about face!

the ironbridge club switches to jacobsen

As a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, Eric Foerster’s world is about leadership, planning and attention to detail. Therefore it’s no surprise that the superintendent of The Ironbridge Club, a highend 18-hole private facility in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, keeps precise records of every task on the golf course, including the man-hours and cost. Foerster’s data reveals some interesting facts.

A resident herd of elk numbering 300 to 400 head shows up in late September and stays until early April. To protect the course, greens, tees, bunkers and 3,000 trees must be fenced off. This job requires 11 miles of rope, 1,000 fence posts and about 1,000 man-hours. Last year he spent $2,328.45 putting up the fences, $5,386.95 to dismantle them and $6,199.62 on elk cleanup, including repairing hundreds of dead spots in the turf caused by the animals’ urine.

“Elk go through anything,” Foerster says. “We spend considerable time in winter repairing fences.”

Logistics challenge
Logistics is a huge maintenance challenge because the course is very spread out. A trip around the course is about eight miles, roughly twice the distance of a typical layout. In fact, it’s one mile from the ninth green to the 10th hole. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the maintenance shop is at the far north end of the property.

Terrain is another issue. There is a 500-foot elevation change on the course, which is undulating with many slopes. The staff maintains 154 irrigated acres and 53 acres of native areas. This includes 30 acres of fairways, 60 acres of rough, 120,000 square feet of greens and 185,000 square feet of tees.

Last year the club turned in a good deal of equipment that was leased from another manufacturer and purchased an equipment package from Jacobsen.

“We spent last season testing equipment from the three manufacturers,” Foerster says. “We find Jacobsen® works best for us to maintain this terrain.”

Fairways are cut with four turbocharged SLF-1880™ super-light mowers.

“With the 18-inch reels we get reduced scalping and a better quality-of-cut,” Foerster says. “The 1880s give the course a neat look, especially the striping and the aesthetics they bring out. With a maintenance staff of four full-time and 11 seasonal employees, time is very important. The 1880s move right along and still give us the quality-of-cut we want. We can mow all the fairways in about four hours.”

Naturally, Foerster backs up his statements with hard facts. Using larger fairway units last year, the staff spent 1,084 man-hours mowing fairways. With the 1880s, the superintendent projects it will take 1,008 hours to perform the same task this year.

Also added to the fleet were two AR-5™ fine-cut rotary mowers. They were chosen for their ability to follow contours and provide a superior quality-of-cut.

“Because the AR-5s follow undulations so well,” Foerster says, “we actually reduced the time it takes to mow roughs. We spent 1,400.5 hours mowing roughs last year with two machines from another manufacturer. I estimate the AR-5s will cut that to 768 hours. They’ve helped us out a lot. On some of our steeper slopes, the AR-5 is the only machine that will handle these areas.”

High expectations
Ironbridge opened in 2003, and is an Arthur Hills master course. Foerster arrived in September of 2004 and is also operations manager. He oversees golf operations, works in the land use development side of the property and is a member of the design review board for the property owners association.

“I wear all these hats because my name is on the line and I like it,” he says.

“No one forces me to work the hours I do. I enjoy it and want to do it. If you want to be at this type of club, you have to.”

Expectations are very high, and Foerster gets a lot done with a small crew. Fairways are cut three times a week and roughs twice a week. Greens are cut six days a week and rolled three times a week. Tees are mowed three times a week and cart paths and bunkers are edged every two weeks. According to Golf Digest magazine, Ironbridge is ranked among the top 20 courses in Colorado. Golf Magazine places Ironbridge among the top 100 courses you can play in the United States.

According to Foerster, success is due to planning.

“The more we plan,” he says, “the more efficiently things run. We don’t do things twice. That wastes a lot of time. We pride ourselves on detail. One penny doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but a jar of pennies amounts to something. It’s the same with details. One little detail doesn’t amount to much, but put them together and you’ve got something special. The golf course won’t always be perfect, but if all the details are completed, it detracts from the imperfections that might be out there. We focus on getting better and better. Every day we blow off cart paths, fill divots and pick up broken tees.”

Foerster tries to find people who work well within his management style.

“I treat them right and give them opportunities to be successful,” he explains. “And I empower them to make decisions. On a course as spread out as this, I’ve got to do that. Plus, it gives them a sense of ownership. I’m a former Marine and my boss is a former Marine. We don’t allow negativity. We’ll find a way to do it. This golf course is a little different, but we figure out a way to get the job done. Leadership is very important, but attitude is everything. If someone has a can-do, wanting, willing attitude, there isn’t anything they can’t accomplish. I only have problems with people with negative attitudes.”