Mowing Resumes

After all the rain, we are out making an effort to get all fairways and rough mowed over the next two days.  We try to stay off the turf with heavy equipment when we get as wet as we've been to avoid any damage to the surfaces.  It's been almost a full week since fairways have been mowed!

Rain Totals

 

Wednesday, we received a total of 3/4" of rain, bringing the total to 9.75" for the week.  For the month of May, we received 12.05" of rain.  This means we eliminated the annual deficit by 4.55" of rain.  We are still well over 10" below average for the year.  This shows just how difficult it is to make up for drought conditions.

Dam Project- Phase One- Valve Replacement

 

Our work at the dam continues, although its been made a lot more challenging given the 9.2" of rain we received over the weekend.  This morning, we installed another 10" siphon to lower the water, and we are still losing ground.  Keep in mind, last week, an 8" siphon was able to drop the water level one foot, in as little as one hour!  Once we are able to get the water below the dam level, we'll be able to proceed with the valve replacement.  

Rain Update

Yesterday, we received another 1.2" of rain.  

This brings the total since last Friday to 9".

Rain Totals

 

Another 0.35" of rain pushed us over the 8" mark!  Total for the week is 8.10".

Rain Update

 

Sunday's rain event totaled another 1.9" of rain.

This brings the week total to 7.75".

Year-to-date, we still remain about 12" below normal for rainfall.

Rain Update and Forecast

 Sunday evening, we received another 1.15" of rain, bringing the weekend total to 5.85".

Rain Totals as of Sunday Morning

 

Total Rainfall as of Sunday morning at 7:30AM is 4.2".

I've been asked if this has helped make up the deficit for the year.  Here are your rain facts:

In order for Highlands to reach it's annual average, we need to receive approximately 7.5" of rain per month.

Year-to-date, we are 16.3" below normal, which includes the 4.2" of rain we just received.

Combine that with last year, and we are still about 35" rain below normal for the last year and a half.

Total Rainfall to 11:30AM Saturday

 Since the rain started, we've received a total of 2.3" as of Saturday at 11:30AM.

Autonomous vs. Traditional Fairway Mower Costs

 

If you recall earlier in the week, a salesman brought an autonomous fairway mower to the Club for a demonstration.  Above is a program they have showing the cost saving between their unit and a traditional fairway mower.  This takes into account maintenance, fuel, labor, electric usage.  

Bridge on #10

 

On #10, you’ll see we are resurfacing the small cart bridge at the end of the fairway.  We originally built this bridge around 2015 and it needs some minor improvements. After the Holiday weekend, we will be replacing the curb rails as well.  The bridge is being refurbished in the same fashion as the bridge crossing the lake on #18, with the  boards running lengthwise.  

Croquet Landscape

Additional landscaping is being installed between lawns 1 and 2 at the croquet landscape.  These 'China Girl' Holly shrubs match those that surround lawn 1.  This time of year our landscape technician, John Branson, has his hands full!

Courtyard Complete

 

The new landscaping at the Clubhouse is complete and I want to congratulate John Branson, our Landscape Tech, for seeing this project through.  Working with renowned Landscape Architect, Mary Palmer Dargan, he saw this project through from the very beginning.  In addition, he revitalized the original courtyard located across the breezeway.  Thank you John, for all your efforts!  These areas will be enjoyed for many years to come!   

7-Day Forecast

 

This isn't a forecast we're used to looking at this year!  Thursday morning, we received 0.6" of rainfall.

The Future of Golf Course Mowing

Hap has always taken a strong interest in autonomous mowing technology.

This morning, a representative of the company brought this 'Firefly' brand autonomous fairway mower to the Club to do a demonstration.  There is no question, this is the future of the business and it will be here before you know it.  Actually, for some golf courses, it is already a reality.  Since labor is a challenge in many areas in the country, golf courses are looking at ways to alleviate that issue.  These units cost substantially more than a traditional fairway mower... as much as $125,000 more, in addition to an annual software subscription fee of about $15,000-$20,000.  That can or can't be justified in several ways.  I've always viewed this impressive technology like this:  If a golf course purchased two autonomous mowing units, and then eliminated two staff positions, the course could recoup the addition expense of purchasing these mowers in as little as three to four years.  But if a golf course purchased two units, yet retained the same level of staff and simply redirected that labor to other priorities on the golf course, it's a slightly different story.  I ask myself, would those tasks being done by the redirected labor be worth the additional cost of these mowers?  As a simple example, let's say instead of mowing fairways, that employee would start taking that same amount of time and start rolling fairway landing areas and approaches rather than mowing fairways.  Or, what if that individual was able to take that time and mow the rough out three times per week instead of two times per week?  Would the Club's membership appreciate the results of the redirected job tasks if they knew it cost the Club the difference in the mower costs to complete those new tasks?  The math is pretty simple and easy to figure out but the answer to these questions would depend entirely upon the type of golf course or Club and what their objectives are.  It's interesting to think about.

Regardless, the technology is impressive.  The thought of having fairway mowing complete before staff arrives is an attractive scenario.  This technology has been in the works for the past 15-plus-years and is slowly becoming mainstream.  There are currently autonomous rough mowers available, in addition to practice facility ball pickers and even sprayers.  This technology will continue to develop rapidly and along with AI, I can envision an industry in the near future that looks a lot different than it currently is.

As for the actual specs of this mower: It can mow approximately 5 acres of turf in 0ne hour and can mow a 25 acres on one charge.  At Highlands CC, we have approximately 23 acres worth of fairways.  Therefore, one unit can mow all the fairways at Highlands CC in about 4.5 hours!