Fuel Management...

David Dore-Smith, Copperleaf Golf Club, Bonita Springs, FL:

"One of my good friends, fellow Australian and Superintendent at Vanderbilt Country Club, Stuart Bothe, asked whether I ever clean out our fuel storage tanks at Copperleaf. I mentioned that we use the recommended fuel filters, both on the tank and on the equipment and that fuel stabilizers are placed into the fuel each time the storage tanks are filled. However, I had never considered cleaning the storage tanks themselves.

He mentioned a local company, Clean Fuel and Tank, that he had recently used and so I called them up. Company owner, Randy Mote, came out to inspect our tanks and observed that our diesel and mixed gas tanks had some fairly significant issues with regard to contamination.

The container on the left shows the contaminated quality of the original diesel fuel. The container on the right shows what the diesel fuel now looks like after being filtered.

For a reasonable price, Randy was able to return with his filtration equipment and siphon the fuel through various sized screens and filters. Incredibly, Randy removed over 8 gallons of 'sludge' from the 200 gallons currently in the 400 gallon diesel tank.

The image clearly shows the difference.

Without question, the results have been significant. Improved fuel economy, increased efficiency of fuel filters and improved engine performance are all benefits achieved by completing this project. Copperleaf will now perform this task bi-annually, or as needed, to maintain the integrity of our fuel stored at the maintenance facility."

Visit David's blog at copperleafgcm.com.

Weeds That Got Hard... The REAL Cost

Steve Cook, CGCS MG, Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, MI:

"When planting a tree like a Silver Maple (a weed that will get hard) it's important to consider its true cost. Assume that a high quality, 4"-6" DBH tree will cost $1,000 to install. Over the course of its lifespan you can count on spending 10 times that amount in maintenance costs, including its eventual removal.

The obvious costs of routine care - fertilizer, pest treatments, pruning, leaf cleanup, mulching etc - are easy to identify. The hidden costs are more difficult. Consider the cost of maintaining weak turfgrass that has to compete with a tree for water and nutrients. The cost of shade on playing surfaces that require more inputs because the lack of sunlight leads to weaker turf.

And then consider these aggravating photos below. Not only do these weeds that got hard (WTGH) cause an endless supply of turfgrass issues, they compound the problem by shedding their seeds all over putting greens each spring. This requires us to schedule extra labor to clear the putting surfaces so they can be cut and/or rolled. And it requires us to blow and rake the seeds from bunkers so they can be raked and prepared for play.

Little value can be attached to planting weeds that will eventually get hard."

Visit Steve's blog at ohccturf.blogspot.com

May and bentgrass...

Michael Stachowicz, Dedham Country and Polo Club, Dedham, MA:

"While April is a month full of hope and warmth, May always seems to be colder than it should and rainy. This is when bentgrass does not look its best. Bent doesn't look good on overcast days anyways, something about how it reflects the light... it is gray and looks like it is covered with leafspot. I visited a Rhode Island course last week and found a picture that illustrates the point.

The top portion of the photo below is bentgrass and the bottom is Poa. Bent is a much better choice for a fairway turf due to its resilience against insects and disease, it requires half the water poa does, and provides a fast and firm playing surface. But early in the season, before it has fully woken up from the winter, under overcast skies it does not look as green as the poa.

It is important to remember that the bent is a much more consistent turf that will provide good playing conditions regardless of color throughout the year. It will not die in the heat or a drought or the cold or an ice storm. The only advantage poa has over bent is color on cloudy days and shoot density... hardly worth doubling the budget (water, fertilizer, and pesticide) and losing consistency for."

Visit Michael's blog at mstachowicz.wordpress.com.

It's not what you see...

Dustin Riley, Oconomowoc (WI) Country Club:

"It's what you don't that is important when preparing a golf course to handle summer stresses. It has been only 5 weeks since we've completed our deep-tine aeration of the putting surfaces. And the bentgrass roots are taking advantage of the loosened soil, refreshed soil air and paths of least resistance. While changing hole locations yesterday, we observed these bundles of white, healthy roots hanging out several inches from the bottom of the 6-in soil plugs.

Am I excited to see this? Yes. In 22 years golf course experience, I have never seen such an aggressive, happy root system on a putting surface in early May. And what even more exciting, is that we should have another 4-6 weeks of good root growing soil temperatures."

Visit Dustin's blog at ocongolfclubgrounds.blogspot.com.

On-course education...

Sean McCue, The Country Club at Castle Pines, Castle Rock, CO:

"This morning we had our annual golf course tour with the Green Committee and Golf Committee. We had great weather and many great questions were asked by the committee members.

The course tour allows for open communication about things good and bad on the golf course and also helps to serve as a vital conduit of information to the general membership that are not involved at the committee level. The members got to see first hand how the golf course is prepared for daily play they witnessed things such as setup,mowing, rolling and how Stimpmeter readings are taken.

After the meeting I had several members thank me for this inside view into what we do on a daily basis and the challenges we face. I look forward to these on course tours as I feel they are far more productive than sitting in a Boardroom trying to explain things. Nothings works better than to allow people to touch and feel out on on the golf course."

Visit Sean's blog at cccpgcm.blogspot.com

No-slip roll-on epoxy...

Bryan Boyer, Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, San Jose, CA:

"In the past two months we have had two reports of people slipping on our walking bridges. While it was raining at the time, we still needed to find a product that would keep the bridges safe during any weather conditions. With a recommendation from our clubhouse maintenance engineer Ron Pieracci, we selected a roll-on anti-slip epoxy from Wooster Products.

The epoxy comes in different colors and we selected a clear coat. All we had to do was mix a can of part A and part B together and apply with a roller brush.

This particular product has been used on our back dock ramp and it lasted about two years. It is pricy at just a bit over $100 per gallon, but it fits our needs perfectly."

Visit Bryan's blog at cinnabarhills.blogspot.com.

Pump station PM...

Tim Anderson, CGCS, Naperville Country Club, Naperville, IL:

"Our yearly maintenance on the pump station was completed early last week. This involves changing the oil in the pumps, repacking bearings, tightening spindles, checking connections in the panel, etc. We do have a weekly checklist that is completed throughout the season. When it comes to the pump station, we feel you can never perform too much preventative maintenance.




The pump station was also washed and waxed last week as well. As cooler well water is pumped through the pipes during the summer, condensation forms on the pump station surfaces. A regular cleaning and a wax will help these surfaces resist rusting as they age. "

Visit Tim's blog at napervilleccgrounds.blogspot.com.