A few weeks
ago we were begging for a nice rain shower to bring some relief to the drought
conditions. Now, we’re begging for
Mother Nature to turn off the tap and ease up on the rain. June has dropped 3.6” of rain thus far on the
grounds of Pike Lake. It rained roughly
the same amount halfway through June as it did during all of April and
May. All this rain is not only hindering
golf games across South Western Ontario, it’s also hindering our ability to
maintain the property. Tasks such as
cutting grass, conducting cultural practices and utilizing our sprayer are all
at a standstill due to the mass amounts of rain we’ve received recently.
“Cart Path
Only” - it’s not the club’s favourite rule to enforce. But when the course is completely saturated
we have no choice but to limit the carts to the cart path. Some golfer’s think they’re doing the club a
favour by driving around puddles that have pooled on the cart path. Or by pulling off the cart path when they
come to a stop so that other carts could get by if need be. A good rule of thumb is cart path only means
cart path only! The maintenance staff
and the grass at Pike Lake thank you!
Some of you
may wonder why there is a delay after heavy rains even after the rain has
stopped for a half hour or so. When the greens
are completely saturated with water, mass amounts of footprints can cause
depressions in the soil, mud and wear marks that will not heal themselves and
often times the greens are just simply unplayable because they’re completely
under water. The maintenance staff also
needs ample time to assess the situation, pump water, squeegee greens, re-route
carts and make sure cart paths are clear of major flooding. The aerification we did last fall on the
greens is paying dividends this season as it’s already noticeable that they
drain much quicker than last season.
Hopefully the skies will part and the
sunshine will start soaking up the wet wet golf course we have. Then we can get back to playing good golf
under firm and fast conditions!
