Summer of 2011 weather in the USA

[Dan_Callahan]

I just played two rounds in Colorado: one at Snowmass and one at Roaring Fork Club. Both courses were in great shape. After two weeks in Wyoming and South Dakota, I drove across Nebraska on I80 and most of the courses I saw (including Wild Horse) looked really good although I didn't play.

Toward Omaha, however, the flooding of the Missouri was severe. I couldn't get on 29 from I80 because all of the bridges from Omaha south were washed out. I had to drive all the way down to St. Joseph, MO, before I could cross the Missouri. I imagine any courses in that area have got to be swamped.

[Cliff Hamm]

Here in southern New England we've been relatively hot and somewhat dry.  But not as hot as last year or as dry.  It does seem that courses are greener and wetter than ever with very little roll.  Last year numerous courses lost significant areas from the dry weather.  I wonder if this year supers are over compensating by over watering.

[Roger Wolfe]

You have learned well.  The best way to have a perfect course is to reduce the desire of the members to play.

Desire?  Could you expand on your answer?

One of the reasons fans work so well is that they create an environment where members would rather do something else. Same with cart path only.  What I found most curious about your post was that you had more rounds with dead greens then with perfect ones. How can that be attributed to anything but the desire of your members to play?
[/quote]

We have actually have more rounds this summer than last year.  I did not say the course was closed.  We have simply moved agronomy up to #1 on our priority list when it comes to setting our schedule.  Our membership actually enjoys having the course available all the time and free of organized events.

You are correct in that a roaring fan does not enhance anyone’s enjoyment of the game (although they are nice to stand in front of on a humid, 100 degree day).  They have become the norm, at least for clubs in Charlotte who care about their course conditions and are serious about helping their superintendent.  Charlotte CC, Carmel CC and Myers Park CC have all installed fans on their greens.  We only have 8 while some of the others have all 18 holes plus every practice green “insured” by a fan.  The alternative, of course, is to cut the greens at ¼ inch from June to August… something our board decided was not the right direction.

We used to have a mid-June member guest, a few outside events (amateur) and several other large functions scheduled in the summer.  By moving these to the cooler months we might have found the right solution.  April, May and October are crazy, but the stress on the course has been seriously reduced.

I have the utmost respect and understanding for any architect’s negative opinion of fans.  A ten foot metal monstrosity takes away from the natural beauty of any greens complex.  However I give top priority to the following when offering my opinion to the Board on any subject regarding the course:

“GOLF COURSES ARE MEANT TO BE PLAYED… NOT PHOTOGRAPHED.”

When we weigh the alternatives regarding fan installation… “playing the game” trumped  “ taking a picture.”  It’s that simple.  Anyone who considers themselves a “golf club” should do the same.

[Jerry Kluger]

I have been told by our greens super that so long as we have an ample supply of water there should be no problem with the tees, fairways and greens.  The rough will thin out but the rest will be in really good condition as he can monitor exactly how much water to apply to the rest of the course.  Cooling down at night would really help and we do have a few fans but overall air circulation has improved with tree removal. 

[Dan Herrmann]

Our head greenkeeper sent me a great article: "Searching for the Right Stuff: Tolerating Hot and Dry"  http://turf.lib.msu.edu/gsr/article/nus-searching-7-29-11.pdf

To quote,
“Heat and drought are the two most detrimental and most widespread abiotic stresses limiting the growth of turfgrasses, particularly for coolseason species,” Dr. Huang explains.
It is costly to manage stressed turf, as more water, fertilizer, and fungicide may be required to control the decline in turf quality due to heat or drought.
Improving heat and drought tolerance can result in significant savings in management costs and reduced environmental impacts.”

[Eric Strulowitz]

We have some courses in the Atlanta area that are in tip top shape, others very bad.

My course has  Champion Bermuda, I can say it has fulfilled its promise.  The conditions are absolutely perfect.  We had to deal with a prolonged course closure to get them, it was well worth the time and money spent.

Have played a few bent grass courses in absolutely horrible shape, others almost perfect.  This bent grass must be a greenskeeper's nightmare,  kudos to all who work so hard to keep many of  our courses in the great shape they are, given the extreme heat and lack of rain. 

[Chris Buie]

I passed the bank sign at 6:30 this evening and it said 102 degrees.  Mind you, that doesn't include the heat index. 
A friend told me the heat index was 116 degrees last Friday.
Suffice to say that I can't recommend visiting Pinehurst in the Summer.  Early to mid October is what I would recommend.  Spring is fabulous here but playing the main courses takes way too long with all the tourists.

[Brian Laurent]

GCSAA recently distributed this press release regarding the weather:

http://www.gcsaa.org/Newsroom/News-Releases/2011/July/Persistent-heat,-drought-and-flooding-strain-golf-courses-nationally.aspx

[Steve Pozaric]

We have had the fourth hottest July in St Louis on record and our daily low temps are hitting record highs.  Our first year greens and collars are definitely stressed

[John Kavanaugh]

I have the utmost respect and understanding for any architect’s negative opinion of fans.  A ten foot metal monstrosity takes away from the natural beauty of any greens complex.  However I give top priority to the following when offering my opinion to the Board on any subject regarding the course:

“GOLF COURSES ARE MEANT TO BE PLAYED… NOT PHOTOGRAPHED.”

When we weigh the alternatives regarding fan installation… “playing the game” trumped  “ taking a picture.”  It’s that simple.  Anyone who considers themselves a “golf club” should do the same.

I have been bothered by this statement all weekend.  The problem with fans is not how they look it is how they intrude on the game. 

The sound is deafening.  I was very disappointed to read on the Turf Breeze web site that fans are no louder than a house air conditioner.  Not true.  I miss the sounds of nature while golfing. 

I can live with the blowing of air which causes golfers to pause and back off putts.  That just leads to slow play which doesn't bother me and is equalized by the comfort of cooling oneself off.

The largest problem is how they lead to more people taking drops that change the strategy of the game.  The very nature of fans being installed on high points gives any golfer looking for a break an advantage by dropping on a lower point and hitting up to the hole.

No one cares about taking pictures. 

Our greens are amazingly perfect.  The trade off is acceptable for 99.5% of the membership, based on 200 members.  Golf has changed, I get it.

[JR Potts]

We have had the fourth hottest July in St Louis on record and our daily low temps are hitting record highs.  Our first year greens and collars are definitely stressed

Our course was in the best shape I've ever seen....then it rained 10 inches in 4 days.

Coupled with 150 rounds a day and three weeks worth of 95+ degree days....I'm not sure there's any fan that can help.

Being a course superintendant would suck.

[John Kavanaugh]

We have had the fourth hottest July in St Louis on record and our daily low temps are hitting record highs.  Our first year greens and collars are definitely stressed

Our course was in the best shape I've ever seen....then it rained 10 inches in 4 days.

Coupled with 150 rounds a day and three weeks worth of 95+ degree days....I'm not sure there's any fan that can help.

Being a course superintendant would suck.

Wasn't that time you had when the course was perfect worth a bit of sacrifice now.  Being a course superintendent doesn't suck near as bad as playing an average golf course every damn day you tee it up.  I am sick of compromise in the name of consistency so management can relax managing relaxation.

[JMEvensky]

Wasn't that time you had when the course was perfect worth a bit of sacrifice now.  Being a course superintendent doesn't suck near as bad as playing an average golf course every damn day you tee it up.  I am sick of compromise in the name of consistency so management can relax managing relaxation.

If your contention is that the goal is to find a happy maintenance medium,I agree.Unfortunately,my guess is that the number of members who would prefer wild swings day to day is very small-borderline insignificant.

Golf clubs,for the most part,are in the business of satisfying the lowest common denominator.Consistent mediocrity would be favored over any maintenance program which might have the golf course in "bad shape" a few days--even if that means giving up a few "perfect" days.

Of course, this isn't something you didn't already know.

[John Kavanaugh]

Reminds me of all the crap I use to put up with for those few days a month she would ovulate.