2000 Leo Feser Award Candidate

I'm not talking about ghosts, vandals or even that old pump station with the bad clay valve. I'm talking about an even scarier topic to most superintendents: night maintenance.

I know night maintenance tends to frighten a lot of people. I will admit it isn't appropriate for all situations. For example, you may have homes surrounding your golf course, which can limit your maintenance schedule from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Even in this case, I think you would be surprised at what can be done from 4 or 5 p.m. until 10 or 11 p.m. You may even be able to run a special project around the clock with a second and sometimes even a third shift.

Before scheduling any nighttime project, such as aerifying, be sure to communicate the schedule to course neighbors.

While at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach, Calif., I developed a night aerification program that included aerifying, topdressing, seeding, fertilizing and cleaning 41 greens in three days. The first night was a nightmare; the second was pretty smooth; and the third ran like clockwork. With the success of the night aerification, I have gone on to supervise many night projects, including:

	Aerification and topdressing
	Quad-tine aerification
	Hydroject aerification
	Fertilizer and chemical applications, liquid and granular (time irrigation cycles to follow behind the application being made)
	Overseed preparation
	Irrigation renovation
	Drainage projects

"Do's" for the dark
There are definitely a number of guidelines that you should have in place prior to beginning a night maintenance program. I'm not saying that all your maintenance needs must be or even should be done at night, but I do believe that some special projects can be done to help improve the public relations campaign at your facility.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of planning for a night aerification program. Your schedule has to be perfect, allowing for any obstacles or problems that you can imagine.

The No. 1 factor in scheduling a night project is to allow for extra time. People just move slower when it's dark. Even with multiple lights, you have to be more cautious. For instance, hydraulic, fuel and grease leaks or drips are more difficult to detect in artificial light.

Here are some guidelines to use when deciding whether a night project is right for your facility.

Plan, plan, plan. Envision every problem you can, and try to allow enough time to work around it. If your crew can aerify and topdress nine holes during the day, schedule six holes at night, just in case. As you work the kinks out, you'll be able to get more done. For some projects, night programs may prove to be more effective than a daytime program. You might even be able to borrow equipment from a nearby course to make the project go faster (additional aerifiers or topdressers).

CGCS Danny Fielder tries to arrange potluck dinners for staff and their spouses so night work doesn't take away too much family time. However, his wife Michelle adds her support by raking plugs off a green at 2:30 a.m.

Always schedule a mechanic. We have a mechanic vehicle that is already set up with extra lights, a generator and a compressor to make the mechanic's job in the field as easy as possible.

Schedule an extra body. It's wise to plan for extra help, just for emergencies. If it turns out you don't need that person, you can always reschedule him or her. This employee may even be used to get a jump-start on the next day's regular maintenance, as your crew will typically be short-handed the day after a night project.

Lights, lights, lights. I don't believe you can have too many lights. We rent telescoping light towers with a built-in generator. The machine runs all night on one tank of diesel and is amazingly quiet. The lights can be telescoped, turned and angled in any direction. We have found that with two units, we can direct the light onto a green in such a concentrated fashion that we have very little wash into the surrounding areas. (Believe me, the last thing I need is a confused F-15 pilot landing a 15-ton jet on the golf course!)

For $20 to $30, you can equip almost any piece of maintenance equipment with additional lighting purchased from your local auto parts store.

Communication. Communication should probably be your first priority. Let the pro shop know what you're doing. Arrange for the nine holes you'll be working on to be closed a couple hours earlier so golfers can clear out of the way. You may even want to reverse the rotation of the course for that day to allow for the clearing of golfers.

Post the basics of your program in the locker room or on club bulletin boards. Show your patrons that you are trying to work around them, with as little impact on their rounds as possible. Have the pro shop, or even the starter, post a quick-read memo on the counter and ask them to help you get the word out.

If a community surrounds your course, get the news out in the form of a newsletter, or post it at the local community or recreation centers. The few phone calls you may receive prior to the program will help reduce the number of complaints you might receive afterward.

Talk to your customers -- it's the most overlooked way of getting the word out. I get the most feedback just by being around golfers in the morning at the putting greens or in the pro shop.

Added benefits
One thing I've found in doing night maintenance is how much the employees seem to enjoy it. Anything that changes the day-to-day routine gets everyone excited. Another idea that helps in the success of a night maintenance program is to extend employees' lunch periods and have a pot-luck dinner with spouses. I know it saves my behind when I've already been at the course for 12 hours, and I tell my wife I still have six more to go.

As I stated before, night maintenance isn't the solution to all of your project concerns. But overall, you may be surprised at how efficient and productive you and your crew can be by performing certain projects at night.

If you have any questions about how to put together a night project plan, please give me a call at (702) 652-6507.

Danny Fielder, former superintendent at Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Beach, Calif., is superintendent and director of agronomy at Sunrise Vista Golf Course in North Las Vegas, and a six-year GCSAA member.