New Bridge Rails on 15

We were able to have the city come out and install new boards on the bridge behind 15 tee.  As the winter progresses along we are busy on updating course accessories, servicing equipment, and getting everything ready for the quickly approaching season. Hopefully you are able to enjoy the nice days mixed in with the cold days.

Progress of 6 green.

Due to the weather that mother nature dealt us this year, hole #6 took quite the beating. We were able to get out once the temps leveled off in late August and get the Penncross seed out. Throughout August, September, and October we were able to seed once a month and fertilize every 2 weeks to get this green back to playing conditions. We were fortunate that we never lost all of it so we never had to put out a temporary green. Here is the progress of this green and how the fall cooperated enough to allows us to get the green back by seed and not having to use sod.

July 25th 2016 

August 29th 2016 After seeding

Germination of Seed

September 7th 2016

September 20th 2016

October 10th 2016

October 25th 2016

November 10th 2016

Winterization

As we brace for winter please take a peek into the typical WINTERIZATION process at Minor Park and other courses just like ours, we have been busy checking items off the list and ensuring a successful transition to the already much awaited spring/summer season.  We invite play all year long, and hope to better educate about off-season practices with some of the information in this month’s blog.

Why cart path only in the off-season?

ü  Golf Course:  This is a biggie and likely the most impactful for those golfers who prefer riding.  Simply put…Zoysia goes dormant, so fairways are extremely susceptible to damage.  As a 500-600lb cart (with riders 750-1000lbs) rolls along, especially in high traffic areas, it compacts the soil and crushes the grass blades down below the crown of the plant. The crown means everything to overall plant health, the last mowing of the season grass is left at a higher height to allow the crown some insulation (like a down jacket) so it is protected from winter snow, ice and temps.

ü  Golfer: Please keep in mind heavy repeat traffic over dormant zoysia risks stripping the insulation off the crown thereby exposing the plant to elements that may kill it, this will only be noticeable come spring when growth should begin.

Please keep carts on the path at all times when requested. It may be tempting to sneak off when no one is around but come spring everyone will see the effects of misplaced cart traffic.  Please do your part so the course environment is more sustainable and cost-effective.  We will distribute flags for those who have a physical disability when the conditions allow, please ask the staff so we can assist!

Why no ball washers and water coolers?

ü  Golf Course: Another item on the checklist…removing the water coolers and ball washers to preserve them for repeat seasons.  Like irrigation drainage we do this because of freeze/thaw to prevent cracking and damage. With each 10 gal cooler costing $100 and each ball washers $220 they are only used in-season. We know wet conditions can require help with ball cleaning so on Par 3s we leave them out with a mix of water/windshield wash which won’t freeze. Preserved ball washers are taken in each winter and refurbished to avoid total replacement.

ü  Golfers: Please bring a damp towel to clean your ball and extra water in case of off-season/weather permitting set-up

Why 1-flag but 2 holes (cups) in the green?

ü  Golf Course:  What is the ‘2-cup rotation system’?  With compounding frosts and below freezing temps the ground below the surface actually freezes, which prevents cup cutting, therefore to scatter foot traffic we use alternating flags and cut new cups when turf will accept it.

ü  Golfers: With the 2-cup system, golfers play to the flag then when finished putting please move the flag to the opposite hole for the next group of golfers.  If every group rotates the flags this way, it helps with traffic/cup wear.  The difference in turf health in the spring is dramatic when this is done properly!

What are ‘winter’ tees?

ü  Golf Course: The majority of Minor Park’s tee boxes have an area of cool season grass; their only purpose is to serve as a teeing ground during zoysia dormancy.  The few zoysia-only boxes are closed and adjacent cool season grass is mowed down to provide a temporary tee.   When tees and fairways are warm season Zoysia, it means exactly that…it’s a WARM season variety.  Zoysia flourishes during hot summers, but when the temps get cold and it’s no longer green it’s no longer growing.  Therefore any damage (divots, traffic) cannot mend until spring, so concentrated areas of turf loss cause poor playing conditions plus the expense of replacement sod.

ü  Golfers: Golfers should tee off from the intentionally placed tee markers; while this makes the course shorter for a period, it sustains perfect tee conditions for all to enjoy in-season.  Hey…this is your chance to take it low!

What’s the deal with frost delays?

ü  Check out this quick video if you are interested in what’s up with frost…

Irrigation drainage

 This process uses a large air compressor that hooks up to the system that pumps air into the lines, pushing the remaining water in the lines out through irrigation heads.  Just like disconnecting your hoses at home, golf courses must prevent miles of pipes from cracking due to freeze/thaw.

Where is Fall?

If you have played golf in Kansas City lately you have realized we are going through some unseasonable warm weather. Typically when the leaves are falling I have on my trusty hooded sweatshirt and stocking cap. But this fall we are still comfortable in shorts and a light jacket. As the leaves rapidly fall, and we have  more golf out due to the  warm weather we have to battle leaf blowing and mulching  daily.   To help with combating leaf buildup we have 2 buffalo blowers and a large rough mower to mulch them up. So when you come out and play hopefully you notice that we take great time and effort in clearing the course for your round. Please come out and play because sooner then later the course will be covered in snow.

Update on 6 Green. We lost some grass on 6 green late August. Here is a picture  of what it looks like now:

The Best Time of the Year

Just a little information for your lawn as we head into winter. If you haven't already seeded those bare or thin spots in your yard you may want to think about getting it out a soon as possible before your window of opportunity runs out. Also this time of the year is great to fertilize your yard as it prepares for the winter.  This year we got out around 800 lbs of Fescue seed into our rough around greens and Tees.  The germaination is coming up nicely and in a few weeks we will fertilize these areas to help it continue through the winter. 

      With the cooler temperatures you may have noticed that the zoysia is slowly yellowing off and beginning its dormancy for the winter. We will be mowing them once a week and as the temps continue to fall we will stop mowing and allow the height to come up to allow a blanket of insulation for them.  

       After aerification is always the best time of the year to play. So please come out to Minor Park and enjoy the ideal playing conditions before winter is upon us. 

6 green

Number 6 green at Minor Park Golf Course has had some issues in the past and finally after the summer we just had in 2016, it has reared its ugly head again. Since I started here in 2012, we have not replaced more than a few plugs on this green, but our Kansas City area weather proved to be too much this year and we lost approximately 30 percent of 6 green. An August with 8+ inches of rain, temperatures in the upper 80’s to mid-90’s and dew points in excess of 70 degrees, left the ground saturated.  Weather like this was detrimental to the cool-season turf that was already stressed from the stifling heat of July. This is the third time in the past 10 years that a major amount of grass was lost on this green and resulted in the use of existing nursery sod for repairs.  This type of turf decline doesn’t happen on every green, so why is this one prone to it?  If you consider the layout of the course, number 6 green is tucked back in a corner surrounded by trees.  The location prevents adequate air movement to help dry out the turf during soggy conditions which leads to suffocating roots. In order to supplement the air movement, I propose the golf course acquires a large portable turfbreeze fan capable of moving air across the surface of the green as a vital part of stopping this repetitive turf decline. 

We have already begun the process of growing grass back on the surface of 6 green. Last week with the cooler temperatures we were able to dimple tine and apply extra Penncross seed. This will be our first process in restoring this green back to normal playing conditions. We are anticipating some seedlings will come up before we begin our aerfication process on September 15, 2016. At that time, along with our normal aerification procedure, we will add more seed and fertilizer in hopes to incorporate more seedlings into this area. After a few weeks of monitoring the growth, we will determine if there is an adequate coverage of grass returning.  If we do not see this, we will begin the sodding process to get the green back to normal playing conditions.

6 green as of September 7th. Getting some green back

As we work diligently to improve this green you may notice it is a bit taller than the rest of the greens at Minor Park.  This is due to less mowing of the green as we try to get the seed to establish. Think of this as a temporary hurdle as we bring this green back to the standards of the other 17 greens at Minor Park Golf Course.

Germination of seed

Groundhog Days

Ah yes, it’s August 2nd…another forecast of high temps and humidity. Clouds, fog and haze this morning, so no shadow would be seen…does this mean we will we have 6 more weeks of summer or an early fall?  I think we know what we all wish for!

Hopefully we have less than a month of this weather left and then it’s on to aerification, cooler nights, and football season (Are you ready for some football?!).

In the Turfcare industry this summer has been a tough one. We began the season with buckets of rain, then no rain, then sporadic heavy rain.  We backed this pattern with high temperatures plus brutal dew points, and because of this, we (like many others) have suffered areas of thinning and dried out turf.  All in all Minor Park as come through this barrage of ugly weather in quite good shape!

When the heat is on, and on and on…Our Best Practices are as follows:

·        Cooling and Hand watering: Which allows up to drop the surface temp and also only puts water where it is needed.

·        Venting and Top Dressing to ensure the roots can breathe and also helps breakup thatch layering and puffiness.

·        Watering judiciously to prevent disease, conserve resources, and maintain healthy turf.

That being said I would like to thank my hard working staff, Minor Park is in great shape considering the ‘transitional’ weather and a lot of it has to do with the dedicated people who show up daily at 5:30am ready for manual labor in tough conditions.  We hope you have been playing as much golf as you can, as we take pride in bringing you the best golf experience we can.  Enjoy playing this great game, soon we will be putting on the stocking caps…February 2^nd is not as far off as it sounds.