Alt. pin placement maintenance

[johnnyfoodstamp]

I am working on a local course that has just sat for about 4 years. There are tons of alternate pin placements. They have been gone so long that some are grown over or filled with crap. We used a soil auger and it worked well to clean them out but the guy that has it is out of town and a bit touchy about loaning it out. A new soil auger is $100 so I was wondering if anybody knows of a cheaper method for cleaning out a basket pole hole? Side note: It took about 45 minutes of cursing per basket to replace the old locks because they had been on there and buried for so long. Don't let this happen to your home course!

 

[chrishysell]

I use a bolt cutter and a bunch of new locks, all keyed the same. Have you tried some sort of pressure washer or pump sprayer?

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

The locks aren't the problem. We got those off with wd-40 and elbow grease. I don't have a pressure washer but I'm not sure if that would work. These babies are clogged.

 

[bcr123psu]

A course near me uses capped pipes that are the same diameter as the basket poles and keeps those locked in the alternate locations. Keeps the dirt out and makes the alternate locations easily visible.

 

[irishdw]

If I had just my tools to clean out post holes, I would try a cordless power drill with like a 1"-2" bit, and just keep working it around the hole (that's what she said) which will loosen the dirt and shop vac the dirt out.

 

[LeewayeDiscGolf]

At Pueblo City Park we have lots of alternate placements. The most important thing is to have caps for all of them. We have like 4 inch flat caps with a little tab that bolts or locks to the lock hole on the placement pipe. We had a ground water issue on #17 that buried some placements under about a foot of soil which then grew grass. Some of the rarely used placements had to be found with a metal detector. We are still missing the across the street placement on #4.

^ A super long concrete bit may work for this to loosen things up then stick a pressure washer in there. Just don't stand directly over the hole.

As for the locks, each time a placement is switched, just slap a peice of duct tape from one side of the lock across the key hole to the other side of the lock.

 

[sidewinder22]

I would think the Awesome Auger would work with one of its attachments, its $20 plus S&H.
https://www.buytheauger.com/

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

I would think the Awesome Auger would work with one of its attachments, its $20 plus S&H.
https://www.buytheauger.com/

That looks awesome but I'm not sure if it would fit in a 1 1/4 pipe.

 

[sidewinder22]

That looks awesome but I'm not sure if it would fit in a 1 1/4 pipe.

Its a set different size augers/bits, I think one of them would fit.

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

Its a set different size augers/bits, I think one of them would fit.

Well, in that case it looks like a winner. Thanks!

 

[sidewinder22]

The pipe is only 1 and 1/4"?

You could just get a 1" wood auger drill bit and a 12" or 18" extender if needed.
http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Industrial-47418-8-Inch-17-Inch/dp/B00004YO69

Im not sure how much the extra S&H is though on the Awesome Auger, looks like its separate S&H for each item.

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

Yeah, my first thought was a really long drill bit and since I have a nice cordless drill I think that is the option. Now I just gotta find something from Home Depot or Lowes since I need it this weekend and the internet is fast, but it ain't that fast. I am surprised more people haven't run into this problem.

 

[sidewinder22]

Funny, I just bought a 3/8" 18" auger bit at Lowes yesterday for work. They might be closer to $30 for the 1" there.

 

[billnchristy]

Our alt pins have a 6" pipe around them and a plastic cap that fits on top that covers the pin. It keeps all the crap out and makes them usable all the time.

Might be a good retro fit.

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

I plan on inserting a 1 1/4 pvc pipe with cap into each freshly augured hole to make sure this never happens again. The course kinda fell into disrepair for awhile. I am starting to think this may be a rarer problem than I first thought. I'll try the drill this weekend and report back on how it works.

 

[Timber]

I've settled on an old school crowbar and hammer method for anchor cleaning.

Sand, mud, gravel or sticks can be slid up the inside of the anchor. Rocks can be hammered until they become gravel. The only thing that ever really slowed me down was a foot long section of 2" dowel someone had crammed into an anchor.

I'm slowly but surely retrofitting old anchors (and all new installations) with these.

 

[Timber]

These seem to last the longest in wet and dirty conditions as long as you lubricate them prior to installation, WD 40 them at least once a year and make sure the key cap stays on.

 

[John Rock]

Cheap way to clean sleeves:

Find a piece of pipe that fits in the sleeve. Beat it in with a hammer. Pull it out and clean out debris. Repeat until sleeve is clear.

 

[sidewinder22]

I would think these combo locks would be ideal:
http://www.masterlock.com/products/...nationPadlocks&modelNumber=MLCOM_PRODUCT_1178

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

Problem solved. We borrowed the soil auger. Thanks for the help.