The Heartland of Golf: Shadow Glen, the Golf Club

By Kevin Burrows, Editor

After opening in 1987, Shadow Glen has graced the pages of Golf Digest numerous times, first as the ?EUR??,,????'??Best New Course of the Year?EUR??,,????'?? in 1989, as one of ?EUR??,,????'??America?EUR??,,????'???s Greatest 100 Courses?EUR??,,????'?? in 1995 and then as one the ?EUR??,,????'??Top 10 Courses in Kansas?EUR??,,????'?? in 1999. Most recently, in March of 2000 Shadow Glen?EUR??,,????'???s #13, was named as one of America?EUR??,,????'???s 18 best holes.

Shadow Glen, the Golf Club, a 2005 PGMS Green Star Grand Award Winner, was founded as a private golf club in 1987 and today is the centerpiece of a 3,600 exclusive community in Olathe, Kansas.

Located just outside of Kansas City, Mo., the 18-hole golf course encompasses 7,051 yards from the back tees and has been ranked as one of the top 5 courses in Kansas every year since it opened.

Superintendent

Scott Johnson has been the Landscape Superintendent at Shadow Glen for 6 years. Earning a degree in Horticulture from Kansas State, he has been in the industry since 1981. With nearly 27 years of experience, he has spent time at courses all over the south, from Trophy Club and Colonial Country Club in Texas, to the Country Club of the South in Georgia.

Since the golf course is situated next to a private community in Olathe, Johnson also oversees a small landscaping crew of four, who are contracted out to do subdivision maintenance. The team works only 40 hours a week, independent of the golf course crew. On top of their work in the surrounding neighborhood, on Mondays and Thursdays they use three push mowers to manicure the areas around the clubhouse. ?EUR??,,????'??They also maintain all of the ornamental areas at the clubhouse and native grass areas throughout the course,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson.

Grounds Crew

Johnson?EUR??,,????'???s landscaping team consists of 30 members?EUR??,,????'???15 full time and15 seasonal. Six are licensed pesticide applicators, while one is an irrigation technician. Johnson?EUR??,,????'???s landscape supervisor heads a crew of three during the long seasonal period, which is from April through mid-November. During this time, about 8-10 temporary workers will be on site. During the short seasonal period from mid May to Mid August, four assistants?EUR??,,????'???all with recent college degrees in turf management or horticulture?EUR??,,????'???work on the course. ?EUR??,,????'??They do a lot of the hands-on stuff, like mowing greens, changing cups, and applying fertilizer and fungicide,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. Rounding out the team are two mechanics?EUR??,,????'???a chief and a shop apprentice?EUR??,,????'???who perform all of the equipment maintenance. The landscaping team regularly works 46-50 hours every seven days, which means a five and a half day work week. They do a rotation where half will come in for part of the day on Saturday, and the other half comes in on Sunday,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. ?EUR??,,????'??For big tournaments, though, everyone will work the entire weekend.?EUR??,,????'??

Since the golf course is situated next to a private community in Olathe, Johnson also oversees a small landscaping crew of four, who are contracted out to do subdivision maintenance. The team works only 40 hours a week, independent of the golf course crew. On top of their work in the surrounding neighborhood, on Mondays and Thursdays they use three push mowers to manicure the areas around the clubhouse. ?EUR??,,????'??They also maintain all of the ornamental areas at the clubhouse and native grass areas throughout the course,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson.

The Course

With an annual budget of $1.4 million, Johnson?EUR??,,????'???s team manages 160 acres of landscape, 120 of which receiving constant attention. The greens, made of A1/A4 Bentgrass, are mowed daily to a height of 0.115 inches. The tees and fairways are comprised of Myers Zoysiagrass. Cut to heights of 1/2 inches and 9/16 inches respectively, these areas are mowed 2-3 times a week from April through October. Finally, the rough is cut 2-3 times a week as well, (weather permitting), at a height of 2.5 inches.

The other roughly 40 acres of wildlife throughout the property may see a mower once a month. ?EUR??,,????'??We planted native warm season grasses in those areas, to be consistent with the rest of Kansas,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. These grasses include Buffalo grass, little blue stem, switch grass, big blue stem, and love grass. ?EUR??,,????'??We buy seed as a mix custom to the Midwest,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson.

The par 5, 506 yard, 18th hole has the name ?EUR??,,????'??Home?EUR??,,????'?? which is a traditional Scottish label given to finishing holes. Comprised of Myers Zoysiagrass and mowed 2-3 times a week from April through October, the tees and fairways are cut to heights of 1/2 inches and 9/16 inches respectively.

Trees

?EUR??,,????'??Most of the big tree care jobs, like spraying the pine trees, bushes and shrubs in both the early spring and in fall, are hired out,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. ?EUR??,,????'??Those guys are professionals.?EUR??,,????'?? Some of the smaller tree work on the course is done by an assistant who happens to be an arborist.

Another problem the team has faced is a fungus carried by beetles that bore into trees in the spring. ?EUR??,,????'??Usually beetles infect a tree one year, and it will show signs of disease the next. We really try to keep these beetles under control,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson.

Slow release granular fertilizers along with some foliar sprayed products are used on the course to promote growth. ?EUR??,,????'??I use wetting agents on my greens monthly from April to December and have an injector attached to my irrigation pump station that I use to apply wetting agents for the entire course 1-2 times a year, usually in July and August,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. However, because of the rain, ?EUR??,,????'??I may not need them this year.?EUR??,,????'??

Irrigation

A wireless Rainbird control system with Cirrus computer software is directing Shadow Glen?EUR??,,????'???s irrigation. Field satellites run each hole with stand alone capability, but are linked to the main control. Each can each be programmed individually if the computer goes down, however. The system is somewhat unique because the course has such a hilly terrain. To allow for this topography, Yagi antennas are hidden in the trees, which allow repeaters to communicate with the irrigation controllers located throughout the grounds.

Employing a ?EUR??,,????'??half-breed?EUR??,,????'?? irrigation system as Johnson put it, a number of the components have been upgraded from Toro to Rainbird Par Plus controllers over the past three years. The1,480 total spray heads throughout the grounds are also being switched out from Toro 660s to Rainbird 700s. ?EUR??,,????'??Both systems are good, but Toro didn?EUR??,,????'???t have what we needed at the time we wanted to switch,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s like driving a Lexus or Mercedes. Both are good, but when we chose to upgrade Toro didn?EUR??,,????'???t have the newer technology, so we switched.?EUR??,,????'??

Here a worker does some last minute grooming on the 9th green, which overlooks 65 acre Shadow Lake. The course?EUR??,,????'???s irrigation system is unique due its hilly terrain. Within the trees, hidden Yagi antennas allow repeaters to communicate with Rainbird satellite irrigation controllers located throughout the grounds.

Spraying

When LSMP spoke to Johnson in June, Kansas was in the midst of a deluge of rain that had been hitting the area on and off for two weeks. Because of this, he and his crew were seeing turf diseases like dollar spot and brown patch on the Kentucky bluegrass.

Then the next day they will switch. ?EUR??,,????'??But it?EUR??,,????'???s been a challenge to get out and spray,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. ?EUR??,,????'??With the weather we?EUR??,,????'???ve been having, our opportunities have been limited.?EUR??,,????'??

With a yearly budget of $65,000 for equipment up-keep, all of Shadow Glen?EUR??,,????'???s machine maintenance is done in-house. ?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???ve got a good preventative schedule,?EUR??,,????'?? said Johnson. ?EUR??,,????'??But we?EUR??,,????'???ve got a very hilly topography, which is a challenge.?EUR??,,????'??

Equipment

Like any large-scale turf operation, Shadow Glen employs a hefty stable of mowers. A mixture of John Deere and Jacobsen specialty mowers are used for the greens, tees, rough and fairways. These include:

One trick Johnson has found to keep his mowers looking just as good as they run is to buy labels and stickers from John Deere and Jacobsen. Along with consistent cleaning and upkeep, these labels give the mowers the appearance of a new machine. ?EUR??,,????'??We are constantly buying labels from manufacturers to keep mowers looking new,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??The better the equipment looks, the better the guys take care of it.?EUR??,,????'?? Not surprisingly, this expense, which may seem extraneous to some, is ?EUR??,,????'??the most money he has every spent (on labels) at any course.?EUR??,,????'?? But it has paid off, as the machines are kept in tip-top condition, which in turn instills a sense of pride in the crew.