Factory Tour and Other Happenings

Our entire crew (Chad, Dave, Omar, Angel, Jake, and I) had a very interesting start to the week.  On Monday, we had the opportunity to tour the Toro manufacturing facility and distribution center in Tomah.  It's at this plant that Toro makes the bulk of the equipment that's used on golf courses and in other commercial applications.  Here, they weld the frames, paint the metal components, and attach the hundreds of other items that the machines require.  It was fascinating to see the organization that's necessary for a plant of 550 workers to take hunks of steel and turn them into highly-specialized pieces of equipment.  To say that we have a better appreciation for what it takes to manufacture the machines that we use on a daily basis is an understatement.  It surprised us to learn that materials make up 90% of the cost of these mowers, and if anyone's interested, they sell an 18' rough mower for just a touch above $100,000.

Once the mowers, sprayers, utility vehicles, etc. are assembled at the manufacturing facility, they are shipped a few miles down the road to their distribution center.  With the rows and rows of new equipment, we were like kids in a candy store.  Unfortunately, it's very expensive candy, and they didn't give any free samples.  It was interesting to learn that almost 50% of their equipment is sold overseas.  We had a great time and certainly appreciated the glimpse inside Toro's operations.

Speaking of equipment, below is a picture of the metal bed that our 300 gallon sprayer tank rests on:

Inevitably, some of the fertilizers and plant protectants that are loaded into the sprayer run down the outside of the tank and are squeezed between the plastic tank and the metal bed.  As you can imagine, this is quite corrosive, and the above picture is a great illustration of the effects of this corrosion.  A new metal bed costs $800, but every 3-4 years, we sand off the loose paint/rust and recoat the metal.  For a few hours of labor and a couple of bucks worth of paint, we're able to keep the bed like-new.  This is just one small example of the preventative maintenance that takes place in winter that saves the club money in the long run.

Besides equipment maintenance, you're also probably aware that the lack of significant snow cover has allowed to take care of a lot of the tree removal and trimming that's normally done in the summer.  Last week, we removed an overcrowded ash tree between 3 and 4 and a dying ash tree just past the dogleg on the left side of number 6.  Based on our visual observations over the past three years, we knew that the tree on 6 was declining, but once it hit the ground, we were able to see just how bad of condition that it was in.

Normally, when a relatively healthy tree comes down, just a few branches will snap off.  When this tree fell, it's canopy exploded into a million little rotten pieces, and the above picture shows just that.

Otherwise, our winter work is progressing as planned, and we're looking forward to the start of the 2012 golf season; I'm sure that you are, too!

  

What's happening around the shop?

Stepping outside, it feels as if it's about time to start dusting off your golf clubs, if they've actually managed to collect any dust this "winter".  As many of you know, there were several courses in the Madison area that were open in early January, and today's projected record high probably has some of you thinking about playing 18.  Although that's obviously not going to be happening in the foreseeable future at Blackhawk, it's hard to imagine that it's going to be a very long winter.

I just finished reading an article on the projected weather for 2012, and it predicted average temperatures throughout February and March and that winter might linger longer than expected.  We'll see about that.  The average high temperature in February goes from 28 to 36 degrees and from 36 to 50 in March.  Thus, today's forecasted high temperature is what we'd normally expect on March 31.

Further, the weather article called for slightly above average rainfall and normal temperatures for the summer months, and after last two summers, that sounds like a plan to me.  But, I won't be holding my breath.

Around here, Dave, Omar, and Angel are really making progress on cleaning, sharpening, and maintaining the equipment.  Dave only has six more cutting units to sharpen, and the bulk of our green, tee, and fairway mowers are ready for action.  Now, they are moving toward the bank and rough mowers with both miscellaneous pieces of equipment and handheld tools to follow.  Jake (not me) has been busy painting signs, tee blocks, and a host of other items that we touch up every year.  All of these guys really do a tremendous job with the equipment maintenance work.  Chad and I have been formulating plans and purchasing for the coming year, and we have setup a number of interviews next week with potential interns and employees for the coming season.  As is normally the case, it looks as if we'll have very low turnover in 2012, and that's definitely good news.

On the course, there is still some snow cover, but it will be a little more sparse after today. During the week between Christmas and the New Year, ice did form on 3, 6, and 18, but we were able to get this ice to melt during the second week of January by using a combination of techniques.  We did also have some ice form on the greens last week, but it's not a concern at this point.  Ice forming at the end of January is less worrisome than it would be in December or early January.  Regardless, we will continue to keep an eye on it and take action as needed.

This week, we received word that we have been certified in both Water Conservation and Chemical Use Reduction and Safety through Audubon International.  This is great news.  We were hoping to also become certified in Wildlife and Habitat Management, but there are a few more steps that they'd like to see us complete in this section.  In 2012, we hope the also become certified in Outreach and Education and in Water Quality Management.  We feel as if both are attainable and will aim to be a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by 2013.   

Interviewed for an Article

Chad was recently interviewed for an article in the Club & Resort Business magazine.  The article was published in early January, and he was quoted extensively.  Also, a picture of the 12th hole was included in the article.  To read it, please use the following link:  http://www.clubandresortbusiness.com/2012/01/05/keeping-up-to-speed/

Another Aerial Pic: 1962

Let the evolution of Blackhawk continue.  Above is the previously-posted picture from 1955, and below is the aerial from 1962.  Although the 1962 picture is a little washed-out, one thing that stands out is the emergence of many more trees.  With this, I have to imagine that the feel of the course started to shift ever so slightly.  The only other on-course change that I could spot was a shift in the position of the greenside bunker on hole 4.  Away from the course, the marina by hole 16 shows up for the first time, and it looks as if construction is underway at the state-owned buildings along hole 7.

Big Tree, Big Day

As much as I'd like to see some snow on the ground, the abnormally dry and warm start to winter has allowed us to put a significant dent in our tree removal list.  Last winter, we were only able to remove two large trees, and we're already up to 13.  Don't worry, we won't be transforming into a links-style course anytime soon.  During the week between Christmas and the New Year, Wolfe Tree Service was on the course to remove a very large silver maple that was on the right side of hole 1.  As the pictures below will show, this tree had significant rot and was a huge safety issue.  Silver maples are fast-growing trees with relatively soft wood, and this particular tree had begun to show visible decay in its main crotch. 

Over the past two years, this main crotch of the tree has begun to deteriorate tremendously, and numerous large shelf fungi have started to grow in the rotting wood.  If you look closely at the picture above, a few of the fungi are still visible.

The guys from Wolfe Tree Service were called in for this job due to the massiveness of the tree and because the branches needed to be strategically dropped in order to avoid desirable trees that were nearby.  Additionally, we don't own a chainsaw that would have been long enough to have cut through the tree's base.  As the pictures below illustrate, the tree has even more dangerous than we had suspected, and we're relieved to have it  safely removed.

Speaking of scary and dangerous (kidding, Jessica), I'm down to my last three days of bachelorhood.  That's right, I'm getting hitched this Saturday to my girlfriend of over 4 years.  We're having our ceremony at the First Congregational Church (by Camp Randall), and the reception will be held at the Inn on the Park.  And, our favorite part of the whole deal will be spending a week in Punta Cana for the honeymoon.

Jess recently became an RN and will be starting her dream job in the Meriter NICU in February, and as the picture below shows, I'm most definitely marrying up.

We hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday season and that 2012 is a great year for all!