19 Suggestions for lower golf course maintenance costs in 2010

Don Mahaffey is the superintendent of Wolf Point club and was instrumental to its creation. He has been a leader in practical maintenance since he started over 20 years ago. Although he might say "it's just stupid to do it any other way"
Here are his 19 things you can do to improve profitability without impacting the players enjoyment. (In most cases, not all are good for everyone)

1. Gang mow, believe it or not you can get decent quality as long as you have a lightweight trim everything out.
2. Never ever edge a bunker again. Use herbicides like round-up at half strength or contacts and train someone to keep the edges burned back. It actually looks good and is a lot more environmentally friendly then it sounds.
3. get rid of the walk mowers
4. Don't over seed
5. No designer fertility programs
6. Try and get away from constant foliars and go back to the basics using organic greens fertilizers.
7. Best growth regulator in the world is less N.
8. Take out trees that require mowing around, trimming around, or spraying around, and especially if they cause you to spend more time trying to keep turf in the shade.
9. Be diligent with traffic control
10. Make your own compost and use in divot mix, sod repairs, dressing thin areas
11. Stagger work hours so your guys are mowing with fewest players on the course...do what ever you can to get work done with out players interrupting.
12. Question every expense, stop all cash leaks... don't pay $2,500 for computer irrigation support when you can have a spare computer setting there with software already loaded for 1/5th of that.
13. Do your own pump station PM
14. Keep a very tight fuel log...it has a way of disappearing
15. You can buy parts like bearings and bushings at a bearing shop. Find a small shop that will rebuild your starters.
16. Be honest in employee evaluation. Employees that can do it all are more valuable then the guy that can only rake bunkers. Pay your good guys more and trim the weak.
17. Don’t be a warehouse. Don’t buy more than you need of anything. Keeping business afloat right now is all about cash flow, you can’t pay the electric bill with bags of fert, spare reel mowers, or extra irrigation parts. Rarely is there a dire emergency that you can’t go without for a day or two.
18. Shop for bargains and don’t be afraid to ask for a discount and terms.
19. Look facility wide at labor waste. Way too many courses have cart attendants or other types of employees who sit around half the time. They can be trained to help maintain clubhouse landscaping and such.

Pictured above is the green side bunker on #16.