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.

“Whiskers”

Locating quick coupler valve, gate valve, isolation valve and air relief valve covers in mulched or pine straw beds is made easier using surveyor’s whiskers. They are attached by drilling holes in the center of the valve box covers and screwing them into the underside. The Swanson MWOR61000 6-Inch Marking Whiskers Orange Colored 25 pack is available on Amazon Prime for $5.99/each, which are also available in other fluorescent colors. This great idea is used as a supplement to a GPS as-built blueprint, metal detectors and field as-builts in a notebook by John Jeffreys, a superintendent at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort. I saw them in good use at the Vestavia Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., where Owen Coulson, superintendent; Jeff Womack, 18-hole course assistant, and Drew Charcandy, 9-hole course assistant, are using them with great success.




Efficient Bunker Surrounds Crew

This Toro Workman GTX 2WD Gasoline Engine 4 Seat Turf Vehicle, with optional canopy, is towing a Broyhill Silhouette II Greens Mower Trailer. The staff mows the bunker surrounds with two Husqvarna Push-Type Rotary Mowers and edges the bunkers with two Echo String-Line Trimmers. Cleanup is done easily with a Husqvarna Backpack Blower. Leak-proof fuel cans are also carried in the bed. This four-person crew starts at hole No. 1 and stays well ahead of play and can finish the bunker work easily in one day. Brian Goleski is the superintendent at the Noyac Golf Club in Sag Harbor, Long Island, N.Y.

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November 2018
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