With aGood Mechanic, It Will Run Forever - USGA Green Section ...

With a Good Mechanic,It Will Run ForeverA great mechanic is not a substitute for regular replacement of equipment.BY CHRISHARTWIGERGolfers may not knowtheir golf course mechaniccan fix anything. However,they will see less thantop-quality turf if amechanic is required tospend an inordinateamount of time repairingold, worn-out equipment.Constant repairs meanthat preventativemaintenance andquality-of-cut tasksare deferred, delayed,or skipped.Atour of a golf course maintenancefacility with substantialquantities of equipment inneed of replacement often yields thefollowing comment by a courseofficial, "Don't worry, our mechanic isfantastic. He can fix anything." This isgreat news. Or is there another side tothe story?THE COST OF FIXINGWhen a mechanic spends the dayperfecting his ability to fix anything,there are both direct and indirect coststo the maintenance operation and tothe golfers who enjoy the golf course.The first cost is in decreased productivity.Every time a piece of equipmentbreaks down, the golf course mechanicmust shift his focus from preventivemaintenance and quality of cut issuesto repair. Not only is a broken machinenot out on the golf course working,but the mechanic delays, defers, oromits other tasks.The second cost is an increase inmoney spent on equipment parts andan escalation of the maintenance andrepair budget. Replacement parts forgolf course equipment are expensive.I have seen courses using outdatedequipment spend upwards of six figuresper year on maintenance and repair.Compare this with the maintenanceand repair costs for a fleet of equipmentleased or replaced regularly, andone can see that constant repairs are ahindrance to the budget.A final and indirect cost involvesthe golfer in the form of lower qualityplaying conditions, and it eventuallycomes full circle back to the maintenancestaff in the form of a poor perception.It has been said many timesthat to golfers, the golf course is onlyas good as it was during their mostrecent round. If the mechanic who canfix anything spends his days fixingeverything, what happens to turfquality on the golf course? It suffers.Heroic repair efforts are not visible atall to golfers. They just see the disruptionsto the conditions they have cometo expect that result when older, lessreliable equipment is used. Maybe thegreens are not getting a good cut, therough is higher than normal, or thefairways are scalped. This can lead toa negative attitude toward the entiremaintenance staff Does this changethe fact that the course employs anincredible mechanic who can fix anything?No, but it does reinforce thefact that the condition of the equipmentis not sufficient to reliablyproduce expected conditions.ON THERIGHT TRACK?Every golf course has some type ofequipment replacement program. Theeffectiveness of the program may beanother story. Below is a series ofquestions to assist course officials indetermining if the existing equipment14 GREEN SECTION RECORD

eplacement program is meeting theirneeds.Does your course have an equipmentinventory list with current age and a recommendedreplacement date? The notionthat your superintendent will let youknow when something needs to bereplaced is not a viable replacementprogram. An inventory list with equipmentage and desired replacement dateis a prerequisite before developing areplacement program.Can expected course conditions beattained consistently with the currentfleetof equipment? If the answer is no, thenrefer back to the section on direct andindirect costs and begin a plan torevamp the current program.Are maintenance and repair costsincreasingfaster than the rate of inflation?If the answer is yes, then the currentequipment replacement program is notmeeting your needs and is costing yousenous money.Have the different approaches tofleetmanagement, including scheduled replacementby purchase and replacement by leasing,been thoroughly reviewed? Althoughit is above and beyond the scope of thisarticle to differentiate between thesetwo methods of fleet management, it isadvisable for each golf course to studyand contemplate its approach to fleetmanagement. An excellent article byGilhuly and Gray, entitled "FleetingMoments," that appeared in theSeptember/October 2008 issue ofthe Green Section Record, is a worthyreference for those studying equipmentreplacement options. The article canbe accessed online at http://www.usga.org/turfl green sectionrecord/2008/sepmoments.pdfoct/fleetingCONCLUSIONGolfers today are fortunate to enjoy thegame in an era when turf conditionshave never been better. Excellent playingconditions do not happen by accident,and hope is not a plan to createthem. All the components can be inplace for success, but if the equipmentis not in place to carry out the tasks,the course will underperform. A greatmechanic is of tremendous value toany golf course, but ultimately theregular replacement of equipmentwill allow his talents to be seen onthe golf course.CHRIS HARTWIGER is a senior agronomistin the Green Section's Southeast Region.Preventative maintenance is a daily requirement. Repeated repairs of old equipment significantly drive up parts and repair costs. A great mechanic at a coursewith a solid equipment replacement program will have lasting impact on turfgrass quality.MAY-JUNE 2009 15