KMGA Newsletter – May 11, 2005

Included in this newsletter:

UPCOMING EVENTS
DEMO DAYS
GREENS AT MILHAM
BUNKER RAKES

UPCOMING EVENTS
            BOB MILLAR – Eastern and Milham will host the BOB MILLAR Best Ball Scramble on Saturday and Sunday, June 4^th and 5^th.  This 2-day event, flighted after the first round, is one of the most popular tournaments of the season.  Entry fee is $15.00 for members and $55.00 for non-members.

            MEMBER MATCH PLAY – The 5^th annual Member Match Play entry deadline is Sunday, June 5^th.  Only KMGA members age 18 and over are eligible.  The entry fee is $15.00.  In this event, participants schedule their own matches with their opponent.  Winners advance to the next round.  There are up to 16 participants in each flight for a total of 4 matches to win your flight.  All flights will be played as gross score except the last flight which will be net.  There will also be a women’s net flight.

            MEMBER – MEMBER FOUR BALL MATCH PLAY – The 2^nd annual Member-Member Four Ball Match Play entry deadline will be Sunday, June 5^th.  Open to KMGA members age 18 and over, this event will feature Ryder-Cup style team four ball matches.  Similar to our Member Match Play event, participants will schedule their own matches throughout the summer.  Flighting and format will be based on the number of entries received.  We’d like to have enough entries to have a gross flight and a net flight, so find your partner and sign up soon!

DEMO DAYS
The following demo days are scheduled at the Milham Park Driving Range:

Thursday, May 12th:  Nike & Wilson 3:00pm - 7:00pm
Thursday, May 19th:  Ping Fitting Day 9:00am - 12:00pm
Thursday, May 19th:  Titleist & Cobra 3:00pm - 7:00pm
Thursday, May 26th:  Callaway, Hogan & Taylor Made 3:00pm - 7:00pm

            Sign-ups are suggested for the Ping Fitting Day.  Call Milham at 344-7639 for more information.

GREENS AT MILHAM
I am sure you have notice that the greens at Milham Park are not up to our usual standard.  Let me explain what happened and what is being done to get them back.

We remodeled our irrigation system this spring in an effort to improve the product we offer.  The industry will tell you the best time to renovate an irrigation system is early spring.  Ninety-nine times out of a hundred you will get enough April showers to cover any irrigation needs you may have.  There have been springs were we did not even turn on the system to almost June. The first two weeks of April this year were completely dry and we were unable to water the course during this period.  This set the turf back substantially and then it snowed.  This combination of weather has sent the greens into hibernation and we are not getting the growth we need to keep them up to our standards.

Coincidentally, Eastern Hills greens are in great shape and the only difference between the two courses was that Eastern was able to water the critical early weeks in April.  Our superintendent, Ron Williams, is in charge of both facilities and both facilities are on similar turf programs.  The set back that Milham received in early April has caused some less than perfect putting conditions to develop.

The irrigation is back on and Ron has treated the greens at Milham three different times with fertilizer.  When Mother Nature decides to let the grass grow at Milham it should come in abundance.  We need to be a little patient and I am 100% confident that Ron will have them back in tip-top shape.

BUNKER RAKES
In an effort to prevent golf balls from getting hung up on the rakes at the edge of our bunkers, our grounds crews are tying something new.  Starting this spring the rakes will be placed with the rake in the bunker and the handle 90 degrees to the edge.  (See pictures).  Now the rake will be completely inside the bunker but the likelihood of a ball getting lodged between the edge of the bunker and the rake has been, hopefully, eliminated.  Please help us in retuning the rake to this position after you have raked your footprints so the players behind you and enjoy the same conditions.  Thank you in advance.

Milham Park Pro Shop
Quality Merchandise, Professional Service, Discount Prices!
Open 7am - 9pm daily.