Last week, Golf Notes described the purpose of “plugging” the fairways. The machine, owned by the Little River Course that does the plugging, is pulled by a tractor and is a rotary apparatus with small, round, solid metal cylinders attached. As the plugging machine is pulled, the rotation drives the plugging cylinders into the soil, pulling out a plug of soil and discarding it on the fairway. Golf Course Supervisor Terry Stratton recently reported that fairways 1, 5, 6, and 8 have been plugged. The intention is to plug all the fairways, but the rainy weather has interfered with the plan. When the rain backs off, the plugging will continue. Terry further describes the process, saying, “The fresh plugs are mowed and dragged to disperse them back into the turf.” Terry also says, “The next time you see us plugging the turf, rest assured it will be essential to quality playing conditions. I also want to extend my deep gratitude to the Golf Club Members and volunteers who make the bi-annual greens plugging project a success. Your help is greatly appreciated.”
While on the subject of rain, the ponds that capture and supply water to the golf course are 99% full. Full and winter has barely begun. Terry estimates that they will be full by week’s end. “Five to ten inches of sustained, not intermittent rain, usually fills them.”, Terry reported. Not surprisingly, because of the recent rain, the “cart path only” directive is now in effect on the course. Obviously, when the fairways are soggy, motor carts can damage the fairways.
The rainiest place in California is assigned to Gasquet, which is inland from Crescent City in Northern California. Gasquet gets 91 inches of rain per year on average. Gasquet does not have a golf course, but nearby are the Del Norte course, the Kings Valley course in Crescent City, and the Salmon Run course in Brookings, Oregon. These courses, within striking distance from Gasquet, surely get a good dump of yearly rain. Little River, California, gets an average of 45 inches of rain per year. So Gasquet and the surrounding area get more than twice the yearly average than Little River. Mudder country.
In the world, the Shillong Golf Course in India is reputed to be the wettest. The Shillong course is one of the oldest and largest golf courses in the world and maybe the wettest. The Shillong course was established in 1898 by British Civil Officers. It resides at 5200 feet elevation and is snuggled between the sloping valleys of Shillong, surrounded by a dense pine forest. Dave Hautala, maybe you should put it on your list of worldly golf courses to play.
