Week of 8/8 - Drought Continues

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, but we are not out of the woods just yet. As many are aware, we are still experiencing a severe drought in northeastern Massachusetts. While many neighboring towns have received some recent thunderstorms, the course has not. We have watched in dismay as other locales on the North Shore have received an inch of rain or more just in the past week! The ICC has received barely over an inch of rainfall since July 1st.

What a difference a year can make. While last year we received over 11 inches of rainfall in July alone, we have now recorded just under 11 inches in all of 2022!! With the dry spring our pond was never at full capacity even at the start of the season, leading to our current water shortage. As if the drought was not enough, the high temperatures have added stress to the turf. We recorded thirteen days over 90 degrees in July and seven so far in August! As a point of reference, the Boston area averages about fifteen days over 90 annually.

We ask our members for their continued patience with the cart path only rule as we look to budget our water use. Without enough water to irrigate as much as we would need to, we have reduced fairway irrigation to a minimum in an attempt to nurse them through and assure that we have enough water for greens and tees.

With reduced irrigation, the fairways really cannot hold up to the cart traffic that they would normally receive. We have also reduced our fairway mowing frequency from 2 or 3 days per week to once every 7-10 days. This is partially to reduce stress and also because many areas simply are not growing. The inconvenience in the short term will help assure that any long term damage sustained is kept to a minimum. We are watching the weather forecasts and radar eagerly each day, and will allow carts again once conditions permit.

All things considered, we feel that the course is playing great and we are happy with the conditions we have been able to provide, especially on greens. We received very positive feedback from members and guests during the recent Lou Caputo Classic.

With minimal fairway mowing and the rough at a standstill, we are catching up on detail work including brush pruning, adding sand and weeding bunkers, and painting the stairs on 9 and 18. We are also in the process of making a rare third annual wetting agent application to fairways. This will allow for better infiltration and moisture retention if we do actually get some rainfall, and make the most of the water we are able to put out at night.