Top 10 Things to know about golf course construction

Through my first 10 days working golf course construction, here is my list of my top 10 things I have learned.

10: Make www.weather.com your homepage.

9: Its always better to be to shallow, rather than to go to deep. Natural compaction takes months.

8: Its amazing how much work gets done when the forman is looking.

7: Damage control. This probably applies more to renovations, but if you can avoid ripping up grass, pipes, wires, drains, or whatever, by taking the long way, or by doing a little extra work in the short run, you are probably better off. Damage control is part of the game, but that should be expected and incorporated into the fees.

6: Always bring your shovel. You never know when you are going to need it.... Also shovel = pala in spanish!

5: Be smooth. It is better to be slow and smooth, rather than fast and jerky, especially with the big machines. Its better to take your time and get it right, because it will always take a lot longer if you have to go back and fix it.

4: Always have extra. Whether we are talking about extra sod, mix, Toro trucks or even an extra sandwich or bottle of water in your lunch box, you better have extra. The equipment will break down and when it does you better not be sitting there helpless, because that means you are losing money. If you run out of sod or mix or pipe and you cant finish what you are working on and have to wait for the next truck you are losing money.

3: Safety. Probably an obvious one, but these are real construction sites with heavy machinery and people can and will get hurt. This includes never loading over the cab with an excavator. Always knowing the quickest way to shutdown your trencher in case it kicks back. Even using you legs to lift stuff instead of your back.

2: Drainage. You have heard it before, but there is a real reason for it. Everything needs to be sloped down, even the smallest things that you may never have considered, such as the height of rough sod you lay next to the sod for a tee. If the rough is just slightly higher than the bent on the tee on the low side, you are going to get pools forming on edge of tee.

1: Never get caught standing around not working or being lazy. When you aren't being productive the company is losing money. So if you finish working on small project, you better find something to do or someone to help no matter what it is.