Bunker rakes almost complete!

After 1 1/2 weeks of repairing and sanding the 300 bunker rakes the time has finally come to begin the staining process. As stated in a previous blog post, Rick and Johnny take on this monotonous, somewhat monumental task every winter. The first picture shows roughly half of the rakes after being repaired and sanded with the other half shown in the other picture hang drying after the stain has been applied. It is quite the smelly, dirty job, but in the end the rakes will look like new and be ready for another season on the golf course. As with all of the course supplies, Rick and Johnny do a fantastic job!

Winter Maintenance Activities

Over the next two weeks Rick and Johnny are faced with the large task of sanding and staining over 300 bunker rakes. Environmental conditions can take its toll on our wood bunker rakes. Sun, heat, cold, rain, extended moisture, sand and irrigation water can all take its toll on the wood. Insuring we can extend the life of the rake as long as we can is important to us and if putting a little extra work into maintaining that life is what it takes, we would put our best effort forth.

Rick Krause

Johnny Jarosz

Kenny and Ryan have also been quite busy preparing equipment for the upcoming season. Ryan is currently working on the Toro 4000 rough mower, replacing bearing and various other parts that are showing wear. Kenny's in the "zone" focusing his attention on the fine turf reel mowers. The majority of the mower work will be completed by the end of January.

These guys do so much of the behind the scenes work. Without them we could not have the quality of an operation that we have.

Make the Most of Educational Opportunities

This week my staff and I attended the Northern Green Expo at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Three days of education, an excellent trade show and maybe one of the most important aspects to me, networking with my peers. For some in the industry I hear about how the classes are poor, the vendor booths are small, and the typical negative comments that we hear from these same negative individuals. But that's not me. I love the conventions, the conferences, the education and the networking.

I've been fortunate to be in the golf industry a long time (this year will be my 20th year) and I still find there's always something new to learn. After 20 years there's a lot of information I've heard before, but to hear it again is always a good reminder, a good refresher and a good way to reflect on the past year and reevaluate our programs and philosophy's for the upcoming season. Sure there are some seminars that don't meet your expectations from time to time, but for me I typically will use that time to reflect and take notes. It's amazing what pops into your head. Thoughts I can't always get my head around in the office where there are a hundred distractions.

When attending a conference or seminar I always have a pencil and notepad. Thoughts regarding the presentation, tips, websites posted, or heck even personal goals, visions or even a reminder to get milk on the way home tonight. Use that time to be productive. Your clubs not paying your way to make it a day off and waste the day at the bar. Take every opportunity to meet with vendors and visit with your constituents. Make the most out of every opportunity.

Now that our local educational opportunity this week is complete, it's time to reflect on my notes, follow up on my thoughts and do my best to meet the goals and thoughts I was able to reflect on during the seminars. In a few weeks Nick and me will be headed to Orlando for the Golf Industry Show. Another excellent opportunity to meet with local and maybe more importantly national friends and colleagues, renew old friendships as well as network and develop new friendships throughout the industry. All in all I enjoy using these educational opportunities to grow personally and professionally and bring new ideas back to the golf course to utilizes in a way which make the golf course better for our members.

Maintenance Shop Upgrades

We take great pride in keeping our facilities here in great shape. Every year we look for new ways to improve the facilities to make them more environmentally friendly. This year we have made two improvements so far. The first being replacing the service door that goes into the paint booth room. The old door had no insulation and rotten weather stripping, which did a poor job of keeping the heat inside while our crew refurbished course supplies during the winter months. The new door (pictured below) does a much better job of holding in the heat, as it is insulated and has a dual-pane window.
The other upgrade was the replacement of both toilets in the main shop bathrooms. The two old toilets were replaced with new "dual flush" option toilets from American Standard. The new toilets have the option of using a 1.0gallon flush for liquids or 1.6gallon flush for solids. This is a great reduction in water usage as compared to the two old toilets which used 4.0gallons per flush. As you can imagine with a staff of 30 employees during the golfing season, the water savings will add up quickly.