Crashed golf cart

James Schmid

1 posts

5/28/2013 12:05 PM

Has anybody ever driven their cart into a tree, lake, bunker, etc, as they were driving and surveying the property at the same time. I had a supervisor do that last week, and it's frustrating, but then again I have had some pretty close calls myself.

Melvin Waldron

43 posts

5/28/2013 1:05 PM

I almost ran over an irrigation box while on the greensmower. I was looking up toward the tee wondering what the heck someone else was doing, stopped just in time, (although some want to debate me on that)

Mel

Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO

Steven Huffstutler

11 posts

5/28/2013 1:05 PM

[This post has been deleted in conjunction with GCSAA's forum policies.]

Gary Carls

20 posts

5/28/2013 1:05 PM

Looks like mostly the same thing happens, we all get distracted by something else and don't pay attention to where we are driving. I'll confess to scraping the back bumper of a car in the parking lot one time while taking a pre-construction tour at a course we were just starting work on in Michigan. Great 1st impression!!! Although not real damaging to anything the most embarrassing was when I drove over a "No carts beyond this point sign" in the fairway at a course that I had been set up to play on right as the host superintendent came driving up. Carts on paths after that for me!!!!

Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative

Andy Jorgensen

1 posts

5/28/2013 2:05 PM

During one of our renovations a few years back, I was driving backwards down along one edge of a fairway, turned around looking at how the green was shaping up. Wham!!! Right into a pine tree. First thing I did was look for witnesses to shoot. No witnesses so I then had to make the drive of shame back to the shop so I could get the front bumper bent back into shape.

Steven Huffstutler

11 posts

5/28/2013 3:05 PM

They removed my post due to a poorly disguised four letter word . So, to reiterate...

I hit a brick planter box once. Hit it a lick, too. I know a guy who burned a cart to the ground. Things ( this is where the last post got dicey, apparently) happen.

Steve

Clay Putnam

33 posts

5/28/2013 3:05 PM

Was driving thru a parking lot on a cart, something caught my eye and I turned around to look behind me. I drove thru a chain that stretched across one section of the lot. The chain rode up the steering column and broke across my fingers.No real damage to the cart but I had to squeeze my finger in a vice to get my wedding ring off.

Keith Pegg

0 posts

5/28/2013 4:05 PM

No never, but did back over a set of clubs at the proshop about 40 years ago, Some nut put them under my cart to keep them dry in the rain, I came out and did the 4 tire stomp on his sticks. But never forgot that and now look every time.

Keith

Douglas Eggert

1 posts

5/28/2013 7:05 PM

17 seasons and all me or the staff will admit to, is only 2 stainless steel irrigation boxes.....and a bridge.

The tee marker fell over by itself...honest.

Peter Bowman

11 posts

5/28/2013 7:05 PM

There's a guy I know who ran over the riser and hand pump of an in-ground gas tank used for fueling gas powered Harley Davidson three-wheeled golf carts back in abbout 1974. He thought the cart was in reverse but it wasn't. Turned around backwards to see where he was going, stepped on the gas, and it went forward. He was only about 14, and wasn't even on payroll. He was just there helping his brother do his job.

I haven't driven a Harley since.

Wahlin Scott B

5/28/2013 7:05 PM

Personally, I have been VERY lucky. When I was in sales I had a superintendent show me a truckster that had been severely damaged the day they received it five years earlier. They covered it and hid it in the back of the shop. They fixed up an older unit and kept it going for another five years. I took the other unit on trade and showed up at 5am to winch it on to my trailer.

Tod Blankenship

0 posts

5/28/2013 9:05 PM

I consider my position one of research and development as a superintendent so therefore all of my "accidents" or "not so proud moments" are part of the job :roll:

However I did have one accident at my first Superintendent position that was pure stupidity. After traveling miles on the same stretch of cart paths for a few years somebody must have put the tree in my way when I wasn't looking.

I was traveling down the cart path when of all people my mother who was visiting was walking the course with her dog. Of course the dog saw me and my cart and my dog and wanted to say hi. As I was traveling at a pretty good clip and yelling for Sadie to go back to her owner, KABLAAAM :oops:

! Ejected over the steering wheel I went and the cart came to a stand still nestled nicely against a white pine.

I am sure I really made my mom proud as she watched me fly through the air.....

The cart survived and I was very lucky to get up and walk away.

Justin VanLanduit

0 posts

5/29/2013 10:05 AM

This could be a good coffee table book, kinda like "The Sh!t My Dad Would Say". I'm sure we all have a good story hidden in our closets.

I was lucky enough to launch a cart over a bunker bank while chasing geese around a green once. Landed on all 4's and kept going. Wish I had the General Lee horn at that time. Looked around for witnesses, nobody saw so I raked the tire tracks out and went on my way.

Another when I was younger working on the 9 holer through grade school and high school I was driving the loader tractor where I had a rake laying across the hood, came around a corner and the rake started to slide. Thought it was smart to save the rake so I went to grab that and put the bucket that was about 6 ft in the air right into a tree. Bent the bucket a bit but that was all, rake was in perfect condition!

Larry Allan

0 posts

5/30/2013 9:05 AM

I was filling up and old John Bean sprayer with PMAS Thiram and assorted other goodies. Since it didn't have much of an agitation system we always dumped the chem in first and then the irrigation hose filled and agitated the mix. Well if I didn't just finish putting in the raw chemical when I spotted a new sweetie on staff and walked over to lay some charm on her. I went back, got on the sprayer and headed out to 7 fairway to spray. After about 50 yards or so it stopped spraying, so I got off to look. Jesus, if the tank wasn't empty! The little trolip had distracted me and I forgot add the water to the tank. They say that section of 7 fairway to this day has been disease free. Thank God for 808's and the volume of water those puppies could put out...and for the thunderstorm that followed shortly after. That tank should have covered 7 acres

As for the little girl I laid the charm on, we spent 17 years together and we had a male child......so I got that goin for me!

Clay Putnam

33 posts

5/30/2013 10:05 AM

Larry Allan said: I was filling up and old John Bean sprayer with PMAS Thiram and assorted other goodies. Since it didn't have much of an agitation system we always dumped the chem in first and then the irrigation hose filled and agitated the mix. Well if I didn't just finish putting in the raw chemical when I spotted a new sweetie on staff and walked over to lay some charm on her. I went back, got on the sprayer and headed out to 7 fairway to spray. After about 50 yards or so it stopped spraying, so I got off to look. Jesus, if the tank wasn't empty! The little trolip had distracted me and I forgot add the water to the tank. They say that section of 7 fairway to this day has been disease free. Thank God for 808's and the volume of water those puppies could put out...and for the thunderstorm that followed shortly after. That tank should have covered 7 acres

As for the little girl I laid the charm on, we spent 17 years together and we had a male child......so I got that goin for me!

Obvious chemistry...

Jeff Strother

0 posts

5/31/2013 10:05 AM

I got a tractor wedged between 3 pine trees once while spreading fert. I thought it could fit....guess I was wrong. I thought we were gonna have to get the chain saw out to get it unstuck, but our mechanic said "if you got it in there, I'll get it out" and thankfully he was right.

Had a crew member backing out of the shop once in a carryall, and his throttle got stuck. He slammed backwards full speed into a fence, and instead of turning the key off, or simply getting out, he throws it into forward. Ran full throttle back into the shop, slammed full speed into a set of lockers, and cracked a few ribs on the steering wheel. Happened right in front of me...couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Melvin Waldron

43 posts

5/31/2013 10:05 AM

I did get a big Toro Rake-O-Vac stuck in between a couple of trees my first year on the golf course. I can't remember if I was able to get it unstuck or not. Have seen blitzer units hung up in trees too where we had to break them apart....luckily that wasn't my doing.

I guess that's why I am probably sometimes too easy going on some of my summer help, but the silly things I did that first couple of seasons, if I had been fired who knows what I would be doing now.

Mel

Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO

Canedo Alberto J

5/31/2013 11:05 AM

When I started working for my father, he would give a radio to whoever was using the groundsmater when we had to mow around the lakes. The mechanic would already have the tow chain set up. I probably dumped it in the lake over a dozen times. Had an uncle that drove a Cushman 3 wheeler into the irrigation lake and walked to the shop. My dad asked him where the Cushman was and responded by saying the front tire is going up and down in the irrigation lake. The best one is when another uncle got the Ford Ranchero stuck in a ditch and between the Eucalyptus trees and decided to try and reverse with the door open and snapped the door. Came to the shop and was asked what happened to the door. He said it fell off on the first hole.

Keith Lamb

3 posts

5/31/2013 6:05 PM

This sounds like a extra chapter in the cookbook.

Peter Bowman

11 posts

5/31/2013 6:05 PM

Cushman Fried Catfish in Ranchero Sauce.

Wahlin Scott B

5/31/2013 8:05 PM

Keith Lamb said: This sounds like a extra chapter in the cookbook.

Two sections of the book would be a great idea:

Section 1 - "Crash!"
Chapters:
Did I tell you my Dad was a superintendent?
Quick Couplers, Cheerleaders and the 60's - The Early Years
Chemicals We Actually Bought Legally - The 70's
"What is in the Lake!" - The 80's
"Parts per WHAT!" - The 90's
Perpetual Motion Machines and Stimpmeter Readings of 12 - The Bush-43 Years
No Turf, Stimpmeter Readings of 16 and Courses Are Closing - The Bush-43 Aftermath and Job Hunting

Section 2 - EAT
Chapters:
Maintaining the Chef's Lawn - Ways to Obtain Free Meals
Cold Nights = Warm Pies
Variations on Kraft's Mac & Cheese
100 Meals That Do Not Require Dishes or a Wife
Here Are Lobsters Honey. Give Me Cheerios. ("I ate my Lobster with the environmental regulator for lunch.")
Variations on Kraft's Mac & Cheese -or- Thank you for not firing me and only taking away my family's healthcare.
Our EBT Card Does Not Give Us Enough Calories to Survive, Sell It and Buy Lottery Tickets - The Art of Dumpster Diving

Steven Huffstutler

11 posts

6/1/2013 4:06 AM

Although it wasn't a golf cart, the best crash I ever saw was when I used to have a couple of those little JD bunker rakes which are the fastest rakes on the planet. We have two maintenance yards, one of which has a steel snow gate on it. One of the guys decided that he would wash his machine at the remote yard on his way back to the shop. He was talking to his girlfriend on the phone while running this little green death machine at full throttle and didn't notice that the gate was closed and locked. Most of the bunker rake fit under the bar, but he didn't. It peeled him off that rake like a band aid, but he never let go of the steering wheel and it came off with him. The bunker rake came to rest in the woods and he woke up on the driveway holding a steering wheel.
The gate was locked with a chain and padlock and he hit it so hard that he broke the padlock, which is something I didn't think you could do.

Wahlin Scott B

6/1/2013 10:06 AM

I had a guy drive a tractor into a lake. I was several hundred yards away in a golf cart and it took me an eternity to get there. He never came out of the water. I jumped in and discovered that the lake dropped directly off to ten feet deep at the edge. I could not see but I found the hood of the tractor and worked my way back to the seat. He was still sitting in the seat with his hands firmly gripped to the steering wheel. I loosened his hands and guided him to the surface. He remained in shock for 10-15 minutes.

Larry Allan

0 posts

6/2/2013 5:06 AM

Scott Wahlin, CGCS said: I had a guy drive a tractor into a lake. I was several hundred yards away in a golf cart and it took me an eternity to get there. He never came out of the water. I jumped in and discovered that the lake dropped directly off to ten feet deep at the edge. I could not see but I found the hood of the tractor and worked my way back to the seat. He was still sitting in the seat with his hands firmly gripped to the steering wheel. I loosened his hands and guided him to the surface. He remained in shock for 10-15 minutes.

Scotty, I think if a guy doesn't let go of the steering wheel after driving into a lake and submerging himself, there are bigger issues at hand. Having personally experienced driving into water on several types of machines, releasing the grip and getting to the surface becomes a subconscious priority. You may not have done him a favour.

Clay Putnam

33 posts

6/2/2013 6:06 AM

That's quite the "story". The crash must have been so terrifying that it made the suffocating depths of the water seem comforting. Did you happen to have a knife clinched between your jaws as you dove in the water, just incase you had to take out a gator during the daring rescue?

Ronald Conard

4 posts

6/3/2013 2:06 PM

Clay Putnam, CGCS said: That's quite the "story". The crash must have been so terrifying that it made the suffocating depths of the water seem comforting. Did you happen to have a knife clinched between your jaws as you dove in the water, just incase you had to take out a gator during the daring rescue?

Uh oh....

Wahlin Scott B

6/3/2013 5:06 PM

Clay Putnam, CGCS said: That's quite the "story". The crash must have been so terrifying that it made the suffocating depths of the water seem comforting. Did you happen to have a knife clinched between your jaws as you dove in the water, just incase you had to take out a gator during the daring rescue?

I was a lifeguard in Daytona and swam with alligators and sharks from the time I was a kid. Hopping into a golf course pond to save an employee who might well be under the tractor is nothing compared to going 700 yards offshore in a rip current to save someone fighting for their life.

Clay Putnam

33 posts

6/4/2013 7:06 AM

It just hit me...

[url=http://s191.photobucket.com/user/cbputnam/media/Screenshot2013-06-04at72105AM_zps7ccae098.png.html">[img">http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z176/cbputnam/Screenshot2013-06-04at72105AM_zps7ccae098.png[/img">

Wahlin Scott B

6/6/2013 4:06 PM

Clay Putnam, CGCS said: It just hit me...

[url=http://s191.photobucket.com/user/cbputnam/media/Screenshot2013-06-04at72105AM_zps7ccae098.png.html">[img">http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z176/cbputnam/Screenshot2013-06-04at72105AM_zps7ccae098.png[/img">

Maybe I should change my Avatar - #1 place for shark attacks and worked in the ocean. I didn't always drink beer, but when I did I drank Jack Daniels!

http://animal.discovery.com/fish/dangerous-place-shark-attack.htm

Nicolas Davies

0 posts

6/7/2013 3:06 AM

Guys soem excellent stories .

When working in Germany early 90's had an old guy who used the farm the land before the course was built and he had regular route home in his VW beetle across what was to become the 6 fairway 5 green 17 fairway and over a very harrow bridge to his house completely avoiding the public roads as he was p!**@d .
During construction he was caught couple times no harm done , but after 6 months of opening he was one night so blottoed he ran over 5 green from behind and down through deep bunker , still kept going over 17 green and ended up parking the beetle in the river as he completely missed the bridge .
In work next day 6.00 am he arrived by foot , we asked why and he said someone had stolen his car !!!!!!!!!! so drunk was he that couldn't remember what had happened the night before .

A Polish head master who used to come and mow fairways in 3.5 months summer holidays and earn more in West Germany than he earnt as Head master in a year . Well anyone who has worked with Polish guys will know their birthday is important , but the name day , a Saints name is just the same , so knowing this i told him to take the day off as he would have started drinking even before work started . So all good , late that evening I return from supper out with my wife and see dim lights moving on fairway on the second 18 of ours , I go and investigate thinking some young kids joy riding , no it was the old Head master guy cutting fairways , he got so drunk fell asleep all afternoon early evening , then woke and remembered he should have cut fairways that day so duly goes out in pitch dark to finish his job , luckily no damage to himself or the machine .
Yes a book would be good .

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