Colonial Country Club, in Cordova, Tenn., has made a name for itself in the headlines on more than one occasion. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the club was founded in December 1913 by a small group of business leaders in nearby Memphis—and when its first 18-hole golf course was dedicated a year later, the big “news” was that members would be driven to the course in automobiles.
The property made national news in 1977 when President Gerald Ford sank a hole-in-one during the Celebrity Pro-Am at the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, now known as the Fed-Ex St. Jude Classic. Two days later, Al Geiberger made golf history when he became the first professional to shoot a round of 59 in a PGA Tour event. Geiberger’s second-round, 13-under-par score still stands as a Tour record (it has since been tied by four men and one woman), and two monuments on Colonial’s grounds commemorate both his, and Ford’s, achievements.
Certified Golf Course Superintendent Robert Main, Colonial’s Director of Grounds Maintenance, values the club’s ties to the past as well. When it comes to equipping his staff with the necessary tools to maintain the 36 holes of the North and South courses now on the property, Main relies on his longstanding relationship with Jacobsen, which has supplied an equipment fleet that now includes two ECLIPSE 322 riding mowers, an SLF-1880 fairway mower, an LF-3800 fairway mower, a Cushman Turf-Truckster and an AR-522 rough mower.
“The biggest benefit that I have with [Jacobsen] is trust,” notes Main. “I have never had anything told or promised to me that has not happened. The loyalty has been well-earned.”
When a replacement fairway unit was needed during a member-guest tournament a couple of years ago, Main recalls, Jacobsen had a new machine at the course in a matter of hours. “My local Jacobsen dealer is Ladd’s, out of Memphis,” he says. “Their service has always been so good and so reliable—and in the golf industry, it all comes down to service.”
Labor-Saving Equipment
According to Main, the manufacturer’s equipment performs as reliably as its support personnel. A 17-year superintendent who has been at Colonial for more than three years, Main says his current club started using the ECLIPSE 322s last July.
“Once we demo’d one of them, my mind was made up,” he says. “Sometimes there’s a stigma about ride-mowing greens, but the quality of cut [that the ECLIPSE 322s] give is actually as good as a walk mower, so we can use that labor someplace else.” One crew member can ride-mow Colonial’s greens in four hours, compared to the 12 man-hours that would be required to walk-mow them, Main explains.
The mowers’ electric reels also eliminate concerns about hydraulic leaks on the greens, he adds.
The Jacobsen fairway mowers that Colonial uses also offer valuable features, Main notes. “You can set up the frequency of clip through a computer, so they can be set to only go a specific speed,” he reveals. “They’re consistent every day, and it takes operator error out of the equation.”
Main has also found that the fairway units are well-suited for Colonial’s varied terrain. “We have a hilly course, and the Jacobsen units are the only ones we have with the horsepower needed to climb the hills,” he reports. “That was a major factor in determining the fairway units we use.”
Improved Playability
After Colonial converted its greens from bentgrass to Bermuda on the South Course in 2010, and on the North Course in 2012, Main says the first piece of equipment he thought about using was the Jacobsen SLF-1880. The lightweight fairway mower has enabled the crew to reduce the height of cut on some turf around the greens from 2 inches to 3/4-inch.
“It was hard to stop a ball, but now the golf courses are more playable,” he says. “Golfers can putt or chip, and it’s more enjoyable for them.
“It was hard to get the greens firm and fast before,” Main adds, “but now we have better putting conditions in the months when people actually play golf.”
Course conditions have also improved because the reel speeds of the Jacobsen mowers let the crew cut a higher percentage of the turf. “It gives you the ability to increase your frequency of clip, and doesn’t slow the green speed in the afternoon,” says Main.
And Colonial’s crew no longer needs to roll greens every day, thanks to the quality and consistency of the cut. Now, depending on the weather or upcoming events, the staff rolls the greens three or four times a week.
An Exciting Future
The club’s event schedule, and overall activity, promises to keep its course maintenance staff especially busy this year, and beyond. Colonial has scheduled several golf tournaments to commemorate its centennial, and the property has increased its membership as well.
“We’re approaching golf and the club as more of a family experience,” says the club’s current President, Tim Weatherford. “We’re growing membership through an innovative ‘plus-one’ program that allows members to reduce their monthly expenses by recruiting friends to join. It’s a great retention program.”
The property’s rich golfing legacy bodes well for the club’s future as well. “The South Course has so much history, and there are so many expectations when people step on its first tee, that’s always our biggest challenge,” Main says. “At the end of the day, when you join a club, the golf courses are the attraction. They are the crown jewels of a facility.”
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relationship with Jacobsen, which has supplied an equipment fleet that now includes two ECLIPSE 322 riding mowers, an SLF-1880 fairway mower, an LF-3800 fairway mower, a Cushman Turf-Truckster and an AR-522 rough mower.
“The biggest benefit that I have with [Jacobsen] is trust,” notes Main. “I have never had anything told or promised to me that has not happened. The loyalty has been well-earned.”
When a replacement fairway unit was needed during a member-guest tournament a couple of years ago, Main recalls, Jacobsen had a new machine at the course in a matter of hours. “My local Jacobsen dealer is Ladd’s, out of Memphis,” he says. “Their service has always been so good and so reliable—and in the golf industry, it all comes down to service.”
Labor-Saving Equipment
According to Main, the manufacturer’s equipment performs as reliably as its support personnel. A 17-year superintendent who has been at Colonial for more than three years, Main says his current club started using the ECLIPSE 322s last July.
“Once we demo’d one of them, my mind was made up,” he says. “Sometimes there’s a stigma about ride-mowing greens, but the quality of cut [that the ECLIPSE 322s] give is actually as good as a walk mower, so we can use that labor someplace else.” One crew member can ride-mow Colonial’s greens in four hours, compared to the 12 man-hours that would be required to walk-mow them, Main explains.
The mowers’ electric reels also eliminate concerns about hydraulic leaks on the greens, he adds.
The Jacobsen fairway mowers that Colonial uses also offer valuable features, Main notes. “You can set up the frequency of clip through a computer, so they can be set to only go a specific speed,” he reveals. “They’re consistent every day, and it takes operator error out of the equation.”
Main has also found that the fairway units are well-suited for Colonial’s varied terrain. “We have a hilly course, and the Jacobsen units are the only ones we have with the horsepower needed to climb the hills,” he reports. “That was a major factor in determining the fairway units we use.”
Improved Playability
After Colonial converted its greens from bentgrass to Bermuda on the South Course in 2010, and on the North Course in 2012, Main says the first piece of equipment he thought about using was the Jacobsen SLF-1880. The lightweight fair
Colonial CC’s current President, Tim Weatherford (far left), and Director of Grounds Maintenance Robert Main, CGCS, have led a drive to get the club and its two golf courses in top shape for an active 100th anniversary year and exciting start to the next century.
way mower has enabled the crew to reduce the height of cut on some turf around the greens from 2 inches to 3/4-inch.
“It was hard to stop a ball, but now the golf courses are more playable,” he says. “Golfers can putt or chip, and it’s more enjoyable for them.
“It was hard to get the greens firm and fast before,” Main adds, “but now we have better putting conditions in the months when people actually play golf.”
Course conditions have also improved because the reel speeds of the Jacobsen mowers let the crew cut a higher percentage of the turf. “It gives you the ability to increase your frequency of clip, and doesn’t slow the green speed in the afternoon,” says Main.
And Colonial’s crew no longer needs to roll greens every day, thanks to the quality and consistency of the cut. Now, depending on the weather or upcoming events, the staff rolls the greens three or four times a week.
An Exciting Future
The club’s event schedule, and overall activity, promises to keep its course maintenance staff especially busy this year, and beyond. Colonial has scheduled several golf tournaments to commemorate its centennial, and the property has increased its membership as well.
“We’re approaching golf and the club as more of a family experience,” says the club’s current President, Tim Weatherford. “We’re growing membership through an innovative ‘plus-one’ program that allows members to reduce their monthly expenses by recruiting friends to join. It’s a great retention program.”
The property’s rich golfing legacy bodes well for the club’s future as well. “The South Course has so much history, and there are so many expectations when people step on its first tee, that’s always our biggest challenge,” Main says. “At the end of the day, when you join a club, the golf courses are the attraction. They are the crown jewels of a facility.”
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