Travels with Terry

Turf Roller

The Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middlefield, Conn., has been installing an intricate 2 miles of fairway silt drainage and XGD green's drainage system to their push-up greens to assist with a 2009 renovation to their Robert Trent Jones-designed course. Mark Pelkey, superintendent, and Senad Begovic, equipment technician, designed and converted a former propane tank into a state-of-the-art roller to smooth out the fairway drainage trench lines. The 30-inch diameter tank is 90 inches long, holds approximately 250 gallons of water and is filled via a metal "bung" Begovic added. The legs and propane fill pipe were removed and any holes in the old discarded tank were welded shut. The framework consists of 3-inch by 4-inch metal tubing at a dimension of 98 inches by 38 inches. The greaseable bearing and 1.5-inch diameter shaft were bolted and welded to the frame and tank, respectively. The tractor was already mounted with turf flotation tires and wheels with removal front-mounted weights to counteract the roller's rear weight. The roller holds approximately 2,000 pounds of water. This roller is also used on greens and tees after aerification where the roller is one-half filled with water. The cost for materials was about $350 – the tank was free – and it took two-full days to fabricate, prime and paint. Matthew H. Fauerbach is the director of agronomy, northeast region, for Billy Casper Golf.

Two birds, one stone

The greens and collars at the Navesink Country Club in Middletown, N.J., are sprayed with a Chem Turf Spray Hawk. The Spray Hawk used to be transported, by the person who drags the hose on the back of a separate turf vehicle. Brett Scales, superintendent, and Jose Rodriguez, equipment technician, conceived and built a bracket to transport the Spray Hawk on the back of the 2010 Chem Turf 200-gallon sprayer which is mounted on a 2010 John Deere Pro Gator 2030. The Raven sprayer control panel was moved toward the driver so the hose dragger could ride "shotgun" on the spray rig, which eliminated the use of the turf vehicle. The steel plate that holds the Raven was cropped to allow more passenger leg room. In addition, a 2-inch by 4 inch by 12-inch rectangular square tubing was welded to the steel plate for the Raven to be moved and mounted to the center of the dashboard. The Raven is in a fixed position, but it can be moved back to its original position. To secure the Spray Hawk to the rear of the sprayer, U-shaped metal brackets were welded on the sprayer frame to support the Spray Hawk axle. A clevis pin was welled to the Spray Hawk and then secured to the sprayer with a 1/4-inch-thick steel bar 24 inches long bolted to the sprayer frame. The rubber tubing was also duct taped to ensure the Spray Hawk fits snuggly into the U-shaped brackets.