Winter finally shows itself

After a mild December and early January that saw many rounds played at surrounding golf courses winter is here with snow and below zero lows.  Fortunately we had some snow before the extreme cold to protect some of the poa annua plants that came out of dormancy after being fooled into thinking it was spring.

Although some of our neighboring courses were able to open our 4th and 15th greens were completely covered by snow the entire time and with the frozen ground the cups were full of ice.  As all warm spells this one came to a end and now thoughts can turn from golf to ice fishing again.  The benefit of a late winter will be a short winter as the lengthening days will soon (hopefully) bring warmer temperatures.

With the now frozen soil we are having Bill and Wayne's Tree Service come in to trim up the oak trees on hole 7 and the famous single oak in the 9th fairway.  At the same time they will prune the tree for health and remove any deadwood in the canopy.  By pruning the lower branches it will allow a few more shots to escape under the trees.

Reel grinding is a major part of winter service.  In order to achieve the low heights golf course fairways, tees and greens are mowed at, reel mowers are used to provide a consistent surface.  Reel mowers require more winter maintenance but less in-season service when they cut cleanly for months between without grinding.

We grind all tee, green and fairway reels every year while checking bearings, seals, rollers for proper operation each year we pick one of the three and totally rebuild the reels.  With three types by doing one set a year it means every third year every reel is completely rebuilt.  The reels and frames are stripped down of all parts, washed, painted and rebuilt with new bearings and seals.  Then they are precision ground with our Foley reel grinder.  First we spin grind to true the reel and remove any cone shape that naturally occurs from use followed by relief grinding that puts a angle on the blade to allow it to go the entire season without re-grinding.  This year we are rebuilding the 20 fairway mower reels. (4 mowers with 5 reels each).

Freshly painted reels, frames, and shields awaiting re-assembly

A reel ready for grinding in the Foley Grinder.  The

bedknive grinder can be seen in the background.

While James works on the reels my job is the equipment.  Winter service means more than just oil changes as our goal is to inspect the equipment and find potential future problems or fix nagging issues from the  past season.  Mowers are just like cars with engines, differentials, transmissions, brakes and controls.  Our hoist allows us to get underneath the equipment and see what we are doing much easier.  As the equipment has gotten more advanced over the years work on axles, frames, electronics and hydraulic systems would be near impossible from the ground.

A 1997 Cushman utility cart on the hoist while the

2001 and 1989 await their turn.

We took the opprotunity of a rebate from Focus on Energy to replace the lighting in the maintenance building where we replaced 20 year old T-12 flourescent fixtures with T-8 technology.  The new lights provide a brighter whiter light while using 35 to 40% less electricity. 

New bulbs and fixtures provide for better lighting and lower costs.