One of my favorite parts of our field trip to Sykes/Lady Overland Park Golf Course was the cup-cutting station, where we learned about what some people who work there do on a daily basis. What you do is use a tool that has a hole that you push into the ground, so you can cut a hole. After you cut the hole and it’s as far as you can go, you take out the tool very carefully, so the sand and soil don’t fall out. After you’ve taken it out, you fill the previous hole. Finally, you put a cup in the hole and put the flag in. They change the holes every single day! That seems like a lot of work. Since they change it every day, if you golf a lot, you won’t be shooting the same holes all the time. Another reason is so the grass won’t wear out with everyone walking on the same spot all the time. I learned a lot from that station.
Another thing I enjoyed was the soil station run by K-State Extension. Did you know that Oklahoma and Texas have red soil? It’s true! The reason for that is the fact that there is a large amount of iron in the soil. Another fun fact is that the grass at the golf course on the putting green is just over one-eighth of an inch tall. They must keep it short so the ball can keep rolling.
At the end we had lunch, and it was really good. We had ham, turkey and cheddar sandwiches with an option of mayo and/or mustard. On the side we had chips and a really, really good sugar cookie. That’s all! Thank you to all the helpers from St. Andrews, Heritage, Mission Hills, Shadow Glen, K-State Extension, Syngenta and GCSAA. Thank you for your time.
Written by a student from Prince of Peace Catholic School in Olathe, Kan.