Brian
I played Carnoustie last month with the Chairman of the Links Management Committee, and what Mike Aitken says in ihs article is true. They had turned off the sprinklers then (June 14) and it was getting firm although there was still some moisture in the ground. Given the weather we've had since then it should be humming by now! They are determined to not reproduce what happened in 1999.
Memo to self: get up there later this week to see what it's really like!