One of the great things about my job is meeting
superintendents from around the country. As often as I can, I like to stop in and
visit superintendents at their facilities. I often see the simple things that
superintendents have done to either make their jobs easier or to save money for
their clubs.
While I was in
Billings last October for the Peaks & Prairies Fall Meeting and Trade Show,
I had the opportunity to visit with Sean Sullivan, CGCS from Briarwood Country
Club. Sean enjoys traveling, especially to England, Scotland and Ireland to
volunteer at the Open Championships. He has gotten to know many superintendents
over there and frequently networks with them. Sean was instrumental in setting
up a sister chapter relationship between Peaks & Prairies and the BIGGA
Chapter, East of England.
In a way to commemorate his relationships with his overseas
peers. Sean uses the powder coat process to create custom flags on the ball
washers to match the different regions of the UK and Ireland. Now Sean is doing
custom orders and will be sending his work overseas!
Sean isn't in the
business of selling custom-painted Deluxe Par Aide ball washers, but my point is
to demonstrate his creativity and ability to save his course money by setting
up his own powder coating operation. At
one of the courses I used to work at we sanded and used automotive paint on the
ball washers. As you can imagine this wasn't the safest operation. With powder
coating you don’t smell a thing. Sean said this takes a minimal investment. Once
you’re set up, it costs an average of $2.25 per ball washer in materials.
The actual powder
coat spray gun can be purchased for $129 from Harbor Freight, and he purchases
the powder coat online from a company called Eastwood. He gets 5 pounds for $54. They
also provide an abundance of colors. Sean says he can normally coat 24
ball washers with that amount. For the oven, he simply put out a request to the
membership and within days he had a like-new range for free. After constructing
a couple racks to hold the ball washers while coating and baking, he was set to
go. Once done, the finish is as beautiful and strong as if it just came from
the factory. If your course requires a custom color, then primed ball washers
can be purchased through your distributor and you are all set. If you are
interested, Sean would be glad to answer any questions. Feel free to contact
him at: briarmain@180com.net .