blog updates for the membership. During the winter the turf center is very busy. I concentrate on turf care programs and digging deep into the inter workings of how to maximize turf health while providing top quality conditions. I will also answer the question that I Field the most is what do I do in the winter.
This year we have been fortunate this year to have purchased some new turf equipment for the golf course. We are replacing the fairway, rough and green mowers. I will be going in depth on each piece of equipment in future posts. Our equipment manager, Jerry, is the fact that he was able to provide Hawks with reliable equipment on a daily basis. The main reason for replacement is the fact that he can not keep up with the work load that is asked of him daily. When we look at the hours on most of the large daily use items there is approximately 300,000 miles on the equipment. How many vehicles last that long? A testament to Jerry's program on maintenance that is for sure. He is a very valuable to our operation here. There is many pieces of equipment that we did not replace and we have to continue our top notch program, this includes basically taking each piece completely apart; rust removal, painting and replacing any parts that are needed to maintain safe operation as well as reliable operation. As you can see in the photos above we currently have many pieces of equipment in many stages of this process.
Also, I have been spending many hours behind a computer and on the phone trying my best to maximize the turf care program for next year. Costs have become an increasing concern for turf programs. The same program that was in place 2 years ago is no longer feasible with the current economical situation. The amount of turf that is maintained at Hawks, when compared to other top clubs, is close to double the area. When you compare budgets at these clubs ours is very close to theirs. With this fact I have to use science , research and my expertise to provide the membership with the best possible conditions. I will say 2009 budget planning has been very challenging. I will be really fine tuning our program this year.