More tree work

If you read the last blog post you know that wee have started doing tree work on the river course. We started by removing some smaller trees on holes number Two and Four to open up the view from the tee on each hole, well the work continues to hole number Seven. I think we can all agree that number Seven is the most challenging hole on the course and possibly one of the most difficult tee shots in the KC Metro. The view of the fairway and landing area has become blocked by small trees that have grown between the forward tee and the river, and small trees growing on the river bank just in front of the blue tee have made the tee shot next to impossible if you cant get the ball up quickly. The work we are doing will address both of these issues.

We have cut down many of the trees on the steep bank just in front of the blue tee allowing shots that are hit lower to still get across the river. At the moment we have only cleared in front of the top tier where the tees are placed the majority of the time, we will continue to work on the left side to clear it out as well making the entire tee useable. The next issue we started to address is the large native area on the river side of the cart path, think of the left side of the path from the bridge around to the yellow tee. This area has become very overgrown with brush and vines as well as being littered with dead trees that have fallen over the years, we are in the process of clearing out all of the fallen timber and removing the under growth to open this area up similar to the section between the tees on hole Nine. Also there were a number of small trees growing behind the forward tee that were blocking the view of the right side of the hole, we have removed all of these trees and it has made the tee shot from the blue tee much more inviting while allowing golfers to see the ball land when hit to the right of the fairway.  

Some of the tree work we have done this winter may not be completely noticeable until spring and summer when the trees have leaves on them, but we hope that the effort we are putting in will increase playability, speed up play, and most importantly give golfers a more enjoyable course to play. 

Sam Marlin

Superintendent

smarlin@orion-mgmt.com