Showing posts with label Recycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recycling. Show all posts

Re-Purposing an Old Fairway Sprayer

Last year we purchased a Toro 5400 fairway sprayer, considered by most to be the Cadillac of sprayers. This replaced our very outdated Smithco Spraystar 3000. The vehicle itself was in decent enough shape, with just over 1000 hours on it. The sprayer part of the machine was in dire shape, however. With bent booms, sporadic lift actuators, a temperamental foaming system, and outdated calibration technology, it was time to upgrade to a more efficient sprayer. The Spraystar 3000 sat unused last season.



We manage a large property here at Stow Acres. With such a historic country club, we spend a fair amount of time renovating and renewing features of the course to their intended beauty. Moving material across the course for this task has proven to be labor intensive and troublesome on the equipment. The 90+ years of golf played on some parts of this property has developed a character of undulating turf, which is sometimes tough on the lighter utility vehicles we have, which are constructed with aluminum frames and relatively small cargo beds. The need to move large amounts of dense material such as sand, soil, stone, and cart path material could be filled by the same machine that was built to carry 3000 lbs of water.

We began by stripping the Spraystar of it’s sprayer components. The booms, tank, pump, electronics, computer, foamer, and lines were all removed.





From there, we began to prep for paint. The acrylic windows were removed, all loose rust was sanded smooth, body filler was applied to any dented or mis-shapen area, and primer applied over those spots.



The vehicle was then painted GM Onyx Black with a one step urethane paint. The frame and gondola dump box arrived and were placed on the chassis.




The lift cylinder was installed and plumbed to the lift valve.





Lights were added to the roof, and a hitch constructed for trailering our Toro Procore 648 aerator.



With the lift cylinder in operation, we tested out a load of stone in the bed:


Custom decals finished off the project:


________________
Justin Parker
Equipment Manager
Stow Acres Country Club
http://golfcoursetech.wordpress.com/

Justin is a devoted Christian, husband, father to two daughters, golf course mechanic, entrepreneur and web enthusiast.  

Justin attended UMass Amherst, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, and 3D Modelling and Animation and has completed the Turfgrass Management Certificate Program at Ohio State University. Justin works at Stow Acres Country Club in Stow, Massachusetts. Stow Acres is a 36 hole, semi-private, family owned facility.
In addition to working at Stow Acres, Justin owns Synergy Offroad, a 4×4 enthusiest ecommerce site. 

A Look At Kiawah Golf Resort


The Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Southern Carolina is a leader in sustainability in our industry. They have plenty awards for their numerous projects and have truly made an impression with environmentalists, local residents and their guests. Below you'll find many examples of their projects and how they communicate their actions to guests and community.


Used Ball Performance Comparison

Although this video is from 2009, it's still appropriate under our current economy - reselling used golf balls is big business and still growing it's market share. The overly dramatic CNBC report (enough with that sound effect!) interviews Gary Shienfield of Toronto based Knetgolf, explaining why used isn't so bad. Be sure to check out Knet's performance comparison of New vs Refinished vs Recycled Mint vs Recycled A and B grade golf balls.

Floating Islands at Hillandale GC

Dr Bill Hunt - NCState University, BAE Dept., discusses the installation of floating islands at a wetpond at Hillandale Golf Course in Durham, NC. The islands, made of recycled plastic beverage bottles, provide a floating home for wetland plants, helping the plants to establish and improving water quality in the pond.


GolfStinks: Golf Ball Hell



I could talk about sustainable practices in the golf industry until I'm green in the face, however golfer and industry understanding and acceptance is the deciding factor on whether these see the light of day. The hackers over at Golfstinks.com are an honest bunch, Turfhugger will be posting a number of environment related articles produced by the guys at Golfstinks who seem to understand that golf is in a transition.


You can have a nervous breakdown trying to pick out golf balls. I hope I'm not alone in this assessment, but I can literally stand in front of a wall of golf ball boxes for like an hour, trying to figure out which ones I should pick.

Golfstinks: Can You Golf Eco-Friendly?



I could talk about sustainable practices in the golf industry until I'm green in the face, however golfer and industry understanding and acceptance is the deciding factor on whether these see the light of day. The hackers over at Golfstinks.com are an honest bunch, Turfhugger will be posting a number of environment related articles produced by the guys at Golfstinks who seem to understand the transition our sport is going through.

Can You Golf Eco Friendly?
Greg D'Andrea

Let's face it, regardless of whether you believe in global warming or not, as a golfer you should be doing all you can to help protect the environment we live in. After all, golf is a game that, aside from the cart paths, is played in nature's entire splendor. And if we inadvertently ruin nature, it wouldn't be much fun teeing-off from a driving range mat and hitting onto a green made of AstroTurf, would it?

What To Do With A Broken Down Golf Cart? Drink It!

We're all about recycling and reusing materials here at Turfhugger. That broken down golf cart can usually be used for parts, but once it's reached the ultimate in deterioration and finds a final resting spot, you've got to wave goodbye, raise a glass, and say "cheers"!
Two versions to this drink, enjoy.