When you said this morning to take out the new triplex out to mow greens, does the "new triplex" have over 3000 hours? Lots of clubs have fallen behind in their equipment replacement plans and now have been trying to get the process restarted. While the clubhouse gets new rugs and the golf cart fleet lease keeps on rolling, you are using equipment that was meant to be replaced years ago.
Recently, I had the chance to work with a golf course that was at this tipping point. Their main rough unit was purchased used and had over 10,000 hours! Yes, that is not a typo, over 10,000 hours.
The club has been doing well with play and would buy a piece when something would get to complete failure. The need for investment was obvious, but how do you get the board to understand where you are in your fleet needs?
We put together, what I would call for lack of a better term, a reverse proposal. I took pictures of all the equipment that needed to be replaced. Then, we collected the hours and years for each and put it in to a formal proposal, almost like you would for an equipment quote or bid. The part that I think helped to sell it to the board was the formula on each page showing the hours on each unit and how that would translate to car miles. I used 75 miles=1 hour on piece of turf equipment. I have heard all sorts of different conversions, but that is the one I use. Then add in multiple operators, being run at full throttle and what translates to off road use to help drive home the point,and hopefully,they see a clearer picture. Obviously, not an exact science, but it helps to speak a language that the board or owner will understand.
WJC
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