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| Mt McKinley |
I left rainy Fairbanks, where it had dumped 2 inches during my two-day stay, and headed to Anchorage for the
second half of my trip. Apparently it’s not very common, but I managed to catch
a peek of Mt McKinley, North America’s tallest peak at 20,322 feet. I could sense the weather was changing for
the good.
When I arrived in Anchorage, I picked up Anchorage Golf Course Superintendent Marty Baumann, and we headed down to the Kenai Peninsula to Soldotna.
Our first stop was at a course called Birch Ridge. The course is maintained by a gentleman they call Kenai Bill. Bill is from a golf background, primarily from the Southwest. Similar to Howie in Fairbanks, Bill winters in Palm Springs and starts working on the course some time in April. Bill gave Marty and me a complete tour that eventually lead us to meeting Pat McCowan, Birch Ridge's owner. I was able to spend a few minutes with Pat before he had to tee off, and I explained how a GCSAA membership could benefit Bill through online education and the ability to participate in the online forums, where he could bounce ice damage questions off of fellow superintendents.
Our first stop was at a course called Birch Ridge. The course is maintained by a gentleman they call Kenai Bill. Bill is from a golf background, primarily from the Southwest. Similar to Howie in Fairbanks, Bill winters in Palm Springs and starts working on the course some time in April. Bill gave Marty and me a complete tour that eventually lead us to meeting Pat McCowan, Birch Ridge's owner. I was able to spend a few minutes with Pat before he had to tee off, and I explained how a GCSAA membership could benefit Bill through online education and the ability to participate in the online forums, where he could bounce ice damage questions off of fellow superintendents.
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| Kenai Bill |
I
was impressed how much Bill was able to do with so little. His only irrigation
is a 2-inch black poly pipe that runs above ground behind each putting green and tee
box. There is a small spigot where he
can attach a garden hose and run water to the green or tee box using an impact
sprinkler. When I looked at the conditions of Bill's greens, I realized that he was probably watering in a way most all of us would prefer to water, long and infrequently.
Bill shared some of his techniques for maintenance, and most would find it crude, but I found it very effective. Here is a picture of Bill's aerifier. He does all 18 greens himself, and it usually takes a few days. Notice the back brace, tthe result of lugging that thing around.
Bill's biggest struggle is having to resurface his greens each year. This is common among most golf courses in Alaska. In the lower 48, the winter of 2013-14 was devastating to greens across the Midwest and parts of the South. But in Alaska, it is the norm each year. Nine feet of frost is common in the winters, and any precipitation that comes as rain after the frost has set in generally means ice on the ground. This last winter Alaska saw unseasonably warm temperatures, but that meant a lot of ice buildup. Over all, I was impressed how quickly Bill was able to get his greens back in play and how good they looked.
Bill shared some of his techniques for maintenance, and most would find it crude, but I found it very effective. Here is a picture of Bill's aerifier. He does all 18 greens himself, and it usually takes a few days. Notice the back brace, tthe result of lugging that thing around.
Bill's biggest struggle is having to resurface his greens each year. This is common among most golf courses in Alaska. In the lower 48, the winter of 2013-14 was devastating to greens across the Midwest and parts of the South. But in Alaska, it is the norm each year. Nine feet of frost is common in the winters, and any precipitation that comes as rain after the frost has set in generally means ice on the ground. This last winter Alaska saw unseasonably warm temperatures, but that meant a lot of ice buildup. Over all, I was impressed how quickly Bill was able to get his greens back in play and how good they looked.
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| Birch Ridge Golf Course |
Our next stop was at Kenai Golf Course.
We didn't have any connections other than the folks we met as we walked into
the clubhouse. The owners were away, but
we had a nice conversation with the gal behind the counter and a gentleman
doing some touch-up painting. Kenai Golf Course is the only full-service golf
facility on the peninsula with a full practice facility and catering services. It
sounds like they do a fair amount of business.
While we were there, a couple young gals came in to hit some balls.They said they had never played the game before and thought they would try hitting some balls just for kicks. It was nice to witness a couple golf fans in the making. Marty and I grabbed a score card and walked out and looked at a few holes. The layout looked interesting, and the conditions were pretty darn good. I got the sense that when the fish weren't in, golf courses were busy.
While we were there, a couple young gals came in to hit some balls.They said they had never played the game before and thought they would try hitting some balls just for kicks. It was nice to witness a couple golf fans in the making. Marty and I grabbed a score card and walked out and looked at a few holes. The layout looked interesting, and the conditions were pretty darn good. I got the sense that when the fish weren't in, golf courses were busy.
My next post will cover the course I visited in the Anchorage vicinity One in particular may be one of the toughest courses I have ever seen!
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