And the Heat Goes On

It's not exactly news that we're in the midst of an incredible stretch of weather.  June was officially the driest ever June in Madison, and we only received of 0.35" of rain at the golf course.  Normal rainfall for June is around 4".  On top of that, it has obviously been hot, and if the forecast holds true, we will have 11 straight days of 90+ degree temperatures.  From the information that I could find, the longest recorded stretch of 90+ degrees in Madison is 10 days.  As you can imagine, none of this is particularly good news for our cool-season turfgrass.  With soil temperatures in the upper 80s, roots are likely shrinking rapidly, and the high air temperatures do not allow the plants to photosynthesize very effectively.  Accordingly, we have gone into defensive mode and will be doing everything that we can possibly do to get the course through this heat wave with the least amount of damage possible.

The fourth hole would like some 70-degree high temperatures but is hanging in there despite the oppressive heat.

To alleviate stress, we will alternate daily mowing and rolling on the greens, and the heights of cut on the greens and collars have been raised.  Because of this, the greens will not be as fast as they normally are, but slow, alive greens are better than fast, dead ones.

Through judicious water use and a lot of handwatering, the fine turf areas (greens, tees, and fairways) are doing fine, but they have another week of misery to get through.  Please be curteous to the handwaterers, as dragging hoses around in 95 degree weather is tough enough.  It is also very likely that the sprinklers will be used to cool the turf during the heat of the afternoons.  As always, we will attempt to not interrupt your golf round as much as possible.

Further, we will have an additional challenge this week with the annual Shorewood Hills fireworks display from the 10th fairway.  The throngs of visitors should at least not have to worry about mosquitoes this year.  Ah, yes, just another summer...

While the obstacles are many, we are determined to get the course through them as unscathed as we can, and we are fortunate to have a dedicated, hard-working crew to help us do just that.

Have a great 4th of July, and stay cool.