May 2019 was the wettest May in history, and the third wettest month ever. I believe that we had carts off of the path for parts of three or four days last month. I am seeing water seeping out of areas that I haven't seen before in the twelve years that I have worked here. I am nearly sick of it. I know that the golfers are tired of keeping the carts on the path.
June is starting out similarly. An afternoon shower on June 1st, dumped nearly an inch of rain on the course, and put the carts back on the path. Today is Monday June 3rd, and we have the carts off of the path to start the day. Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast for seven of the next ten days.
While I do enjoy getting to TORTURE the golfers by making it "Cart Path Only" on the course, I do not enjoy how that focuses all of the cart traffic damage along the path. As a group with more than one cart plays down each hole, the carts tend to leap-frog down the path. As each cart passes the other, two or more tires tend to track out through the turf. With the wet conditions on this and probably all golf course, this can cause significant rutting and damage along the path.
The wonderful thing about Sycamore Ridge, is that when we did our renovation in 2014/15, we put in these fantastic concrete cart paths. All of the path is 8' wide. This width allows for two carts to pass on the path, while keeping all of the tires on the concrete. This requires some care and patience from both drivers. If the driver in the front cart pulls as close to the edge with two tires, yet keeps them on the path, the driver that needs to leap-frog can slowly and carefully pass the front cart while keeping all of the tires on the path. This should not be done at full speed, that would be very dangerous.
I greatly appreciate the fact that all of the golfers continue to come out to the course and muck through the wet conditions to play this great game. The weather has not been kind to you or us. These wet conditions and the impact from traffic can continue to have effects that could be visible for seasons to come. That is why I ask yet another favor from our golfing public; please take extra care when the conditions are wet to ensure that every last blade of turf has the best possible chance to survive. You just never know when your ball may land in an area that has been rutted up and the grass is dead.
