Wet Spots on Course

Spring Run Member,

Recently I have been hearing from some members who are dissatisfied with the wet spots we have on the course. I can assure everyone that we are aware of all these spots, and we are constantly driving the course to check for them so we can make any necessary adjustments. The fix for these issues takes time. We are working as fast as we can to correct these issues and ask that you be patient with us.

Recently the greens committee members and I did a course tour together to discuss their concerns. At first, the thought was that they wanted me to make the course firm and fast, which also makes it drier and brown. I explained that if we went this route that our definition would disappear, the cart traffic areas would last longer and be more numerous, Also the turf would stress and thin out, leaving more hard pan areas, and that the lush fluffy lies would go away. I also brought up that when my predecessor did the same, he was met with a lot of criticism. It was decided as a group that we were on the right track and that if we had to deal with a few wet spots from time to time, it would be acceptable to make sure that we kept the current lush green conditions, with the understanding that we would monitor and fix these issues as fast as we can. We have already replaced about 12-15 regular irrigations heads with part-circle adjustable heads to reduce the wet areas. During the budget process, we set aside some money to continue the replacement of the full circle with part circle heads issue. This will be a multiyear project. We will do everything in our power to minimize these issues until they are resolved but we cannot guarantee that there will never be wet spots on the course. Also, I would like to assure everyone that when you see heads running in the morning prior to golf, that we are not watering these wet areas. We are watering the dried out stressed areas only.