Some very big trees hitting the ground - Don't panic, they aren't on the golf course.

Any of you living near the golf course probably heard the shrill buzzing of chainsaws for most of the day today.   Right in the middle of our compound back here are 3 gigantic cottonwood trees that have become serious safety hazards due to their size.  About 6 years ago, one of them let go of a limb that totalled my car!  As you will see in the below pictures, the trees are about 120 feet or taller, and as is typical with cottonwoods, the limbs in the highest portion of the tree are extremely large.  Many well over a foot in diameter. 

Every season, we have a few close calls with large limbs landing in or around the compound.  The area under these trees is where our employees park their cars, our dirt and materials are handled and stored, and the turnaround is used by any vehicle traffic that passes through our area.  In other words, it's a high traffic area.

Also, with the future of our compound hopefully involving some expansion and improvements (material handling bins, new septic field, moving of fuel tanks from behind #8 green etc.) it will really open up the space and make the possibilities endless.  Also, we won't miss the insane amount of leaves and "cotton" that these trees deposit each year in and around our buildings and equipment. 

There is a fourth tree that will be coming down that is large and currently leaning over one of our buildings.  A ticking time-bomb as it were.

Most importantly, you won't miss them from any important view on the golf course!

As you can see, they are not small trees.

The limbs are large and create a dangerous canopy over our entire parking and staging area.

The large oak tree that seems to lean a little closer to our building each year.

The trees don't even really block the shop area from view.  We won't miss the huge amount of leaves and "cotton" that litter our shop every year.

Winter work continues.

It would appear that winter has finally decided to visit, if but for a short stretch.  With that, the crew is still busy with their usual winter tasks.  I spent a great deal of time last year discussing the types of things that happen down here in a normal winter, so in an effort not to bore my normal readers, I will spend less time on that topic this winter.  If you are new to the blog and want to see pics of all the sanding, painting, and wrenching in a fascinating step-wise montage, feel free to access last winter's blog posts through the links on the side of the screen.

For the new readers who haven't had a snapshot into the winter shop work, below is just a little taste of all the excitement that goes on in our little garage during the winter.  While this is far from the crew's favorite type of work (they'd much rather be outside) it is so very important to ensure our equipment runs smoothly and reliably throughout the golf season.  An ounce of prevention...yadda yadda yadda.

Just like a top-notch mechanic - buy him brand new fairway mowers and he takes the bloody things apart!  Art and Jason are installing a new 'down pressure' kit to hopefully improve the quality of cut on the new machines.  Also, it allows our mechanic to make sure everything down to the last screw is greased, tightened, cleaned, and/or marked to his liking.

The greens mowers also get completely disassembled for maintenance and sharpening.  All chains, bearings, seals, belts, and cables are checked, replaced as necessary, greased to the gills, painted, and reassembled.

Here is a floor board from one of our old fairway mowers that we are stretching another season out of.  The holes and rust are just what happens over years of operation.  This floorboard will be replaced with sheet steel fabricated and welded by our mechanic.  Now hopefully nobody will put their feet through the floor.

Ohio Golf Courses Struggled in 2011..........DUH!!

Below is a link to Cleveland.com where they interviewed the head of the Northern Ohio PGA Section about the struggles in the golf market this past year.  While it was certainly a difficult year for the golf industry as a whole, I did NOT know that Ohio was the hardest hit in terms of rounds played.  While we weren't as bad off in terms of overall revenue, we were by far the leader in rounds lost relative to the previous season.
I believe that a part of this is directly related to the economy in general.  Unemployment is high yadda yadda yadda.  Overall, however, the weather was by far a bigger component.  Spring and fall had record rains, and the summer had record heat.  Not a recipe for great golf activity.

Highland Meadows had the lowest rounds in years, but near the top for the entire area.  This is a great testament to our dedicated and active membership.  Let's hope for a better 2012!

Click the link below to get the hard numbers:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/rain_soaking_golf_courses_in_2.html

An Important Message

There aren't too many things I worry about, but one of them happens to be skin cancer.  I work outside, the people who work for me work outside, and we are exposed to the sun more than the average person.  I will harass my crew about sunscreen and hats every chance I get, but I'm not sure I've done enough over the years. 

Pat Jones, one of the prominent voices in the golf industry (whose articles, facebook posts, and blogs I highly recommend reading to golf industry people and golfers), posted the video below in facebook land this week.  It's your standard-issue public service-type commercial with a very dramatic overtone, but the message is simple - Don't be scared, but be aware.

Watch the video below and take the advice.  My doctor is happy to look me over for potential melanoma even when I just visit to get my asthma prescription renewed.  Between that and self-checks, you can do a lot to catch things early. 

When you are out on the course this summer or with your kids at the pool, be careful not to over-expose yourself, and for crying-out-loud put some damn sunscreen on.



Happy New Year!

2012 is here, and I am attacking things with a fresh perspective. A few years ago, my new year's work resolutions were mostly related to safety. I am continuing to work with the Ohio Bureau of Workman's Comp to develop safety and worker injury protocols that will help us be more efficient and have fewer accidents. Also, I will team with the clubhouse to make these policies work for the club as a whole.

For 2012, I am going to make more effort to address some of the environmental issues that face our course, our industry as a whole, and our planet. Issues such as fertilizer restrictions, EPA pesticide permitting guidelines, water use, fuel use, and others are at the forefront of the new 'sustainability' initiatives that our profession is working to implement. Being at the forefront of these issues will help my profession AND this club be more environmentally aware and financially successful in the future.

Below is a link to the recent issue of the USGA green section. At the top of this weeks issue is a link to an interesting article about "purple gold". Reclaimed water runs through purple pipes, and is becoming more widely used throughout areas of the country. I have been asked several times by members if we use reclaimed water, usually in the spring after members visit courses in the southern areas of the US during the winter where reclaimed or effluent water is used.

Fresh water is only becoming more scarce as the years go by and the population continues to boom. I feel that the future will require more stringent water use guidelines and effluent or reclaimed water use will be more prevalant across the globe. That being said, even though our area of the country is not currently set up for reclaimed water, we must stay prepared.

Click below for an interesting article on reclaimed water and some other insights from the USGA.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/USGA-Green-Section-Record--December-16--2011.html?soid=1103157499740&aid=P9DXvH9nuX8