Face Lift

 During the month of November we were able to do a much needed facelift to the Swope Memorial Maintenance Facility. Phase one of this project consisted of rearranging the inside of our shop as well as demolishing the outdated workbench to make room for a updated streamlined workbench/tool storage combination. 

Along with the new organization strategy we were also able to paint the inside of the shop. Our new three teared color scheme allows for the mitigation of multiple problems we faced with the last paint job of the shop. Thus allowing for a much brighter and cleaner look when it was all said and done.

Out with the Old in With the New

                                                         

There is nothing quite like the feeling of climbing into the brand new car you have worked so hard for. The fresh smell of leather hits your nose as you take a seat onto a soft yet firm drivers seat. You grip the wheel with excitement as you que up your favorite playlist. You reverse out of your drive as you head to your 8am tee time with hopes of shooting your best round to date. All is right with the world.

This feeling you are imagining however is about only half the joy as we experienced this month as our Brand new equipment has started to arrive. Swope as well as the other city of Kansas City golf facilities have  put together a equipment package to update many of our aging pieces and fill in any gapes in equipment that will be required to maintain the course in years to come. Some of you I'm sure have noticed some of these new pieces this month that include a new John Deere ProGator and Top Dresser. We also received our new Toro Sidewinder for mowing rough including tee and green banks. Our Superintendent Josh has been especially fond of our new John Deere 4066R Tractor which replaces one of our oldest pieces of equipment.

Velocity

As we draw closer the the end of the 2024 golf season and start of the Swope Renovation there have been several pre-emptive steps taken to insure the success of upcoming projects. An issue we have tackled in the month of September is beginning to eradicate any poa-annua from our rough. This is a crucial process that we had to insure happened before the renovation of our greens and tee complexes as to prevent any contamination from the rough onto newly seeded areas.

To eradicate the poa-annua in our rough we implemented multiple applications of Velocity(Bispyribac-sodium) in late August/September. You will see in the images below how effective it was at taking out any existing Poa and leaving room for our new rough seed to germinate and thrive.

Once the Poa has been suppressed we were then able to seed into the soil with new cultivars of seed that will help increase not only the playability but the overall health and longevity of our rough at Swope Memorial.    

                                                            

New Nursery

 As we draw closer and closer to the start of the Renovation at Swope Memorial there are several inhouse projects that we are breaking ground on. This month was crucial in timing out the expansion of the existing bentgrass nursery. Currently our bentrgass nursery to the left of 12 fairway was roughly 1200sqft. This is considered small and would not be appropriate for the amount of bentgrass we will have post renovation. We therefor expanded the nursery to now be over 3600sqft.

 

During this process we removed existing turf and material surrounded the the existing green. We then created new drainage lines to properly move water across the entirety of the new nursery.

 Additionally we added a new layer of sand/peatmoss mixture to give the new seed a solid foundation to grow into. Lastly we laid pre-plant amendments to properly feet the seed that was soon to follow.

                                                                                    

 As you will see the bentrgass has already begun to germinate and is looking great!

                                                                                

Hospice Care

 The dog days of summer are officially here at Swope Memorial. With highs reaching into the hundreds and overnight low's barely dipping into the 70's if not low 80's its a miracle any turf can survive these Midwest summers. With the weather patterns we have experienced in late July its not a matter of if the turf will start to die its a matter of how slowly it will happen. Our jobs as Superintendents becomes similar to a hospice nurse during these times. Creating the best possible environment to keep the turf comfortable to prevent unnecessary death.

 As a golfer this will present itself to you as seeing more maintenance staff watering greens during the day. Greens moisture levels become even more important during a heat wave because of the anatomy of our Bentgrass/ Poa greens. Bentgrass is less susceptible to the heat but still needs constant monitoring because of its longer root zone allowing for it to reach down and collect moisture at lower soil depths. Poa on the other hand has an extremely shallow root zone only allowing it to collect water at the top 2 inches of soil. This inability to collect water is why you will see our maintenance crew doing constant moisture checks on the greens to insure we lose as little Poa as possible. You may also notice slightly longer rough and fairways to give the turf a chance to protect itself. And as always stricter cart traffic rules that stave off rough death from over traffic.

Gas Exchange

What are you all doing to the greens today? This question seems to be asked a hundred times a season between our members, staff, and once a year players alike. As superintendents green's health is always on the forefront of our minds. Luckily with continued innovations in the turf management industry we have a plethora of tools in our toolbox to manage not only turf health but playability as well

Many of you this week likely saw our Turf Team venting the greens before play on Monday and Tuesday. Now what does venting do and why is that important? Our venting process as Swope this week involved using "pencil" tines to penetrate roughly the top 4 inches of our greens. Each hole is spaced out 3 inches from the previous and this is continues over the whole green. Now why is this important? Venting is crucial for gas exchange to happen for the plant. Without venting soils can become to compacted to allow proper gas exchange and will also affect water retention.

Why Vent?-  Along with the health benefits of venting the greens there is also a huge benefit in the playability of the greens after a vent versus a full aerification as we do in the spring and fall. After venting we are able to roll the greens and add a light layer of top-dress sand. This combinations is very non aggressive and keeps the greens much smoother than after a normal aerifications.

The Best is Yet to come

 What an interesting month May proved to be here at Swope. Once again Missouri weather will keep you on your toes. May brought us some unfortunately unexpected high temps, but also blessed us with an exceedingly large amount of rain and thunderstorms. 

 

One perk of the job here at Swope is it should never be boring and monotonous. One day you can be dealing with keeping greens alive during scorching temps, and the next you can be pumping out bunkers from a torrential rain fall. May brought the best of both worlds to us and a little more.

During May we also got to lay zoyzia sod on many of the tee boxes that struggle each year. You will notice new sod on number's 5,6,7,11,12,16 tee boxes. This has become a yearly occurrence due to the number of rounds played at Swope each season. With rumors of a renovation this will be an issue we plan to tackle head on to create both the best playing conditions as well a sustainable management practice.

Spring Swing

 Spring is in full swing here at Swope. With increased rainfall and rising temperatures Swope is turning as lush and green as ever. As many of you will have noticed our rough and greens surrounds are extremely healthy allowing for a thick stand of turf. As mentioned in the previous blog our areas on green that were affected by our harsh winter are also making a full recovery. 

The zoyzia issues we are facing from the increased rounds per year as well as our harsh winter are being addressed as well. The month of May will see many of our zoyzia tee's re-soded as well as low areas in our fairways that tend to hold water. Swope will be re-soding roughly 15,000 square feet of zoyzia this spring with the hope as always of improving the players experience. 

Along with on-course improvements a large step has been taken in the appearance of the the grounds surrounding the historic Clubhouse. You will notice we have moved to using black mulch in the beds as well as planting an exorbitant amount of flowers in said beds.

What's Wrong with the Greens!?

 If you've noticed a handful of greens at Swope Memorial that seem to have some off-color or yellow patches, you're not alone. Coming out of winter dormancy this year, we have battled a few slow-to-recover winter exposure spots on select greens. During bitter temperatures like we experienced in mid-January, any part of exposed turf is susceptible to cold damage and in extreme cases of prolonged exposure can lead to winter desiccation. If you remember the unbearable cold during that week and a half, you can probably understand why bentgrass grown at 1/8th of an inch does not enjoy it much. We believe these areas are pushing through it and the majority of the areas should be just fine. If by chance any areas decide to head back the other direction, we will address it with some interseeding, but as of now, we do not anticipate needing to do this.

New Course Marking

 

You may notice while playing Swope the new paint on all of the cart paths. Along with many other course improvements we've been working on, this has been added to help golfers while they enjoy their round. Many patrons will already know, but for those that don't, the different colored stripes on the cart paths signify yardages the golfer is from the green. The important distinction that should be made here is that the paint line marks the distance from the middle of the fairway strait out from the line. Not necessarily the distance from that spot on the cart path. Red indicates you are 100 yards from the middle of the green, white 150 yards, blue 200 yards, and yellow 250 yards. The goal with this is to improve the golfers perfection of distances by giving them a reference point before they ever leave the cart. This is especially helpful when we are cart path only, because you will be able to estimate a club or two before walking out to your ball.

Global Warming? Somebody tell the Midwest

    Somewhat of a slow start to the new year for us here at Swope. This January has been filled with more snow coverage than we have seen in the area in several years. Over two weeks of snow coverage so far this year making for a frustrating month for the local golfer.

    The bright side to all of the snow coverage for us as Superintendents is the advantages it gives the turf in the brutal conditions of a Midwest winter. One of the major concerns for turf health through the winter is a lack of moisture accompanied with freezing temperatures and high winds. That combination can cause turf damage that is irreversible and will require turf replacement come spring time. As Superintendent's the snow coverage was a blessing during the extremely cold and windy conditions we faced mid January. The snow acts as an insulating layer for the turf to protect it from the wind and freezing temps. The snow also continues to give moisture as it melts helping the turf stave off any winter kill.

    We are all excited for the warm temperatures the end of January is bringing and hope this continues into the February and March. From all of us at Swope Memorial we hope to see you out on the course this week to start the year off right.