Travels with Terry

Globetrotting consulting agronomist Terry Buchen visits many golf courses annually with his digital camera in hand. He shares helpful ideas relating to maintenance equipment from the golf course superintendents he visits – as well as a few ideas of his own – with timely photos and captions that explore the changing world of golf course management.

Decorative paint/sealant for cart paths

Scott E. Niven, CGCS, property manager, at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn., has been applying Latex-ite acrylic dark green coating sealant to the asphalt cart paths for the past 30-plus years, which are continuous on the par 3s and from green to the next tee on the par 4s and par 5s. Initially, two coats were applied and then one coat has been applied after that. One third of the cart paths (approximately one linear mile eight feet wide) are done each year by an outside contractor, which takes two days with three laborers, roughly 60 labor hours. The product is commonly used on tennis courts and it is mixed with water applied by squeegees. It also seals any cracks to extend the useful life and it is very durable. The green color on the cart paths blends nicely with the green-colored turf. $8,000 is budgeted annually, approximately $.17 per square foot.




Drainage gravel tailgate chute

This 2010 Pronovost hydraulic dump trailer pulled by a 2013 Kubota M6060 tractor with turf tires holds approximately 2? cubic yards of granite 89 stone greens grade drainage gravel with the 2-inch by 8-inch wooden sideboards attached. The wooden tailgate is made of two ¾-inch thick pieces of plywood, with one 1-inch by 2-inch wooden brace at the top and another one-half way down across the middle section. An 8-inch diameter ADS non-perforated double wall drainage pipe “chute,” with a coupler added at the end, is installed into the tailgate with Great Stuff foam placed around the pipe and along the tailgate edges to seal them properly. It took about two people two hours and about $90 in materials. Eric Barnes, project superintendent, and C.T. Shaw, project manager, from Landscapes Unlimited based in Lincoln, Neb., came up with this great idea while their company is renovating/restoring The Country Club of Orlando.

Terry Buchen, CGCS, MG, is president of Golf Agronomy International. He’s a 41-year, life member of the GCSAA. He can be reached at 757-561-7777 or terrybuchen@earthlink.net.

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