Welcome local Turf News readers .
I was approached to write some information for a tech section of the local Turf News . I'll be providing an insight on the tech side of the business for the next few issues . Last issue featured the artical I submitted below .
Winter has finally made way for the season we have all been
waiting and planning for “SPRING”.
It was a good long winter to get most of the gear back in
shape.
The greens wintered OK considering the
extended winter. Most of the gear has
been sitting idle for almost 5 months except for winter servicing. When the
crew start showing up is the time I’ll start up all the mowing gear and get
them to operating temperatures. A good fifteen minutes will get the batteries
charged back up. Run them wide open after they warm up for a bit. After they
run and cool I’ll check for leaks .Some of the gear had their hydraulic fluids
changed as per service interval. It’s a good time to double check your work
before they start mowing. Our course provide some mowing challenges and the
large area mowers are gone over very well paying attention to frame welds
,loose or damaged hydraulic lines ,dented rotary decks and damaged reels . After
all our reels and bed knives are ground, I wait for the first down time chance
to service both grinders and tarp them so their ready to grind. It will also be
time to bring in one of these Ryan’s 24 and install the job savers. Normal routine
here so they will be ready for when the Superintendent needs them. When you’re
working in this part of the business be aware of the seasons and jobs being
done on the course. If you can get things ready just before they are needed you
will be able to hopefully stay ahead of the game. Good communication or weekly
meetings will get everyone on the same page make jobs flow more easily. Next up:
think about what happens next .For me it’s the tarps came off and after they
acclimatise for a bit Jason (superintendent) will measure the height of cut and
will let me know what HOC to set greens mowers to for the first cut. Yes my
greens mowers are kept right where I can see them, that way they won’t
“accidently” get bumped or get run over .I take pride in how the machines cut and
constantly adjusting them daily during the season. Does it take more time? Not really,
tweaking adjustments prolongs your cutting edges benefitting the health of the
turf and prolongs the need for grinding. All the machines have next service
hour’s intervals written on filters to speed up servicing. If you’re looking
for ideas in turf tech area I also have a Blog that you can check out. http://golfcoursemechanics.blogspot.ca/
Good luck to everyone
this season and keep them rolling and sharp.
Thanks for reading .
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