The Gainesville, Ga., course reported 18,026 rounds so far this year, compared to 17,652 rounds at this time in 2012. Wet weather has proved to be more of a challenge for the maintenance crews, who have scaled back mowing the roughs to every 10 days and are working to prevent wet wilt.
In spite of a rainy summer, the Chattahoochee Golf Club has seen an increase in rounds played, particularly over the past few weeks, the Gainesville (Ga.) Times reported.
From January until August 11 of this year, the number of rounds played at the Gainesville, Ga., golf course is 18,026, compared to 17,652 rounds in 2012, the Times reported.
Golf Director Rodger Hogan said the wet weather is primarily an issue in terms of maintenance and upkeep, not necessarily in the number of players, the Times reported.
“Obviously, we want to control how much water goes on the golf course,” Hogan said. “When we have this much rain in a season, we can’t do that.”
One of the primary issues is that maintenance workers are unable to mow the grounds as often as they would like. Typically, Hogan said, they like to mow the roughs twice a week during the summer. “We’re lucky to get out there every 10 days” this summer, he said.
The excess water also affects the greens, Hogan said, which can lead to diseases in the grass called wet wilt, the Times reported.
“It’s when the greens get so wet and the root system stays saturated,” Hogan said. “That combined with the heat will cause wet wilt, and it will cause the root system to get certain funguses.”
To combat the issue, Hogan said certain chemicals are used on the grass. While that can cause an uptick in maintenance costs, Hogan said it “evens out” due to labor costs going down, the Times reported.
The interim numbers for the course in Fiscal Year 2013, which ended June 30, show charges for services revenue at $20,542 below the FY13 budget, and $30,877 below 2012 totals. The FY13 budget now stands at $1,242,672, the Times reported.
The FY12 numbers show $1,213,081 in revenues, and $1,241,852 in expenditures for the entire fiscal year, according to the FY14 budget posted on the city’s website, gainesville.org. The FY14 budget is set at $1,177,520, the Times reported.
Three inches of rain fell at the golf course over the weekend, and more rain is expected this week. Even with the cloudy skies, there were still players on the course, including professional golfer Ryan Chitwood.
The weather is a big change this year from last year, Chitwood said, when there were approximately 60 days in a row of temperatures of more than 90 degrees, the Times reported.
“We had six events get cut to two days, and two complete rainouts,” Chitwood said about tournaments he has played in this year.
The heat in previous years deterred players, Hogan said, just like the rain this year might keep some away, the Times reported.
“On the flip side, there’s a lot of people that say, ‘It’s raining a little bit, but it’s 70 degrees, so you know what? I’m going to go play,’” Hogan said.
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