Hydraulic Leaks Around 5 Green on the Surround and in Rough on 6

Our green surround mower had a fitting come loose on the wheel drive around 5 green. The operator went 2 full laps around the rough part of the green when he spotted the leak. In his haste to get back to the shop, he drove across the rough in front of 6 green which will cause further damage. We went out and wiped down the area from any excess fluid.

I would spray it down but a majority of the area is hilly and would become a slippery mess and issue for anyone playing that hole. The area is pretty obvious so just be aware and refrain from stepping on the areas if at all possible. Hopefully, it appears a majority of the oil was up in the leaf layer of the plant and did not come into contact with the crown near the ground. We will have some yellow areas appear in the next couple of days and no doubt some of the turf will die. We will evaluate any turf loss and replace what we need to replace as soon as possible. In the mean time, please watch your step in the left walk off area of the green and around the back and right side as well. I will go out and circle this area as ground under repair. Please take a drop away from the damaged area so we do not transfer any excess oil to the putting green. We wiped the lines down to remove the excess oil but some of the leaves are still very saturated.  I apologize for this inconvenience. We will discuss with the staff regarding what to do when there is another leak which we hope is a long time from now.

Back of 5 green. The arrows are pointing at the oil line. 3-4" wide or so.

Walk off area to the left side of 5 green. Area is a little wider at the bottom. The mower pulled up and backed up doubling the size of the area. 

Rain day, still a work day

While the seasonal staff were called off for the day, the full time staff still have work to do cleaning equipment, sharpening blades and etc.  Still in the process of hiring a mechanic so we are catching up on preventative maintenance issues.

Nick steam cleaning his rough unit.

Bunker Renovation equipment arrival

The equipment that we rented to do the bunker renovation on Hole #14 arrived Friday afternoon.  I can't wait for the beginning of the destruction around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday and the actual shaping/restoring work on Monday.  Anyone playing this weekend will notice that the track hoe is staged and ready to go near the zoysia nursery area across from 14green/15 tee complex.

Trackhoe, trencher and skid steer from Luby Equipment Company.  Thanks to Glen Echo member  Steve Luby for assisting us with some fine equipment.

Hydraulic Leak

Most of our equipment has a hydraulic system that powers the mowing decks or reels, lift the reels off of the ground for transport or back to the ground for mowing and the steering system.  The hydraulic system operate at a pressure of 3000 psi.  Every so often, a hose will become damaged and will leak or a moving piece on the mower creates a wear mark on the hose which weakens the wall and the extreme pressure literally blows a hole in the hose.  Hopefully we catch a majority of our leaks before they occur but from time to time a hose will become damaged without our knowledge.  A large amount of fluid can come out of a machine very quickly because of the high pressure. 

Late last week, a hose on the bunker rake gave way and left a trail of dead grass and a mess on the cart path near the 5th tee box.  We attempt to get to the asphalt paths or driveways as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of turf that will have to be repaired and assist with an easier cleanup. 

As our operator was coming out of the bunker on #4, he noticed a stream of oil shooting out underneath the front wheel.  As you can see, the trail led back to the cart path where he was able to shut it off.  As long as the soil was not saturated, we should be able to reseed in this area.  If too much oil is on the soil, a sod cutter will be used to strip up the spot and sod will be used to repair the spot.  We utilize a company to manufacture hoses for us because the retail cost of hose replacement from the equipment dealer is not very cost competitive.

Over the years, many a superintendent has lost sleep with hydraulic leaks on greens and other fine turf areas.
One advantage of using walking greens mowers is that their are no hydraulic system on the mower which could potentially leak oil onto a green.

Bio-diesel at Glen Echo

After mixing our formulation of used waste oil from the kitchen, we have utilized 15 gallons of this product in our rough mowing machines that past few days. If you feel like your getting hungry out on the golf course, it must be the french fry or chicken tender aroma coming from the rough mowing units exhaust as it burns the blend of bio-diesel and regular diesel fuel. We currently have over 100 gallons of oil we will be mixing to use in our mowing units.

Our mixing station below includes an electric pump, filters to catch both particulates and water separator.