Tee Markers

We are currently working on a plan to replace the tee markers on the river course. In the winter of 2017 we made wooden tee markers that had the HOA logo burnt on to the top of them. These tee markers looked very nice when they were new, but they have suffered over the last two years of use. We have come up with an idea for new metal tee markers that will allow us to keep them looking new all throughout the year. 

This is a rough design of what the new tee markers would look like. They will be cut from either 1/8 inch or 3/16 inch steel plate; they will then be painted blue for the men’s tee and yellow for the forward tee. The logo will be a white vinyl sticker that can be replaced as needed. 

December

Merry Christmas Kansas City Golfers and Blog Enthusiasts!!

It's been a red and white beginning of winter here in KC. Snow on the course and the Chiefs in the playoffs, couldn't ask for anything else from Santa! Our course is ready for the dormant, cold season of winter. We've prepared as well as we can for the upcoming cold months and are looking forward to our 'easy' work days. I say easy because there is no more turf stressing, high humidity 90 degree days, no more golfers to work around, and we can focus on other aesthetic aspects of the course.

(Fertilizing 16 green.)

(Sam fertilizing our new putting green.)

After the snowpocalypse in early December melted, we rushed out to get our last fertilizer application down for the winter season. We want the turf  to absorb the nutrients released from the fertilizer and store them away for the Winter. This gives our greens a better start for coming out of dormancy in the Spring.  

(Blowing out our irrigation on green #2.)

Every year we empty out our irrigation lines. The thought is emptying the lines of water will reduce the chances of freezing and busting pipes. Many courses in the area achieve this by just opening their drain valves. However, where a different course may have a drain on each hole, Swope only has 6 total. To remove the majority of water in our lines, we hook up an industrial air compressor powered by a diesel engine to create the pressure needed to blow out our system: hole by hole. The compressor charges the line to around 80 psi, allowing sprinklers to open and release any being forced up the line.

(Our 2019 fleet outside of the shop.)

(Bill Ray finishing the last sweeps of a now clean shop floor.)

Spring cleaning came early. We spend the majority of our time inside the shop during the winter. Working on equipment usually means being down on the floor and trying to find the right angle to make the bolt fit or to remove a stubborn nut. Having a clean work environment not only keeps your clothes clean but really gives you a sense of pride of where you work. Just as a happy wife = happy life, a clean/organized shop = happy shop workers. 

Hopefully Santa found everyone's houses and if he brought you golf balls, I have the perfect place to come lose them!

Remember, Fix Your Divots!

See ya next year, folks.

November Firewood

Every golfer who was played Swope knows there is no shortage of trees on the course. Throughout the year, it never fails that a tree or two will fall. The majority of our trees are large Oaks, which when they fall, require a large cleanup. After the smaller leafier branches have been cut off and dumped, the remaining trunk and larger branches are cut into 1-2 foot length pieces and brought behind our shop to be split and stored for firewood. 

  

(Sam and Antonio adding to the stack.)

If you have a wood burning stove, a living room fireplace, or just like to have a bon fire on a Friday night, we are your one stop shop for seasoned firewood!

$75 per Truck Load

$100 per Delivery (within 10 miles of Swope)

Contact: Sam Bailey - 480.250.3122

Marshall McCall - 785.282.8153 816.513.8910

or Swope Clubhouse - 816.513.8910

Spooky October for Swope

The times they are a changing, so are the leaves at Swope park. Actually, the whole course is starting to change. Grass growth is slowing down, golfers are slowing down, leaves are dropping, and temperatures are dropping. Just in time for us, too. With a total crew of 4, Superintendent, Assistant, and two hourly workers, we need all the help from mother nature we can get. 

(Late evening aerification.)

In late September, we aerified our greens, allowing air, moisture and new organic material to filter into the existing roots. After the Kelly's tournament, Sam, the superintendent, and I stayed until dark poking holes and rolling the greens as to get a head start on the following day when we would finish. Aerification requires the entire course to be shut down for two days. Greens are aerified, rolled for firmness, top-dressed with sand and then drug in providing new/fresh organic medium for roots to spread. It took around two weeks for our greens to completely heal.

(12 backdrop.)

(October 30th snow.)

Looking forward, our main focus will be blowing and mulching leaves. With the first snow fall already upon us on October 30, many of the trees have completely dropped their leaves over night. So when setting up for those drives, aim small, miss small, and keep those balls away from the leaves! 

Happy Halloween and Happy birthday to me, I'll accept cash and/or ice cold bud lights for presents.

Fix those divots!

September Summer

Swope's September

September was a month of projects for our staff here at Swope. Not only is it prime grass growing/mowing season, we built a new putting green, installed a parking area, controlled native grasses, and kept our sanity waiting for the Fall to show up that never did. 

It never fails that once you start looking forward to something, cooler weather, it tends to hide itself a little longer than normal. It was a warmer month for us, causing us to continue to focus on green health and keep up with the ever growing rough. One green however, had a different focus. Our greens at Swope are Poa Annua, compared to the majority of KC area greens being Bent Grass. Without diving into the science of the two grass species, Bent grass is an all around healthier, more consistent, more resilient grass species. Our end goal is to convert all 18 greens to Bent grass. Needing a 'practice run' on the techniques and process needed to achieve this goal, we started on the practice green.

 

(Practice green before)

We started by stripping the healthy Poa sod off of the green for later use on patching existing greens bad spots. We hired Kansas Turf, a construction company specializing in golf course development, who then tilled up the underlying sand to promote organic material to move into the new soil base. They then hand leveled the entire green area, adding sand to low spots and raising the level flush to the existing collar.

 (Stripping, tilling, and leveling.)

Once the new sand base was level and smooth, it was our turn to put in some work. We put down several fertilizers to aid every stage of new grass germination. After the fertilizer was applied we used a Bent Grass seed called Dominator. Using a drop spreader, we dropped seed two directions on the green, ensuring full coverage. With fertilizer and seed down, the next step was to track the seed into the sand using our John Deere Sand Pro. 

 (Fertilizer, seed, and the tracking process.)

Finally, with the fertilizer down, seed tracked in, it's time to water the green. Keeping the green saturated but not soaked is pivotal in promoting germination. The sprinklers around the green are on a schedule to water for three minutes, every hour and a half.

  

(Grow baby grow!)

Moving on, project #2 was the path area behind 18's green. High traffic and cart staging on both sides of the cart path had completely killed off the grass. Normally we would till up the areas and re-seed, however if carts were to continue to be staged there, the grass would die again and the cycle would continue. Instead, we tilled and seeded the green side of the path, and the adjacent side was turned into a white rock parking area. The ground was tilled, excess soil removed and ground leveled using our Bobcat. We installed common green metal garden border and added rock to inside and soil to outside of border, making area flush and free of tripping hazards.

(Parking area progress.)

Soon to come, updates on our aerification process, which did happen in September, but I may need material to write about in next months blog, see ya then!

(Me mowing the native next to hole 9, hoping golfers remember to fix their divots!)

Goodbye July

August is here, the end is in sight! 

(Checking 18 irrigation after a main line break)

Summer is a stressful time for the golf course industry. Any day could bring 90+ degree days, 6" main water line breaks, and send us into survival mode. During the spring we push our turf, greens especially, to reach optimal health levels. We want our course to enter the summer months as healthy as possible so it's prepared for these survival mode days. Without rain and with hot days, we rely completely on our irrigation system to keep the golf course alive. So far we've had two main line breaks and multiple sprinkler issues in July alone. These are issues that get addressed and fixed the moment they break, because without water, grass just doesn't seem to grow. 

(Digging up a main line break on hole 18.)

Staying on irrigation, the Kansas City public works has been fixing a main water line along Gregory road. This has caused what seems to be about 29 tons of calcium and lime deposits to break free and fill up our sprinkler heads and irrigation lines. A sprinkler head will either be stuck on because it physically cannot return into it's shell, or it cannot turn on because its supply line is completely clogged with the deposits. These must be completely dug up, the hole has to be isolated meaning there is no water supplied to the sprinkler lines, sprinkler removed, line cleaned out, and then all put back together and filled in. All in all, these repairs take around 1 hr for each issue. You can imagine when an entire hole has line that look like the ones below.

(Sprinklers on hole 1 with sediment issues.)

 

(July 10 thunderstorm.)

As said before, summertime is in full swing in Kansas City, bringing hot and humid days, torrential downpours out of no where, and a handful of nice days strung throughout. Above is a picture of a rainstorm that showed up out of nowhere, leaving us and our equipment stranded on 12 green. Storms like these are a welcome break from the stressful high heat days of July and August. They bring needed moisture to the course and some relief to us, unless of course the storm also brings down some trees along with the rain....

(Full size Black Walnut tree on #15 that fell as a result from the July 10th storm.)

Barring anymore downed trees and irrigation breaks, we will focus on keeping Swope in the best shape it can be in. Many green banks need treated for Nut-sedge, our zoiysa treated for goose grass, and as always a continuous buzz of mowers keeping up with the turf growth.

Remember to fix your divots!

Jumpin' June

(This is Abby, a 4 year old golf course supervisor.)

Summer is Here

There is no avoiding it, our all too familiar summer heat wave is coming through. We were on borrowed time once May hit. We started having issues with hot spots on our greens around May 3rd last year, which in turn leads to us hand watering until late afternoon. This summer, it wasn't until late June that we broke out the hoses and starting throwing water. Cooler temps allowed us to focus on other course tasks rather than if our greens would survive the day. 

We try to fertilize our greens 6 times a year with granular fertilizers, the fertilizer consists of a mix of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Throughout the year, our greens get a ratio of 5lbs N, 1lb P, and 3lb K. We spray our greens weekly, and they do get a dose of fertilizer through the spray amendment, however, using a granular form of product allows slower and more controlled absorption into the plant. 

(Sam spreading fertilizer on 18 green, while sprinklers water in fertilizer on 17 in background.)

Warm temperatures also bring back the ever plentiful weeds. Where healthy turf isn't present, along cartpaths or dead areas in fairways, weeds are the first plant to start taking up roots. Goose grass, Clover and Nut Sedge are the three main species we battle with. These areas may be large, but they are not large enough to spray with our broadcast sprayer, which is used for spraying fairways and our greens. These areas are controlled using spot treatments from a back pack sprayer or a removable cart tank. Keep an eye out for bleaching of goose grasses around the course, one of the best sights to see after a day of weed spraying. 

(Spraying the rock wall for weeds on the drive up with our cart tank sprayer.)

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One of the larger issues we, along with other clubs around the KC area, are dealing with is winter kill in our zoysia. These are spots that were covered in snow all winter, wet during the thaw, wet for days on end with multiple rain showers, and never were able to break get a healthy start for the growing season. Our examples would be the middle of 17 fairway, 16 Tee Box, areas of 5 and 10 fairways, and 18 Tee box. To fix this problem re-sodding these areas are our only option. With the help of a sod cutter, an in house zoysia nursery, and a few good men, we have already started the process of repairing these areas. 

(Cutting out and removing dead sod, above. Laying newly cut sod from our nursery on 17 fairway, below.)

With 90's in the forecast for the foreseeable future, it looks like our summer routine of hand-watering is back in gear. So let me apologize in advance for wetting the greens and slowing down your putts, but without hand-watering, there would be no greens to complain about.

Remember to fix your divots!!

Month of May

May the fore's be with you!

"One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for 4 months. We've been through every kinda rain there is. Little bit of stinging rain, and big ole fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes, rain even seemed to come straight up, from underneath. Shoot it even rained at night."

- Forrest Gump, who would understand what it's like to work at Swope.

In between thunderstorms and monsoons, May has been a busy month as always. We hosted the KCGA Men's match play earlier this month and were able to get the entire course mowed and fairways double cut in preparation for the tournament. Normally this task isn't difficult to do, but trying to let the ground dry out long enough to get mowers on it seemed to be a never ending postponement.

(Difference in fairway turf on #12, also can see water damaged area in bottom picture.)


Hopefully another aspect of the course golfers notice is our flower beds located near tee boxes and cart path turn arounds. Each summer, the city greenhouse provides us with over 700 plants to place around the course. Canna's, Seniorita Rosarita's, Marigold's, and Lantana's are just a few of the plant species we use in these areas.

(14/15 turn around flower bed.)

(Cleome Seniorita Rosarita's headed out to be planted.)

So next time you lose a ball, hit into a water filled bunker, or step in a mud puddle, just take a look at the beautiful flower gardens and continue to enjoy golf at Swope Memorial.

Remember to fix your divots!

April Showers bring May Flowers... & Wet Fairways

Spring is in full effect in Kansas City, Missouri. We've had days at 50-70 degrees, rain showers weekly, and wind that just doesn't seem to stop throughout the month of April. Trees are starting to get leaves and our grass is starting to get striped. With the onset of nice weather, we've been giving our course turf the attention it's needed since winter. 

The majority of turf on our course is breaking out of winter dormancy. With the grass growing and taking in nutrients now, it is a perfect time to spray the turf with fungicides, fertilizers, and selective herbicides. Our zoysia fairways, tee tops, greens, and fairway rough surrounds were all treated this month. 

  

(Sam spraying 12 green)

It's easy to talk about big projects we take on here at Swope, however, there are many small daily tasks that people may not know about. Each day we mow or roll our greens and cut new cups. Cutting the cups can make or break the hole. A cup placement too close to a slope or on an uneven surface can make for some unappealing circle 10's on the scorecard. We have 3 different pin positions: pin position 1 would be the cup in the front area of the green, 2 in the middle, and 3 being furthest away from the tee box in the back of the green. Changing these locations each day help spread out play on our greens, eliminate isolated wear areas, and change up how the hole is approached. After the new cup is cut, the cup and flag are placed into the new hole, and the turf plug is then placed in the old location.

(New cup, flag, and flag-stick along with hole set-up tools on 11 green.)

Weekly rain in the springtime is to be expected and we do look forward to it. However, sometimes the ground becomes so saturated that additional rain just adds puddles and problem areas around the course. From constant snow coverage all winter to transitioning into a wetter spring, many spots on the course haven't seen a dry day for too long. For example, 17's top fairway is roped off to eliminate any extra stress caused by carts so that it has the best chance it can to grow through the wet areas. Swope is a very up and down course and with so many fairway undulations almost any amount of rain can cause puddles and sloppy wet rough conditions. Cart path only is not a phrase golfers nor course workers want to hear, however, it's the best way to allow these areas to dry out and be safe for cart path/mower travel. Golfers and the maintenance crew alike must follow the cart path only rule to protect the integrity and aesthetics of the course as a whole. 

(Wet conditions on 17 fairway.)

With more rain in the forecast, we hope golfers will bear with us through the wet conditions and continue to enjoy Swope Memorial Golf Course. As always, remember to fix your divots and watch out for puddles!

March Course Madness

March has been nothing but madness here at Swope.

(First mow line of the season on #13)

Winter has let up, the snow is all melted, brackets are busted, and we are right back into taking care of the course. Spring weather brings about the beginning of productive course care. Each year we make a list during the winter of jobs that must get done before Spring gets to full swing and the grass starts growing. This year our list included: deep-tine aerification, tree work, spray zoysia, apply fertilizer/pre-emergence to entire course, spray greens, re-charge irrigation. From the beginning of March to the very end, we were checking off these projects quicker than my Tournament picks were eliminated. 

On March 8th, we hired a third party, Commercial Turf & Tractor, to come out and deep tine aerate our green surfaces. In past years we've used 4" tines to poke holes and remove cores on our greens, this year we used 7" tines. This allows air and nutrients to get deeper into the soil and removes more organic material relieving stress to existing turf. After cores have been pulled and cleaned off green, we applied a heavy top dressing of sand, along with dragging and rolling, to fill in and close the new holes. As I mentioned before, this is our first attempt at deep tine aerification so we hope to see a positive and overall better result after greens heal.

(Superintendent Sam Bailey rolling after aerification, top-dressing and dragging.)

In February we applied a pre- & post- emergent  herbicide that eliminates unwanted grasses from the zoysia by targeting the non-dormant species trying to spread into the zoysia, i.e. Poa, clover and other broadleaf weeds. The dormant zoysia will not absorb the herbicide where as the other grasses, still active, will absorb it. Zoysia is found on our tee tops and fairways. We were only able to spray tee tops because of sloppy wet conditions. In mid-March the rest of the zoysia on the course was treated with the same products. Once again, the goal is to eliminate any other grass in our fairways that isn't zoysia to achieve consistent and healthy fairways. 

(#5 Fairway zoysia spray)

Before winter arrived we drained our irrigation system to avoid any freezing of pipes and cracking that comes with that. After aerification our greens are somewhat fragile and need to be watered so the turf can start new growth. Luckily, a day after aerification we received rain, so charging the system could be done slowly and carefully. Many problems can arise after turning irrigation back on after a winter of sitting empty: sprinklers turn on randomly, sprinklers won't turn off, valves can leak, and our control boxes can go haywire. We slowly crack our main valves on and let the system fill itself over the day. Also to remove air from the lines, we place quick couplers at the highest spots on the course. Once we have 100% water spraying from the coupler we know that line is charged and ready to be used. Besides some pesky sprinklers turning on at random times of the evening, we made it through irrigation re-charging without any large problems. 

(First sprinkler watering of the year on #13)

Now that we are in the full swing of Spring we will continue the course work to improve turf health as much as we can so it is prepared for the Summer ahead. Greens will continue to be fertilized, the entire rough will be treated with fertilizer and a pre-emergent for unwanted weeds, and continue to work toward the overall aesthetics of Swope Memorial Golf Course.

Remember to fix your divots and go Duke!

Winter Time

January and February at Swope Memorial

Winter could not get more wintry for us at Swope this year. With around 20" of snow fall throughout January and February, we have been a white, cold, winter wonderland since the new year.  The turf has been covered in snow for the majority of this winter, which acts as a great insulator and keeps the ground saturated with moisture. Once the snow melts and the sun sheds some light, the grass will break dormancy and be in a great position for immediate healthy growth. 

In between our winter storms, we had a few days where we were able to get out on the course. As I mentioned before, the majority of our turf is dormant right now, or hibernating for the winter in other words. Mainly, our zoysia turf is dormant. Zoysia is the turf on our fairways and tee's. When dormant, zoysia is a straw blonde color, and other grasses and weeds may grow and try to spread into the dormant zoysia. To keep our tees and fairways clean and healthy, we spray a pre- & post- emergent  herbicide that eliminates unwanted grasses from the zoysia by targeting the non-dormant species trying to spread into the zoysia, i.e. Poa, clover and other broadleaf weeds. The dormant zoysia will not absorb the herbicide where as the other grasses, still active, will absorb it.

(Spraying our #6 zoysia tee for unwanted invasive grasses.)

One of our first and worst winter storms this year brought snow, ice, and wind. Many trees on the course and throughout the city lost a large amount of limbs, big and small alike. Our winter plans always include tree trimming. The amount of limbs on the ground from the storm alone helped us make the decision to go ahead and try to trim every tree on the course. Trimming the low hanging branches will allow more sunlight to the turf, better course visibility, and all around better course aesthetics. At the end of winter, or tree trimming season, we plan to rent a wood chipper and truck to make clean up of limbs quick and easy.

(Downed limbs in #4 rough.)

Another small winter task we take care of each year is to burn the ornamental grasses around tee complexes. These plants are perennials, meaning they grow back every year. Burning off the dormant stalks and leaves will allow for new and healthy growth come spring.

(Burning the grasses around #10 tee box.)

While most people enjoy a summer vacation, we golf course workers are winter vacationers. Its the only time we can get away from the course without worrying about losing grass or setting up the course for golfers. Some could say we actually have a life during the winter. I myself took off to Colorado for a ski trip and my superintendent goes to Nebraska for his annual deer camp trip. Hand-watering greens is a blast, but we enjoy life outside of Swope as well. 

(The back bowl at Keystone Ski Resort.)

Enjoy the rest of this winter and we'll see you after the thaw,
Remember to fix your divots!