What is the Turf Care Center staff up to in the winter time?
“People who work
on a golf course probably do nothing all winter long.” This is a common quote
that is utterly filled with misinterpretation. Although many members may think
that the crew is so heavily depleted that no work can be performed, it is
actually quite the contrary. There are many important tasks assigned to the
turf care staff throughout the winter including taking care of the golf course,
tree work, snow removal, equipment maintenance, book keeping, irrigation
supply maintenance, seminars and much more. Hopefully this admittedly long entry (get comfortable!) will clarify what goes
on at The Country Club of New Bedford Turf Care Center while members are down
in Florida having fun in the warm sun.
When fall winds down and winter
starts to rear its ugly head, there are many things that need to be done on the
golf course to “put it to bed.” Successful winter preparation leads to a lot
less headaches in the spring. One of the most important chemical applications
of the season comes after the final mowing of the year. Protecting the greens
and tees from winter fungal diseases is very important. While the turf is
covered in snow, there are two pathogenic fungi, gray snow mold and pink snow
mold that can be very active. These diseases prefer cold damp conditions to
activate and the symptoms can get quite ugly. Gray snow mold results in
unsightly patches of gray decayed leaf tissue. This damage will grow out
eventually in the spring, however pink snow mold may actually kill the turf at
the crown. Pink snow mold also forms in patches, but as the name suggests, are
pink in appearance. Ideal snow mold protection is applied just before the first
flakes hit the ground and can last until the first mowing in the spring.
Although snow mold protection is
important, one thing this application does not control is the damage that
occurs if ice remains on the plant for an extended period of time. Ice can be
very damaging to a putting green, as the gas released due to respiration
remains trapped under the ice. Although the plant is not photosynthesizing as
much, it is still respiring and is in need of getting rid of those gasses and receiving.
One way to alleviate this problem is to use an ice pick or chisel to break the
ice. Another method is to apply milorganite fertilizer. When the sun hits the
dark organic particles of the fertilizer, the resulting heat eats away at the
ice allowing for gasses to be exchanged.
Provided the ground has not yet
become frozen, another good winter activity is fixing leaks on the main
irrigation lines. At Country Club of New Bedford (CCNB), the irrigation system
lacks ideal isolation valves that would help fixing leaks without shutting the
whole system down. If a leak is small enough, it may be able to wait until all
the water has been blown out of the system in the late fall before the job is
tackled. Last year we were able to fix two leaks on the left side of the 14th
fairway in this fashion. If the ground is frozen, this job may wait until early
spring just before the irrigation system is filled.
Another task that needs to be taken
care of is the removal of leaves from the edges of the property line. A clean
look is an important image for the club. This involves going onto the street
with rakes and blowers. Leaves are then scooped into the back of a large
tractor drawn trailer. For the safety of our employees, orange reflector vests
are mandatory for all street work, as well as placing a sign on the road to
make oncoming traffic aware of our presence. This job is done into the winter,
provided enough employees are still on staff and the side of the street is not
covered in snow.
While leaf removal may be fun and
exciting, it is much easier to take care of leaves when there are less of them.
Though controversial, tree work is a necessity on a golf course and much of
those needs are taken care of during the winter. Pruning trees is vital for,
among other needs, play-ability, irrigation, air flow, and allowing light to reach
the turf and safety. As most people are aware, trees planted many years ago
continue to grow until they die. Their growth, be it vertical or horizontal,
may impact the way a hole was originally designed to be played. The
encroachment of branches may force a golfer to play to one side of a fairway as
opposed to another. When planned, this can be done beautifully however if time
has forced the trees to become overgrown forcing the golfer to play a hole differently
from its original design, this issue should be corrected. Overhanging limbs may
also impact the spray pattern of an irrigation head. This can result in water
not reaching its intended target area forming dry spots during hot, dry
summers. Another side effect may be areas of soaked turf under the overhanging branch.
Needless to say, it is a problem that needs to be remedied.
The ability of trees and underbrush
to screen wind may be beneficial in keeping buildings and golfers warm, however
it is devastating to turf. The circulation of air is critical in disease
prevention and cooling the surface. Some golf courses that face extreme
circumstances in this regard go to great lengths to provide air flow over their
turf including the installation of fans. With those facts in mind, it is
vitally important to clear out underbrush and other assorted trees to prevent
stagnant air.
Another
way trees affect turf is that they constantly compete with turf for nutrients.
Most people realize that turf struggles with trees for water and minerals in
the soil. The fibrous roots that feed the tree are found primarily in the top
six inches of soil and can stretch out to about two and a half times the drip-line
of the tree. This puts tree roots in direct competition with grass roots, as
well as prolonged saturated soils resulting from roots clogging drainage pipes
that can be 20 or so feet away from the base of the tree. One overlooked tree issue
though is how much of an impact their shadow casts. Turf grass, especially the annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass ever-present at CCNB, requires about
6-8 hours of sunlight a day. This light is the main energy source of the plant.
Without light, plants do not perform the photosynthesis required for growth. The
best light to receive is morning light as the temperatures stay cool enough for
respiration to take place, making the plant as productive as it can be with the
light it is given. If trees rob the turf of this sunlight, short roots and a
week turf stand is sure to result.
Tree
care is also essential in ensuring the safety of anyone who would be walking
under the tree. Fallen tree branches can be very dangerous, fallen trees can be
even worse. Trees that are rotting from the base should be cut down immediately
to avoid costly damages in every sense of the word. A lot of preventative
pruning based on tree health is done in the winter as large cumbersome branches
are easier to care for when it is cold outside.
Whenever
possible, large branches are stored at the Turf Care Center. All wood fit for
burning is cut, then split with a hydraulic log splitter. This winter activity
helps the clubhouse create the ambiance of a fireplace without having to buy
wood. The staff brings wood from the Turf Care Center and stacks it at the clubhouse
on an as needed basis. Brush and limbs not large enough to be burned in a
fireplace are chipped and used as mulch.
Although the winter months may be
sunny and 85 degrees down south or out west, here in New
England , snow does fall. The turf care staff at CCNB goes above
and beyond to take care of whatever snow Mother Nature dishes out. The three
man operation, including the Superintendent, takes care of plowing all parking
lots, which may include taking the loader out and pushing back mountains of
snow. Shoveling and snow-blowing walkways, stairs and fire hydrants ensures the
safety of the members who, for some reason, prefer the snow to getting a tan.
Clearing all drains and ways for water to leave the parking lots is very
important in minimizing the amount of ice left behind. When the days are warm
enough to melt snow and ice, and the nights are below freezing, the staff comes
back at all hours of the night to salt parking lots, walkways and stairs, ensuring
the safety of the members to the best of their ability. Depending on the weather, this operation can at times be busier than
the summer. This past winter, a blizzard struck the day after Christmas and two
employees worked through the night clearing the parking lots. This is not out
of the ordinary as quite frequently employees have been known to pull an "all-nighter" clearing snow. Also this past winter, part of the turf care staff
was on the roof of the walk in freezer, refrigerator, and parts of the
clubhouse shoveling off snow and ice to prevent further leaking inside the
building. It is also important to note that the turf care staff responds to any
snow or ice related affair in pairs for their safety.
The increase in snow removal and
tree work combined with the severe drop in the number of employees on staff
warrant a change in the equipment storage at the maintenance facility. There
are many reasons to transform the facility from summer mode into winter mode.
First of all, the equipment required to clean leaves, trim trees and plow snow,
which are the primary outdoor activities during the winter, is much different
than the equipment required to maintain the course from the spring through
fall. Rearranging the facility allows the staff to have all the equipment necessary
for winter work at their fingertips. Secondly, moving all carts to cold storage
gives the Turf Equipment Technician more room to store equipment that needs to
be worked on. Storing all the reels that he needs to work on in one room
eliminates needless trips back and forth to get more units. Another reason to
store equipment differently in the winter time is the influx in items that need
to be stored. During the winter, all tee markers are washed and stored, all of
the trash cans from the golf course are cleaned and stored, all of the water
coolers from the course are cleaned and stored, all divot mix boxes and all of
the patio furniture are stored at the Turf Care Center. This is a large amount
of objects that, for better than three quarters of the year, are not present at
the Turf Care Center.
One of the most important members of
the turf care staff is the Turf Equipment Technician. Most people would think
that the technician is busiest during the golfing season while equipment is
constantly being used on the golf course. Although this is a busy time of year,
the technician is actually busier in the winter. Every cutting unit that is to
be used on the course throughout the year needs to be analyzed to see what
parts need to be replaced, ground or just sharpened. This involves taking the
reels off of the mowers, and grinding and sharpening the reels and their bed
knives. Though all cutting units need to be sharpened, they all may not need to
be run through the grinder. Some units are worn down to the point where they
need to be replaced, and some units may just need to be back lapped and not
ground. More often than not, the bed knife on the greens units need to be
replaced, due to the fact that they are so thin. Unnecessarily grinding units
is not only a waste of time, but also a waste of the cutting unit, as material
is taken off the unit every time it is ground. Before sharpening, all cutting
units have to also be examined to make sure all bearings are in working order.
Bad bearings could lead to an untrue edge being applied to the reel.
At CCNB, we have
five fairway mowers, each with five reels on them accounting for 25 units that
need work. Reels also need to be sharpened on two triplex greens mowers and two
intermediate rough mowing machines all with three cutting units on them.
Additionally, there are four tee mowers, two collar mowers, and two greens
mowers, all with one unit on them. When the winter draws to an end, over 45 cutting
units will be analyzed and sharpened. This process requires the bed knife to be
taken off the cutting unit and put on a grinder that is specially designed to
grind the bed knife to an exact edge. The reels are ground in a separate
grinder that is programmed to grind each blade of the reel to an exact edge as
well. After the unit is reassembled, it is sharpened further in a process
called back lapping. In this process, the unit is placed in a machine that
spins the reel in reverse while a special back lapping compound is basted on
the reels. This compound, set to specific grits, sharpens the unit much like
sharpening a knife. After back lapping is complete, the unit is lubricated and
the height of cut is set.
In
addition to sharpening reels, all rotary mowers need to be sharpened as well.
This entails taking the blade off of the machine, examining the blade to make
sure it is not in need of being replaced, and then grinding the remaining
blades until they are sharp.
With
all the equipment in the shop instead of on the golf course, winter is a
perfect time to take care of tune ups, oil changes and make any necessary
repairs. Hydraulic lines on all pieces of equipment need to be examined too for
wear and leaks. This is important because hydraulic leaks kill turf, so all
preventative measures must be taken to eliminate this concern.
The
Turf Equipment Technician is also responsible for repairing any malfunctioning
equipment resulting from use during the winter. This may include something
small like repairing a chainsaw, or something large like repairing the tractor that
is used to plow the parking lots. Having a good technician who is trained to do
all of this is an invaluable resource to both the turf care staff and the club
as a whole. Having an excellent full time technician saves money by not having
all of this work contracted out to a company that would charge twice as much.
Some
equipment maintenance is also performed by the staff. The Assistant
Superintendent is responsible for assessing and tuning up all the pesticide
application spray equipment. This involves checking all hoses for wear, as well
as lubricating all moving parts. Each individual nozzle must be checked for
clogs and wear. Excessive nozzle wear results in over application of whatever
formula is in the tank, so worn nozzles must be replaced. Both sprayers contain
11 housings, each holding three nozzles, accounting for a total of 33 nozzles
to be checked. Each nozzle housing has a
gasket before it that has to be replaced annually to ensure that chemicals are
not leaked due to lack of a good seal. Diaphragms, located in front of the
gaskets, ensure that when the nozzle is turned off the chemical does not come
out. These diaphragms also wear and need to be replaced in the beginning of the
year as well as in the middle of the year. Cleansing spray equipment, although
quite time consuming and strenuous, is vitally important to ensure the accuracy
of the machine. Failure to properly clean and tune spray equipment can be very
costly as ineffective sprays may lead to disease or loss of turf, not to
mention wasted product. Although most people are not thinking about spraying
for summer patch when the ground is covered in snow, making sure this equipment
is running as efficiently as possible goes a long way to amplify the life of
the most important equipment on the course.
When
the staff is not able to work outside because the ground is covered in snow,
there is still a fair amount of work that needs to be taken care of in the
office. Each year, all of the ball washers are taken off the stands, brought
into the shop and made to look new. If there are any parts of the ball washer
that are no longer in working order, they are repaired or replaced. Then, all
ball washers are sanded and primed in order for new paint to stick to the
surface. Ball washers are then painted with a high gloss spray paint and
reassembled. This long and tedious process results in ball washers that look
brand new.
The
office and break room of the turf care center are also painted during the
winter. This is an important task as frequently throughout the year there are
salespeople in the office, as well as members of the club, including green
committee members. Meetings in a dirty, grungy office are embarrassing and
create an unpleasant image of the staff. A well kept office on the other hand
reflects positively on those working within.
A
clean office is also a healthier environment to catch up on all book keeping
that cannot be done during the grind of the playing season. This book keeping
includes the state water report, refining the budget, updating Material Safety
Data Sheets (MSDS), pesticide labels, the state pesticide report and programming
customized data sheets.
The
state of Massachusetts
requires a water use report. The annual report must be broken down by month to
show how much water is drawn from each well. Every month meter readings are
taken and entered into a customized Excel data spreadsheet that adjusts to show
monthly as well as year-to-date totals associated with each well. The accuracy
of these readings is imperative so the state requires annual meter testing. Proof
of this testing is sent to the state for processing along with a printed copy
of the water use spreadsheet.
One
of the most stressful tasks of the winter is refining the budget. This process
consists of formulating a budget, proposing the budget and cutting the budget
until it is approved by the board of governors. Making budget cuts can be very
difficult. It is essential to prioritize line items in order of importance.
Some items in the budget, such as salaries and contracts cannot be cut at all.
The last items to be cut are labor and chemicals. Making budget cuts on labor looks easy on paper because it is the
largest line item. This is a bad idea because without skilled laborers working,
the product out on the field suffers. Trying not to cut fuels and electric
is important as, these prices tend to rise while the demand for these products
stays the same. Areas that are quick to be cut are roads and paths, sand, loam,
seed and any extras needed for special projects. Once prioritized, cutting the
budget can be painful but easy to do. If money is not available, and cuts need
to be made, items of low priority are cut to bear-minimum. This past winter
CCNB turf care staff went through this process four times before finally being
approved by the board.
Updating
the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) books is extremely important from a
safety point of view. All chemicals, detergents and oils must have a MSDS that
informs physicians what precautions need to be observed in case of accidental
exposure. It is important to regularly update these MSDS as new sheets become
available. Another reason to do this on an annual basis is because the turf
care staff is constantly using the latest chemical products. Most MSDS can be
found online from the distributor of the chemical’s Web site. This is also a
good place to find the pesticide labels that also have to be updated regularly.
Although legally the label must be on the container of the chemical, the online
copy can be printed out and stored in a book for quick reference. The pesticide
label covers what type of crops can be sprayed with the chemical, the legal
rates that can be applied, as well as other safety precautions. The label is
the law and may change if the EPA or the chemical company producing the product
deems it necessary, so having up-to-date labels is essential. Chemical companies
may change the label if they discover that the product is more effective at a
lower rate, and the EPA may change a label if they find the product is
dangerous to the environment or wildlife at the current labeled rate.
The
state ensures that rates on the label are not exceeded by having all certified
and licensed applicators fill out an annual pesticide report. This report
details how much of what chemical is applied to what type of turf. For some
chemicals, there are restrictions on how many gallons or pounds of active
ingredient that can be applied per acre per year. After every chemical
application at CCNB, all items sprayed on the course are entered into a large
database that records the date and where on the course the chemicals were
applied. This spreadsheet will then adjust the amount of chemical that is
available on our inventory list. This spreadsheet makes filling out the annual
pesticide report much easier as all chemicals used are programmed to be sorted
in accordance to the report.
Customized
data sheets have become a huge part of record keeping at the turf care center.
Formulating these sheets can be very complex. Although these spreadsheets were
briefly discussed in the last few paragraphs, it is now time to take a closer
look at what the Excel program has allowed our staff to record. As previously
explained, the water usage report is simplified by our customized spreadsheet.
Having the budget and line item breakdown on a spreadsheet clearly shows
proposed budgets and the cuts made in order to get the bottom line in
accordance with the board of governors. The budget spreadsheet is also helpful
in explaining in black and white (and sometimes red) why certain duties are
difficult to perform. If there is no money budgeted for a project, that project
has to wait for either board approval, or an influx of additional funds. The previous
paragraph touched briefly upon some of the capabilities of the chemical
spreadsheet. Not only does this program help in filing the pesticide use
report, but also the program’s cost analysis section helps in terms of
purchasing the necessary chemicals and fertilizer for the upcoming season. The
breakdown shows how much chemicals and fertilizers used throughout the year
cost individually and how much each individual spray costs. This information is
useful in determining how much of what chemicals and fertilizers need to be
purchased in order to keep the course in immaculate shape. Having this
knowledge early is critical as there are many discounts associated with early
pesticide orders. This not only saves the club money, but also allows the club
to purchase the maximum amount of anticipated chemicals for the season. Another
customized spreadsheet is used to track how many hours each employee works on a
weekly and yearly basis. This spreadsheet analyzes both regular and overtime
hours. This is helpful in molding a crew that is both cost efficient as well as
effective at producing the type of golf course the membership is looking for. The
spreadsheet also helps to analyze when seasonal employees are brought back to
work in the spring and laid off in the fall or winter.
This
past winter another database was formulated with the help of Google Earth to
depict the total area for greens, tees and fairways. Still to come at the turf
care center is a new equipment inventory spreadsheet that includes every piece
of equipment owned or leased by the turf care center, complete with all their
respective serial numbers. The current spreadsheet is printed off and sent to
the insurance company so all equipment is accounted for in case a disaster
results in the loss of all equipment, and will be reformatted to make it more
user friendly. All spreadsheets are formulated and updated each winter, along
with new spreadsheets that will help the staff simplify reports and maximize
efficiency as a whole in terms of the budget.
Every
winter an inventory of irrigation parts is taken. The irrigation system at CCNB
is in constant need of repairs. The iron content of the water leads to
filaments that disrupt the bottom valve of the sprinkler heads. These valves
have to be cleaned or replaced on a regular basis to prevent heads from
remaining on when they should be off. Flushing
heads with the valves removed is marginally effective in clearing debris, and
quite often replacing the bottom valve after flushing temporarily alleviates
this concern.
The
age of the system is also a concern. Over time pipes become brittle and worn
down, which leads to fractured pipes. The glue that holds one pipe to another
also breaks down over time and quite frequently is the cause of leaks. When
this happens, the leak needs to be dug up to expose the pipe. The pipe is then
cut at the break point. A new piece of pipe is then affixed in place with the
use of two compression couplings which use rubber gaskets to both hold the pipe
in place and to keep water from leaking around the edge of the coupling. Last
year alone, at least 30 compression couplings were used to repair leaks. It is
vitally important that all pipe fixing materials including compression
couplings, elbows, tees and various other pipe fittings are in stock for all
pipe sizes that can be found on the course. It is imperative that leaks are
fixed in a timely matter, so having all necessary materials is important in
accelerating this process. The fact that there are few leaks to be fixed during
the winter makes it a great time to take inventory of what is left over from
last year and what needs to be purchased for future use.
Although
large amounts of compression couplings and bottom valves are used every year,
they are not the only equipment necessary to repair the irrigation system. An
ample supply of direct burial grease packs with wire nuts is important to
repair the electrical component of the irrigation system. Having spare fuses,
faceplates and motherboards for the irrigation control boxes is also important
as lightning frequently strikes the club and destroys these items. Also, sprinkler
heads on the golf course can take a beating. Heads are constantly under
pressure, have water coming out of them at a high velocity and frequently are run
over by equipment and golf cars. This means that, at times, nozzles, head
casings, the tops of heads and whole entire units may need to be replaced. An
inventory of parts is taken in the winter so new parts can be in stock and
ready for use.
While
book keeping and inventories are very important, going to educational seminars
and annual conferences keeps the turf care staff abreast to what is going on in
the community of the profession. The National Turfgrass Conference and Show
that is put on by the GCSAA and the New England Regional Turf Conference are
good ways to see new products that are currently available. The conferences also
offer educational seminars that enlighten turf care staffs across the country
about new ideas and strategies for managing turf and turf diseases. These
seminars are the medium for attaining the credits necessary to maintain both
pesticide certification and status with the GCSAA. In a three year period, a Massachusetts certified
pesticide applicator needs a minimum of 12 credits to maintain their
certification without retaking the test. Additionally, a Class A Superintendent
member of the GCSAA is required to obtain three points in a three year span
with a minimum of 1.2 educational points. These credits are assigned to classes
attended during these conferences as well as other annual educational seminars.
These
seminars are also a fantastic way to stay in contact with other
superintendents, assistant superintendents and turf equipment technicians both
locally and around the country. It is important to stay connected to other
professionals in the business as they often have ways to solve problems. Often
discussing management strategies with other professionals can be more
educational than the material discussed during the seminar. The New England
Regional Turfgrass Show is also where members of the CCNB turf care staff
become CPR and AED certified. This kind of training can be very important in
the case of any emergency on the golf course or in the clubhouse.
The
turf care staff is also there to help the clubhouse staff many times throughout
the winter. The Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent check in with
the clubhouse manager throughout the day to see if there is anything they need
any help with. As previously mentioned, members of the staff were actually on
the roof to clear ice and snow in order to prevent leaks inside the clubhouse,
but members of the staff have also been known to do a small array of other
activities around the clubhouse. In recent years, Christmas decorations on
poles and patios have been put up and taken down by the staff. The staff has
also been known to move furniture around the dining room, and help clean the
entire clubhouse. Winterizing and routinely checking the pro shop to make sure
it is in good shape is also one of the small duties for the turf care staff.
This past winter took its toll on the pro shop’s heating system and the turf
care staff made sure it was fixed in a timely manner by letting the electrician
in and remaining with him until heat was restored in the shop
Although
winters are busy at CCNB, it is obviously not as busy as the previous three
seasons. With this in mind, the turf care staff takes any accumulated vacation
time during the winter so as not to impact the crew during the growing and
playing seasons. Vacations are staggered so that at least two members can be
called upon for the removal of snow. Whether it is snowmobiling or snowboarding
in New Hampshire , visiting friends in Russia , hitting the slots in Atlantic City or just plain sitting around
the house, vacations are a way for the CCNB turf care staff to recharge and
prepare themselves for the grind of the summer.
Admittedly,
the winter is not the busiest time of year by any stretch of the imagination,
however the thought that the staff does not do a thing all winter long and all
these tasks take care of themselves until March is far from the truth. The work
performed all winter long is a crucial element in providing one of the top golf
courses in the area. Hopefully this entry clarifies that winter time at CCNB is
more than just plowing snow and chasing geese. There are a multitude of
important tasks that need to be performed in order to maintain the golf course
at the level expected by its members.
