Golf Course News
Golf Course Maintenance Staff works hard to keep costs low
By Todd Mathews
Golf course superintendentThe golfing season of 2008 at Lake Tansi couldn’t have been much better. The weather was very cooperative. Carts were allowed to drive off the path 201 out of 210 days. The summer heat was not unbearable. 90 degree temps were few and far between. The golf course condition was as good as it has ever been through an entire season. Many members were appreciative of the outstanding conditions they enjoyed every day. It seemed like every single guest who played Lake Tansi had very positive comments about the course. In fact, several guests noted that Lake Tansi was the best course they had played on all year. Positive comments from golfers who play numerous other courses are reassuring and they remind us of what a nice place we have here at Lake Tansi.
A few moths ago, the Lake Tansi POA board of directors asked that $50,000 be removed from the golf operation’s (pro shop and maintenance combined) budget. The golf maintenance department was asked to cover $40,000 of the cut. The cut amounts to about a 10% reduction. The golf maintenance department reduced many line items on its budget such as fertilize, pesticides, lime, parts replacement, irrigation repair, special projects, and sand. But the vast majority of the reduction came from payroll reductions.
The maintenance staff at Lake Tansi golf course works extremely hard at providing a top notch course for our members and guests. The staff takes great pride in “their” course and it shows. Nine other courses in our vicinity provide plenty of competition and that is what drives the maintenance staff towards perfection. Lake Tansi golf course has perennially been among the favorites in the county despite having less capital than other courses have to work with.
The maintenance staff continues to provide a quality course for the players, year after year, while working with a modest budget. According to a survey performed by Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the payroll budget at Lake Tansi was 38% below the state average and the total budget is 40% below the state average before the budget cut. The 2009 budget cut has changed those figures significantly. Tansi is now 48% below the state average on payroll and 56% below the state average on total budget.
It is no accident that the maintenance expenses are so low. The management staff has worked diligently over the years to keep maintenance expenses low. They have learned how to provide high quality golf course with a significantly less than average budget.
Since 1993 countless expense reducing strategies have been implemented in the golf maintenance department. Some of the biggest cost reduction plans that have been used over the years include:
• Hiring retirees to complete the daily tasks on the course constitutes the largest savings. Using retired members on the work force saves the POA thousands each year. They work as part time seasonal employees for minimum wage and do not receive the benefits that a full time employee would earn. The state average hourly wage for golf maintenance employees is over $10.00 per hour.
• Leasing heavy use equipment (equipment that gets used daily) has really paid substantial dividends over the past 12 years. In 1993 Lake Tansi golf course owned golf course equipment that was old, dilapidated, and in constant need of repair. Repair costs were out of control and down time created from broken down equipment was high. Replacing the old equipment with new was difficult. Securing funds for replacement equipment was nearly impossible and did not occur often. The management team began looking at the idea of leasing golf equipment in 1995. It was learned that equipment could be leased for the same cost as what was being spent annually for repairs. Heavy use golf equipment could be turned in at about the time expensive wear started to occur. Instead of paying high repair bills on old equipment, a fleet of new equipment with no repair costs could be leased. In 1996 Tansi made its first equipment lease and the plan has been paying off ever since.
• When leased equipment is combined with enough part time seasonal employees another cost savings can be realized. When there are enough employees and equipment, the maintenance team can swarm the course at 5:30 a.m. and be finished with daily maintenance by 10:30 a.m... This is beneficial in two ways. Trying to mow the course in the afternoon causes significant down time for the equipment operator as he is constantly stopping for golfers as they play. An operator will accomplish 50% more work on a golf course when he does not have to work around golfers. The other benefit is for the players. A round of golf is much more enjoyable when one does not have to endure the noise and distraction that comes from mowing equipment. It is also unsafe for mowers to be operated around golfers.
• Agronomics has played an important role in cost reduction at Lake Tansi golf course. Several factors such as pesticide and fertilize applications, irrigation scheduling, cultivar selection, and mechanical cultivation techniques play a big part in expense reduction. Over the years, management has learned how these factors can be adjusted at this specific location in order to maximize the modest amount of money allocated for these cultural practices. New technology in pesticides, fertilize, irrigation, and equipment has also helped to ease the stress of operating on a tight budget.
There are many more cost saving strategies, too numerous to mention, that are applied daily in the maintenance department at Lake Tansi golf course. They continually search for and find new ways to reduce expenses. The point is that they provide an above average golf course for a below average expense.
The thought of reducing an already modest budget brings the question, “what maintenance service can we take away from our members yet still provide them with a top notch course?” The answer is that anything we cut from maintenance will eventually be noticed by our members and guests. It is the responsibility of the golf maintenance staff to continue providing quality course conditions for the members and guests. Their goal is to produce the same results with less money so no one will notice any changes to the maintenance service they provide.
