Some of you may have noticed the bunkers have become a little more wet than usual these past two weeks- though nowhere near as wet as they used to be. This is actually an unintentional side affect, and it hearkens back to the reason the bunkers used to seemingly always be soaked.
Earlier this year we explained that the reason for all the moisture in the bunkers this past season was due to a lack of calibration in the spray pattern of the irrigation heads. Unfortunately, undoing this means adjusting each individual head by hand. This is long and time consuming task, but one we are working hard to finish. However, we have not finished yet and with July came our third straight week of no rain.
This meant that our usually light bouts of irrigation slowly became wetter and wetter to the point where we were putting out hundreds of thousands of gallons a day trying to keep the turf from burning up or drying out. A few heads watering lightly at night is one thing. But when we have to irrigate the entire course heavily- damp bunkers are unavoidable.
Only in the driest of conditions will we ever have to do so much watering. Think of it as a necessary, but temporary evil.
See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling
