Who could ever forget the year 2020? Fortunately it’s almost behind us, but as I reflect on the year we had, I would be remiss if I didn’t state how proud I am of our staff for being so flexible and creative in how they handled this pandemic. They have also been very safe and vigilant in adhering to our ever-changing protocols throughout the year … not letting any of these distractions get in the way as they went out and performed their jobs to perfection each day. You find out a lot about yourself and the people around you in times like these and I couldn’t be more impressed with our Golf Course Maintenance team here at The National. In this issue I am going to provide a year-in-review, an update on some projects going on around the course this winter as well as our goals for the 2021 season. Regards,
Gary Sailer
Director of Golf Course Maintenance The National Golf Club of Kansas City garys@fivestarlifestyles.com
I crossed paths with this majestic-looking buck behind #16 green on a beautiful fall morning. 2
The year started like most until March when we learned that the pandemic was upon us. We had to shuffle to meet safety guidelines which included the addition of “no-touch” items like plastic risers in cups and the removal of rakes and other amenities from the course. Our team quickly converted to wearing masks and maintaining social distance while working throughout the property. The unfortunate cancellation of events soon followed. We introduced PoaCure in the spring as a potential solution to our large poa population on the greens. Trials were set up on the back of #7, the chipping green and our nursery green. Due to the success of these trials, we will be implementing this program full scale in 2021. A program to improve native grass areas was introduced in late spring/early summer. Progress was made by our team, but we still have work which needs to be done. The weather throughout the year was mild, but dry, as we find ourselves 5 inches below normal, year-to-date. Improving drainage around the course was put forth as a goal. This program is underway, but not yet complete.
If you’d like to take a look back at 2020, please let us know and we’ll email you the previous three editions of The National Quarterly. These issues provide great visuals, stats and perspectives on GCM happenings throughout the year … both behind the scenes and on the golf course.
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PoaCure Update May 28th
With the success of our PoaCure trials, we have decided to implement the program full-scale starting in the spring of 2021. In the early stages of this program, you can expect the greens to look pretty ugly. As the poa dies, it will turn a yellowish-orange color and then to brown when it finally dies. This will occur during April, May and part of June. There will be voids where the poa has died. At this point, we will implement an aggressive fertilizer and growth regulator program to push new growth into these voids throughout the rest of the golf season. The early part of this program is when the highest percentage of the poa dies off. As we move along with the program, the percentage of poa becomes smaller and more bentgrass takes over in these areas, with the discoloration much less noticeable. We are planning on this being a three-year process.
June 28th
Advantages of PoaCure: No seedheads mean a smoother putting surface, especially in spring. More consistency due to having a mono-stand of bentgrass only turf. Improved appearance with less blotchiness due to a reduction in poa. Not necessary to close our facilities to rebuild or re-grass greens due to the high percentage of poa. Less chemicals needed since bentgrass has better resistance to diseases. Disadvantages of PoaCure: In the early stages, the greens will have an unsightly appearance. It’s a two-year to three-year process, depending on the amount of poa. It’s expensive, but still cheaper than rebuilding or re-grassing greens.
July 28th
A visual timeline of PoaCure applications made over the past several months is shown on the left. The photo on the right, taken in September, illustrates the PoaCure application on the right side and control on the left side.
August 28th 4
September 28th
actual
average
36.34
31.05 Our dry weather pattern continues, as indicated on the graph on the right. I’m not sure what this means as far as expected snowfall for this winter but, at this time, I am not too concerned about water supply or about the turf being affected by the lack of rainfall.
Morning frost on #2
Leaf “management” has kept the team busy the past several months!
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We have several projects planned for this winter that will improve the golf course. Hopefully, Mother Nature cooperates and we can get them all completed.
Drainage has been installed in #16 fairway (as shown above). We also plan on adding drainage in #10 and #18 fairways and #17 approach.
Platte County Regional Sewer District is busy locating and bringing buried manholes to grade. This project should be finished in February or March. 6
The retention dam south of the bridge as you go to #14 was damaged during the eclipse storm a few years ago. This dam was responsible for the water feature behind #13 green, so it will be nice to get this restored and have this area look the way it was designed.
We invite you to visit the Golf Course Maintenance facility to meet the team and get a behind-the-scenes tour. Please email me and we’ll schedule a time to get together: garys@thenationalgolfclub.com.
Gary Sailer Director
Cesar Villaneuva Lead Assistant
Graham Edelman Assistant
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Trevor Reid Assistant
6700 N. National Drive Parkville, MO 64152 816.746.0200 www.thenationalgolfclub.com
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