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.