Uncle!

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have always prided myself on the ability to play in almost any weather.  BUT the heat of the last week in DC has been too much.  Played yesterday and was as hot as I have ever been, even in Palm Springs in July.  This 59 year old Norwegian body just shut down.  What is really weird is that it is hotter in Minnesota!
Ia it October next week?

[Ron Farris]

The other day I got in my vehicle and the thermostat read 127 degrees.  I was never so happy to see it go all the way down to 108.  I played 5 holes with my wife and two children.

We cried UNCLE!

A wild fire burned 7 homes not too far from my house.  My friends in Nebraska have it worse than us.  The town of Chadron was evacuated due to a huge wildfire that is out of control.  

This morning I played at 5:30 in 75 degree heat.  At 10 my wife and kids teed of and it was 64.  Perhaps Uncle was heard.

[John Kavanaugh]

We played pure alternate shot yesterday on our second 18...It is a livesaver and one hell of a gambling game..

btw...It was so hot I showered between nines...

[Dan Boerger]

I was fortunate enough to play Merion yesterday. But, boy was it hot. Add to this really difficult rough, an average golfer (me) and 4 really difficult finishing holes, and it was a struggle at the end. Still, the Niagara Falls like shower head was much appreciated post round. - Dan

[Tommy Williamsen]

John, showering between nines is positively brilliant.
I just heard the weather forecast for DC and they said, "Thee is a warm front that will move in tomorrow."  Instead of high 90's it will be over 100.  Muggy is to kind a word to describe this weather.

[A.G._Crockett]

A number of years ago I was played on a blistering July Sunday afternoon here in Georgia with a guy who had moved down from NY a couple of years earlier.  He asked how long it would take him to get used to the temps and humidity, and I told him I'd let him know when I got used to it.  I've lived my entire life in the heat, and there is just a point at which you can't hack it.

That said, watch this and at least have a laugh about the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1wogkDmLlQ

[Dan Herrmann]

I'd recommend staying off the links today in the NE USA.  It's supposed to be a lot uglier today.  As of 8am, the dewpoint is 73, which is horrible.

[wsmorrison]

Dan,

Can you explain what dewpoint is?  I'm supposed to walk with caddies tomorrow and I'm getting worried my friend will find the going too tough.  Does the dewpoint tell you what it is going to feel like?

[Mike_Sweeney]

Dan,

Can you explain what dewpoint is?  I'm supposed to walk with caddies tomorrow and I'm getting worried my friend will find the going too tough.  Does the dewpoint tell you what it is going to feel like?

Wayne,

Whatever it is, tomorrow you may want to bring a bathing suit and jump in the pond at 9!!

[JohnV]

Wayne,

Dewpoint is the temperature at which the amount of water vapor in the air would reach 100% saturation.  If the air were cooled any further, the moisture would condense forming dew.

Relative Humidity is the percent of saturation humidity.  Basically it is actual_vapor_density / saturation_vapor_density * 100.  In other words, is the amount of water in the air divided by the maximum amount that could potentially be in the air at the current temperature (the amount that would be there if the current temp was the dewpoint).

See: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kinetic/relhum.html for a more complete explanation.

And you all thought Slope was a difficult concept.

A.G., loved the video.

[wsmorrison]

John,

Thanks.  Now I get it, I think.  Whatever the dewpoint is around these parts, it is HOT!

[Glenn Spencer]

Couldn't finish my US AM qualifier. It was a hotbox. I talked to the official and he said, 'get out of here, you don't look well.' I did not start to feel reasonable until 9 at night. I was seriously concerned about heat stroke and I usually love the heat. The three guys that made it, have my UTMOST respect.

[Marty Bonnar]

Would you guys mind etymologysing the use of the word 'Uncle' in this context.

I've been meaning to ask since I listened to 'West Side Story' as a young dog.

ta,
FBD.

[mike_malone]

 Martin,
   

     Usually used by the neighborhood big bully when he is pulling your arm up and behind your back. "Say "Uncle" he says. When you wimperingly say it, he lets you go,usually with a push to the ground.

    Thankfully this hasn't happened to me since Wayne Morrison left my club!

[Marty Bonnar]

Cheers, Mayd,
but why 'Uncle'?

FBD.

[mike_malone]

 It must be the "unc" part of the word.

[Tommy Williamsen]

The origin of the word “uncle” for I give up is pretty foggy.  Some think it comes from the Gaelic word “anacol” meaning protection.
A more interesting theory is that it dates back to the Roman Empire.  When beset by a bully the child would scream out, “Patrue, mi partruissimo” or “uncle, my favorite uncle.”  This was title of respect given to the bully—in essence “you are my favorite uncle.”  I like this one.

[Dan Herrmann]

Wayne,
Dewpoint, as mentioned above, measures when dew/frost forms based on the humidity.  Low dewpoints mean fantastic feeling weather.  High dewpoints will feel like a tropical rainforest.

Let me provide a comparison from today:
Philadelphia, PA Temp 95F dewpoint 75F  = Heatindex - 107F
Las Vegas, NV Temp 94F, dewpoint 35F = Heatindex 89F

Same air temp, but Philly is not the place to be today.  You can also see how a very low dewpoint can actually lower the heatindex.  It's mostly because the higher dewpoint results in an atmosphere of higher density.  

As an example, you put your hand into an oven of 400F all the time.  But if you put your hand into water of 212F, you'll be in the hospital.  

The lowest the dewpoint can get in Philly this time of year is probably 55F.  It probably averages about 65F (uncomfortable).  70F is muggy.  75F, like today is H-e-double hockey sticks.

www.weather.gov has a great map of dewpoints.  If you're looking for great golf weather, look for low dewpoints.

[Kyle Harris]

Wayne,
Dewpoint, as mentioned above, is how much H2O is in the atmosphere.

Let me provide a comparison from today:
Philadelphia, PA Temp 95F dewpoint 75F  = Heatindex - 107F
Las Vegas, NV Temp 94F, dewpoint 35F = Heatindex 89F

Same air temp, but Philly is not the place to be today.  You can also see how a very low dewpoint can actually lower the heatindex.

The lowest the dewpoint can get in Philly this time of year is probably 55F.  It probably averages 65F.  70F is muggy.  75F, like today is H-e-double hockey sticks.

Dan,

Not quite, but your heart is the in right place.  

The dewpoint is the temperature at which the relative humidity will be 100%. Relative Humidity is how "full" the air is with water. Humidity, is the amount of water in the air.

When teaching Weather Merit Badge, I used a bottle as an analogy. Given a 1 gallon bottle and a 2 gallon bottle, each filled with half a gallon of water, the rH of the 1 gallon bottle would be 50% and the the rH of the 2 gallon bottle would be 25%, while the actual Humidity would be the same (1/2 gallon). A change in temperature is essentially a change in the size of the bottle.

Warmer air can hold more water than colder air, so the warmer the air and the higher the rH, the more actual humidity there actually is.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I saw my car's thermometer hit 101 about an hour ago and, strangely enough, as I rode by Five Ponds, there was nary a person to be seen on the course.

[Kyle Harris]

I saw my car's thermometer hit 101 about an hour ago and, strangely enough, as I rode by Five Ponds, there was nary a person to be seen on the course.

Hmmm, that's tempting.

When I went into work this morning at 5AM, it was already 80 degrees.  

[Dan Herrmann]

Damn you Kyle,     Right again!

for what it's worth, the 2pm dewpoint forcast for Saturday in Philly is 65F.  

In other words, Saturday will be very nice compared to what we're seeing today.

[Kyle Harris]

Damn you Kyle,  Right again!

for what it's worth, the 2pm dewpoint forcast for Saturday in Philly is 65F.  

In other words, Saturday will be very nice compared to what we're seeing today.

That's worth plenty to me, heck, I may go blow $40 at Lederach.  

Tomorrow should be the last day of this stuff.

How are any poster's greens/courses doing?

[Joe Hancock]

How are any poster's greens/courses doing?

Kyle,

On my low budget course, the greens look great, the tees have been beat up a bit by dollar spot, a few fairways have been ravaged by dollar spot and the roughs have a fair bit of crabgras in them due to the earlier drought and heat.

I basically only spray when I have to. I've had to spray greens, tees and approaches in the past week, with a few acres of fairways that mostly reside in shaded/ guarded areas (low air circulation).

Our course is 40 years old with topsoil pushup greens. Over the past several years I have converted them back to bentgrass (now 90% or more) primarily through water management. This heat spell is only helping my cause by really putting the hurt on the poa annua.....remember, I only spray when I have to.

I have to say that after a few days of heat indices over 105, I am ready for a break, no matter what the bentgrass thinks!

Joe

[Kyle Harris]

Joe,

Dollar Spot seems to be the big thing around these parts too. I was driving around HVCC yesterday afternoon and you could literally see it forming in the heat (4:30 PM, roughly 90 degrees).

Sure enough, there it was this morning. We're getting summer patch as well, probably some take all too.

That being said, our greens and approachs look PHENOMENAL.