Travels with Terry

Unique work benches

A listing on Craigslist for two brand new metal workbenches ($1,500 total) were a great find by the maintenance staff at the Waynesborough Country Club in Paoli, Pa. Each one measures 120 x 39 x 40 inches with 20 drawers each, where the top three drawers (sliding on ball bearings with a 60-pound weight limit) measure 30 inches deep, 15½ inches wide, and 4 inches high. The bottom drawers are 11½ inches high with the same depth and width, but equipped with an 80-pound weight limit. With four drawers per column each is separately lockable. Each drawer has a 52-font, laminated ID label. One workbench has a 2-inch thick solid wood top ($500) and the other has a ½-inch thick metal top – both acquired locally – with three quad electric outlets above each workbench. Ben Kovacs, golf course superintendent, Derek Mohler, senior assistant golf course superintendent, and Joe Brown, equipment manager, make a great team.

Sprinkler head leveling tool

A simple but very effective way to level sprinkler heads is accomplished by using a 4 x 4 x ¼ inch piece of aluminum angle bar at $36 acquired from a local metal supply shop. The two Vise-Grip pliers ($19.95 each) clamps the top of the sprinkler head to the aluminum bar after it is placed at the desired finish turf height. Once the soil is backfilled and tamped to within 6 inches below grade, where the sprinkler head and swing do not move, then both pair of pliers and the aluminum bar are removed prior to completing the backfilling and sod installation. The aluminum is obviously lightweight and fits easily in the bed of a turf vehicle. Robert H. Gamble, superintendent, and George Tuccanardi, irrigation technician, developed this great inexpensive idea at The Pearl Golf Links in Calabash, N.C.