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04 |From the editor
Upcoming CGSA conference in Quebec city stirs mixed feelings. 34 | Duffer
Cold, snowy winter can end any time now
BY MIKE JIGGENS
BY JEFF COWEN
DEPARTMENTS
06 | In the news Winnipeg’s ash trees are at risk with arrival of emerald ash borer. 31 | Health & Safety
Know how to drive safely during the winter season.
From
By Mike Jiggens
Feelings are mixed about Quebec trip
By the time this issue reaches our readers, the Canadian Golf Course Management Conference will just about be upon us in Quebec City. I have mixed feelings about this event.
On the one hand, the CGSA-sponsored function is something I look forward to attending each year. It’s a chance to renew acquaintances with industry colleagues I see only once a year, and sometimes less than that. I enjoy chatting with these individuals to learn what has been happening in their part of the country the past year and what might be coming up in the future.
And then there is the educational component of the conference. For me, this is the meat and potatoes of the event. The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association does a fine job in rounding up a lineup of good speakers who address topics of concern to which superintendents from all regions of Canada can relate. It’s the seed for good Turf & Rec story ideas.
The keynote speaker is another attraction and a great way to kick-start an event of this magnitude. There’s no doubt former Montreal Canadiens superstar Yvan Cournoyer will have an attentive audience when he takes the podium. These are the things to which I’m looking forward. What I’m not particularly looking forward to is the jour-
ney itself to Quebec City. It’s not due to a fear of flying. On the contrary, I’ve flown more times than I care to remember these past 24 years during my tenure with Turf & Rec
It’s just that the last time I flew – a year ago to the CGSA conference in Victoria, B.C. –it proved to be one of the most miserable experiences of my life. There were no issues with the quality of the flight (except that my luggage didn’t arrive on the same flight), but rather the condition I found myself in mere hours after landing on the west coast.
I came down with a horrific case of vertigo that came out
For three days, I staggered around like a drunken fool
of left field shortly after arriving in Victoria. For the three days I spent in the city, I staggered around like a drunken fool, having to latch onto trees, light posts, furniture, walls and anything else I could grab onto every 10 or 12 steps. I was scared to cross the street. While seated, the dizziness wasn’t nearly as bad and I could adequately do my job at the seminars.
Somehow I managed to get through the conference without falling once and embarrassing myself. Of course the drive home from the airport in Toronto proved to be a whiteknuckle experience, but one I pulled off without incident.
A doctor’s visit the next day after returning home confirmed my suspicions. He figured the time I spent in the air – especially after having flown to Miami less than a week before – messed up something inside me, leaving me with virtually no equilibrium. With umpteen dozen flights under my belt through the years, this was the first time I ever experienced anything negative as a result.
It took a few weeks for the dizziness to leave my body, but even months afterward I still felt some minor residual effects.
Although I’m seemingly vertigo-free at the moment, will this upcoming flight trigger the same effect of a year ago? I won’t be in the air for nearly as long, and it won’t be the second leg of back-to-back flights.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and perhaps I shouldn’t be letting the mere thought of this get into my head. Lightning can’t strike twice, can it?
I suppose I should be thinking less about the possible consequences of flying and more about how many layers of clothing I’m going to need once I set foot in frigid Quebec City.
Still, it is always a pleasant experience to visit one of Canada’s oldest and most beautiful cities. It has been a long time since the CGSA held its conference in the Quebec capital. Obviously, the association feels a commitment to bringing the conference to its members who reside east of Toronto.
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TV show leaves damage to Hamilton field
The turf at Hamilton, Ont.’s Bernie Arbour Stadium will need replacement this spring after having sustained extensive damage during location shooting for the television series The Handmaid’s Tale
The city is negotiating with the series’ film company about the estimated $100,000 cost to re-sod the stadium. An elaborate set was constructed in the baseball stadium’s outfield for the award-winning television series that is based on a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.
Landscaper’s ‘predatory marriage’ voided
An Ontario Superior Court ruling has rendered the marriage involving a former Muskoka, Ont. landscaper as void, stating is was a “predatory marriage” in which the man’s wife was positioning herself to make claim to his future wealth, including an estimated $1 million personal injury settlement. The marriage took place three days after Kim Kevin Hunt was released from hospital following a “catastrophic” head injury. The landscaper was in a coma for 18 days following his injury.
Municipal Toronto courses bleeding money
A study to determine the best possible means to deliver golf course services in Toronto has been proposed after years of financial losses.
The cost of maintaining the city’s municipal courses has increased over the years while interest in the game has decreased.
The city-managed courses usually generate upwards of $5 million annually, but it’s not enough to recoup the costs of operating them.
$100,000
Estimated cost to re-sod the Bernie Arbour Stadium
Insect’s arrival in Manitoba bad news for city’s ash trees
Between the recent arrival of the emerald ash borer and the ongoing battle against Dutch elm disease, about 60 per cent of Winnipeg’s urban tree canopy is at risk. The estimated value of the city’s boulevard and parks trees is $437 million.
The Canada Food Inspection Agency claims the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect native to China, could destroy all of Winnipeg’s estimated 350,000 ash trees within 10 years. Heavily infested trees can die within one year.
Since first coming to North America, the emerald ash borer has cost municipalities, nurseries and property owners hundreds of millions of dollars.
$5 M
The annual revenue generated by Toronto’s municipal golf courses which is deemed not enough to efficiently operate them
The insect not only impacts the trees it targets, but the hundreds of species of other animal life that make the ecosystems their home. Ash trees situated along bodies of water help to filter runoff, capture
sediment, slow erosion, provide shelter and provide other benefits.
The emerald ash borer lays its eggs in the bark clusters of ash trees. Emerging larvae burrow under the bark, leaving S-shaped tunnels on the tree’s surface. The larvae feed on the inner bark, interrupting the flow of water and nutrients.
An insufficient number of natural predators and disease allows the destruction process to continue unabated.
Canadian scientists and city staff have teamed up to explore the extent of Winnipeg’s emerald ash borer problem. It’s an issue that could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The first confirmed case of the ash borer in Winnipeg was made in November in the city’s St. Boniface area.
Winnipeg has also been waging a battle against Dutch elm disease in recent years.
Irrigation, drainage need joint budget
A common water management budget has merits for sports turf managers
By Mike Jiggens
In some municipalities, sports turf managers work with separate budgets for irrigation and drainage, but it’s not always the best approach, claims an associate professor of turfgrass science at the University of Guelph.
“We need a water management budget – not necessarily an irrigation budget or a drainage budget – because in wet years you’re going to notice drainage problems and you’ll want to spend money on drainage,” Dr. Eric Lyons said at the Sports Turf Canada fall field day in Richmond Hill, Ont. “In dry years, you’re going to notice irrigation problems, and you’ll want to spend money on irrigation.”
A single budget to cover both irrigation and drainage works, but issues can arise when water matters are divided into two budgets, he added.
“So that means it’s easier to get support for drainage. They’ll pay for it because you’re constantly closing your fields.”
Lyons said drainage issues are easier to identify and rectify in wet years because they can be seen.
“In a dry year, trying to find where you have drainage problems can be quite difficult.”
Hard-surface playing fields are common during dry years, he said, recalling an instance when one municipality’s soccer club requested irrigation be provided on a field
Tire rutting on a field could be a sign of a wet surface or perhaps poor soil. Field operators must be mindful of rutting when mowing.
to alleviate the hard surface it felt wasn’t safe for its players. Irrigation shortcomings are apparent in dry years, but are more difficult to detect in wet years, “and you can garnish support for your irrigation resources.”
By combining both budgets, sports turf managers can more effectively work on
both areas but must have an understanding of both, Lyons said.
“In some years you’re going to be fixing a lot of drainage and putting in a lot of drainage, and some years you’re going to be fixing irrigation and upgrading your irrigation.”
The one important aspect to remember,
he said, is that soils impact management. Among the images Lyons shared during his presentation was a photograph of a University of Guelph sports field whose soil was so bad that the field couldn’t be mowed because it led to tire rutting. He said the field hadn’t been over-irrigated or received excessive rainfall.
Root zones affect the management of a field. Soil is slower to drain than sand and contributes to more field closures after a
rainfall. It is, however, more stable than sand and can handle more wear.
“We think we have a sand-based field and can play on it a lot. No, you’re just going to have to cancel less often.”
Soil fields hold water and nutrients better and require less total irrigation and fertilizer. Sand-based fields are faster to drain, leading to fewer closures due to rain.
Communicate with user groups
Communicating with user groups about the need to close some fields is imperative, Lyons said, adding that Field A might be booked and can be played on, yet Field B might be deemed unplayable that same day, even if it, too, was booked.
“That’s a hard thing to do (to communicate to user groups that a field might have to shut down after a rain event), and rather than avoid that communication, I’m encouraging you to start looking at that because as we get more and more sand-based and more and more constructed root zones, it becomes more and more important to realize that they are different assets for the municipality.”
need for irrigation and the need for the type of drainage to be installed.”
Improvements to drainage begin with the surface.
“Fields wear down the middle and you lose your crown,” Lyons said. “And that’s your surface drainage.”
Water must have the ability to be moved toward drainage lines if they are present, he said.
“If you have a flat field in the middle and parallel drainage lines, is water moving along to hit those drainage lines? No, so you have to fix that problem.”
Drainage lines should run perpendicular to water’s movement.
“If you don’t have good surface drainage, you’re not going to have a good surface.”
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Water and nutrients move quickly through sand, requiring more frequent fertilizing and increased irrigation. Clay holds more water than sand and retains it for a longer period of time. Irrigation, therefore, is required less often.
Municipal sports turf managers are typically responsible for the maintenance of several Category 5 fields, meaning they must pay greater attention to such issues as drainage and tire rutting when mowing.
“You need to know what’s there because you need to have field closure policies that make sense.”
Knowing which fields drain faster than others is something a field operator must know so that he can mow in a logical order. If it rained the previous night and the operator is fairly sure he can mow the next morning if conditions aren’t too wet, he has to know his pecking order.
“Is it the one you go to first typically every Wednesday, or the sand-based field that drained quicker and is a little drier and faster in the morning? It will impact how often you fertilize, it will impact your
Lyons said fields end up with water baths in high areas where the water is unable to move off and reach drainage lines. Maintaining a field’s crown is imperative, he said, adding if there is no way for water to move from the surface down to the drainage lines, nothing is accomplished. If the top three inches of an entire field are impervious to water, putting a drainage line in 45 centimetres deep won’t help. Water must be able to get through, he said.
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Slit lines to move water
Slit lines can move water parallel and get it down to the drainage lines. Typically, drainage lines run perpendicular to the crown, but slit drains can run perpendicular to drainage lines. This allows water to move off the surface and towards the drainage lines.
“It’s very effective if you have an impervious layer.”
When backfilling drainage lines, it’s easy to create perched water tables. Putting fine-textured soils atop coarse-textured sands inhibits the movement of water, letting it just sit in the soil.
“When you put soil or clay on top of the sand drainage line, it won’t drain, and that’s a problem.”
If a drainage line is backfilled with sand at the surface, it can be narrow at the surface and work effectively, Lyons said.
Compacted soils allow for quicker turf green-up in the spring, but the turf will go dormant during a drought. Lyons said the presence of annual bluegrass in sod installed on a field in which the soil was always saturated creates an interesting situation.
‘Before
you can fix something, you have to know that it’s broken’
“Annual bluegrass survives quite well without a root system. That means it can survive with a wet soil.”
Kentucky bluegrass, on the other hand, has rhizomes – good for wear tolerance and recuperative ability – but also has its stem below ground. If the stem is below the surface and the field is always saturated, the stem goes anoxic and dies. The Kentucky bluegrass dies because its rhizomes can’t survive yet the annual bluegrass in the mix survives well with its shallow root system.
High water tables can be detected on sports fields when riding a mower on the surface, Lyons said.
“Before you can fix something, you have to know that it’s broken and you have to know how it’s broken.”
Field operators who mow daily are the ones best suited to see problems on fields as they arise. When stoloniferous grasses dominate a field, the playing surface is usually either being overwatered or there is a drainage problem. They dominate saturated fields because the stem is above ground and doesn’t experience anoxia.
Aeration is a means of improving drainage, but the
work should be done cleanly to minimize the impact on the turf. Soil pulled out shouldn’t be left lying on the ground to jeopardize the turf. Nor should the soil get mixed in with the sand being used to backfill lines. The work can be labour intensive, and many municipalities will elect to contract out the job.
Because operators are often the only ones to see fields on a frequent enough basis to recognize soil issues, they must be properly educated.
“Soils impact safety and the use of sports fields,” Lyons said, adding if an operator can’t get on them to mow, there might be safety issues involved. If a mower can’t get on a field, even while equipped with turf tires, allowing play to go on should be questioned.
If a field is bone dry, tire ruts won’t be visible. When they are wet, operators should first mow those they know will be sufficiently dry. These typically sit higher with free draining soils.
Operators normally mow by making their turns along the sides of a field, making the most efficient use of their time. When fields are wet, however, operators have to understand how important they are as an asset to the municipality, and their mowing routines should be adjusted to allow turns to be made well beyond where they would normally be. Instead of turning in front of a goalmouth, for example, the operator can drive through the goalmouth and make his turn behind the field.
A broken sprinkler head is likely to lead to a field’s closure until repairs are made. Field operators must watch for faulty equipment during their daily rounds.
Canadian Turf Distributors
Atlantic Provinces
Irri Plus Inc. (902) 405-4774
Quebec Triad
Ville St. Laurent, QC (800) 567-2473
Central Irrigation Supply
Ville St. Laurent, QC (514) 788-5884
Atlantic Irrigation
Ville St. Laurent, QC (514) 913-6719
Ontario
Site One Landscape Supply Concord, ON (4 locations) (800) 347-4272
Vanden Bussche Irrigation Milton, ON (5 locations) (800) 263-4112
Central Irrigation Supply Mississauga, ON (4 locations) (905) 795-8088
Atlantic Irrigation Toronto, ON (416) 244-5551
Manitoba
Consolidated Supply Winnipeg, MB (204) 632-7643
Site One Landscape Supply Winnipeg, MB (204) 694-9442
Saskatchewan
Consolidated Supply
Saskatoon, SK (306) 653-5444
Site One Landscape Supply Saskatoon, SK (306) 931-2440
Alberta Emco
Calgary, AB (403) 278-1470
Corix Water Products Calgary, AB (5 locations in AB) (800) 242-3176
Consolidated Supply Calgary, AB (403) 203-7550 Edmonton, AB (780) 413-3173
Site One Landscape Supply (2 locations in AB) (403) 236-0102
British Columbia Andrew Sheret Ltd. (24 locations in BC) (250)-386-7744
Consolidated Supply Kelowna BC (250) 863-8291
Corix Water Products Surrey, BC
(11 locations in B.C.) (800) 667-2445
Site One Landscape Supply (4 locations in B.C.) (250) 544-0401
Van-Kel/EMCO Corporation (8 locations in BC) (800) 667-8825
Vancouver Irrigation Supply Vancouver, BC (604) 251-2258 (4 locations)
Rain Bird International Inc. www.rainbird.com/ca
“Little things like that can make a huge difference,” Lyons said, acknowledging the adjusted routine will be more time consuming.
Keep outlets clear
Outlets control water flow. Lyons recalled a Hamilton Tiger-Cats football game played in Guelph when a deluge of rain caused enough water to back up onto the field that the contest had to be stopped. Two to three inches of water covered the field, causing some speculation that either the field’s drainage was failing or that the artificial playing surface had been improperly installed. It was discovered that the outlet of a cistern that controlled runoff into a nearby creek to prevent flooding of an adjoining river was unable to keep pace with the amount of precipitation.
follow over the next two to three years to achieve a buildup of about five centimetres. It’s an effective way to solve some drainage issues, Lyons said.
Green means safer
In Ontario, sports fields rarely need to be irrigated, he said, adding achieving a green colour for aesthetic purposes is not the primary concern. Green turf is softer than brown turf and is therefore safer. A Clegg hammer isn’t needed to detect a field’s hardness. A field’s colour will suggest which is hard and which is soft.
The cistern’s outlet was only so big and once it filled up, the amount of rainfall had exceeded the outlet’s ability to get rid of the excess water, causing water to back up onto the field.
One of the problems with synthetic fields, he said, is that they can bubble up with air and, when a cistern finally catches up, air lifts the playing surface.
Lyons said the message is to ensure outlets are always kept clean. If fields aren’t draining yet are equipped with drainage, outlets might not be sufficiently clear.
“Poor soils equals poor turf equals poor fields.”
Lyons showed a photograph of a field in which drainage has been installed, but it never seemed to work. It was discovered a two-inch layer of soil sat on top of the drainage lines. It was trenched out and removed until sand was reached. The sand needed to be brought to the surface where it was backfilled with sand to provide dependable drainage.
The new sand was slightly coarser than the old, allowing better water movement. About three centimetres of sand were placed over the entire field with more to
“Brown is the new green in golf, but for sports fields, keeping it green keeps it safe.”
If a field is equipped with irrigation, there is a lot to maintain. Again, it will be the operator on the field on a regular basis who will detect such things as sprinkler heads set too low into the turf or those that haven’t returned to their flush state. Heads set too low won’t properly deliver water and those that don’t return to their flush state create tripping hazards.
Another telltale sign of an irrigation problem is turf that surrounds a sprinkler head is lying down in the same direction, suggesting the head isn’t spinning properly and is delivering water in one direction only. The operator who sees the problem must report the matter to an irrigation technician.
A field that loses its surface drainage might be sodded through the middle, but if it’s filled in with soil as opposed to the sand it was built on, the middle of the field may be overwatered when irrigated, causing water to sit on top and not drain into the sand. This is an irrigation problem that needs fixing. The field could be irrigated to meet the needs of the middle areas, but the field’s shoulders would subsequently be under-watered.
If this is a concern for some fields, Lyons suggested tailoring irrigation to meet the middle’s needs since that is where most play occurs.
Dr. Eric Lyons, University of Guelph
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TGC Watson course’s facelift was past due
Nine-hole course’s shortcomings were exposed during main course’s overhaul.
By Mike Jiggens
Extensive renovations to the Toronto Golf Club’s 18-hole Colt course in 2009 exposed its nine-hole Watson course to a number of shortcomings. Its antiquated irrigation system provided poor coverage, bunker faces were failing, tee decks were too small, drainage was practically non-existent, and a driving range recklessly wedged between two holes was an accident waiting to happen.
All of these issues came to the fore eight years ago when members were forced to play the shorter course while the championship course was in the midst of a much-needed facelift of its own.
It may have been deemed a long time coming, but the Watson course was finally given its due in 2015 and 2016.
Course superintendent Al Schwemler and assistant Steve Fierheller outlined details of the Watson course reconstruction project to their peers in November at the 29th annual Ontario Seed Company/Nutrite professional
turfgrass seminar in Waterloo.
The Toronto Golf Club is the third oldest golf club in North America. Located on the shores of the Etobicoke Creek in southeast Mississauga, it features a Harry Colt-designed 18-hole course built in 1912 and a nine-hole course designed by Howard Watson in the 1960s.
When the Colt course was shut down almost a decade ago to accommodate much-needed restorative work, the lesser-used Watson course experienced a surge in rounds played.
“This actually exposed some of the deficiencies which we already knew from a management level,” Schwemler said.
Agronomic issues including poor drainage and ineffective irrigation coverage contributed to playability concerns. One of the most troublesome issues, however, concerned safety. Adjacent residences sustained broken windows, and tennis courts and a public park – both within close proximity to the golf course – saw “numerous golf balls entering those locations.”
Golfers themselves weren’t immune from being hit by stray golf balls. Situated between two holes, the club’s practice range narrowed out toward its furthest reaches. With golfers’ propensity to spray their shots, as many as 50 to 100 range balls found their way daily onto the adjacent holes, sometimes hitting golfers playing the holes.
Another safety concern involved
a dogleg hole that tempted some golfers to cut the corner and hit balls over the practice green and pitching area. Consequently, the short game practice area was “a disaster zone,” Schwemler said.
The practice area was also a halfkilometre-long drive from the clubhouse, putting vehicles in peril while they traveled back and forth.
He said the inadequate irrigation system at the Watson course was tabled for replacement during the Colt course project in 2009. It was singled out knowing members would see the obvious deficiencies while playing the Watson course during the Colt course’s closure. At that time, the system was already 22 years old while main lines were about 27 years old.
“It needed to be replaced,” Schwemler said.
Among the playability issues faced at the Watson course, a major concern was the bunkering. Sand had been replaced three times since the mid-1990s. Various liners had been put into the cavities and removed and bunker faces were failing. Soils on the property are mainly sandy, he said, adding that once liners were removed and a thunderstorm followed, sand was washed away into the subsoil.
Prior to the Colt course renovation project, the Watson course was used sparingly. Golfers had difficulty getting in and out of the bunkers and many beginners found the hazards to be strategically difficult.
‘You can never make a tee deck large enough’
Tees were deemed too small. Although they had been enlarged in the mid-1990s, “you can never make a tee deck large enough.”
Schwemler said the putting greens on the Watson course were “pretty good,” but they lacked consistency in the way they were managed when compared to those on the Colt course. A lack of drainage was the main factor in the inconsistency.
Roughs, which were a “mixed bag” of Kentucky bluegrass, fescues, annual bluegrass and bentgrass, were generally fine, but received inadequate irrigation coverage.
The practice facility was a major bone of contention at the Watson course, and “really didn’t cut it,” Schwemler said, noting there was enough space for only about 13 golfers to hit balls at any one time. The range featured a three-tiered system with a lot of wasted space between tiers, and the teaching tee at the far end of the range was about only 3,200 square feet, making it too small an area to con-
duct a proper clinic.
Repairs to divots on the range tees were inadequate, he added, and target greens situated at the outside edges of the range contributed to safety concerns on adjacent holes. To prevent balls from drifting over to the neighbouring golf holes, flags were
placed on the inside portions of the target greens to inspire golfers to perfect their aim, but the strategy was often unreliable.
The available parking spots at the practice area could properly accommodate only 18 vehicles, but the number of cars tended to increase to upwards of 40 at the
The fully reconfigured driving range will make practice time safer for golfers on the course and can accommodate more vehicles.
outset of the season. Golfers parked anywhere they could, contributing to clutter and disorganization.
Schwemler said each of the concerns the Toronto Golf Club had for its Watson course was presented to architect Martin Hawtree who conceived a new vision for the course and practice facility. Three or four strategies were considered, but there were no plans to phase in the list of necessary improvements. The plan was to tackle everything at once to ensure there would be only a one-time disruption.
The club wanted to avoid turning the Watson course into a “mini Colt course” and insisted it retain its parkland look. Schwemler said it was a six-year journey from the time the initial proposal was made until a shovel went into the ground. The Watson course closed July 3, 2015 in time for construction to begin the following day. The club optimistically wanted the course ready to reopen in April of 2016.
“Obviously that wasn’t going to happen.”
Work was to have begun first on the practice facility, but that aspect of the project couldn’t get underway until late August because the practice area was needed for a non-club event to which the club was already committed. The new practice facility didn’t open until May 29, 2016.
Between Aug. 7 and Sept. 1, 2015, work began to blend the greens root zone, and grassing of greens, tees and fairways took place between Sept. 14 and Nov. 11. Substantial completion of the project occurred Nov. 15.
‘Adding new drainage, we’re going to get that consistency between the two courses.’
Members were kept abreast of all project developments from drone fly-by photography. Images were incorporated into ongoing eblasts to members since they were prohibited from entering the fenced-in construction sites. About 2.7 kilometres of fencing were installed around the property.
FlightLine Golf Inc. of Waterloo, Ont. was contracted for the construction work with two shapers and about 15 construction workers on site. Grassing work was done in-house with club staff looking after both the ongoing maintenance of the Colt course and the Watson course grow-in.
About 200 trees needed to be removed to expand the practice area and to accommodate three new buildings that were part of the project. Fierheller said most of the trees were removed “right out of the ground,” leaving no issues with roots or stumps. Tree removal took seven to 10 days. The trees were mulched on site and the mulch was removed from the property.
The nine putting surfaces and practice greens were rototilled. Plant material was stripped and discarded, leaving a root zone of about 10 inches that were pushed up and taken away to a central site for soil blending. The greens mix was blended on
site along with topsoil screening. A 50-50 greens mix of material taken from the Watson greens was produced with Hutcheson A sand.
“We did this to match the physical properties of the Colt course greens,” Fierheller said.
The objective was to match the two courses in terms of consistency and playability.
A total of 13 new greens were surfaced, including four practice greens. Their size increased significantly from what had previously existed. Drainage in a herringbone pattern was added to the greens that formerly had no drainage and consequently played wetter than the Colt course greens.
“Adding new drainage, we’re going to get that consistency between the two courses,” Fierheller said.
For the grassing of the tees, greens and fairways, all short cut turf was propagated with cores taken from the Colt course and applied to the Watson course before seeding. In preparation for the Watson course project, experimentation with cores taken from both the Colt course greens and fairways was done in 2013 to see if there was a significant difference in the putting surface quality between the two growing
mediums. It was determined cores taken from the Colt course fairways helped produce turf that was just as good as that which incorporated greens cores.
“The turf looked very similar and was certainly acceptable for a putting green,” Fierheller said.
The decision to use fairway cores to help prepare a good seedbed was also based on not having to disrupt play on the Colt course by harvesting cores from its greens. Removing cores from its fairways was deemed less disruptive among golfers.
Coring of the fairways was done tightly spaced at a depth of two to 2½ inches with the objective of removing the plant, roots and some soil. It was found that the shallow depth produced the best results. Spreading of the cores on the Watson course was done largely by hand, especially on greens sites. They were spread at a one-inch depth and seeded to V8 creeping bentgrass at a rate of a half-pound per 1,000 square feet.
Fierheller said the strategy produced an ideal seedbed with the cores possessing ample cracks and surface area for seed to fall into place. Once seeded, the greens were rolled “so it kind of squishes everything together for good soil to seed contact.”
Heavy topdressing and fertility were part of the game plan. Fierheller said that when cores get wet, they become sticky. By spreading topdressing sand on top of the cores, it enabled workers to walk on the greens sites with a fertilizer spreader.
“So that’s one of the benefits of top dressing as well.”
Fertilizer used was a 10-10-8 (nitro gen-phosphorus-potassium) blend with a little extra magnesium and manganese added. Spreading was typically done post-propagation.
Fierheller said the cores held onto moisture better, requiring less water during the grow-in process. For tees, greens and fairways, irrigation involved three cycles a day with usually one spin.
Areas where there were irrigation heads and catch basins were sodded to prevent washing out.
Through September to early October, germination on the greens occurred in
about five days. Greens were rolled every other day on average to deal with “puffy” spots.
Mowing was done for the first time after about 14 days at a height of a quarter-inch. By the time the greens could be
worked on in 2016, the height was lowered to .150 inches.
Greens were verti-drained in May prior to their reopening. Fierheller said there was consistency across the board on the Watson course in terms of moisture readings,
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giving credence to the seedbed strategy.
The Watson course project also included the reconstruction of the course’s 19 bunkers and four other practice bunkers. The course bunkers were rendered smaller and shallower, enabling golfers to more easily enter and exit the hazards. The same heavy liners that had been installed on the Colt course in 2009 were used on the Watson course. The durable liners required no staples and are better equipped to prevent contamination. Bunker sand was a 50-50 mix of Pro Angle and 1600A – the same sand used on the Colt course, providing consistency on both layouts.
Fairways were capped with 150 millimetres of stripped topsoil, propagated, seeded to T1 creeping bentgrass, rolled and topdressed. Tees and greens surrounds were also seeded to T1.
Fierheller said with a crew of six indi-
viduals, one could aerify, one could sweep, two could topdress the cores and two others could do hand work. Propagating of a two-acre fairway was achieved in about eight hours.
Fairways at the Colt course had been treated with Civitas prior to its late season snow mould application. Schwemler said turf emerging from the Civitas-treated cores grew significantly faster than from those that were untreated.
About 2.3 acres of new tees were propagated. Drainage was provided for the tees and 300 millimetres of screened topsoil were incorporated into the sites.
“Why did we choose to propagate?” Fierheller asked. “We wanted to have consistent putting surfaces between the Colt course and the Watson course. We liked the look of that mottled bent-poa. It gave it kind of an old feel.”
Small roll Kentucky bluegrass supplied by Zander Sod Co. Ltd. was used to sod roughs. Staff maintaining the Colt course was pulled off in the afternoons to water in the freshly laid sod.
Tees on the driving range were constructed in the same manner as the Watson course tees except for the tees’ back third which was sodded. Because construction of the practice tee was delayed, it was determined sod was the apt choice to ensure there would be grass ready to go for the start of the new season in May. The remainder of the practice tee area was propagated, seeded to T1, rolled and topdressed.
No catch basins existed previously on the Watson course. During the reconstruction project, 4.3 kilometres of drain tile were installed on the property.
“It’s fairly flat out there, so adding
drainage certainly improved turf quality and playability,” Fierheller said.
Atkinson Irrigation, under the guidance of Gary Taylor, installed the new irrigation system. Most of the system is double row, replacing an older hydraulic system that was automatic “but well past its prime.” Inferior piping gave way to new main lines and isolation valves, marking a notable improvement in the way water is delivered. Four hundred new heads – the same type as those installed on the Colt course – were put in along with 50 quick couplers. The cost of the installation was $560,000.
Another aspect of the Watson course project was the spading in of about 120 mature trees. All were native species, including sugar maple, red maple, red oak, spruce, white pine and cedar.
Three new buildings became a part of the new-look Watson course. A new learn-
ing centre was located at the far end of the instructional tee. Another building that had been located at the old practice facility was strategically moved and expanded to serve as a smaller scale food and beverage station. The third structure on site is a new storage building.
In order to gain the space necessary to ensure the practice area was safer and had sufficient parking, about 400 yards in the Watson’s course’s playing length were lost. It meant having to reduce the length of some par four holes.
Schwemler said some of the golf course’s neighbours weren’t elated during the construction process when bare soil was exposed, likening the scene to the Mojave Desert. Adding to their woes was the fact that a construction entrance to the golf course had been established through the adjacent subdivision.
“It would have been a nightmare coming in our normal main entrance off of Dixie Road and everything would have had to have gone through our Colt course,” he said.
Matters became complicated at times due to infrastructure shortfalls within the subdivision such as low-lying hydro lines.
“With deliveries coming in, that would have literally ripped hydro out of people’s homes. They weren’t happy.”
A couple of gas lines were inadvertently cut, forcing the temporary evacuation of people in the neighbourhood which caused further grief among the residents. But most of the people were good about the project, Schwemler said.
The revitalized practice facility has become a hit among golfers.
“People are coming out of the woodwork. People who shot the project down because they don’t practise, practise now.”
Options abound for overseeding of sports fields
Field overseeding a necessity to keep up with excessive turf wear. By Mike
Jiggens
When overseeding athletic fields, sports turf managers have a number of options as to the varieties and species from which to choose, with the objective being to achieve a safe playing surface.
Richard Goetz of Ontario Seed Company, speaking at the first annual Nutrite fall sports turf seminar in Milton, Ont., outlined the choices available to achieve the best possible playing field.
“The most important part is the dense turf aspect,” he said.
Because of the demands of user groups, some fields – especially soccer fields – are mowed as low as one inch or a half-inch and are prone to significant wear. Overseeding is therefore a “no brainer,” Goetz
said. Soccer, football, baseball and cricket fields typically experience heavy wear during the playing season.
Overseeding of fields is traditionally done using perennial ryegrass because of its ability to germinate quickly and is often used with tall fescue. Kentucky bluegrass forms the “fundamental” sports turf surface because of its resilience and ability to self-repair.
“If you have irrigation and the budgets for the rest of it – fertilizer – it’s the choice, and you can keep it healthy.”
Even though the playing surface is predominantly Kentucky bluegrass, overseeding with the variety usually leads to failures, Goetz said. Overseeding with excessively high rates results in competitive inhibitions and mulching of the seed.
He said a popular mixture for overseeding
is a blend of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and chewings fescue. Chewings fescue is tolerant of drought conditions and is therefore ideal for fields that aren’t irrigated. It is a good overseeding mixture for early fall applications to ensure good establishment in time for play to resume in the spring. Soil temperatures of about 18 degrees Celsius are ideal for seed germination.
Another benefit of chewings fescue is that it can handle compacted soil conditions and trampled areas and still perform well. But it forms in clumps, necessitating higher seeding rates.
Chewings is a variety from which cultivars are bred, Goetz said, adding J5 chewings fescue is a good choice when shade tolerance is needed.
Perennial ryegrass is quick to germinate,
A sports field surface in dire need of overseeding shows plenty of wear.
‘The most important part is the
aspect’
dense turf
averaging about four days. Tall fescue and chewings fescue are in the middle of the spectrum while Kentucky bluegrass is at the opposite end.
“I really like tall fescue,” Goetz said. “It’s solved a lot of problems for some people who can’t get at intensive management. They have no irrigation or little of it and not as much fertilizing.”
Tall fescue is deeply rooted with some shade tolerance and is fairly disease resistant. It is, however, a bunch-forming grass, bunching up in stands that aren’t dense enough. It doesn’t heal well when torn up, thereby requiring stepped up overseeding.
Among the tall fescue varieties that have proven effective include Arid III, which has been successful in covering areas where pipelines have been installed; Inferno, which establish more rapidly than other varieties; and Summer, which has a leaf shape, colour and texture similar to Kentucky bluegrass but doesn’t form sod.
“If you were to overseed with Summer into Kentucky blue, that might be a good strategy if you want to start getting some of the tall fescue cultivars into your bluegrass.”
Other tall fescues can be somewhat bulky, Goetz said, but he noted Summer is “skinnier” than other tall fescues, resulting in mowing reductions of about 20 per cent.
Goetz said it is a good idea to blend Kentucky bluegrass in order to avoid a total monoculture. If disease or insects hit a monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass, serious problems can occur.
Excessive shade generally isn’t an issue with sports turf, but portions of a field can be in shade for extended periods at a time. Mature trees nearby can’t be cut which requires a bluegrass that is shade tolerant. A good choice of Kentucky bluegrass that works well in shade is Beyond, he said.
Jackpot is a good all-round Kentucky bluegrass that works well in most soil types, he added.
Perennial ryegrass, in spite of its ability to quickly establish itself, tends to lose its hardiness in more northern environments, but it still persists, Goetz said. Perennial ryegrass has worked well in overseeding playing fields in the Yukon Territory because there is ample sunlight there during the growing season and soils are sufficiently warm.
“You get a nice playing surface rather quickly with perennial rye.”
Goetz singled out such effective perennial ryegrass cultivars as Top Gun because of its ability to blend well with Kentucky bluegrass, and Revenge GLX which is a fine leaf rye and that is vigorous and attractive and takes only about three days to germinate when slit seeded.
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Lorne Haveruk, CLWM, CID, CIC, CLIA, CGIA, WCP, principal, DH Water Management is one of Canada’s leading water resource consultants. Visit www.dhwatermgmt.com. To contact the author directly, email lorne@dhwatermgmt.com
A start-up checklist for spring irrigation
Complete each opening in detail to avoid callbacks.
By Lorne Haveruk
Spring is on its way and there will be plenty of work involved with opening your client irrigation systems. This checklist will help you and your staff to complete each opening in detail so that unnecessary callbacks are kept to a minimum. There will be additions and/or deletions as sites vary. Remember to manage water wisely and have systems water as required by the plants, not by time. A weather interrupt device should be mandatory for all irrigation that is subject to rainfall.
Water source
Each water supply is to be thoroughly checked in detail for the following:
• Main waterline still wired shut upon arrival
• Ensure all mainline drains are closed inside and out (before opening water)
• Open last mainline zone valve(s) or quick coupler(s) to expel trapped air as line fills
• Remove wire and slowly open mainline shutoff valve to allow trapped air to escape
• Once mainline has been slowly filled and trapped air has been expelled, close the open valve(s) and/or quick coupler(s)
• If there is a dedicated water meter for the irrigation water, or the building’s water is not being used anywhere,
and you are sure it is not being used, once the mainline is fully pressurized (full), check to see if the water meter gauges are standing still or moving. If no movement no leaks are present.
• If the water meter gauge(s) are moving there is most likely a leak somewhere in the mainline. Search the entire mainline inside and out to locate the source of the leak. Many small leaks are located at the valve locations where the valves are connected to the mainline. A master valve is a fast quick fix.
• Repair any leaks found and recheck again.
• Recharge mainline.
• Make sure that a proper identification tag is installed at the shutoff indicating what the valve controls. Inform onsite personnel how to shut the irrigation system water off.
Controller(s)
Each controller is to be checked for the following:
• Check 110-volt power to controller receptacle is on. Use a multi-meter if trained or plug in a light or a radio.
• If no power, check panel breaker is not tripped. If still no power, inform owner to have a qualified electrician fix the problem.
• If there is still no power, run an extension cord to another receptacle to get power to set up system temporarily.
• Once 110-volt power is OK, power up controller and test the 24-volt post is energized with approximately 24 volts. Do not install battery yet as this will power up the display and you might think everything is working when it is not.
• If there is not 24 volts inside controller, controller transformer is probably
Sprinkler heads are only one component of an irrigation system. Others include pumps, fittings, pipes and valves.
bad. Replace transformer or take controller to service facility.
• Once power is on and the controller is energized, replace the old battery with a new one that is fully energized.
• Ensure rain sensor bypass is in bypass while you test system if damp weather, and is reset to active once work is completed and tested to ensure the system will not operate during wet weather.
• Set controller to correct a.m. or p.m. time. Double check.
• Set controller to correct day, month and year. Double check.
• Turn to test program which should allow for a five-minute test of every zone (station) or select a program and input five minutes for every station to be tested.
• Start test inspection on semi-automatic program and go to first zone.
• Once test is complete, reprogram controller with current month watering schedule supplied by your water auditor.
• Record spring start-up schedule on customer schedule record form and record pertinent information.
Zone(s) inspection
Every zone (station) is to be fully inspected for the following noted items:
• Sprinklers, emitters, rotors, etc. are plumb (straight on all sides).
• All sprinklers are at the correct height. Not high, not low, not blocked.
• All nozzles are clear and clean so that they cover the area completely that they have been designed to cover.
• Extend risers (nipples) above 24 inches are staked and tied off for support.
• All risers are plumb and will allow the nozzle to be clear of plant material.
• Replacement sprinklers are as per original equipment to keep system uniformity (how evenly water is spread out over area of coverage) at the designed application rate).
• Quick couplers are flush with grade or slightly lower and have been
cleaned for easy locating.
• Valve boxes are flush with grade and are clean of debris for easy access.
• Valve boxes have been numbered to identify the zone number they water.
• Show client the components that have to be replaced before performing the work so they understand why something has to be repaired or replaced. Communication is key.
Site sketch
• Create site sketch (if not supplied). Indicate locations for property layout, building, driveway, landscape features, water supply, water shutoff, blowout, controller(s),etc.
• GPS locate the devices and log-on site plan.
• If site sketch is supplied, ensure component locations are accurate. If not, correct.
• Add any information you think should be on file about this customer’s system(s) which will help ensure the service work is performed.
Mistakes and inefficiencies can affect revenue
Overcome these errors to grow your landscaping business. By Mike
Jiggens
Inefficiencies, waste and mistakes can rob a landscaping company of several thousand dollars each year in missed potential revenue. By addressing these shortfalls, companies can hire and retain the best possible staff, achieve a healthy bottom line and grow their business.
Mike Lysecki, chief technical officer for LMN, a landscape estimating and timekeeping software company, spoke in January at Landscape Congress in Toronto
about strategies to overcome inefficiencies and build a profitable company.
“In this industry, as in many small business industries, it’s often started and run by people who did the trade before they found themselves running a business,” he said.
“They’re really good at doing the trades part of the business yet the running a business part of it is a learning experience.”
Being a good landscaper, excavator, stonemason or carpenter has nothing to do with being good at hiring, managing or
making financial decisions, Lysecki said.
“A lot of owners tend to be cost focused or short-term focused when they make decisions. Instead of seeing the big picture, we look at how much something costs and then the way to make the most profit at the end of the year, and it is one valid way. But the way to make the most profit at the end of the year is to minimize our costs.”
Lysecki said there are two types of business people: those who save money to make money, and those who spend money to make money. The latter tend to be more successful, he said.
Ideas that lead to good cost management decisions aren’t necessarily good profit management decisions, he added.
Track skid steers can have an advantage over wheel units by leaving less damage at a job site.
While previously employed as the director of operations for TBG Landscape in Whitevale, Ont., Lysecki said a key strategy the company adopted was to employ more expensive yet more responsible foremen who were provided with good salaries, benefits and incentive packages, and a bonus system. An incentive system was initiated based on revenue versus labour costs and not necessarily net profit or gross profit.
“Those things would take care of themselves if the foreman drove enough revenue per labour hour or enough revenue by the end of the season based on a goal.”
The idea, he said, is to set up the foreman to be his own “business owner” within the business.
Another strategy of TBG Landscape was to go with larger and more expensive equipment. When he first began with the company, it had one skid steer and three or four crews. By the time he left the company nine years later, each crew had its own skid steer, its own mini excavator and every necessary attachment.
“Going to the larger, expensive equipment and having equipment dedicated to each crew was a big deal at the time, but in the long run it paid itself back,” Lysecki said, acknowledging it was an expensive investment by the company.
The lone skid steer that was shared among the different crews was about eight years old at the time. Each time it was transferred between crews, something would invariably go wrong with it and crews lost a couple of hours of work while the unit was repaired, often by a jury-rigged solution.
Advances in technology also helped TBG Landscape with its operations. Lysecki said LMN was never intended to be a software company, but merely a tool devised strictly for TBG.
RECOGNIZING BOTTLENECKS
Being able to identify “bottlenecks” within a company will help that business to deal with them accordingly and steer itself toward a goal of profitability.
“Labour for most of us is the biggest bottleneck.”
Lysecki pointed to a business book he read that promoted the identification of bottlenecks and constraints while “ignoring the rest of the noise” and figuring out what is holding a business back and then fixing the problem.
“The other fixes may not even be effective if you’re still stuck with your bottleneck.” If a company has three good crews, spending a lot of money to improve sales if they have already reached capacity isn’t a great idea because there are only three
crews to do the work, he said. The bottleneck in such an instance is the crews. Before concerning itself with additional sales, a way must be found to train and build a fourth crew to match the three already in place.
“To identify that bottleneck is really critical because any money or time spent fixing anything else is just going to cause problems, waste and inefficiency because you’re trying to stick more stuff in that your bottleneck can handle.”
Typical bottlenecks for landscape companies start at the top, he said, adding materials subcontractors are usually not a bottleneck for most.
“It’s relatively easy to secure materials as long as you’ve got a bit of money or credit. That’s not usually a bottleneck at all for companies.”
Companies that outgrow their shop may experience a small bottleneck they can overcome through leasing or financing equipment and getting out of a lease for their smaller shop in favour of a larger one.
Cash flow might be another bottleneck for some, especially seasonal companies, but the biggest bottleneck for almost everyone is labour, Lysecki said.
“If everyone had 10 amazing foremen, most people would find a way to sell their work for us. It’s just, how do I get 10 amazing foremen?”
AGMTurbine:Layout 1 5/25/16 11:31 AM Page 1
There is a value for every labour dollar and what that dollar entails. Lysecki said a contractor might bid on an installation job with three people for 10 days, only to find the job actually took 12 days to complete. Or he might bid 30 visits for a maintenance service at an average of two hours and 40 minutes per visit, yet each
visit actually averaged three hours and 12 minutes.
The cost of two days of wages plus payroll taxes at an average of $20 an hour will cost the company $1,000 for the additional days, he said. When factoring in fuel and equipment depreciation that wasn’t recovered because the two-day overrun wasn’t estimated, it is a further loss of $500. Lysecki said factoring in two days of working for free because they weren’t estimated means no overhead was recovered during that time frame, amounting to about $1,000.
Additionally, in the design/build company example, two days were lost that could have earned revenue, and
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Having a top notch foreman on the job, who might be paid more than the average salary, is actually a benefit to the company if he is able to produce more work.
both of those days should have been spent on the next job. In the maintenance example, the half-hour overrun could have resulted in a sale to a neighbouring property.
As much as $10,000 was potentially lost to the company in the design/build example and upwards of $5,000 in the maintenance scenario, Lysecki said.
“That’s why it’s so important to capture every labour hour or try to minimize every labour hour. That’s why every idea to capture labour hours is so important.”
MAXIMIZING PROFIT
Although common thinking might be to save as much money as possible on payroll, new thinking might be to maximize profit.
“What type of staff will help me with the most amount of revenue? If your staff are a little more expensive but generating more revenue, what do you care what the wage is as long as you make more in profit?”
Most landscape companies would ideally like to pay their employees more money, but don’t have the profit to do so, he said. Assuming a foreman earning $20 an
‘The other fixes may not even be effective if you’re still stuck with your bottleneck’
hour does an average amount of design/build sales in a month and has two labourers beneath him earning $15 a hour apiece and the crew works 240 hours in a month, sales would be about $24,000 while wages and taxes come to about $7,200.
“But what if you pay that foreman $4 an hour more, which is a 20 per cent raise, but they did five per cent more work? Your sales would be $25,200 and your wages would go up to $7,800. Or what if the foreman was paid $28 an hour and that foreman could generate 10 per cent more work?“
The company would continue to use the same equip -
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ment, but material costs will increase as the foreman becomes more expensive.
“Why? Because he’s getting more work done. Overhead costs don’t change at all. You could maybe argue your overhead costs will be less.”
As long as the expensive foreman generates more work, the company will make more profit, Lysecki said. As long as the foreman – who is earning almost 40 per cent more than an average foreman – gets 10 per cent more work done, he is not only
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worth it, “but is really worth it.” The company makes more money and the foreman is happier.
If the foreman is doing 10 per cent more work and the overhead is the same, the contractor doesn’t have to bid as much overhead in every job, enabling him to be more competitive with a more expensive foreman. The company can be more efficient with jobs requiring fewer hours. If the foreman is getting 10 per cent more work done, jobs are taking less time and fewer mistakes are being made. Not as many hours need to be bid into every job.
“I can bid work more competitively twofold: one, because we’re faster and, two, because we have less overhead.”
Better foremen train the people around them better which helps with the bottleneck, he said.
“A really good foreman is going to train really good people. A bozo foreman is just going to take his good employees and they’re going to end up quitting probably because nobody wants to work for somebody who doesn’t take their job seriously or isn’t good at the job.”
DEALING WITH OVERTIME
A goal of reducing payroll is big for companies needing to deal with overtime. As overtime becomes more prevalent in the industry and contractors crack down on it harder, companies claim they can’t compete if they had to pay overtime.
“Overtime in advanced thinking can be more profitable if we can maintain a certain level of productivity.”
Lysecki posed the question: assuming a crew is paid time and a half for overtime and assuming the overtime work is productive by either working ahead on another job or getting another job in, how productive would the staff have to be in order to justify the time and a half they are to be paid in wages without sacrificing the company’s profit?
If crews worked 150 per cent, they would have to get 1½ times more work done in overtime to justify their higher wage, he said.
Lysecki recalled doing some work for a company in Chicago that decided it would
cut all overtime because the business didn’t make much money in one year. The company’s employees were accustomed to getting five to 10 hours a week in overtime pay, and the decision to slash overtime payments presented a concern that employees might quit.
No overtime in a 15-person company might generate about $54,000 a month in revenue. If working five hours of productive overtime, another $6,000 (five hours per week times 15 people) would be generated. Customers aren’t being charged any more than usual. Lysecki said in such a scenario labour costs would increase significantly, equipment costs would remain unchanged, materials costs would increase because more materials would need to be installed with more work, overhead costs wouldn’t change, and net profit would go up.
‘The payment is not as important as what it ultimately gives
in revenue’
“How could it possibly go up? Wages and payroll are going up, but your overhead and equipment costs as a percentage are falling faster. You’re recovering overhead in all those hours, and that actually happens faster than your payroll goes up.”
The result is a happier and better-paid staff, and the company is able to attract better employees.
Lost revenue is also realized from smoke breaks, texting or making personal phone calls. Lysecki said if 15 minutes a day is lost to such disruptions with a crew of three people with an average labour rate of $50 an hour, about $7,125 a year in potential revenue would be lost.
He challenged his audience to come up with ideas that might make a difference for their companies to improve themselves. Among the suggestions made were advanced ordering of materials, setting up pre-job packages for every job, profit
sharing, ordering portable toilets for job sites, having coffee readily available, holding weekly feedback meetings, standardizing trucks and materials, having better labeled shelving for materials, and offering incentives for workers to quit smoking.
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EQUIPMENT COSTS
When it comes to equipment, the traditional thinking is that once there are no further payments, that money can instead go into the contractor’s “pocket.” The equipment no longer costs him anything so he stops estimating for it. The equipment eventually gets old and the contractor considers replacing it, but since he hasn’t been factoring in equipment costs the past several years, he decides to repair it and keep it going and repeats the cycle of repairs and putting it back into service. Eventually, the equipment has completely broken down while thousands of dollars have been spent on its repair over the years. Not only is it costing the contractor more money to repair the equipment than to lease it, but each time it breaks down crews in the field aren’t working productively. The cost per hour in lost productivity while a machine isn’t working properly adds to the burden.
Lysecki said the equipment payment amount doesn’t mater as long as more work can be done to justify the cost. A mini excavator, for example, might carry a 60-month payment of $950 with fuel and operating time costing another $300. If the mini excavator made the crew five per cent more productive, about five per cent more sales would be generated, equating to
about a morning’s worth of work. Wages and taxes would stay the same, equipment costs would go up, material costs would increase because more work is being done, and overhead would remain the same.
“You break even on the machine if it saves you half a day a month. You double your profit, almost, if it can save you a day a month. On a mini ex, a day saves you one excavation job.”
Many companies, however, are hesitant to want to spend upwards of $1,000 a month on equipment payments, he said.
“The payment is not as important as what it ultimately gives us in revenue. The more revenue we do, the smaller our overhead becomes. The job gets done faster so I bid less hours and my overhead drops so I’m not quite as expensive per hour. There are a lot of other advantages to this kind of efficiency.”
Companies that use open trailers stand to experience more in lost revenue than those using enclosed trailers. Lysecki estimated it costs a company about $8,000 annually in revenue per crew when an open trailer must be loaded and unloaded each day. Open trailers also increase the risk of something being forgotten which adds to lost revenue.
Contractors who operate track skid steers have an advantage over those who prefer wheel skid steers, he said, noting track units contribute to a longer season because they can be used when conditions are wet and will leave less damage on work sites than wheel skid steers. The time spent making job site repairs and being unable to work with the right tool significantly contribute to lost revenue, he said.
Timesaving tools that contribute to higher efficiency include stone vacuum lifters that enable one person to do a job instead of two, covered trailers, zero-turn mowers and power wheelbarrows.
Overtime can be profitable if certain levels of productivity are maintained.
Health & Safety
By the CCOHS
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) promotes the total well being of workers in Canada by providing information, training, education, systems and solutions that support health and safety programs and injury and illness prevention. www..ccohs.com
Don’t take chances with winter driving
As if driving wasn’t perilous enough at the best of times, welcome to another season of winter roads. You can’t control the weather, but you can adjust to it by preparing yourself and your vehicle for the worst of winter and the white stuff, and ensuring you stay safe.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) offers the following safety tips for winter drivers.
Keeping your vehicle in good technical repair reduces the chances of a mishap or disaster. Have your electrical, exhaust, heating/cooling, fuel and braking system thoroughly checked. Make sure the vehicle is equipped with snow tires and ensure windshield wipers are in good condition.
When winter hits, protect yourself from carbon monoxide exposure by keeping the exhaust pipe clear of snow and checking the system for leaks. Don’t let the fuel level get too low, and always keep an extra container of antifreeze – rated for the coldest temperatures – in your vehicle.
Pack a winter driving kit.
Winter driving is less stressful when you’re equipped for the worst. Your winter driving kit should include a bag of sand, salt or kitty litter, traction mats, a snow shovel, a snow brush and ice scraper, warning
Winter driving is less stressful when you’re equipped for the worst.
devices such as flares or a “Call Police” sign, and fuel line deicer. Also, in case you’re ever stranded in a cold vehicle, keep a blanket and extra clothing on hand, including a hat, wind-proof pants, gloves and warm footwear, as well as snacks, water and the usual drivers’ aids – first aid kit, road maps and booster cables.
In the event that you ever get stuck or stranded in the snow, there’s no need to panic, especially if you have properly prepared. Turn on flashing lights, bundle up, run the car engine about 10 minutes every hour to
provide heat, and stay awake. (Make sure your exhaust pipe is not blocked.) An unheated car can be like an icebox, so focus on staying warm and dry.
Get ready for the road.
Plan before heading out. Decide on your travel route in advance and then check the road and weather conditioners for that route. Avoid driving if you are fatigued. Allow plenty of time for your journey, and let someone know where you’ll be travelling and when you expect to arrive. Visibility is key to safety on the road, so take the time to warm up your vehicle to reduce condensation on the windows, and remove any snow and ice that may reduce
your visibility. Don’t forget your cell phone, if you have one, and your sunglasses. Dress warmly and comfortably, but, if you decide to add or remove a layer, don’t do it while driving. Pull over and stop the vehicle.
Drive carefully.
It’s important to drive safely and responsibly in any weather, but the winter requires extra caution. That means slower driving, heightened alertness, and twice the stopping distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you. Slow down when approaching a bridge because it can be icy, even when the roads are not. You can survive the winter drive!
Ensure your windshield wipers are in good working order and are free of ice to maximize visibility.
AD INDEX
Agrimetal Pg. 19, 26
Alliance Agri-Turf Inc. Pg. 33
Bartlett Tree Experts Canada Division Pg. 33
Billy Goat Industries Inc. Pg. 17
Botanix-Oxford Insta-Shade Inc. Pg. 9
Cadman Pg. 18
Dakota Peat & Equipment Pg. 10
Echo Power Equipment Canada Pg. 36
Ecolawn Applicator Pg. 17
Exmark Manufacturing Company Pg. 35
GreenworksTools Canada Inc. Pg. 28
Hinspergers Poly Industries (Evergreen) Pg. 16
Hutcheson Sand & Mixes Pg. 30
John Deere Ltd. Pg. 5
Neudorff North America Pg. 2,7
OJ Companie Pg. 23
Ontario Seed Company Pg. 15
Ontario Turf Aeration Pg. 33
Pickseed Canada Inc. Pg. 33
Practical Turf Care Pg. 33
Quality Seeds Pg. 33
Rain Bird Canada Pg. 12,13
Reist Welding (Elmira) Ltd. Pg. 29
RTF Turf Producers Association Pg. 21
STIHL Limited Pg. 2
Target Specialty Products Pg. 33
Top 10 Under 40 Pg. 11
Vanden Bussche
Irrigation & Equip. Ltd. Pg. 7
Zander Sod Company Ltd. Pg. 25
New stuff
Nutrite to carry Anuvia fertilizer
Nutrite has partnered with Anuvia Plant Nutrients, adding Green TRX turf nutrient to Nutrites product portfolio.
GreenTRX is an enhanced-efficiency, multi-nutrient, slow-release specialty fertilizer that delivers fast deep greening to turf. Using a novel slow-release mechanism, it delivers plant nutrition when plants need it most, releasing 65 per cent of its nutrients in the first two to three weeks and the balance providing feeding for up to eight weeks. It also provides quick deep greening that lasts.
The product provides the needed nutrients and puts 16 per cent organic matter back in the soil, thereby optimizing plant and soil health.
Looking for turf industry’s top 10 under 40
Alliance2013:Layout
Nominations for Turf & Rec’s “Top 10 Under 40” are underway. We’re looking to recognize Canada’s best employees in the turf and grounds maintenance industry under the age of 40.
The best from among those nominated will be selected by a panel of judges and featured in our April/ May issue. From golf superintendents, landscape contractors and sports turf managers to equipment suppliers and allied trades people, we want to know which of these young people stands above the rest.
Please see our ad on page 11 of this issue for further details about who might qualify for this recognition and how they may be nominated. Nominations can be done online by visiting our website at www. turfandrec.com/top-10-under-40. 1
Bulletin Board
By Rod Perry
This winter sucks! #$@% cold, #$@%
Man, that is one nasty winter we’re “enjoying” this year. As I write this, it’s not even the middle of January and there’s more to the season still remaining than what has already transpired.
Give us a break, already. The snow banks at the edges of my driveway have already reached waist-high, and if these frigid temperatures persist much longer, there will be no melting anytime soon. Without any melting, the banks will get higher and higher with each new snowfall and will soon exceed my own height.
I suppose there could be a silver lining to exceptionally high snow banks. If they can at least surpass the height of my car, I can create my own carport by spanning it with large pieces of plywood. I would no longer have to shovel myself out and I wouldn’t have to brush snow from the car windows. Hey, it’s not a bad way to get out of at least a few snow removal sessions until the melting process begins. As long as my new “roof” doesn’t collapse onto my car, it’s not a bad idea. I wonder if I’d need a building permit for this. Seriously, though, this winter sucks. This is one of the coldest winters I can recall in several years, at least here in the Niagara region. It has also been one of the snowiest. It’s depressing.
Can you tell I’m not a winter enthusiast? Those who live for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, building snowmen and tobogganing are likely relishing every minute of this season. I’m into neither of those things, nor do
snow
I care for driving my car into ditches, breaking my back shoveling snow four times a week and having to wear long underwear.
Bears seem to have it right. They hibernate during the winter and can avoid the extremes in elements. Just imagine being able to binge-eat for a while and then kick back and go into a deep sleep for a couple of months. You wake up to spring-like conditions and you’re good to go for another nine or 10 months. Apparently bears are able to hold off tinkling during their extended slumber. I’m barely able to last eight hours when I “hibernate” for just one evening. Sleeping in for two additional hours on a weekend results in me doing my best Fred Astaire impression at the bathroom door if the facilities are already occupied.
Since I have neither the bladder nor bowel control to get me through a period of significant hibernation, I guess I had better just suck it up and plod through the winter one day at a time.
I’m not sure which element of winter I hate most – the snow or the cold.
Snow-covered trees, buildings and grounds lend themselves to picturesque landscapes, but the sight of yellow snow ruins everything. Dogs have to do their business somewhere, I suppose. But when I see someone’s signature written in the snow in yellow “ink,” I really hope the individual who felt compelled to leave his calling card was overcome with a touch of frostbite on his “pen.”
At one point in my life, I wore both glasses and facial hair, neither of which is cold temperature-friendly. Glasses instantly fog up once re-entering a building after being outside,
and facial hair anywhere close to your nose or mouth turns into ice in no time, and the experience is aided and abetted by the snot running from your nostrils. It’s pretty gross once everything thaws out, especially if a Kleenex tissue isn’t close at hand and the sleeve of your shirt has to be used as a substitute.
A clean-shaven face and 20-20 vision can’t be beat on a cold winter’s day.
I want desperately to wash the salt from my car. It has been accumulating for the better part of two months now, but it hasn’t been warm enough for me to give it a good scrub. The wash water freezes in no time and then I can’t get in. It’s like having a second set of door locks. Then you resort to such measures as pointing a hair dryer at the lock mechanism with a 50-foot extension cord leading from your back door and looking like a buffoon in front of your neighbours.
Then there’s the snow and ice buildup in the wells behind your front tires that you feel compelled to kick loose to the ground. Often after a good, swift kick to the snow and ice mass, I finally clue in that I’m not wearing my steel-toed boots and instead have on only a pair of sneakers. It’s while hopping up and down on one foot uttering a string of profanities that I think to myself, “Oh, right, I forgot to wear my boots today.”
I drive an older model car that, unfortunately, doesn’t have heated seats, a heated steering wheel or heated side mirrors. It’s a little disconcerting when driving down the highway after scraping the ice from your mirrors. You peak into your side mirror to determine if it’s safe enough to pull out and pass another vehicle, and the only thing you see is your own reflection.
I can’t wait for winter to end so that I can start griping about excessive spring rain.
I have neither the bladder nor bowel control to get me through a period of significant hibernation
I can’t wait for winter to end so that I can start griping about excessive spring rain.
Rod Perry, aka Duffer, is a Niagara-based freelance writer.
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