Poor weather conditions are keeping golfers off the greens at Somerset (Pa.) Country Club, which has shut down hole No. 4 due to flooding. The golf course at Hidden Valley (Pa.) Resort has reportedly lost 300 rounds of golf during the month of June as a result of rain.
While some players are braving downpours and cool temperatures to get in a round at their favorite courses, others are staying indoors due to poor weather conditions, the Somerset (Pa.) Daily American reported.
Dean Bowman played nine holes on Monday at Somerset (Pa.) Country Club. Although the weather was fitting for players to hit the links, the course was not. “It was wet,” Bowman said of the course.
Somerset Country Club, like several other local golf courses, have required players using golf carts to remain on the cart path only. Head golf professional John McGinnis knows that the less than ideal weather has taken its toll on the course and the amount of players coming out, the American reported.
“The golf course was obviously in very good condition before all this rain came,” McGinnis said. “When you get that amount of rain in that many days in a row, it just get saturated. The hardest part is just getting people to play now because they don’t want to play in the slop and mess.’”
Rains have struck Somerset CC so hard that they had to shut down the green on hole No. 4 for a few days due to the amount of water on it. Moving forward, McGinnis will look to address issues with the bunkers on the course that were affected by the rain, the American reported.
“Our number one priority in the next couple of weeks is our bunker repair,” McGinnis said. “The bunkers hold a lot of water and the sand gets compacted or washes out.”
With a new truckload of sand, McGinnis is hoping to get the bunkers back into good shape, the American reported.
The Seven Springs Mountain Resort Golf Course in Champion, Pa., sits higher in elevation, which helps the course drain better. Yet, the weather is still influencing the play, or lack thereof, the American reported.
“Obviously it affects the play,” assistant golf professional Dennis Sprock said. “People don’t want to come if they have to deal with rain.”
Sprock said they have had to cancel some outings at the course and reschedule them. Flooded bunkers and the inability to mow greens and fairways has also created problems for Seven Springs, the American reported.
The Hidden Valley (Pa.) Resort Golf Course has also felt the ramifications of a poor start to the summer. “It’s been really detrimental to our numbers and course revenue,” head golf professional Craig Yutzy said of the recent weather.
Despite ominous skies nearly every day the past two weeks, the golf course remained open for play at Hidden Valley. Like Seven Springs, Hidden Valley has also struggled to keep up with the necessary mowing around the course, the American reported.
“You can’t mow and keep up with the mowing when it’s this wet,” Yutzy said. “It actually does more damage when you try to mow in the mud.”
The month of May provided players with optimal weather, which helped Hidden Valley double the number of rounds played during the month. However, the numbers have dropped since then. Yutzy said that they have lost an estimated 300 rounds of golf during June, the American reported.
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