This year we've turned to "contour mowing" of fairways to save on fuel costs. (Not my favorite pattern. See blog background photo.) Your greens and grounds staff talked me out the "shadow cut" (half light/half dark) do to the stress it places on approaches and fairway starts. (Too much wheel damage caused when turning.) Also, there was too much travel time spent traveling long distances just to pick up a five foot section here and there when completing a fairway section.
In watching your dues dollar, we are saving three hours per week in fuel costs. While not a great sum, a hundred dollars here and a hundred dollars there adds up over time.
And speaking of saving budget dollars, we've held rough mowing to once per week during this golf season. (Of course our cold spring temperatures have depressed turfgrass growth year to date.) We've set out intent on accomplishing this feat since 2007 but have buckled under golfers complaint of slow play, lost balls and difficulty hitting from this turf condition. Savings here adds up into the thousands. We'll see how long this lasts.
Finally, speaking of savings, your equipment manager Tim Johnson decided against replacing an air cushioned seat compressor, the size of two "D" cell batteries costing over $1,000 with that of a manual air induction air valve system that we'll have to monitor manually. Trust me, if you didn't have back troubles before, come out and try mowing for eight hours seated on this unforgiving brick and tell me if you think that this seat wasn't a good idea in the first place. (If turf equipment manufacturers cannot sell their new products, they make up margins through selling parts to captive markets of loyal owners needing those parts to keep their aging turfgrass fleet alive.) With fuel prices over $4/ gallon, we will be saving the "Green Section budget 14.6 hours per week in mowing cost. _Mk
