Return of the Fan

It's hard to believe, but it was over 13 years ago that we initially installed a fan at the first tee putting green.  When the green was rebuilt, we took a wait and see approach as to whether or not the fan was still required.  

Well, last summer's hot, swampy weather provided a resounding "yes" to this question.  While many things have changed over the past decade, others have not, and this would include the growing environment in this area.  The green is obviously open on the front, but the back half gets limited morning sunlight and air flow.  In fact, as the trees continue to grow, the environmental conditions for this green are declining over time.

Fortunately, when the fan was removed during the green construction project, the power supply was not.  However, we did have to dig another five and a half foot deep hole and pour a thousand pounds of concrete to support the fan.  

  This will definitely provide a breath of fresh air when the dog days arrive.

April showers?

It might not jump out at you since we are still in spring, but despite some recent showers, we continue to be running way behind in precipitation.  As a matter of fact, you would have to go back to July, 2025 to find a month where we were actually above average.  That is nine months in a row of below average rain (or snow)!

What does this mean?  Well we obviously weren't complaining that we wanted more snow over the winter, but if this trend continues as we head towards warmer weather, it will definitely have an impact on the golf course.  Specifically, less rain leads to greater reliance on the aging irrigation system, thus less consistent conditions (wet areas and dry areas), as well as more labor resources being devoted to hand watering with a hose.

The rain gauge is looking thirsty.

In trying to view this rain reduction with a glass half full perspective, we did have zero "No Cart" days in April, 2026.  In contrast, during the month of April from 2021-2025, we averaged between four and five no cart days for the month--so at least this weather pattern is good for something.