Time is Money

Efficiency is a very important word for the golf course maintenance department. As the Golf Course Superintendent, I am responsible for a rather large budget and being able to save as much money along the way is important. We save money by being efficient. Everything that is done from filling divots to mowing greens to setting up the golf course is done as efficient as possible.

The simple task of filling divots is made efficient by using a Rickshaw to hold a bucket full of divot mix. This makes it faster for us to fill divots. Time is not lost going back and forth to the gator to retrieve more divot mix in the bottles. Filling divots does not really take long per hole, but setting up the golf course usually takes around four hours. With our next prototype, we should be able to cut that time down to two and half to three hours.

This trailer/blower combination will allow the setup person to do multiple jobs at once. Blowing cart paths, setting the pins, recycling, etc. can now all be done by one person. In the past the entire process took two people.

Our irrigation pump station has been recently tested for pump efficiency. This test will give us a base line on which we can document the efficiency of the station from season to season. Why is this important? The irrigation pump station consumes the most electricity within our maintenance budget. A motor that is used to run the pump is most efficient if it is running at 100% capacity at all times.

Once we have all the information concerning our pump station, we can then calibrate both the pump station and central control system for the irrigation system to run at peak efficiency. This will save money first, secondly we will be using our resources (water and electricity) more wisely and third our watering window at night will shrink thus creating drier and firmer playing conditions.

So like the saying goes, "time is money", we are always thinking of new ways to combine jobs and become more efficient with our labor and resources.