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.

Fertigation Tank Filling Quick & Easy

Both 1,000-gallon tanks were fitted with 2-inch diameter PVC pipes hung from the ceiling going through the pumphouse wall, with quick connects, labeled for tank 1 and tank 2 provided by Nutrien, the local liquid fertilizer distributor. The club has a highway-rated bridge leading to the pumphouse for easy filling up of the tanks, with a bulkhead for easy turn around by the delivery truck. There is a 2-foot high concrete wall surrounding the tanks for spill containment. It cost about $300 for the pipe and fittings, about $6,750 for the concrete pad outside the pumphouse and it took about five hours labor time. Bob Vaughey, CGCS, is the director of agronomy at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif, where the existing golf course was replaced with a totally new one.




Fork Lift Tree Planter

I was driving by a home under construction in southern Idaho where the landscaping in the backyard was being installed. The contractor was using a New Holland forklift to dig the holes for the evergreen trees that were being planted. The forks were simply moved to the center in a near 45-degree angle and the weight of the machine dug the hole. The soil is a sandy-loam type, spruce and firs were being planted, and the machine performed effortlessly. It took less than five minutes to dig each hole and the laborers fine-tuned each one of them.

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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June 2019
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