Good morning!

I would like to introduce myself as the new Golf Course Superintendent here at Deer Creek Golf Club.  I am extremely excited to be back in the Kansas City golf market and even more so at such a known and respected facility as Deer Creek.

A little background on myself so you can get to know me better, I am a graduate of Iowa State Universities Horticulture department with an emphasis in Turf Management.  Since graduation I have been a Golf Course Superintendent / General Manager at Royal Meadows in Kansas City, MO and the Superintendent at Ames Golf and Country Club in Ames, Iowa prior to my move down here.  Additionally during my time at AGCC I achieved my Certification through GCSAA, the highest honor a Superintendent can acquire.

I am proud to now call Overland Park and Deer Creek my new home.

Short update on the course, we have several projects that we are working on this fall, the two main ones will be starting this next month.  They include the overhaul of our Irrigation Pump-House starting November 11th and our bridge work throughout the golf course.  I will have updates as we get these projects underway.

GET THE SEEDERS OUT

It is time to start seeding those thin and bare spots in your lawns.  The rains we received this week were perfect for softening your lawns making it easier to incorporate the seed into the soil.  

I recommend most people aerate your lawn every fall at this time.  Don't waste your money if you haven't softened your lawn with irrigation or rainfall.  To test the soil to make sure it is loose enough to aerate, I recommend taking a screw driver in your hand and pressing it into the lawn.  You should be able to press it into the ground at least four inches with minimal effort.  If you can't press it into the ground then you need to irrigate more.  Once the lawn is prepared for aeration you should rent a core aerator from the local Home Depot or rental store.  Aerate the lawn thoroughly,  some thin areas you will be seeding should be aerated twice or three times.  

Now that you have aerated, you should rent a verti-cutter.  This can come with or without a seed box on it.  Verti-cut the entire lawn one direction.  You should then rake or bag all of the thick grass that the verti-cutter pulled up and remove it from the lawn.  Now you should spread the seed over the entire lawn, especially paying attention to the thin areas.  You should use approximately 2-3lb. per thousand square feet if you are seeding Tall Fescue or Blue Grass.  Once you have spread the seed over the entire lawn you should now verti-cut it a second direction.  This will incorporate the seed into the soil.  

Now you should apply a starter fertilizer.  This will have a higher middle number in the analysis on the bag.  This is considered a starter fertilizer due to the higher percentage of phosphorus it contains.  This will assist in germination and establishment of the new seedlings.  Apply this product at the labeled recommended rate.  

Now water the lawn.  This should be done at least once per day when it is not raining.  I recommend twice per day for ideal germination.  Once in the morning and once in the late afternoon/early evening time frame.  

After germination, you should wait a few weeks to mow.  Once you have started to mow, you should mow weekly at a 3" setting.  

Additional fertilizer should be applied two weeks after germination.  This time you should use a balanced fertilizer that has a similar first number and last number, the middle number should be zero now.  For instance a 20-0-20 could be used at this time.  Apply this product at the labeled rate on the bag.  This same fertilizer should be used monthly until snow fall.

Following these instructions will give you a nice lawn that you and your neighbors will all appreciate.

Brent           

TOPDRESSING

Topdressing is a term we use for the product that we apply to our putting greens to firm up the surface and smooth out ball marks.  We started a new program at Deer Creek this season where we apply the sand topdressing once per week.  It has resulted in a very firm  and smooth surface.  We use USGA sand as our topdressing medium and done correctly you do not notice that we applied the topdressing minutes after it was applied.  It is a great example of the things we do behind the scenes that help make our greens awesome.    

FLOOD UPDATE

It has been a crazy three weeks since we flooded.  We have spent countless hours cleaning up the debris and preparing the course for play.  It is in good condition now and we are anticipating weekly improvement as we work on the finishing touches of the clean up process.  I want to thank our staff for the tireless commitment they have given the club.  Without them, we would not be able to provide the good conditions we all have came to expect at Deer Creek Golf Club.  

Let's hope for decent weather this summer so we can enjoy the game of golf at Deer Creek.  

Local news crew stops by.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm4aEeHJ_4E&feature=youtube_gdata_player

MAJOR FLOODING

We just received 3" of rain in one and a half hour. That isn't good for us. We are going to start the evaluation now to see how much damage there is. We will prevail. Check in with us this weekend as we will be open for play as soon as we clean up the mess. We are very good at the cleanup process.

FIRST CLASS MAINTENANCE FACILITY

We are always looking for ways to improve at Deer Creek Golf Club. Recently we have placed our focus on the maintenance facility. It is our employees first impression of our department and it sets the tone for the job that they do when we maintain our golf course. We have improved organization of tools and completed a complete floor reconditioning project in the primary technician bay. We are proud of the facility we have and we are excited about the recent improvements.