To the loo (product focus)

Last fall, the staff at Anglebrook Golf Club in Lincondale, N.Y., surveyed its members for feedback about what improvements they sought for the 13-year-old golf course. Resoundingly, members had a common request: restrooms.
Because of the course’s layout featuring returning nines, which theoretically allows golfers to use clubhouse restrooms mid-round, bathroom facilities weren’t part of the course’s original Robert Trent Jones design.

“But sometimes you can be out on that first nine for two hours before you make it back to the clubhouse,” says Lou Quick, CGCS. “Members asked for restrooms, so last fall we started to look into options.”

When it came time to procuring on-course restrooms, Quick was entering uncharted territory because he hadn’t purchased bathrooms before and knew his search required research.

Though he considered it, hiring a contractor to construct a traditional restroom facility out of stone or wood would’ve been too expensive, Quick says, estimating it would have cost about $80,000.

“In the places where these needed to be, electricity, septic and sewage weren’t readily available,” he says. “And the cost to send water out there was extremely prohibitive.”

Holes five and 14, where the restrooms are located, are hundreds of yards away from the nearest potable water source.

Though Quick considered a number of options, self-contained, composting restroom units were his first choice because they didn’t need to be connected to utilities and they don’t require extensive maintenance.

“I considered other types, but it came down to this style – the composting,” he says.

A bonus was Quick and his maintenance staff were able to reduce costs by installing the units with help from the manufacturer, Clivus Multrum.

Anglebrook, which is corporate owned and not member driven in terms of decision making, didn’t require member approval of the purchase.

“It was strictly a staff decision,” Quick says. “The g.m. and executive director took my input, and that’s how we made the decision.”

The club purchased two M54 Trailhead units in April, and they were installed and operating by May in time for peak season. Anglebrook’s Trailhead structures each feature a urinal, a foam-flush toilet, a built-in composting system, a waterless hand-washing station and a solar-powered ventilation system. The 3 ounces of water needed each time someone flushes the toilet comes from the course’s irrigation system.

The two units, which were funded out of a capital expenditure budget, cost about $40,000, Quick says, adding the club didn’t scrimp on upgrades.
“You can go lower – this was probably the high end,” he says.

The Anglebrook staff opted for porcelain toilets instead of fiberglass and upgraded the exterior with a faux stone and cedar shank. Once installed, the restrooms also were appointed with wall art, plants, coat hooks and other extras to please the club’s high-end clientele.

“For most of our male membership, it probably doesn’t matter, but it’s nice for our female members not to have it look like an outhouse,” Quick says. “It’s more homey.”

DIY
Though the manufacturer offers prefabricated units with turnkey installation, Quick decided to assemble and install the units with his crew and manufacturer assistance.

“We’re pretty handy around here,” he says. “Most facility managers and golf course superintendents have the ability to do this type of thing. Clivus sent out two technical people to help us put together the first unit, and we assembled the second one ourselves.”

Though installation required a foundation hole (6 feet wide by 12 feet long by 5 feet deep) to accommodate the waste collection tank, the units don’t require a concrete foundation or digging trenches for septic or sewage line hookups. Two of Quick’s crewmembers dug the hole in about six hours with a medium-size backhoe.

In all, installation took about two weeks, though the maintenance staff didn’t work on it every day. The foundation hole and basic construction, completed by Anglebrook’s staff, took three days. The extra stone work and shingles took a week. The shingle roof and siding were installed by a contractor for about $5,000.

“The beauty of these units is they’re self contained,” Quick says. “Set up is very fast.”

Upkeep
In addition to the simplicity of installation, Quick selected the self-contained units for their low-maintenance requirements.

The units have underground containers that retain the liquid and solid waste in separate areas. The composting units require the solid waste be mixed with a bulking agent (any type of dried organic matter), such as mulch, which helps promote a colony of natural bacteria. The maintenance staff must occasionally turn over this matter with a garden fork.

“It’s the same thing you’d do with any garden compost,” Quick says. “Over time, the solid waste and bulking agent break down just like in nature.”

The only other maintenance duty is monitoring the liquid tank. When it fills, a septic/sewage company will come and pump it out, according to the state’s requirements. Though it’s against New York state guidelines, some places consider liquid waste, which is essentially uric acid, to be a compost organic material and allow it to be redistributed as fertilizer, Quick says.

At this time, Quick can’t cite actual upkeep costs because he hasn’t had to maintain the units yet. But, based on Clivus Multrum’s usage statistics, a course like Anglebrook, which generates 9,000 rounds annually, might not have to perform any maintenance for as long as two years.

“It’s all based on the amount of people who use the unit,” Quick says.