Florida drought leaves courses brown

[warbirdlover]

This was a Yahoo headline. How about it Eracer and all you guys. Are the courses in rotten shape now?

[flomarilius]

Yes sir. I will elaborate on this later when I get a chance.

[Bravo]

There are so many fires in South Georgia and Florida that the smoke has been coming up here this week...in some cases traveling over 500 miles...

[Bama Duffer]

We've had a fairly dense haze here in Montgomery, Alabama, a few days this past week due to the smoke. Seems to have moved on now, though.

[ualtim]

Some areas of Florida are worse than others. Most of the ones I play on in the Orlando area are in fine shape.

[bryank]

East coast area still looking pretty good...starting to tan a bit so I know it's coming. But, they are still keeping the greens nice.

[Eracer]

I haven't played in three weeks, but am playing on Sunday. We'll see how it goes.

[Eracer]

Got back from a round a few minutes ago, and the course was in great shape. No problems on any of the greens, and the fairways were in good shape as well.

[Eracer]

Here's what the news today had to say:

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (AP) -- The fairways here are flecked, the greens mottled brown. The PGA National Resort & Spa doesn't look like a marquee golf course.
"We'll talk to people about it in the pro shop when they check in and say, 'You might notice things are a little bit browner today,"' said Joel Paige, managing director at the course.
Florida's bottom half is in an 18-month drought, and signs of the problem are everywhere -- from the links to the nursery and sugar cane industries.

Florida is faced with a couple of big issues. Deep aquifer drills supply all the new S. Fla. residents/businesses with water, at the expense of lakes throughout the state. And the sugar industry is simply horrid. They use massive amount of water and discharge massive amounts of pollutents into the Everglades.

Golf courses are, unfortunately, not the most efficient users of water resorces, although most courses here use reclaimed water that is not suited for any other purpose. And turf research is producing some very drought-tolerant species of grass. It costs a lot of money to re-sod a golf course, though, and most courses are trying to just stick with the tried-and true method of over-seeding bermuda.

When the water holes dry up, as they are in S. Fla., you know it's dry.

[flomarilius]

Let me tell you how dry Miami golf courses I usually play at are. I swear to god I am not lying when I say that the green is easily 50-65% brown. I have never putted on anything faster than dried bermuda! I honestly believe that it really affects how you play your shot in the fairway. I have found myself trying to pick some shots because really I hit out of a brown area once and it felt like hitting into compacted waste bunkers. 3 Wood from 175 is something I have done a few times due to it and its worked wonderfully =D.

Also, its supposed to be the rain season and this weekend down in Miami was just pouring rain with like quarter size hail. Lets hope that did something to the courses!

[Lefty11]

I'm going to be down in the Tampa Area in the begining of June. Hopefully the courses in that area are in decent shape.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Lefty11

I'm going to be down in the Tampa Area in the begining of June. Hopefully the courses in that area are in decent shape.

Central Florida is not as bad as south Florida. Eracer is over in Tampa and has reported his courses to be in good shape so far. Afternoon Thunderstorm season is just around the corner, so there should be plenty of water coming over the next few months.

[Bravo]

We are bone dry in Alabama. We haven't had so much as a cloud in the sky in ten days. Just brilliant sunshine pouring down.

My yard is looking like crap....

About six years ago, our club spent $500,000 building a pond to supply water to our course. It has repaid itself already...we'd be toast without it.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Lefty11

I'm going to be down in the Tampa Area in the begining of June. Hopefully the courses in that area are in decent shape.

I haven't seen any big issues, but the best bet is to call the courses you're thinking of playing and ask them about the conditions.

I haven't been playing much lately, so I'm probably of no use. I'll reiterate that the course I played last week was in fine shape. The greens were green, and the fairways were good.