Drought Update

This relentless heat and drought have still not let up and now the Tulsa metro area is under what is called a D4 or exceptional drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.  D4 is the highest level on their scale of drought intensity.  Hopefully everyone realizes that it is basically impossible to keep the soil moist under these conditions and that even Bermuda cannot withstand this heat without proper moisture.  Up until recently, we have been doing our best to keep our irrigation system running as much as possible to maintain green healthy conditions,  but this persistent lack of rain has forced us to use almost all of our water reserves in the big lake down by #17 green.  We have started to ration what we have left to be sure that we can make it until fall with healthy greens.  With our ability to store rain water, I feel that once we get into the fall and get a few heavy rains, we will refill our ponds easily and our Bermuda tees and fairways will come back out of dormancy.  Once the Bermuda starts growing again, we will fertilize and encourage as much growth as possible before winter.