Tennessee course goes electric

Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, a state-operated golf course near Chattanooga, Tenn., is now using an entire fleet of all-electric golf course maintenance equipment.

An all-electric Jacobsen ECLIPSE 322 riding greens mower is used to maintain a green at the Bear Trace at Harrison Bay golf course.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Clean Tennessee Energy Grant program provided the funds the course needed to replace its gasoline-powered equipment with battery-powered greens mowers, bunker rakes, greens rollers and utility vehicles. The new equipment includes seven ECLIPSE 322 all-electric riding greens mowers from Jacobsen, a Textron Company.

“In addition to the many environmental benefits, the Jacobsen ECLIPSE mowers have also allowed us to provide a quality-of-cut that we haven’t been able to produce before,” said Superintendent Paul L. Carter. “The machines’ programmable frequency-of-clip gives us the flexibility to change the amount of grass removed from the green quickly without having to change gears, sprockets or fittings. Saving the additional time and wear and tear on the greens and surrounds is another added benefit that is very important to our operation.”

Carter and his team have embraced such environmental initiatives as water quality and conservation, wildlife and habitat management, and reduced chemical use. They installed 45 nesting houses, created a large plant bed of more than 218 native plants, and renovated the course’s chemical storage facility. As a result, the course received the Environmental Leaders in Golf Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America for the past four consecutive years and is designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International.

The new equipment offers several benefits, Tennessee government officials said. It will decrease annual operation expenses by an estimated 300 percent; it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent; it will make less noise when it operates, which is less distracting to golfers and wildlife; and it will eliminate the need for hydraulic fluid or engine oil, which reduces labor costs and the potential effect on vegetation and ground water.

“The environmental initiatives the state of Tennessee is executing at the Bear Trace have benefits that reach far beyond the golf course,” said Jacobsen President David Withers. “Not only will all-electric equipment like our ECLIPSE mowers save natural resources and provide a better experience for golfers, the resources saved will allow the course to invest in new and innovative projects.”