BRANCHING OUT Climbing Helps Reduce Impact on Golf Course Job


Frozen fairways on the Manasquan River Golf Club don’t keep members from playing a round of golf, but they do mean a hole or two may have to be skipped or play may have to detour around the distinctive green trucks and yellow brush chipper belonging to Falkinburg’s Tree Expert Co.


“As soon as the ground freezes, we come in,” says Darrell Falkinburg, owner of the Brielle, N.J., company. “This is our third winter working at this private course along the eastern shore. Previously we mostly took down trees, but this year we are doing just as much pruning as removals. We are using an architect-produced plan to make the course more user-friendly by opening up the fairways.”


Falkinburg, who built his business on residential and — more recently — utility line work, spent 15 years watching another company take care of trees on the 89-year-old course. Residential clients of his who are members encouraged him to go after the work, but it wasn’t until three years ago that the bid process was opened. Falkinburg was hired to do maintenance, along with a major removal project that kept him busy that first winter taking down 600 trees. He has been working at the course ever since.


Climbing has been the focal point of his company and has served him well in both residential and utility projects, and is now paying off on golf course jobs.


“I have been a climber for 18 years and take pride in doing it well and teaching others,” says Falkinburg. “It has proven to be a very valuable skill and a key selling point. Good climbers do not disturb property.”


6 | vermeer.com


Darrell Falkinburg shares his insight on starting a tree-care business.


On the golf course Falkinburg has created a very low-impact tree- care environment. His crew puts down synthetic mats so they do not damage the ground and use a compact loader with turf-friendly rubber tracks to haul away logs. Falkinburg also does not need to get a piece of equipment to every tree; he can do much of the work by climbing.


“Aerial lifts are a great tool, but we don’t need them on this job,” he says. “A lot of times you cannot get a boom through a mature shade tree to manicure it. If you start climbing you can be half done by the time you get the bucket in to where you need to go.”


t


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18