Hole In White Tool
Hole In White, the original Golf Cup Turf Whitener, has been a proven winner for many years to give the top 1 inch above the cup a bright white look as seen on television. Two of the tools (about $100 each) that the turf whitener can of paint fit into have been modified by adding extensions above the turf, so the paint and hair spray application are not affected by the wind. One tool was modified by adding a 7-inch outside diameter piece of solid ADS drainage pipe that was attached to the tool using painter’s tape. The other tool had a piece of 5-inch outside diameter class 200 PVC irrigation pipe glued in place using PVC cement. To help preserve and enhance the freshness of the turf whitener paint and to keep it from chipping all day long, All Weather Aqua Net Extra Super Hold Professional Hair Spray ($40 for nine cans, including shipping) was applied after the paint had dried, which works great — the “purple” version is the only one that will not burn the turf. The PVC and ADS Pipes were already in inventory and installations took about 10 minutes each. Director of agronomy Darren Gafford, equipment manager Tony Telesca, and service crew members Juan Gonzalez and Jose Ruiz produce lots of great, practical ideas at The TwinEagles Club in Naples, Florida. Jack Nicklaus, Jack Nicklaus II and Chad Goetz are the Talon Course architects, and Steve Smyers designed the Eagle Course.
Lightbar and Rear-View Mirror
The TwinEagles Club’s 36-hole golf maintenance staff starts early in Naples, Florida, especially during the winter golf season with short daylight hours. The 42-inch LED lightbar ($110 — $12 for the wiring harness, $15 for the lightbar bracket, acquired locally from CA-RY Golf) idea came from 4WD pickup trucks, which the club has been using on turf vehicles for many years. They are used for early morning fly-mowing, bunker work, course and driving range setup, and other tasks, as their light beam travel is about 200 feet. There are four supervisor Club Cars, one Toro Workman, one shop mechanic’s cart, one driving range setup cart and two course setup carts affixed with the lightbars. Depending on the vehicle type, the wiring to the battery and on/off switch (about one hour) is either ziptied along the framework, or is fed through the roof’s tubing framework (about two hours). The gasoline carts that have pedal-starts draw down the engine battery in about 30 minutes, so the staff is reminded to drive around or to put the turf vehicle in neutral by holding the accelerator down for about 30 seconds to recharge the battery. On the Club Cars, a dash light rocker switch ($13, Part #102869401) is installed that provides a professional installation appearance. The lightbars last about two to four years. Key-start vehicles idle to keep the engine battery charged. The 8-inch diameter, slightly convex rear-view mirror (about $50) was acquired from WescoTurf, the local Toro distributor. The idea is another example of the innovative thinking deployed by director of agronomy Darren Gafford and equipment manager Tony Telesca.
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