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 From the News Desk...More bang for the buckby John ReitmanMost golf course superintendents have learned the merits of being cost conscious and innovative in searching for ways to do things better and cheaper, and then there is Doug Ayres. Since Ayres arrived five years ago at Corral de Tierra Country Club, life at the course near Salinas, Calif., has been an exercise in fusing innovation with frugal spending with cutting edge ideas. From drainage-improvement projects to innovative landscape designs to finding new solutions to old problems and everything in between, Ayres constantly is searching for ways to improve not only this 1959 Bob Baldock design, but also all aspects of the club’s property and the way in which his staff maintains it. What appeals to general manager David Webb is how much of the work is completed in house, resulting in considerable savings for the club. “That’s just it; we get a bigger bang for our dollar on projects that he’s able to do in-house than if we go to an outside vendor,” Webb said.  Such an outlook has less to do with job security and more to do with Ayres being a sound personnel manager and a responsible steward of his employer’s resources. The way Ayres sees it, “I can save a dollar and give it back to the company if that’s what they want, or it’s a dollar I can spend on something else.”
Some of the more recent undertakings at Corral de Tierra by Ayres and his crew include many course-beautification efforts and taking an active role in helping design additions to the maintenance complex. On the horizon is the mammoth undertaking of relining and expanding a pond between Nos. 15 and 18. When a neighboring ranch experienced a landslide and was looking for a way to dispose of the earth, Ayres took it and used it to build a waterfall on the irrigation pond. Golfers appreciate the aesthetics of the water feature, but the cascading effect also helps improve water quality. Contractors provided quotes of up to $150,000, while Ayres and his staff completed the project for about $6,000, most of which was spent on boulders and rocks. He and his crew also converted multiple waste areas to include native plantings and other ornamentals, such as jalapeño peppers, fava beans and pumpkins. Members have provided Ayres and Webb with volumes of positive feedback and some of them even have been spied while picking beans and peppers for home use. Many of Ayres’ innovations conjure thoughts of the 1980s-90s television show MacGyver, wherein the program’s resourceful namesake solved problems by fashioning solutions from whatever scraps and tools were at his disposal.  For example, algae in the Corral’s irrigation pond has been a consistent problem, and to that end, delivering algaecide to the middle of the pond where it is needed most can be a challenge. After brainstorming for an answer, Ayres settled on an innovation that redefines solution – tweaking a backpack that literally launches copper sulfate to the middle of the pond. The process includes separating the nozzle and splicing in a 3-inch tee drain pipe with a funnel inside it (small end toward the output to compress the outflow of air) and taping all the parts of the nozzle back together. Finally, with the blower running, he pours the copper sulfate into the tee drain. The blower throws the material about 40 feet into the center of the pond where it breaks down the algae.
Ayres’ reputation as an innovator at Corral de Tierra took flight nearly from Day 1 at the club. Corral de Tierra is surrounded by some of the world’s most fertile land. However, those conditions do not extend to the golf course, particularly its 13th fairway. Growing anything – most notably grass – on the hard clay soil there has been a challenge virtually since the club opened its doors. Members acknowledged that something had to be done to alter the growing medium on No. 13, but such projects often involve an architect and contractor, not to mention a final cost that exceeded what the club wanted to spend. Ayres, who was a new hire at the time, stepped forward and volunteered his services and those of his staff for the project. Though some questioned whether a superintendent and crew were up to such a task, the undertaking was an overwhelming success and since has resulted in a cascade of other in-house projects. He convinced the club to foot the bill for more than $100,000 in new construction equipment, including a trencher, when he told members the savings of doing this and future projects in house would offset the cost of the equipment – and then some. The savings on the bunker rebuild alone was more than $300,000. Ayres and his crew dug up the 13th fairway and laid drainage pipe and rearranged sprinkler heads there and throughout other parts of the course. They then capped the fairway with 6 inches of sand and moved on to rebuilding all 88 bunkers – which also was overdue, according to members. What once was a problem area has become one of the best growing mediums on the property. More importantly, when Ayres says he and his crew can tackle a project, no one questions him. “He really is on the front edge of this stuff,” Webb said. “He is phenomenal.” The list of innovations at Corral de Tierra is almost endless. And their scope varies from major rebuilds to simple things, such as attaching plastic windscreens to the cabs of three fairway mowers. The clear plastic film attaches to the rollover system with Velcro – one strip on the plastic, the other glued to the steel frame and also help protect the operator from dust, debris and clippings. “The guys really appreciate it when it’s cold out,” Ayres said. Ayres constant search for simplifying tasks also helps save labor so his crew can spend more time managing the turf at the Corral. Simply plotting spray boundaries and outfitting a spray unit with a GPS system has resulted in eliminating overlapping and has reduced the overall time associated with applying fertilizer by 10 percent. “That’s just it; we get a bigger bang for our dollar on projects that he’s able to do in-house than if we go to an outside vendor,” Webb said. Some of the simpler projects Ayres and his staff have undertaken include constructing rustic rock and wood signage throughout the property that conveys a more provincial image that is consistent with the club’s location and installing ropes around the perimeter of the irrigation pond in the event anyone falls into the water while attempting to retrieve golf balls and an innovative way to keep that pond algae free.  The tee markers and signs are cut on a bias from railroad ties, with the club logo and hole number burned into each one. A new wooden sign at the clubhouse replaces the hard-to-read cement marker that once stood in its place. The project might sound simple, but it is part of an overall effort to brand the club in a consistent and rustic manner with wood and stone accessories wherever possible.
An example of the trickledown effect of the countless savings Ayres has realized on the club’s behalf is a new maintenance complex that when finished will provide more than 12,600 square feet of storage, work and office space when the last phase of the project is completed next month. The original 2,200-square-foot maintenance building, a holdover from the property’s days as an alfalfa ranch, is 85 years old and was far from meeting Ayres’ needs. A new building built in 2006 provided a new office for Ayres and some needed storage space, but still fell short for the Corral’s burgeoning operation. Ayres realized an additional 1,200 square feet in the phase currently under construction by adding an upstairs to a portion of the building. That will include break areas for the staff and conference space for staff and green committee meetings. Although an outside contractor is completing the construction of the maintenance complex, Ayres submitted his own design plans to the architect. Even the way in which Ayres outfits the maintenance buildings reflects his cost-saving outlook. Racks bought from defunct car dealership provide extra storage space for equipment manager Brian Sjoren and another set of racks he purchased from a Salinas strawberry farmer so vast he was able to buy sulfur in quantities that resulted in savings of more than $7,000 – or three times the cost of the racks. “It all started with redoing the 13th fairway. We couldn’t get grass to grow there. Today it’s one of our most lush fairways. And ever since then it has been one project after another.” |
In other news... Study examines spring pre-stress fertility programs Research finds no correlation between biostimulant applications before spring core cultivation and recovery. Posted: 09/02/2010 Read more » Aquatrols, TurfNet present Water Week The series of five Webinars is aimed at helping superintendents manage water and soils more efficiently. Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » News and people briefs Registration opens soon for Irrigation Show, Briggs & Stratton elects new chairman, FMC taps new director for professional solutions division Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » GCSAA selects firm in search for new CEO Kansas City-based company will open search process for Mark Woodward's successor in October. Posted: 08/31/2010 Read more » Water foul! Research shows that droppings from non-migratory geese on turf can result in nitrogen runoff into adjacent bodies of water. Posted: 08/26/2010 Read more » Complete news index » |
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