Summer 2021 Golf Course Maintenance Update for The National Golf Club of Kansas City

The National Golf Club of Kansas City Golf Course Maintenance Update

Welcome to summer everyone. As I write this, we have just finished The Watson Challenge and we are in the midst of The White Alloe, our men’s invitational.

The Watson Challenge was a great success and it was special to see Tom Watson play this beautiful course that he designed. Our winner was Andy Spencer at (-10) which was the third time he has won this event.

We had a record number of teams for The White Alloe which speaks to the popularity of the event. Both events were cancelled last year so it was nice to see them resume as normal this year.

This is our busiest season of the year and I will discuss our activities going on right now and what to expect the rest of the summer in this edition of The National Quarterly.

Regards,

Gary Sailer

Director of Golf Course Maintenance The National Golf Club of Kansas City garys@fivestarlifestyles.com

The National proudly hosted The Watson Challenge June 2nd through June 5th.

Tom Watson (left) with Gary Sailer (right), Director of Golf Course Maintenance.

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This is the month that our maintenance activities start moving into high gear. With temperatures on the rise after a very wet month of May, the turf has been growing at peak rate, so regular mowing routines are crucial in order to keep our course in top condition.

Chemical and fertilizer applications are also critical to insure the grass stays healthy and disease-free. Chemical applications occur at oneto two-week intervals through September.

In July we plan to aerate highly compacted areas of fairways which include landing areas, enter/exit areas and approaches. This should only take about a week and will not be very noticeable.

Morning maintenance at The National

As many of you have heard by now, the right side of #15 is going to be developed for new housing. Because of this, a new road will be installed west of the #16 tee box area and behind #15 green. The champ tee for #16 tee will need to be moved to the left to make room for the road. The plan is to use a retaining wall and build the tee box up so that it is slightly above the purple tee. The new cart path will run along the right side of the tee and slightly above the tee itself.

The tee project is scheduled to begin this fall. The roadwork and grading for the lots could begin as early as July.

Stay tuned for more information on this project.

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The warmer temperatures and drier conditions that come with the summer season are also more stressful on our cool-season rough areas. With this in mind, please follow all cart traffic signs as closely as possible and only drive in the rough when entering and exiting the hole. The Zoysiagrass fairways are a warmseason grass that tolerates the heat and traffic much better than the rough this time of year, so we would rather see you stay in the fairways with your carts as much as possible.

We also ask that you keep your cart on the path around all tees and greens. These are very sensitive areas and we want to keep them in the best condition possible for all members. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

PoaCure Update

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We are now in the recovery mode of this process. This means we are now focused on encouraging the Bentgrass to grow into the voids left by the dead poa annua. We are doing this with products that encourage lateral growth of the Bentgrass and fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate which the Bentgrass responds to more efficiently than other nitrogen sources.

We will be making these applications every two weeks during the growing season. The fall applications of PoaCure will begin in September.

PoaCure applied to the front of #3 green

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2020 precipitation 2021 precipitation Average

2020 temperature 2021 temperature Average

88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80

We continue to make progress in improving the native grass areas.

Weed control is the biggest challenge. We have made one weed control application so far this year and the native areas have gotten much cleaner. We are also experimenting with letting the native grass grow out in certain locations which make them more penal.

We will evaluate this for speed of play and playability issues as the summer continues.

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Juan Guerrero Our featured team member in this edition of The National Quarterly is Equipment Technician, Juan Guerrero.

Juan has been a FiveStar associate for eight years, originally starting at The Deuce. Because of his equipment knowledge and great work ethic, Juan has quickly become one of the most valuable members of our team.

Juan always stays busy (even when he’s not working on equipment) and always has a smile on his face. His wonderful attitude and willingness to work within the framework of our team makes him a great asset to our facility. Say hello to Juan if you see him out and about.

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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

Trevor Reid Assistant

Frank Keller Twigg Assistant

UPCOMING EVENTS The Doubler Member/Member .......................... July 16th-17th The Morning Belle Ladies’ Member/Guest...... August 11th-13th Greens Aeration ..................................................... August 16th-17th

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#14 Native Area 6700 N. National Drive Parkville, MO 64152 816.746.0200 www.thenationalgolfclub.com

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