doing more with less

tight budget demands the right equipment

Welcome to The Monster. Or at least that’s what Dub’s Dread Golf Club, Kansas City, was called in 1981, when at 8,100 yards the course staked its claim as the longest in the world. Built in 1964 to be a test of golf, developer Jug McSpaden never realized his dream to host a professional event. But over the years, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have all played the course.

Times and circumstances change, and today the course measures 7,224 yards from the tips. Competition from area courses and general golf industry trends has resulted in a drop in rounds, and every year the maintenance budget is squeezed tighter. On the plus side, Dub’s Dread gained an advantage more than two years ago when it hired Jimmy Angelotti as its superintendent. The site has several challenging maintenance features, well known by Angelotti who worked at the course while in high school.

“The drainage system isn’t very elaborate, and we don’t drain like other courses in the area,” he says. “The irrigation system is old and doesn’t always run correctly. You have to know how to tweak the system. The greens are old and each one has different needs. They can turn in a hurry. I know the quirks because I worked under the superintendent who was here for 20 years.”

Budget challenges
Angelotti’s neighboring superintendents have budgets $150,000 to $200,000 higher than Dub’s Dread, and charge similar green fees. So how does Angelotti compete?

“Equipment is key to having a well-maintained golf course,” he says. “Machines must be well taken care of and reels must be sharp and properly adjusted. We check height of cut all the time. A variation of .005 will change green speed. Our Jacobsen Greens King IVs hold their cut very well. I’ve used other mowers, and we had to adjust them every day. I think the Greens King IV is the best riding greens mower on the market.”

The greens mowers are equipped with MAGKnife bedknives. Saving time was one of the biggest reasons Angelotti switched from traditional screwtype bedknives.

“Any way we can save time or money is important to me,” he says. “The faster we can get bedknives off, ground and back on, the less downtime and labor cost. It takes only seconds to change out our MAGKnife bedknives and we’re ready to go again. I’ve got a staff of 10 for three months in summer and only five in the spring and fall. Believe me, it’s critical to have them out on the course and productive instead of standing around in the shop waiting for the bed- knives to be changed. Convenience and a dramatic reduction in downtime attracted me to the MAGSystem.”

There are several other reasons Jacobsen’s MAGSystem has been beneficial to Dub’s Dread.

“I think the Greens King IV is the best riding greens mower on the market.” Superintendent Jimmy Angelotti

“With older greens we vertidrain down to 10 inches twice a year,” Angelotti says. “And, we topdress at three-week intervals. That’s a lot of sand. Quality of cut is critical, and we can’t achieve that with dull bedknives. With our MAGKnives, we just flip up the reels, pop on new bedknives, backlap a little and we’re back mowing — in a matter of minutes, not hours.”

There are a few other benefits that have impressed Angelotti about the MAGSystem.

“I haven’t kept any records,” he says, “but our MAGKnives last longer than traditional bedknives. We only used two sets last summer. We probably look at them more often because it’s so easy to just pop them off and back on. I know we’ve had less reel damage because if a MAGKnife hits an object, it moves out of the way. Finally, the quality of cut is definitely better. We use 11-blade reels and the cut with the MAGKnives is awesome. Jacobsen equipment has always had an outstanding cut, period.”

Good people
Angelotti counts on his staff to help deliver top conditions.

“Our staff is dedicated to making the golf course great,” he says. “They are well trained and know

what they’re doing. They’re efficient and don’t waste time. If someone wants to work here, they have to know how to properly adjust and lubricate equipment and operate the machines correctly.

“We want the staff to be proud of where they work,” he continues. “When I got here, the golf course needed attention, and we’ve progressed. The staff has seen the fruits of their labor. I believe that when someone sees improvement they will work harder. When someone says how great the course looks, it’s really the staff they’re talking about. That motivates our guys."

Angelotti says the quality of cut with the Greens King IVs is definitely better. He adds, "We use 11-blade reels and the cut with the MAGKnives is awesome. Jacobsen equipment has always had an outstanding cut, period."

Detailed budget
Angelotti presents an extremely detailed budget to his management company. He explains what he’s doing and the consequences of not doing something. There is no frivolous money.

“I told my owners that if I don’t need it, I won’t spend it,” he says. “On the other hand, I’ll budget for what I think I need. It may be more or it may be less. Every year is different. Last year the sun was shining 320 days. Next year it might be 260 days with more rain. Disease
pressure could be higher or lower. For example, my labor cost last year was $35,000 lower. The weather was better and we didn’t have to spend hours syringing. This year we’ve had many days when we’re still hand watering at 3:30 p.m.”

Unfortunately, too often budget cuts impact course conditions.

“I budget what I think is normal and take it from there,” Angelotti says. “If I go over in one category, I have to find something to cut somewhere else. It may mean tees don’t get topdressed one month. That’s how it works.”