Head above water Drought forces COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS to rethink routine By BILL BROTHERTON 12 >>> FALL <strong>2016</strong>
PHOTO: Spenser Hasak It’s a sunny, slightly windy morning at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, the kind of day that puts an extra bounce in most golfers’ step. But Peter Hasak, the longtime course superintendent, isn’t smiling. After a practically rainfree summer, keeping courses lush and green has been a challenge. “It’s been a battle all year long. All of my peers are starved for water right now,” Hasak said. Over at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Kip Tyler is equally worried. Tyler, course superintendent since 1982, has the added stress of getting his track in shape for next year’s U.S. Senior Open Championship, set for June 26 to July 2. “It’s the hottest August in history. It’s been the driest June, July and August in history. Water use has been a major issue, and we’ve been monitoring its use since the spring. We don’t want to run out. Peter Hasak, Director of Grounds at Tedesco Country club, spins irrigation heads on the HOLE as he looks out toward the 1st fairway. “A lot of the days this summer were ideal for golfing and going to the beach. For the golf course, not so great. The weekends have been great for everything but turf. Wind and sun sucks moisture out of the turf and greens. Day after day of no rain dries everything out,” Tyler added. But these guys have it relatively easy compared to John Sadowski at the <strong>Golf</strong> Club at Turner Hill in Ipswich. At least Hasak and Tyler have access to water. Since spring, Sadowski and his staff of miracle workers have somehow kept the course in playing shape. Sadowski has two wells and a holding area in a lake but his access to water is much more restricted than that of his counterparts at Tedesco and Salem. “There’s no water coming in. There’s not enough water,” he said matter-of-factly. Sadowski said Turner Hill enacted a cart-paths-only edict before July 4. He’s had “fairly limited” water since the spring, and stopped watering the rough and fairways in mid-June. Tees and the bentgrass greens have received the most babying. An additional challenge, Tyler, Hasak and Sadowski’s courses are among the area’s busiest: Salem gets 25,000 rounds a year; Tedesco 21,000-plus; and Turner Hill 22,000 in 2015, a few less this year. This is the driest summer on record, according to the National Weather Service. The <strong>North</strong> <strong>Shore</strong> received 1.18 inches of rain in June, 0.87 in July and 1.84 in August. Historically, the average rainfall locally for those three months is 10.05 inches. More than 72 percent of the state was in severe to extreme drought conditions, with Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk and Suffolk counties the hardest impacted. It’s put local golf course superintendents on the hot seat. Hasak, in his 29th year as Tedesco’s grounds superintendent, says the 1993 drought might have been worse. “We dealt with the same water supply, but couldn’t move it as easily as we can today.” Hasak said Tedesco is fortunate that it has access to more water than many area courses, though he’s ever mindful to conserve water. In the mid-’80s all golf courses had to register its water usage, he said. ”We’re limited to 18 million gallons … it seems like a lot, but it’s not. We’re very conservative with its use, to carry us through the end of the year. The river that supplies our well is so low. We’re down to our last four million gallons; we have to be careful to not run out. I have to get to Oct. 15. I need to know I have enough.” Hasak said about 70 percent of Tedesco’s grass is annual bluegrass “the weakest of northern grasses.” But that’s not unusual on older courses in New England. Tedesco’s greens are more than a century old; they were built by laborers with picks and shovels. “How we manage the turf means a lot. The lusher we keep it, the more water it needs. Wetting agents help. It allows the water to penetrate more.” The bulk of the watering is done at night, from 8 p.m. on. The greens are done first; they are hot at the end of the day. Wind promotes the transfer of heat and speeds up drying, with moisture evaporating quickly. Hasak and his crew often syringe greens in the morning and during the day to cool them down. Syringing is the practice of applying small amounts of water to reduce temperatures and wash the grass. It applies water to the canopy, but is not intended to restore soil moisture, as is typical irrigation. Bob Green, Tedesco’s head professional for 36 years, said members are more aware of seeing brown patches of grass, on the course and in their own backyards. Green and Hasak agree that brown isn’t necessarily bad. The Augusta Syndrome, in which every blade of grass during the Masters tournament is a vibrant green, has colored many players expectations of what a golf course should always look like. “First things first. People have to drink water, farmers need it to grow crops,” said Hasak. “We had a hard rain a couple of days ago. People think, ‘Oh good. We’re out of the danger zone.’ … It bought us a day; everything is so dry.” “We’re still in this challenge. We don’t know how long it’s going to last,” said Sadowski on Aug. 30, taking a break in his office at Turner Hill. “But they’re calling for a hot and dry fall.” Sadowski’s greens are bentgrass, and he said “day in and day out, they’ve never been better.” But he admits there are “some horror stories out there,” namely the fairways on holes 7, 12 and 14. A warm, dry fall will make recovery tougher, Sadowski, who has been at Turner Hill since its 2004 founding, says. The best-case scenario: “a half-inch or three-quarters-inch of rain every other day, followed by a good, steady tropical depression and sun,” he said. What about the winter? “It’s two or three months away, and we still don’t know what to expect, what the fall will be like. “Personally, I hope it snows like hell … cause I like to ski,” he said with a smile. “For the course, give me snow, keep it coming all winter. “Ice isn’t good for anybody, but our bentgrass can withstand it better than poa.” Sadowski said he “doesn’t cover anything” during the winter months; Hasak, Tyler and other superintendents with annual bluegrass greens (poa annua) don’t have that option. Ice can be a silent killer, wreaking havoc during the winter months. NORTH SHORE GOLF
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