In the annals of golf course history, summers like the this past summer, "The Summer of 2013", will be remembered long after it is gone. The term "Legendary" comes to mind. Here in the deep south, where summers are often oppressively hot and humid, with the ever present glaring sun baking everything into an unsightly haze, and the very limited "10%" chance of getting a cooling afternoon shower, maintaining a golf course can become quite a challenge. Mother Nature threw us the proverbial bone this year. One factor was the 24.58" of rain The Legacy Course captured from May through August (meteorological summer). The other main factor was just the complete lack of crazy hot days! Birmingham recorded its 4th coolest summer in 131 years according to Dr. John Christy, the Alabama State Climatologist, with an average high of 86.7, compared to the 131 year average high of 90.1. These factors helped The Legacy Course to be in great shape all summer!
Also helping the golf course to look and play its best was our dedicated and hardworking summer crew! This group did an awesome job battling the constant rain storms with the clean-up of the golf course and the tough task of repairing the bunkers after a deluge. We couldn't do it without them!
Rain and thunderstorms became a daily routine during the month of July when the rain gauge showed almost 11 inches by the time August rolled around. Cloudy days were a nice change of pace but the lightning threat was always something to be cautious of. Below are a couple of pics of the daily routine of rain and storms.
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| Large pine tree struck by lightning on #3. |
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| The local wildlife was not sure what to make of all the water! |
Despite the ever present storms we were able to perform some much needed tasks on the golf course such as aerifying the tees and fairways.
