A reporter for WMDT ABC47 in Salisbury, Md.,focused on the work done by the grounds crew headed by Golf Course Superintendent Mike Salvio, CGCS. The participatory report showed the reporter helping with tasks including cup-cutting, bedknife sharpening and checking the irrigation system.
“On the Job,” a regular segment on WMDT ABC 47, a Salisbury, Md., television station, recently featured weekend anchor/reporter Michelle Mackonochie’s visit to Ocean City (Md.) Golf Club. In addition to providing the club with valuable exposure, Mackonochie’s report highlighted the work done by the club’s grounds crew, which is headed by Golf Course Superintendent Mike Salvio, CGCS.
As part of her report, Mackonochie was taught by Salvio how to participate in tasks that included cutting cups, sharpening bedknives and checking the irrigation system (as part of the report, Toro Irrigation’s Lynx system also got exposure, as did the course’s John Deere mowers and utility vehicles).
“There are a number of golf courses across the [Delmarva] peninsula, and no matter which one you choose to go to, those working there will tell you it takes a lot of hard work to get everything just right before you even set foot on the course,” Mackonochie said at the start of her report. “This week, ‘On the Job’ 47 ABC heads to the Ocean City Golf Club to care of the links.
“Complete with two different courses, this 500-acre club offers 36 holes and perfectly manicured green courses,” Mackonochie continued. “But they don’t get that way on their own—it requires work, which is why golf course superintendent Mike Salvio ‘hired’ us today.
“First, we headed into the maintenance facility to check out the club’s irrigation system,” Mackonochie reported. “Salvio says there are about 1,200 sprinkler heads around the whole club. To ensure that the grass is doing well, they use a program called Lynx that can tell them the soil temperature and the moisture level.
“Next, we headed to where the all the lawnmowers were kept, so we could check them before we went out,” Mackonochie reported. “One thing they need to check is the mower’s blade, to make sure it’s even and sharp enough to cut. Salvio says they have to change direction each time that they mow, so the grass won’t get worn out.
“After everything was deemed good to go, we made our way out to the course,” Mackonochie continued. “As soon as we got to a good spot, we had to do some testing on the grass. Salvio says they use what’s called a prism gauge, which verifies that the grass is even and the mower is cutting evenly.
“Next, we had to check the health of the grass roots in the putting area. For this job, you have to use a digging tool that removes a small square of grass. When looking at bottom of the roots they should be white, which means they’re healthy. Salvio says they try to grow as many roots as they can in the springtime, so it survives in the summer heat.
“After that, we had to mow the green, which is a difficult task because you only are supposed to mow certain parts of the grass,” Mackonochie said. “Next, it was time to set the golf cups that players hit the golf balls into. Salvio says they have to change them often because they get worn out, and to make things super easy, they use a tool to dig the new hole. After removing the liner from the old hole, you set the liner in your freshly dug hole, then lastly you have to replace the unfilled hole with your new soil.
“For our last job,” Mackonochie said, we had to turn on the sprinkler system, which can be done from an app on a cell phone.”
The video of Mackonochie’s report can be viewed here: http://m.wmdt.com/news/on-the-job-ocean-city-golf-club/39853622
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