Kevin Wieberg has his hands full of dirt and grass and a truckload of maintenance in his role as parks resources supervisor for Jefferson City's Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department.
This time of year, he spends most of his time ensuring the 18-hole course at Oak Hills Golf Center survives the heat.
"Water management is very important; it's key this time of year to keep the greens going. They're very intensely managed because they get a lot of foot traffic, and the playing surface needs to be in good condition," Wieberg said. "We will do what we call "spoon-feeding' the greens. ... We will mix up a spray tank, and it will have liquid fertilizers in it and fungicides as well."
In the high heat of summer, Wieberg and four full-time maintenance staff at the golf course (of eight full-time park resources maintenance staff) might "spoon-feed" the greens up to once a week rather than the average every two weeks.
"Maintenance of the golf course takes up the majority of our year," he said. In addition to watering and fertilization, maintaining the golf course also involves daily mowing and aerifying greens twice a year.
Wieberg began his career with the local parks and recreation department 18 years ago as a maintenance worker running a wide-area mower. After about a year, he transferred to maintenance at Oak Hills, where he later was promoted to golf course superintendent. He also oversees the care of the recreation department's 40 acres of other athletic fields, like the multipurpose field in North Jefferson City.
"A lot of my experience comes from the field and being in the field. You actually have to be out there with it and monitoring it closely, almost daily," he said. Wieberg also said he's benefited greatly from continuing education through the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, through which he is certified as a Class A superintendent.
A current focus for Wieberg and the Oak Hills staff is revamping hole No. 9, which runs along Ellis Boulevard.
"We had a little added work with that hole having the water feature, the pond, on it. We cleaned that out, and now we're in the process of getting everything upgraded. We'll go ahead and do a new green on that area as well," he said. "We ran into the rain - or the rain ran into us - over the summer. We weren't expecting rain every two or three days, and it really put us behind schedule."
He hopes to have the pond cleaned up within a couple of months, with the hole completely redone and ready for use next spring.
"We do all our own construction," he added. "I actually enjoy more so the renovations that we do on the golf course. ... It gives the public something new and gives them something to look forward to as we complete a hole."
Around his work schedule - which can seep into weekends and odd hours - Wieberg enjoys spending time with his wife of 20 years and his four children - ages 17, 15 and a pair of 10-year-old twins - as well as hunting, fishing, gardening and attending his children's athletic events.
And with all the time he spends on the golf course, he characterizes himself as merely a "part-time golfer," enjoying the sport occasionally and typically at courses he doesn't know so well.