Noah only had to deal with two geese...

We began May with seven days of rain. It was a tough stretch, but a far cry from the NYC record of 17 consecutive days set in 1943 from May 6 through May 22. These biblical weather streaks may help sustain life, but they also complicate an already challenging game of golf. Our course has many low points where the water collects to form small ponds, stream systems, and fairway archipelagos. Many of you, despite perfectly straight drives, had to once or twice fish your ball from an unplanned water hazard. We realize that such conditions are unavoidable in low lying terrain so near to the shore, but we also want to protect the course and make it more resilient. This summer we’ll be doing a number of special drainage projects to move the water off the course, or at least away from the fairways and cart paths. Many of the problem areas can be addressed by digging trenches and creating a path for the water to flow over to Gerristen Creek. In other cases, we may even raise the grade so that the water will flow naturally away from the areas of play. 

We very much want to continue to offer everyone the option to ride, despite the fact that carts can cause significant damage under such wet conditions. We ask all customers to help keep the course in shape by using good judgement and driving around, rather than through the puddles and ponds. Here’s to sunnier days ahead.

Spring training might be over for major league baseball, but for us it’s just beginning. Considering the fact that the course has been closed for a few months, our team will be doing plenty of wind sprints and fielding drills to get in shape for the season. As always, it starts with the greens. Last week the greens were aerated and sprayed, while the tee boxes were repaired and prepped for seeding. Along with the usual course maintenance, we’ll also be starting on some special projects to address some of the problems that have cropped up after years of neglect. Rebuilding greenside bunkers on 9 and repairing of the areas surrounding the 8th green are both on our list. We won’t get to everything at once, but you’ll see vast improvement before the end of this season. Stay tuned for more details on these projects throughout the year.

Both the Mets and Yankees have been picked by more than a few “experts” to win their respective divisions this year, in large part because of pitching upgrades. I think we can upgrade the course as much as the Yanks upgraded their rotation and the Mets upgraded their bullpen. Then, after a round of golf on an autumn evenings, we can kick back in the clubhouse bar or out on the patio and watch the Yankees and Mets march toward the postseason.