These are some pretty interesting survey responses in a local trade publication. 40% of Superintendents are concerned about the future of water for irrigation purposes. At HCC, I don't think this is of immediate concern. However, in areas of the country where golf courses pay for their water, this is HUGE! I personally know of a golf course in California that spends $2 million annually on water. At Oakmont CC in Pittsburgh, we purchased a portion of our irrigation water from the city. This was a $30,000 annual expense. Riparian Rights is very important and if the federal government gets involved, this could change. Even though we have a lake, do we own the water in the lake? You can also see, 60% of golf courses are planning some sort of improvements to their irrgation systems. The more heads a course has, the more precisely water can be distributed and money saved because less water is being used. At HCC, our current head count of 450 could/will increase to 1000 with a new system.
Below, shows staffing levels from 2011 compared to 2014. You can see staffing levels have actually dropped. At HCC, we operate with a total of 12 full time and 8 seasonal. The private club average is 18: 7 full time and 11 seasonal.
