Time for a checkup

As the golf season draws to a close, many superintendents plan overseeding and aerification projects. Golf course mechanics and technicians, however, have an eye on all the machines that will need repair before the first mower starts next year. A winter rebuild can seem like a huge hassle for the whole team, but it means a big difference at the bottom line, says Erik Sides, executive director of the Equipment and Engine Training Council.

“It’s really about savings,” he says. “Everybody’s stretched budgetwise and trying to get the most out of the dollars they have to spend for the year. When you have a good preventive maintenance program in place, it’s going to save money over the years.”

Taking the time to notice little things like worn hoses can fix problems before they become an issue in the middle of a work day, and before they have a chance to do damage to the course itself. Preventing an accident is as important as just keeping the machine running. But it starts with knowing and understanding the winter shutdown and storage processes, which is found generally in the operating or engine manuals that came with the machine, he says.

“There’s information in there about your engine and what you need to do for your engine specifically. The operator’s or technical manual will list exactly those things you need to do,” he says.

But it goes beyond just overall winterization, to actually preventing future damage, says Sides. Before any kind of storage, easily worn and replaced parts should be checked for fatigue.

“One example is hoses,” he says. “Hydraulic hoses are a common problem here. They can be expensive, but if you look at trying to change the moving hoses out – the ones that are lifting and lowering decks thousands of cycles a year, those are the ones you’ll want to replace. We need to monitor them and change them out every two to three years. You’re preventing an accident from happening and causing a leak on the ground and damage to the course.”

A well-trained and experienced technician can recognize the parts that need to be replaced or repaired, and what they’ll need to do the work. It takes a careful eye to make the call for when a new part is required. Without the right parts or knowledge, a planned repair could actually turn into a worse problem farther down the road.

“A lot of that comes from knowing the parts and product and how to service it,” says Sides. “It’s really taking that motor apart and looking at it and knowing how much damage you have. That goes back to the idea that if we’ve maintained the whole system and changed it out as we should, it’ll keep working. If we don’t do that, more layers will develop and it wears out quicker.”

When the weather doesn’t give the staff a chance to shut down the machines for the season, it doesn’t mean problems have to go untreated. Even in a climate like Florida or Texas, a maintenance rotation schedule should be in place to give the technicians a chance to take care of issues before they shut down the course. It might seem like an inconvenience, but it saves money for the course in the long run, says Sides.

“Let’s not wait until we hit the running hours and then start going over to just let the maintenance just kind of keep getting pushed back and the next thing you know you’re 200-300 hours past service,” says Sides. “It’s just monitoring things on the machine as they’re due and having a good schedule in place.”