Tools of the trade

[Mike_Young]

I have used a D3 as well but they are a bit too small although would be okay for finishing off non USGA spec greens.

Adrian,
am now confused..will you explain.....

[Ray Richard]

We use Cat 307 Excavators here in New England. We don't use wrist buckets. We move the tracks to achieve a perpendicular angle to the point of grading. This machine develops a nice rounded shape, and if you curl the bucket right you get a nicely compacted bunker floor or face. It's easy to stockpile topsoil, and replace it after the subgrade is approved. The fine grade is a quick and easy, and the machine is used to drop in the bunker sand.

We keep the D-5's on the tee constructions.

[Ben Sims]

Ray,

I am very off my knowledge base here, but why do you move the tracks to 90 degrees off the grading line?  It seems like soil compaction all the way around the grading area could be an issue.  It was mentioned above how knuckle boom/buckets could reduce wear on the land due to being able to grade in all directions and also against slopes to get that "blowout" look.

On a side note for the greater population.  Maybe my imagination is limited, but how in the heck can you shape a green with anything but a blade?  Using an excavator for green construction seems a bit aggressive. 

[Adrian_Stiff]

I have used a D3 as well but they are a bit too small although would be okay for finishing off non USGA spec greens.

Adrian,
am now confused..will you explain.....

Mike a D3 is a very small bulldozer, they cant really push too much material around although with a good operator they would be great for moving say 100mm depth of rootzone material for fine tuning the contours in a sandy construction. For USGA specs, you need to use an excavator so you get the exact depths right for the layers, the tolerances are tiny so you cant use a dozer.

[Tom_Doak]

Adrian:

I actually shaped all of the greens at High Pointe with a D-3.  The contouring is a bit different than anything else I've done, and I think the smaller piece of equipment had a lot to do with that; it was just natural that you'd get a bit more finicky shapes with a smaller dozer.

[Adrian_Stiff]

Tom - I was actually thinking a D3 would suit your style when I was replying. I am not sure if anyone manufactures one anymore, there cant be many left alive. I almost bought one a few years ago for £12,000 and I never buy blades, but at that price I thought it might be worth it and good for bunker building too, it wasn't just man enough really for the bunkers.

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