Innovations

With the golf course industry changing and improving all the time it is important that we as golf course managers strive to do the same.  Investigating ways that we can save money on power, incorporate composting on our site, equipment choices that are more fuel efficient and that reduce our carbon footprint, and wash bay management, chemical storages and loading pads are all aspects of innovation.

Of all these aspects the first way to begin improving how the golf course operates is through the use of power and trying to reduce the amount we use. Often time’s power bills for golf courses are charged as a combined fee meaning the proshop, food and beverage, clubhouse and the pump house are all combined. This can get expensive; my recommendation is that the pump house receives its own power meter being charged alone. Because pump houses run in during the night, a time of use billing agreement is best, so that you are not being charged for it when it is not running but only when the pump system is in operation.

Nearly every day clippings are removed off greens and tees,  fallen trees and a variety of other waste materials are just dumped in select areas around the course creating “bone yards”. Creation of a site within the maintenance yard with drains and seven or so compartments allows for adequate space for all the waste produced throughout the season (Shane Schierman, Cam Champion, Innovations project). It is a great way to save on the costs of hauling away debris every year as well as saving on the cost of material for flowerbeds and flowerpots.

Equipment for maintaining our golf course is constantly improving. With electric and hybrid mowers on the market today reductions in our carbon footprint become easier to accomplish while still producing a high quality putting surface.  An example of one of the mowers today is Toro’s walk behind greens mower the eflex 1800, which is an electric mower that can be simply recharged.  The use of these pieces of equipment will allow less money to be spent on fuel which will lead to more money being put into the golf course to create better playing conditions.

When washing equipment often times spilt fuel and grass clippings will get washed off the machines and it will run either onto the golf course or into the storm drains. Installation of a wash bay that will separate the water from the clippings and recycle the water for reuse will eliminate the chance of polluting storm drains through equipment washing. An ESD wash pad’s key features are a sump pump, clipping separator, and biological wash water recycling.

Installation of a wash bay is quite expensive but the positives of containing all wastewater out weigh the negatives of possible storm water contamination. The last item of innovation we’ll look at is chemical storage in the event of a fire or spill a containment unit such as an ESD containment unit will provide protection for the environment and employees when dealing with these chemicals.