Obviously crowds aren't my cup of tea. For those who were there and for those who weren't here is what I was trying to say at the AGM.
2011 was a pretty bland year of mostly routine maintenance that involved few problems. We continued with small projects such as enhancing the ambiance around the clubhouse with more flowers and cleaning up the ball wash areas on 4, 6, and 10 tees by removing the gravel shale and placing paving stones. Major equipment purchases where limited to a used utility vehicle.
2011 was a pretty bland year of mostly routine maintenance that involved few problems. We continued with small projects such as enhancing the ambiance around the clubhouse with more flowers and cleaning up the ball wash areas on 4, 6, and 10 tees by removing the gravel shale and placing paving stones. Major equipment purchases where limited to a used utility vehicle.
The largest
maintenance event of 2011 was a direct result of the creation of the Strategic Planning
Committee and grew out of regular committee meetings held throughout last
year. Numerous suggestions were bantered
about on what could be done to enhance and compliment existing facilities at
KGC. The driving range fit the
bill. It was substandard and, as a
result, was underutilized. Closing the
range would have no impact on regular play and closing it near the tail end of
the season would have limited impact on range revenue. Some of its short comings included a lack of
discernible targets, a small and constantly beat up tee deck, and the inability
to see balls land once they where hit out past 150 yards. The whole process described in these posts. By the end of the year we able to rough out
the range as well as install the irrigation and complete the initial “shaping”
of the features. The tee deck was sodded
and has functioning irrigation.
2011 will be more of
the same: routine maintenance and more small “beautification” projects and, to start
with, finishing up the range.
Depending on the
weather the timeline we will follow for completion of the range will be:
- Trenching control wires from the DRT to the satellite on 10 fairway.
- Repair damaged netting along the sides and haul some extra material to better tie in the edges of the landing zones.
- Clean up any washouts from melting snow and complete the final “shaping”.
- Check the operation of the entire driving range irrigation.
- Seed
We will still need
to look at routing and parking of golf carts to lessen the congestion around
the 10th tee, snack shack, and range tee. This can done after the range is operational
and the course is up and running.
I would like to
preface the 2012 golf season with a somewhat cautionary note when it comes to
the maintenance end of things. To
suggest that golf as a whole has been a bit stagnant over the pasts few years
shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. It
was obviously necessary to use a very prudent approach when creating this
year’s budget. Players need to know that
the 2012 budget process will have an impact on how the course is
maintained. My mandate this year will be
to make good choices that limited that impact.
More choices and
incredible deals are making golf highly competitive. It’s a seemingly overwhelming task just to
address the increasing operational costs (fertilizer, chemical, and fuel) and high capital equipment costs in my department alone. A quick example with respect to equipment
cost is our small rough mower. It is at
the end of its operational life and replacement cost is $42 000.
And finally, with
respect to any situation pertaining to the course conditions now and throughout
the season I again direct you to the blog (or my online journal, if you like)
that can be accessed by clicking on “Maintenance Blog” link at the bottom of
the KGC home page. If you can’t find
what you looking for there feel free to approach me whenever you see me.
