Course Vandalism Cancel The title field is required!

1. Steve Abe

   

   6 posts
   
   11/18/2019 1:11 PM

   Had a young juvenile come through the course this weekend and do some burnouts and spins on a fairway and part of a green in his truck.  Luckily they caught him.  The local Deputies are asking for a dollar amount in damages.  I have done this for police reports before, but can only estimate the damages.  Most of the work will be in labor replacing sod, plugging the green etc.  And the work cannot be done until next Spring once the winter has passed.
   
   What do you all think an hourly cost for labor should be in these circumstances?  Is $50 per labor hour unreasonable? In addition, would any of you try to estimate how must lost business this would include??  That's tough to account for, but we want to be thorough with our damage estimates.  Any other damages that i may have not thought of?
   
   The juvenile admitted to the vandalism (plus he was on surveillance), so there is no judgement as to guilty or not guilty.  However, there might be some conflict or argument as to just how much monetary damage was done and i want to have my numbers ready for the court system when the time comes.
   
   Any other thoughts??
   
   

   
   
   
   

   Last modified on 20 Nov 2019 15:11 by Steve Abe
2. Gary Carls

   

   19 posts
   
   11/18/2019 10:11 PM in reply to Steve Abe

   Steve, 
   
   You just have to make your best estimate as to how much sod you might need as well as all labor costs you may require. Make sure you include the costs of employee benefits when you figure the labor costs. You also need to consider any costs related to additional costs you might incur in the repaired areas such as additional top dressing or fertilizer. 
   
   Really hard to figure lost revenue because if it only one green most players will still play and impact on overall play might be pretty limited. Be reasonable about the costs but don't cut yourself short.

   
   Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
   
   
3. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   11/19/2019 6:11 AM

   $50/labor hour seems low to me. The question you have to ask is how much would an outside contractor charge to perform the repair? In our area, $50/labor hour is on the low side. I would up that figure to $60 - $65. Also, keeping the outside contractor in mind, you will want to place a margin of, at least 30%, on the material, cost of equipment for the repair, shipping, fuel, admin costs associated with ordering the material, paying for the material, managing the job, etc. These are all real costs an outside contractor would charge for the repair. It's fair to use like numbers when estimating. 

   
   
   
   
4. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   11/19/2019 11:11 AM

   I have had to do this a few times in the past. I always first list the cost of the green so they understand how expensive the product they damaged was. I then figure out how many hours it will take the people on the Job which is generally 2-3 guys doing the repair. I figure this out in overtime hours because you have to take away from another job in order to get that one accomplished. Then I add in the house per day times the days you will have to hand water the sod. Plus the fertilizer needed and any other chemicals to get the job completed. 
   
   Not sure about your grass but if I have to sod mine out I would also need to verticut them plus topdressing them over a period of time to make them level again. I had a set of donuts on one of my greens estimated between $5,000-$7,000 once. Not unreasonable when you actually think about all the work that will need to be done over a period of time to make it right again.
   
   

   
   
   
   
5. Corey Eastwood

   

   80 posts
   
   11/20/2019 11:11 AM in reply to James Smith

   As James said it is very important to include labor used to nurse it along after the repair is made. I have spent as much as three months doing this. Few people outside the industry have any idea what a green is worth and the disruption of play.

   
   Corey Eastwood CGCS, Stockton Golf & CC, Retired
   
   
6. Steven Huffstutler

   

   11 posts
   
   11/21/2019 5:11 PM

   There’s a lot more to this than meets the eye. Estimate 100 bucks an hour, man. It’ll cost you every bit of that in the end.
   
   regards
   
   steve