Course crews bracing for scorcher
Week of unprecedented heat will he hard on courses and maintenance staff, too
In their business, you don't necessarily beat the heat.
But golf course superintendents around Calgary have been preparing and strategizing for this scorching (and potentially record-shattering) stretch, with daily highs expected to soar above 30 C for much of this week.
“I don't think in my 20 years, I've seen a forecast as consistently warm for this duration,” said Cameron Kusiek, the superintendent at Carnmoney. “I'm relatively new to Calgary — I started here in 2019 — but prior to that, I was in central Alberta for a number of years and we never saw this sustained heat wave.
“The joke right now within superintendents is we're all preparing to be like our superintendent friends in Medicine Hat, because they deal with this all the time. They get very, very hot summers. We get warm days, but we don't get a sustained stretch like they're forecasting it to be.”
Indeed, Calgary's top turfies have seen all sorts of wacky weather, but this has the makings of a historic heat wave.
Environment Canada is predicting a high of 37 C for both Tuesday and Wednesday. The mercury in this city has never recorded north of 36.5 C.
“I can't remember having sustained days over 35 C, ever,” said Adam Champion, who has been working in this industry for twoplus decades and is now superintendent at Bearspaw. “We've definitely gone through weeks where it's 29, 30, 31, and it's stressful and it can be challenging. But I can't think of anything like what they're saying this next week is going to be.”
These individuals take a ton of pride in the playability and presentation of their courses, and that won't change during this sweltering spell.
The crew at Carnmoney applied a wetting agent Friday, which helps to maximize their irrigation efforts. Kusiek and his team are constantly monitoring moisture levels, but they'll be paying special attention this week to the temperature of the turf.
One of Champion's priorities is to manage the water supply in the holding ponds at Bearspaw, especially since there hasn't been a ton of precipitation in June. As he looked out his office window Sunday, he was even more worried about ensuring his staff stay hydrated and spend enough time in the shade.
The good news is these maintenance maestros have an ally.
“Grass is actually very good at adapting to the weather,” said John Faber, the acting golf lead and senior superintendent of operations for the City of Calgary's courses — a list that includes Maple Ridge, Mccall Lake and Shaganappi Point. “If it's this hot, the grass will sort of shut itself down so you don't see flushes of growth and at the same time, you don't see huge water usage. The water usage is more from evaporation.
“So it's a pretty smart plant.” Golfers can do their part, too. If you see a staffer trying to hose down some of the short stuff, it's a great time for a few extra practice swings … and then a few more. Just wait.
“Nobody wants to take a ball in the head or in the back when they're trying to water greens in between play,” Kusiek said. “Please have a little bit of patience for those individuals that are out there doing a little extra to make sure that the turf and the golf course can survive through this time period.”