Reducing the Risk

Most everyone who has worked on a golf course for any length of time has had to deal with a dreaded four letter word:  Leak.  

While irrigation leaks aren't any fun, the other kind of leak--hydraulic--can cause long-lasting problems.  In an effort to minimize the risk of turf loss due to hydraulic leaks on the putting surfaces, we recently acquired a hybrid riding greensmower.  (This was another mower we had ordered in 2023.)

Unlike a traditional triplex mower (which uses hydraulics for steering, driving wheel motors, raising and lowering the cutting units, as well as turning the reels) the new machine has no hydraulics at all.  Is this mower 100% risk free?  No, it does have a small gasoline engine to power the generator.  Of course, so do the walking handmowers we use, and they are considered to be very low risk machines.   

As to the price of this machine, there's an old saying, "Whatever you think it costs, add a zero if it's built for golf."  So, yes, you could drive this nice looking mower, or you could drive a very well-appointed Audi A6 for the same price.

A good start to the week!

Just when we thought it might be 2026 (Knocking Down Nasty Natives, and Head-Scratching Supply Chain Issues) before we received the equipment ordered back in 2023, we were greeted by a truck carrying our two long-awaited mowers. 

Yes, 27 months to the day after ordering them, they finally arrived.  While neither of these are used for mowing the Native areas, they will help to free up our Ventrac for that job, as we will once again have a dedicated machine for trimming tee and green surrounds.

Knocking Down Nasty Natives, and Head-Scratching Supply Chain Issues

As you may notice when playing the course, we have begun the process of mowing down the Native areas.  This year's heavy spring rains, followed by a whole lot of summer heat led to a wonderful growing environment for weeds.  Our pre-emergent herbicide applications lost their efficacy more rapidly, and keeping up with the plethora of weeds was nearly impossible.  Coincidentally, the USGA just released an article that addresses this issue:  Why Are the Naturalized Areas So…Natural?

The native mound separating #6 and #13 has been cut down.

Unfortunately, due to lingering supply chain issues, we won't be able to get this mowing process completed quickly.  Our versatile Ventrac, which is used for mowing down the Natives has been forced to work double-duty this year.  For most of the week we have to use this machine with a different mowing deck for trimming around green and tee complexes.  Therefore, there is only a day or two that we can work on cutting down the high grass.

Why do we need to use the Ventrac around the tees and greens?  Well, we ordered a replacement trim mower for use in these areas on June 15, 2023.  Prior to ordering we asked about the lead time and were told, "You're looking at 8 to 10 months, that may change as supply chain issues ease..."  

Change it did, but not in the way we were hoping for.  Had that timeframe been accurate, our existing trim mower would have lasted until its replacement arrived.  However, that was off just a bit (sarcasm intended), as we are now at 27 months--three times the estimate--and still don't have that piece of equipment (in addition to another mower that was ordered at the same time).  The old trim mower's frame is broken in half, rendering it unusable, thus making the Ventrac the only option we have.    

Still waiting for your replacement...

Until that new trim mower arrives, we will continue picking away at the Native areas as time allows.