Short Shots
Senior Series active this month
KGA’s Senior Series conducted four events earlier this month with two stops in the Wichita area and two in Greater Kansas City, including a trip across the state line for its inaugural event at the new Golf Club at Creekmoor in Raymore, Mo.
The first June event was played at Crestview Country Club in Wichita where Andover’s Randy Vautravers shot a 71 for the best gross score of the day in winning the 50-55 division. Manhattan’s David Anderson was one shot back at 72 and won the 70-74 group. Wichita’s Dakin Cramer (55-59) and Scott Waltman (60-64) had 73s to win their divisions. Wichita’s Max Pennington, playing in the 65-69 division, holed out a 130-yard shot on the course’s 12th hole for an eagle.
The following day the Series moved to nearby Andover and windy Terradyne Country Club. Playing directly into the howling wind, Jeff Rader of Glen Elder used driver to ace the 160-yard sixth hole. Kansas City, Kan.’s Jerold Reid, playing in the 55-59 group, overcame the conditions to shoot a 72 for the best gross score of the day. Wakeeney’s Doug Durr shot a 76 to claim the top spot in the 50-54 group. Wichita’s Dale Zimmerman and Greg Buell shot 77s to lead the 60-64 division.
Mark Crow, who teamed with Jay Edwards to win this week’s Senior Team Championship in Newton, shot a 71 to win the Leawood South Country Club 50-54 division as the Series moved to the Kansas City suburb on June 16. Overland Park’s Rob Gleissner had the best round of the day with a 70 to win the 55-59 division.
The Series’ first trip to the Golf Club at Creekmoor proved to be a long one the following day. Especially when the course was inadvertently set up at 6,900 yards instead of 6,400 due to a communications error, according to Series Commissioner Dick Kendrick.
“It was long day…especially for the players who don’t hit it 300 yards,” Kendrick said. “But it was a new venue for us and the course really has some neat holes. The wind was howling but there were some good scores out there.”
One of those was turned in by Leawood’s Kevin Handlan, who had a 75 to win the 50-54 division. Reid and Lee’s Summit, Mo.’s Ron Eilers had 78s to tie for the top spot in the 55-59 group. Don Kuehn of Kansas City had a 79 to best the 60-64 division.
The Series returns to action next week with events at Lawrence Country Club (June 30) and Alvamar Golf Club (July 1). The following week it returns to the Kansas City area for events at Hillcrest Country Club (July 7) and Olathe’s Prairie Highlands (July 8).
The cost of golf
The National Golf Foundation occasionally looks into the cost of golf to underscore the fact that the game is affordable, even in the face of a recession.
The average cost of “public” golf in the United States in 2008 is around $50. This figure represents the published “in-season,” weekend green fees and golf car fee (rack rate) at 18-hole public golf courses. Because of the competitiveness of the market, this fee is rarely achieved and therefore the actual cost to play is less.
Daily fee golf courses, which are privately owned but open to the public, charge on average about $10 more per round than their municipally-owned counterparts.
The cost to play at newer golf facilities is higher than at older ones. This is true for both daily fee and municipal courses and is due to the fact that newer courses cost more to build and therefore must charge more to pay off the debt associated with development. Nine-hole facilities, which number around 4,500, are considerably more affordable. The comparable average cost is $29 vs. $51 at 18-hole facilities (or about 43 percent less.)-- NGF/GCSAA
Hail of a situation
When the Kansas Golf Association held its Junior Amateur Championship last month, Stagg Hill Golf Club was in top shape – a credit to superintendent Mark McKain and his staff. The smooth greens at the privately owned public course near Manhattan, Kan., putted beautifully and challenged some of the Sunflower State’s best young players.
You would have never known the course went through a hail storm the morning of June 2. And we’re not just talking about a little hail on the course. We’re talking baseball-sized hail that sent golfers and maintenance employees scurrying for cover. When all was said and done, golf carts were damaged, automobile windshields were shattered and the clubhouse roof was shot.
More importantly, at least to McKain and staff, the course’s greens were riddled with hundreds of pock marks from the storm and the turf was littered with limbs and debris caused by falling hail stones.
“The greens took the biggest hit,” said McKain, 13 years at Stagg Hill after stops as superintendent at Custer Hill and Junction City. “Many of the holes were three and a half inches in diameter, and we had golf ball-sized holes…hundreds in every green. Numbers 9 and 18, 8, 16 and 17 had the majority of the big holes.”
So, calling on his experience from a similar hail storm at Junction City back in 1995, McKain and staff went to work. Greens were verticut and that brought the turf up and helped knit back together some of the big holes, according to McKain.
“That did really well on the golf ball-sized ones,” he said.
The staff then used a verti-drain aerifier, mounted on a tractor with the tines removed, as sort of a roller, McKain explained. Greens, which average about 3,500 square feet at the course, were then top-dressed, brushed in and rolled again. Finally, the bentgrass putting surfaces were fertilized. With a staff of just seven, McKain had the course back open for play by 2 p.m. the following day.
“(Players) were very pleased with the outcome…so it turned out pretty well,” McKain said. “Play was ready to go again. I don’t think golfers think about the kind of damage hail can do to the greens.”
McKain said the greens were about “back to normal” and under their regular maintenance regiment within 10 days to two weeks. Budget-wise the course is out the time and labor required to fix the greens with no insurance claims necessary – that cannot be said for the clubhouse roof, and possibly the maintenance building roof, according to McKain.
Woods has fourth left knee surgery
Tiger Woods underwent successful reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Tuesday in Park City, Utah. The surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg and Dr. Vernon J. Cooley who did arthroscopic surgery on Woods’ same knee in April.
“We were confident going into this surgery and I am pleased with the results,” said Rosenberg. “There were no surprises during the procedure, and as we have said, with the proper rehabilitation and training, it is highly unlikely Mr. Woods will have any long-term effects as it relates to his career.”
Woods, who won the U.S. Open earlier this month after a 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate, is expected to miss the remainder of this golf season, including next month’s British Open and August’s PGA Championship. The majors will be the first Woods has missed since 1996. He will also miss September’s Ryder Cup matches.
-- some information provided by tigerwoods.com
