Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past three months, you have heard about the drought we've been experiencing. A quick look back at rainfall totals shows how little precipitation we received:
- September--80% below average
- October--100% below average
- November--44% below average (as of 11/24)
While we were able to survive this time by relying on the irrigation system, that just doesn't provide the uniformity that rainfall brings. The other impact of this weather pattern has been the need to devote resources to hand watering. Over 120 hours per week have gone into this task throughout the fall--a time when we would have preferred to be addressing other needed projects on the golf course.
It's been a minute since we had to empty the rain gauge.
Obviously the rain this past week was welcomed. Historically, the end of November is when we prepare to winterize the irrigation system, and the possibility of needing to run sprinklers in December would have been no fun.
While the recent rain will help to perk up the turf, we are at the time of year when growth slows down significantly. It's unlikely that areas which were stressed and thinned throughout the year will now recover until next spring.
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