Case Studies

Quiet Please: Jacobsen E-Plex Works Peacefully

Fall 2002 - Golfers passionate about the game can be a curious breed. They’ll play in most any kind of weather, and some believe that the oddest contraptions will turn them into single-digit handicappers. Their ultimate commitment is attending a golf school. But as dedicated as they can be, few want a 5 a.m. wake-up call at a luxurious resort from the sound of a noisy greens mower.

The Faldo Golf Institute at Grande Vista Resort in Orlando, Florida, is a Ron Garl design built in 1995. The facility has a 9-hole practice course with short par threes and par fours set up for target golf. There is a 22-acre driving range and four acres of greens.

Golfers begin to emerge when the sun comes up, so superintendent Joe Ballant and his staff of 11 have to be well on their way to having the facility prepared. A year ago the maintenance staff acquired a Jacobsen E-Plex electric greens mower.

Exclusive electric Jacobsen E-Plex is the answer
“The golf course weaves throughout the resort,” Ballant says. “Every green has a building next to it and the practice greens are within 20 feet of the rooms. People are here on vacation and they don’t want to be bothered early in the morning. One of the biggest challenges when I arrived was getting the short game area mowed and set up for lessons without waking up guests. We had complaints practically every day for the first year. I tried everything, including walk mowing. I had used an  E-Plex at another course, and I know it is whisper quiet. We can get out early and be finished by 8 a.m.”

Assistant superintendent Bill Paul says he has mowed the entire green acreage with the E-Plex in four to five hours.

Tuned for its task
“The E-Plex is a great machine for what we use it for,” he adds. “It works great and gets us in and out quickly with a quality cut. There are no hydraulic hoses to blow, and once operators get used to the E-Plex they like it better than gas or diesel mowers.”

Grande Vista’s technician, Bob Sienko, finds the Jacobsen E-Plex works most effectively with no reel to bedknife contact.

“We used to have .001 clearance,” he says, “but the E-Plex works best for us with no contact at all. As long as the reel is sharp, no-contact is not a problem. We get a really good cut. I grind reels every two weeks, but that’s because we topdress and verticut regularly. We’re starting to use this setup with other mowers. I’m convinced we’re getting a better cut throughout the fleet with our no-contact approach.”

Ballant theorizes that reel to bedknife contact with the E-Plex drew too much power.

“The duller the blades got,” he says, “the more contact there was. It got to a point where the back reel would come up because there was too much battery overload on the mower. That was a good thing because the contact was too heavy, but at the same the time we weren’t getting greens mowed. This led us to change our philosophy of setting up reels to the point where we run with no-contact on almost all our mowers. We’re keeping the blades sharp with more grinding. This system is working very well. We’re getting a much better, solid, clean cut that results in a reduced chance for disease, and it has even increased our green speed. Running less contact on the rest of our equipment saves time and money in backlapping and reduces mower fatigue. That’s a good thing. We’re getting a better cut across the line.”

Turf grooming
The maintenance staff uses a Jacobsen LF-3400 on fairways  and a Green use the Greens King IV for verticutting, and it does an awesome job,” Ballant says. “One of my first purchases when I got here was a patented Jacobsen turf groomer to speed up the greens. The turf groomer is also part of our program to improve turf conditions. We use the groomers twice a week during summer. When we’re established with overseeding, we use them to cut the long blades.”

Superintendent’s philosophy
Ballant has been superintendent at Grande Vista for more than two years. He was a commercial diver in the Gulf of Mexico for 10 years until an accident ended this career.

“I tried to figure out what I wanted to do,” he says, “and came up with hiking, diving and playing golf. I figured I couldn’t make a decent living in any of those areas, so I decided to get into golf course maintenance.”

Ballant fly-mowed bunkers at nearby Grand Cypress Resort for six months, and was offered an assistant’s position at a new course during its grow-in. The superintendent was impressed with his work ethic. Ballant worked 40 hours a week at another job and attended  college. He graduated from Lake City, Florida, Community College’s three-year turf program in two years.

“I was trained as an ‘inside-out’ superintendent,” Ballant says. “I take care of the greens first. They need to be perfect before we look at improving fairways and tees. I like to play golf, and I try to stay focused on what the golfer sees.”