Snow on the Bermuda

Last year we began treating our rough with a non-selective herbicide to help eliminate the ever growing bermudagrass. The herbicide has a specific active ingredient Topramezone, that helps prevent the plant from producing chlorophyll. You will see the results in the pictures below. Since the plant cannot produce chlorophyll the plant leaves turn white. We are continuing this practice this year in hopes to completely eradicate the bermudagrass. We will finish this program with two more applications and seed the areas as needed. Thanks for your patience.

Verti-cutting Fairways

As some of you may have noticed, the back nine fairways have several slits cutting into the ground. This is the result of verti-cutting. By verti-cutting we are helping the soil surface maintain a suitable thatch level. Throughout the year thatch builds up just below the surface of the grass. This thatch layer restricts root growth and water penetration, both of which are valuable assets when it comes to healthy turf. By verti-cutting, we are simply slicing through the top layer and removing some of the thatch. Once the thatch is removed from the soil we remove the thatch debris. You can see all of the build up we removed displayed in the first picture of #14 Fairway.  This practice allows for easy water penetration into
the subsurface and allow the roots to grow advantageously,
just like nature intended.

Assistant Superintendent

Clifton Willis was recently promoted to Assistant Superintendent at Blue Hills Country Club. Clifton grew up just north of Kansas City in Liberty, Missouri and is soon to be a Turf Science graduate of Penn State University. He has a beautiful wife named Mo with his first child on the way. He has worked at multiple courses in Missouri and Arkansas including the host of the 2012 Southern Amateur, Chenal Country Club. He has been with Blue Hills for over two years and is excited to continue making Blue Hills stand out as one of the exceptional courses in the Kansas City area.

Solving a Wet Problem

               
              #6 Drainage

 The right side of #6 fairway, just Southeast of the alternate driving range tee, continued to be a wet area this Spring. By installing new drainage last Fall, we thought the problem was resolved. However, the clogged clay tile diverted the settling water away from our new drain line. This caused the water to settle, runoff, and sit stagnant. By utilizing our Mini Excavator, we were able to remove the clay tile, and install new tributaries to our previously installed main drain line. These new French drains have been installed with the Herringbone design, this will help optimize the draining of the area and maintain the area as a dry playing surface in the future.

Installing New Intake

Throughout the warm months, often times leaves and debris will collect over the intake in the creek on hole #13. Preventative measures were taken many years ago to make sure the intake would not clog from all the settling debris by installing a screen over the intake. The old screen over the intake was installed over 7 years ago, but due to rust, wear, and tear it was time to be replaced. Without a proper filter the intake would become clogged and prevent the creek from properly flowing. Our mechanic, Tom Claus, put some time under the welding helmet this Winter and custom fabricated a new screen. This new screen is durable, made out of 1/4" re-bar, and we anticipate it lasting a long time. This screen was not just built to last, it will also significantly reduce the times the intake gets clogged. The following picture shows the new and improved intake screen being installed.

Saving the Day

 Removal of Evergreens

Another day comes another project. Everyone loves the tee shot over the pond on hole number 5. Hitting the perfect shot and landing next to the pin couldn't feel any better. However, there are those days when you hit that tee shot and the ball strays to the left of the green and ends up in those stubborn evergreens.
So, we decided to go ahead with the removal of those stubborn evergreens and will be sodding that area instead.
Now, when you hit that semi perfect tee shot and it ends up to the left of the green, you will still have the ability to make that wonderful up and down to save par. 

Proper way to Repair Ball Marks

 This is a helpful video to learn the proper way to  repair ball marks on the green.