Rainfall stats

I would like to share some rainfall stats with you to help put into prospective the challenges we have faced this year, both during the summer months and through the fall overseed. 

2013 was the driest calendar year in recorded history. The normal rainfall is 13.98 inches and this year we only had 3.60 inches. That's .5 inches less than the previous lowest year in 1957. In December alone we only had .23 inches on a monthly average of 2.76 inches.

Nothing is as good as rainfall. All the irrigation in the world will not deliver the same results as natural rainfall. Irrigation water is full of  minerals and salts that can become harmful to turf grass health unless we get rainfall to help flush and cleanse the soil.

The pictures below were taken today, December 31, 2013. It may not have the same look as it did last year at this time but it does show that my golf course maintenance crew are doing a great job even with all the challenges mother nature throws at us.

Happy New Year and I look forward to a great 2014.

Fairways on the Western Course

Western Course Fairways: Holes 2-8

In an effort to improve summer playing conditions, Braemar Country Club has decided to discontinue overseeding the fairways on holes 2-8 on the Western Course. We feel these holes have a healthy enough turf stand that withholding overseeding will promote a better playing surface in the summer months.

Although the appearance of those fairways may not be aesthetically pleasing, we do have good turf coverage going into the winter months. The off color appearance of these fairways is due to the warm season grasses going into dormancy.

The benefits of not overseeding will help the warm season grasses out-compete the cool season rye grass. This process over an extended period of time (4-5 years) will result in better summer playing conditions. Based on the fact that the playing season for the great majority of golfers is in the summer months, we feel that this decision is in the best interest of the membership as a whole.

You can help in this process of improving our fairways. Please avoiding driving through wet areas if there are not cart path restrictions and when cart paths only, please observe our request and stay on the cart paths.

Thank you for your cooperation!