Water Coolers Cancel The title field is required!

1. Corp Chad B

   
   1/15/2012 7:01 AM

   I know this has been a subject before, but I'm looking for ideas on water coolers. We have 5 gallon coolers out on the course and I'm looking for ways to eliminate them and would like to know what other people are doing regarding water on the course. I have looked at padlocking them, liners, water bottles, and daily sanitizing, but I don't think that is the answer as far as keeping them sanitary.
   
   I was thinking drink tickets? Just let the golfers know there is not water on the course except for bev cart and halfway house? Deal with the hassle of water coolers? Or??

   
   
   
   
2. Wahlin Scott B

   
   1/15/2012 9:01 AM

   I believe the Phoenix water cooler death occurred because the chlorine had been filtered from the water before it was put into the cooler. Chlorinated water should be okay. Having said that, I am planning to replace water cooler stations with water fountains - fresh water lines and electricity.
   
   I worked at one club that had a perennial problem with a wet tee. I turned the time off on the hydraulic NO VT2 tee, but it still remained wet. One afternoon I watched a group play through. They stopped and drank water from a fountain between the previous green and that tee. While they were drinking the tee irrigation came on. You guessed it! The fountain was tied into the irrigation hydraulic system!

   
   
   
   
3. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   1/15/2012 5:01 PM

   We clean our coolers daily, and sanitize once per week. Is this sufficient? Who knows, I'm not a certified food preparation person. If you want to get anal about it, these could be treated the same as anything in your kitchen, and therefore should be the chef's responsibility.

   
   
   
   
4. Wahlin Scott B

   
   1/15/2012 5:01 PM

   Andy Jorgensen said: We clean our coolers daily, and sanitize once per week. Is this sufficient? Who knows, I'm not a certified food preparation person. If you want to get anal about it, these could be treated the same as anything in your kitchen, and therefore should be the chef's responsibility.

   
   
   Agreed!

   
   
   
   
5. Mark Van Lienden

   

   14 posts
   
   1/16/2012 8:01 AM

   One trade show had bottled water where they would put your label on it for .36.It was quite a while ago but the thought was advertisment for the course and a free bottle of water with your round.

   
   
   
   
6. David Brandenburg

   

   3 posts
   
   8/13/2013 12:08 PM

   Have many daily fee clubs gotten rid of water coolers without getting run out on a rail?
   
   It seems todays golfer thinks cold fresh water to drink, wash their clubs and wet their towels with is a right of the constitution. We would like to reduce or eliminate the coolers just to save time and the hassle of trying to guarantee cleanliness and safe conditions but are afraid of the backlash.
   
   Through human error a few coolers ran empty Monday and you would think we killed someone. The anger of some golfers over a small issue on a 75 degree day was amazing.

   
   
   
   
7. Sprague Lucas H

   
   8/13/2013 1:08 PM

   I have the same issue here in Idaho. People feel as if they are entitled to the water and how dare I stand in their way. I proposed the idea of plumbing water fountains at select locations on the course and was told that they don't make ice to keep the water cold enough. Figured it was a shoe in with management once I showed the cost saving of not buying disposable cups and labor to keep them full. Not to mention the tasks I could use that employee for instead of filling coolers. I guess in this case, the customer is always right? Good luck with figuring out how to get rid of them. If you do please share your process of elimination as I too am tired of the complaints of no water or warm water.

   
   
   
   
8. McDonagh Patrick

   
   8/13/2013 1:08 PM

   Our golfers are the same way if the coolers run dry look out. Funny, when we removed the divot boxes nobody noticed.

   
   
   
   
9. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   8/13/2013 2:08 PM

   I once used the excuse that we don't have the safe food handling requirements to fill them daily and that the kitchen staff, who is properly trained and certified in this, should do it. It didn't work but I thought it was a good try anyways.

   
   
   
   
10. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    8/13/2013 3:08 PM

    We have a big recycled plastic box on our 11th hole. We fill it daily with bottled water and refurbish the ice probably mid day. They have two cold bottles of water in the small cart cooler with ice and the beverage girl is around all day. We had coolers on two holes years ago but eliminated them when Arizona experienced problems. We never heard a complaint. Our guests are tribal players, locals or resort guests. Other than a few of our high rollers who feel it is their right to play with range balls and take nearly a case of water at t time, we have never had a complaint. In fairness, a tribal resort casino type facility is a different animal!

    
    
    
    
11. League Michael

    
    8/13/2013 8:08 PM

    We have four 10-gallon coolers on the course that we fill daily in season. If a water cooler gets skipped or runs empty, people get really angry. I have had several times when we have a nice day in wintertime and people expect us to put jugs out for one day when it will get below freezing that night. We pull them in mid-November through early March. I had a problem with some employees filling them too full of ice and they would run dry quick when the ice doesn't melt down.
    
    The most common complaints we get are water jugs, empty ball washers and pin locations. Any ball washer that i think may leak i just pull in, never had a complaint about the ball washer being absent on a hole.

    
    
    
    
12. Mark Newton

    

    1 posts
    
    8/14/2013 6:08 AM

    Wow, you guys are lucky! We currently have 7 10 gallon water coolers filled each day, used to be 11 though...big events we are required to change them out mid-day whether they need it or not. So on a 240k budget makes it really fun!
    
    My favorite memory was when we were hosting a high school state golf tournament earlier this year, it had just rained the prior night and was around 78 degrees that day. I got a call from my GM that the coolers were dry at 5pm and I needed to come back to change them. So I did, took an hour to clean and fill them, got them out and the funny thing was only 1 was "dry" the closest one to the clubhouse... additionally that day we had to have all 3 of our work carts clean with coolers in them ready for the bev girls, they only used 1 because someone forgot to schedule accordingly. LOVE IT!!
    
    
    Mark Newton, CGCS

    
    
    
    
13. Sean Hoolehan

    

    0 posts
    
    8/15/2013 9:08 AM

    David,
    
    I just ran potable water out to 2 locations on the course that players pass twice a 9. I recently switched the drinking fountains to water only since the cooler/compressor drinking fountains are more expensive and nobody complained about the water being warm in one that the compressor had been disconnected for over 2 months during the heat of the summer. Its nice because we don't find the little cups/funnels all over the place either. Well worth the effort and expense to put the drinking fountains out.

    
    
    
    
14. Hardy Andrew

    
    8/15/2013 3:08 PM

    Ontario, the province I live doesn't allow them any more. The government cites the health issues these collars present. So we were proactive and ran from our drinking water supply water lines for fountains. The local government now makes us post signs on the fountains stating "water may contain unsafe levels of blah blah blah". It seems as though there's no win scenarios no mat tee how we do it. Good luck!!

    
    
    
    
15. Andy Jorgensen

    

    1 posts
    
    8/15/2013 7:08 PM

    Sean Hoolehan, CGCS said: David,
    
    I just ran potable water out to 2 locations on the course that players pass twice a 9. I recently switched the drinking fountains to water only since the cooler/compressor drinking fountains are more expensive and nobody complained about the water being warm in one that the compressor had been disconnected for over 2 months during the heat of the summer. Its nice because we don't find the little cups/funnels all over the place either. Well worth the effort and expense to put the drinking fountains out.

    
    
    Consider adding the long neck spout cup fillers on your water fountains. most models have an existing spot with a knock out plug for them. We have lots of members that carry the "big gulp" thermos cups with ice and they always filled them at the coolers. When we switched to water fountains they couldn't fill their cups anymore. I think the spouts were around $50/each installed.