The F-10 Trial By Fire

This is a Jacobsen F-10 Reel Mower. I drove one for two summers in high school. It was truly one of the most awful product designs of the decade that also gave us the Chevrolet Vega and the AMC Pacer.  

It was for me, the ultimate “Rookie Greens Crew” torture machine.

Jacobsen F-10

The Raintree Country Club F-10 was relegated to mowing only the rough along each fairway. So rather than create fine clippings of a closely cropped fairway, the reels kicked up a continuous cloud of dust and debris into the face of the operator thanks, to the forward mounted reels.

My summer internship was enhanced by the fact that the course superintendent was none other than Fred Meda known across the Carolinas as the “God Father” of golf course maintenance. 

Fred Meda hated me.  

Raintree's North Course was Designed by Russell F. Breedon, as well as the South Course. But construction stopped before the bunkers and tee boxes were cut. Breedon who had not been fully paid refused to help layout the designs of the tees and bunkers. So, Meda reached out to Pete Dye to "paint in the bunkers" on the South Course.

I earned my part-time permanent job by being the hardest working temporary high school kid on the team, digging the South Course bunkers during that sweltering summer. 

Despite my work ethic Meda could not stand this club member's son, so whatever the day’s most brutal job was, it always ended up as my assignment.

Hand digging more bunkers, up to my knees in mud repairing irrigation sprinkler heads, planting 100 Cedar trees along Raintree’s North Course 8th fairway by hand or running the hated by all F-10.

During the extended rainless weeks of the Carolina summer, the cut dry grass would cover the operator and the mower. The parched grass It would drift effortlessly into every pocket and crevice of my clothes, into open engine compartment and up my nose.

Jacobsen F-10

One day driving the F-10 wide open in the transport mode with the reels up, the grass around the engine caught fire.  This was a common occurrence.

Rather than panic, I calmly stopped the beast 1/2 way across the club driving range and began to beat the fire back with the damp pool towel I kept wrapped around my neck.

The F-10 was so prone to grass fires that other greens crew members retuning to the maintenance building gave nothing more than a wide berth and a friendly wave to the blazing Jacobsen. The few crew members who did stop only did so to crack a joke, laugh and drive on.

With the fire nearly out all seemed well, then my towel found the rubber gas line and it broke free sending a cascade of fuel into the burning grass!

Within seconds what was a routine non-event, became a 5-alarm fire. With the F-10 fully involved my worst nightmare appeared as Fred Meda’s white Raintree Country Club Ford F-100 came down the hill on to the driving range from the club house. 

It that moment I knew my job was over, as I was clearly about to be fired. 

But much to my surprise when Fred rolled down his window all he said was: “Let it burn”. 

And without another word Fred Meda drove off. 

The F-10 was now starting to burn the seat that moments ago sat my happy teenage ass. And burn it did. Within 10 minutes the gas tank exploded sending a column of flames high into the humid Carolina summer air, the gas cap would be found 100 yards away.

The next day the charred remnants of the once mighty orange F-10, melted tires and all was dragged onto the back of a flatbed wrecker, its final destination some random junk yard or scrap heap where F-10 go to die. 

The excitement is now just a distant memory.

Arnold Palmer, his father Deacon and the Jacobsen F-10 at Latrobe Country Club Circa 1960

My love of golf is only exceeded by my love of golf courses and the respect I have for the greens crews that maintain them. I mourn the loss of courses I’ve played that are gone and long to play those of my past that remain. 

Yeah, golf is like that.

Post Script:

If you play Raintree's North Course please note the tees on the Par 3 No. 14 that's "my" design. Prior to my Senior Summer those tees were one continuous cut, which was Breedon's design. But it was unmanageable due to the slope without any input or permission from Fred Meda we (Tony Haire and I) decided to start cutting No. 14 as three square tee boxes. It took him a month to notice. But by then it was too late. Re-cutting the slope would have produced unsightly burned yellow turf. The following year Meda started cutting all the tiered tee boxes as squares.

On the Par 4 No. 8 those pesky "Cedar" trees along both sides of the fairway hand dug by yours truly and two other greens crew members. Sadly the three trees we moved 15 feet extra into the fairway were removed in 2012.