David's First Entry

The Definition of Sustainable  
     
1 : able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed 
2 : involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources
3 : able to last or continue for a long time 
   

     My name is David Rinaldo and I am the managing partner of Scotland Yards Golf Club. I recently became an apprentice with the PGA of America and have been operating Scotland Yards since 2009. This is my first blog and my first case study, so please bear with me. I have been working with Eric Dodson from  Audubon Lifestyles over the last several months planning this case study and digitally plotting the course. Everything so far has been behind the scenes and we now are getting to the action. So I am very excited that the Audubon Lifestyles Sustainability Project has started and things are starting to happen.
    

Michael begins the installation

Phase 1: Fertigation   

    

    On Saturday June 30th, 2012 Michael Chaplinsky, from Turf Feeding Systems, began the installation of our fertigation system. This new system will slowly feed nutrients and biological/organic materials into the plant and more importantly into the soil via our irrigation system.
  
The fertigation system is one of the most important pieces in the sustainability puzzle. Not only will it provided much needed fertilizer and nutrients, it will also greatly reduce the man power needed to apply the fertilizer and it will eliminate emissions from equipment that would have been needed to conventionally apply it.

   

The Heart of the System

On the business side of things the course will save the cost of fuel and free up an employee to work on other projects. Though this part of the project is still in its infancy the benefits seem to be quite evident to me.
    

To the left is the heart beat of the system, the flow  meter. It will measure the flow of the water which will enable the "brains" to measure the proper amount of fertilizer to add to the water going out to the course. This way you get the proper amount of  fertilizer to water desired. On the bottom right you can see the tank in the background that holds the fertilizer that will be applied by the irrigation system.

Final Touches

Michael installing the "Heart"

Eric Dodson and Michael Chaplinsky

I could go on and on about this new system and the project, it is new, it is exciting, and I am pumped but I will contain myself. I still have several months to go on this blog and there is no reason to try and cram it all into one session. Let me wrap this up with how this all came about and why I think it is necessary. Eric Dodson's and my paths happen to cross thanks to a great person and fellow golf course manager. At that time I was seeking out "sustainable" practices before I knew what "sustainable" meant.
    

The System is Complete

Sustainable golf means several different things to me but the first thing that comes to my mind is "NEW". Which is not the golf industry "NEW" that operators have heard over the past 50 years, "We need a NEW piece of equipment/irrigation system/etc lets go buy it." The industry is no longer in this "NEW" stage, at least not on my level. My "New" is a new way to do things. That's everything from the ground up, literally. That is what sustainable golf means to me. A "NEW" way to manage my facility that will greatly improve conditions on the course and for the environment, as well as, help me manage costs and labor making it easier to navigate the economy and a competitive industry.

       

Is sustainable golf a proven science? No, not on a minimal budget public golf course level. Do I know that it is going to work? I believe in the system but nothing is for sure. What I do know is the science behind the project makes sense and the people behind the project are at the top of their field and are enthused as I am. Rome wasn't built in a day and I don't expect this to be easy and without its bumps but I believe in the methods and the industry knows that things have to change. So it is sure be a great ride and one heck of a learning experience. I will be updating the blog regularly, so don't be a stranger. Come by often for updates and to see the progress.

    

Thank You,

David Rinaldo