Cart Abuse and Greens Closing

After a long holiday week, we are back at it here in the maintenance department.  I apologize for the length of time between posts, but with the holiday I figured people would be busy.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and managed to survive Black Friday (or completely avoid it if you are smart he he).  Black Friday was a great day for golf and we did almost 80 rounds here at the club.

Anyways, there is still much to do to the golf course before we are "put to bed" for the winter.  Unfortunately, the heavy rains have put a stop to all of it.  We are still hoping to topdress and fertilize the greens once before the ground freezes, but with conditions as soft as they are, we are unlikely to get that done anytime soon.  Up to 3 more inches of rain appear to be headed our way over the course of this week.

With that, we will instead spend some quality time indoors putting a dent in our winter cart maintenance chores.  Every year, our cart fleet is brought in for winter service.  We will start with a good pressure washing followed with checking and cleaning the front end, brakes and brake pedals.  Afterwards, we will remove all batteries, clean out the battery box, clean the batteries and check the water levels.  Once this is complete, the carts will be put to bed for the year.

Along with this, I would like to comment on the condition of the carts.  I usually spend time talking about the abuse that misused carts can do to the turf, but must turn the tides a bit now.  Your money bought this fleet brand new this year, and with just the FIRST THREE CARTS we brought into the shop, there was significant body damage to the likely tune of a few hundred dollars!!!  I was amazed all season at the regular abuse of carts by our membership.  Bag holders, sand and seed boxes, body panels, and fenders were replaced on many carts this past season, and it seems that there are further damages leftover for the winter. Please take care of your carts while using them on the course!  We will get them fixed this winter, but we should be wary to cause unnecessary damage to our carts as it takes money away from more important things!

Speaking of more important things, the greens will be officially closed as of Monday, December 5th.

Allright, now that I have fininshed ranting, enjoy the rest of Cyber Monday!\



With the batteries removed, there is significant debris, garbage, and battery acid present in these boxes.



Using battery cleaner neutralizes any acid that has built up on the batteries to prevent corrosion and unwanted battery discharge.

After just one season, this battery hold-down rod is already corroded.  Maintenance like this is essential to keep these carts in the best working order possible.

It's always a big team effort to get through 50 carts with this degree of maintenance.

TISK TISK!!  A small hole such as this will require the entire body section to be replaced.

This cart obviously took a heavy hit as the side panels and main body section are no longer aligned.  This and the above picture were the first two in the shop selected at random!!!  There was one more that came in damaged, so the percentages seem to be high for damage this winter. 

"Airzilla"

Sadly, we are getting ever closer to the end of the season.  Just yesterday, we were able to beat the rain and successfully blow out the irrigation system.  As you may or may not know, every year we rent the biggest, nastiest, meanest and most powerful air compressor you can get your hands on, hook it up to our sprinkler system, and blow all of the water out of the pipes.  This will (hopefully) prevent any issues from winter freezing and thawing that may damage our underground pipes.

A look at "Airzilla".  Our 2-ton dump truck struggles to tow it, but it gets the job done in good time.

RIP Sammy Ciralsky. Your spirit will be missed.

Click Here to read Sam's Obituary in the Toledo Blade

Sam Ciralsky, a great person and an employee of Highland Meadows the past three seasons, died last night.  He was battling various health issues, but was an absolute inspiration to our crew.

Sam was a Toledo Golf-Turf mainstay.  He was the owner of Toledo Turf, which supplied parts, service, and golf turf equipment to the Toledo area.  In retirement, he sought me out to find part time work.  He mowed fairways and rough, and was an absolute pleasure to have in the shop.  Despite his sometimes poor health, he always smiled, and would often spend time in the lunchroom telling stories from the good old days. 

A few weeks ago, Sam was forced to leave his position to take care of some health issues, but always swore he would return.  Just two weeks after his surgery was the last time I spoke with him, and he made sure to remind me that he would be back in no time to help us put the course to bed.  Sam wasn't one to tell us all the details of his condition, he wanted things to be happy and fun all the time.

Sam will be missed.  His spirit was amazing.  He was an active family man, a hard worker, and he brightened all of our lives here at Highland Meadows.  Sammy, we will miss you.

The Donald

Well, I apologize for not blogging much over the last couple of weeks.  We have been suprisingly busy here in the maintenance department.  Fairways have been punched, the sun has been shining (until today) and while golf rounds are high, my staff is pretty low.  We have only a handful of guys left for the season, so you may spot me on a tractor now and again.

Also, one of my suppliers took me out of town for 3 days to visit a production facility, meet with other superintendents using their products, visit some top-notch golf courses, and network with peers from the Carolinas to Canada.  It was an interesting and educational trip.  I won't bore you with all the 'turf nerd' stuff from the trip, but one of the facilities we toured was Trump National Golf Club.  Overall, a spectacular facility built on the rolling estate of former automotive mogul John Delorean.  The club (using Delorean's old mansion and outbuildings) and golf course were amazing.  My favorite part of the trip had to be when we toured their maintenance facility, I found out that Donald Trump will put his name on everything, even spray equipment.  (See pic below)

Gotta love the Donald.  For better or worse, he keeps it interesting.