CLUB TALK - FALL 2010
General Managers Comments:
It is hard to believe that September is already here! We all look forward to cooler temperatures and the vibrant colors of fall. As you know 2010 has been a strenuous year for golfers. The first three months old man winter played havoc with the golfers; then we had an extreme rainy season in May and June and finally excessive heat in July and August! Ah, yes, these are the seasons I remember growing up in the 70’s and early 80’s here in the Midwest. Hopefully this fall will be better than last year and we will finish up the year on a positive note!
Fall Garage Sale:
Last spring the neighborhood garage sale was such a big success that we have scheduled another one for this fall. So start planning and gathering items for the “Creekmoor Fall Garage Sale” scheduled Thursday through Saturday, October 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.
Clubhouse Hours:
The golf course will be closed to an outside event on Tuesday, September 7th. This is a full field event to help raise money for the City Mission. Monday, September 13th and Tuesday, September 14th, the golf course and restaurant facility will be closed during our aerification process.
Currently the clubhouse hours of operations are from 6 am to 9 pm daily, depending on weather conditions. As a friendly reminder starting Monday, November 1st, the fitness center will be open from 6 am to 8 pm daily and the restaurant will be closing at 7 pm unless an event is scheduled.
From the Social Committee:
Put September 23rd on your calendar! You won’t want to miss this! “Social Board Happy Hour” from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Creekmoor clubhouse. The social board would like you to come enjoy a free drink and hear about plans and needs for next year! There will be lots of changes and we want you to be informed! Prizes will be awarded for participation!
Also, planning is well underway for the “2nd Annual Holiday Home Tour” on Monday, December 6, 2010. So mark your calendar; more information to follow.
Currently Town and Country will not pick up glass for recycling but Ripple Glass has provided a large purple bin at the east end of the Hwy 58 Price Chopper parking lot for glass recycling. According to their website www.rippleglass.com: “Ripple glass is here to make glass recycling work in Kansas City. We’re providing more locations to drop off empty glass containers. We’re processing the glass locally. And a local business is using it to make fiber glass insulation for more energy-efficient homes. Don’t worry your glass is in a better place.” Go to their website for more information.
Pro Shop:
It has been raining hole-in-ones here the last two weeks at Creekmoor. Special congratulations go to Scott Miller, Ron Hennessy, and Bruce Rehmer. All three succeeded in getting hole-in-ones in August.
Scott Miller, our Director of Golf, got his 12th hole-in-one at Winterstone on August 24th. Scott knocked his ace in on hole number six; a 190 yard shot! Lucky number 13 is on its way.
Ron Hennessy made a hole in one on number 7 here at Creekmoor, August 26th with a seven iron, 135 yards away! I am sure that made his day!
And during the Creekmoor Men’s Member/Guest event, Bruce Rehmer surprised everyone with a 155 yard PW shot which went into the hole on #4, winning him a two year lease on a brand new Mustang! Cha Ching!!!!
Creekmoor Fund Raisers:
Creekmoor residents and golfers continue to help those who are not as fortunate:
In July over $8,000 was raised for the First Tee Foundation, and the Raymore/Belton Rotary raised over $4,000 with their charitable golf event at Creekmoor.
We will be also hosting the Patriot Golf Day during Labor Day Weekend. The Pro Shop will be collecting donations of a $1 or more to benefit Folds of Honor. Folds of Honor provide post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving our Great Nation! So this Labor Day weekend please remember those who serve to protect us and our way of life.
Golf Course Superintendent’s Comments:
I want to give Todd and his maintenance staff special thanks for all their hard work. This summer our maintenance crew has been fighting a battle with Mother Nature. Creekmoor has not come out unscathed but compared to other golf courses in our market we have not suffered as much.
The extreme weather conditions have finally broke and now is the time that our staff will be concentrating on repairing the damaged areas and getting the golf course back into the conditions that we are all accustomed to.
The article below pretty well explains just how difficult it has been this summer.
What has happened to my Golf Course this summer?
This has been and continues to be the most difficult year in over 20 years for golf courses in
2010 has been the “perfect storm”
It all began with the cold wet spring and is now been followed by a combination of extreme heat and humidity resulting in a struggle for survival of cool season grasses like bent grass, bluegrass, fescues and poa annua. Let us not forget many courses have had to cut budgets due to the economy, which means superintendents have smaller staffs and smaller budgets for water and critical chemicals.
How has the weather really caused the problem?
The cold wet spring did not allow the grass to develop healthy deep roots, which are necessary to survive the summer heat. The above average rainfall through mid July made the soil saturated. Wet soil maintains a higher temperature than dry soil and it creates a barrier that prevents needed oxygen getting to the roots. Soil temperatures are critical, as cool season grasses will decline when the soil temperature is above 86-degress. Extreme heat and humidity have persisted for over four weeks (soil temperatures are over 100-degrees.) The cool season grasses have been surviving for the last six weeks off reserves in the root systems. Those reserves and the root systems have all but run out. In addition, high humidity has created constant high fungal disease pressure. With compromised root systems, cool season rough/fairways and putting greens (especially those being maintained very aggressively in regards to cutting height and rolling practices) did not have a chance once the excessive heat and humidity set in thus it thins out, turns yellow, withers or dies.
How is 2010 that different from previous hot summers?
Eric Bickel, Golf Course Superintendent, Hallbrook Country Club, recently compiled the following to sum up the challenge of 2010.
Dew points, temperatures, wind speed, and soil temperature are the key climactic factors, which measure the stress associated with cool season grasses ability to perform its basic physiological functions (respiration, photosynthesis, evapotranspiration.) A brief summary of these factors, their critical values, and their occurrence follows for the period of June through Aug 15.
Days with highs of 90 or above 41
Days with a low temperature above 70 47
Days with a average dew point above 70 50
Days with an average wind speed of 10 mph or less 68
Days in which soil temperatures have been above 86 55
Total days in which all five of these factors occurred simultaneously over the last 20 years (i.e. # of severe root decline days)
Year 90' 91' 92' 93' 94' 95' 96' 97' 98' 99'
# of days 5 8 1 3 2 14 5 10 12 17*
Year 00' 01' 02' 03' 04' 05' 06' 07' 08' 09'
# of days 9 16 13 9 5 7 11 8 5 6
*1999 had the most consecutive days with 17
When all five of these factors occur simultaneously at their critical values (highs and lows above 90 and 70 respectively, dew points above 70, soil temps above 86, and wind speed below 10) cool season grasses are in a state of full blown decline. There is no recovery for that day. The plant can no longer perform its basic functions normally. Metabolic activity is sustained solely at the expense of the root system. When this occurs for extended periods, little can be done to alleviate the issue.
To date we are at 32 consecutive days and the end is not in sight!
In six weeks when we have the first cool spell, the grass will have started healing and the reseeded areas will be showing signs of new growth. Remember who kept the courses alive in the extreme summer in the last two decades, the heroes known as the golf course superintendents. Your courses superintendent and their staff are under a huge amount of stress, show your support with encouragement, and stay educated.
Want to learn more about the challenges of 2010 here are links to recent articles:
Golf Course Superintendents Association of
Heat wrecking havoc on courses nationwide … view article
USGA Green Section
Lose a battle win a war …view article
Green section achieve …view achieve
Wall Street Journal – Golf Journal
Why summer is wrecking golf courses …view article
I encourage residents of Creekmoor to check out Todd’s blog at www.creekmoormaintenance.blogspot.com
FINAL COMMENT:
A special thank you to all our residents who participated in repairing/replacing divots and ball marks on the golf course Sunday, August 15th. We had over thirty residents volunteer their services on this project with only two minor injuries!!! We appreciate your enthusiasm and community spirit!
Carl Dietz
General Manager
Creekmoor POA
