OTTUMWA —
Fans who tuned in early Friday morning for the second round of the British Open saw golfers dealing with the aftermath of heavy, overnight rains in England.
Throughout the day, golfers dealt with flooded sand traps, soft greens and soggy fairways.
For the golfers planning on teeing it up in this weekend’s Greater Ottumwa City Championship, watching that British Open coverage will be as close as they get to experiencing those conditions on the course. In fact, those golfers playing this weekend at Cedar Creek Golf Course shouldn’t be surprised to find a certain lack of moisture thanks to a red-hot summer.
“Obviously, it’s a little dry out there,” Cedar Creek manager Greg Wilson said. “Guys are getting an extra 20-30 yards of roll out on the fairways, but the greens and the tee boxes are in great shape. We’re expecting an exciting tournament.”
Wilson and his staff have been hard at work all summer keeping the course in the best possible condition. Ottumwa, like most of the state, is experiencing the harsh aspects of what has turned into a nearly month-long drought.
Just like most farmers throughout the state, Wilson can only do so much when the rain doesn’t fall and the weather heats up.
“Just like farming, when it doesn’t rain at all we have some problems,” Wilson said about maintaining the condition of the golf course. “We’ve had to ration our water, but once we run out we run out.”
According to Wilson, keeping both tee boxes and greens on all 18 holes has been a top priority when it comes to watering the course. That will lead to drier conditions on and off the fairways
“We don’t irrigate our rough, so it hasn’t gotten any water,” Wilson said. “We will be playing the ball down, but the golfers will take their chances with the lies out there if they go into the rough.”
Because of the drier conditions, scoring at this year’s city championship may come down to one simple weather factor.
“A lot will depend on what the wind does,” Wilson said. “If the wind stays down, a few scores may be low. If it picks up, it’s going to be tougher to score. We will syringe our greens early on.”
The condition of the course isn’t the only thing the staff at Cedar Creek will be keeping a close eye on during this weekend’s city championship. The conditions of the players themselves will also be monitored closely with temperatures expected to nearly reach triple digits both today and Sunday.
“The biggest concern we’ve had is heat exhaustion and dehydration,” Wilson said. “We’ve had to pull golfers off the course already this summer. We feel like we’re prepared. We had a similar summer last year and played under the same kind of heat.”
The weather isn’t the only talk of this year’s Great Ottumwa City Championship. Several previous champions are expected to contend in what Wilson is figuring will be a very wide-open chase to be this year’s Greater Ottumwa City champ.
“The talk around town is that it should be a great couple of days of competition,” Wilson said. “There are probably five or six guys out there that feel like they could win the whole thing.”
Fans are welcomed to come out and enjoy all the action this weekend. Admission is free with today’s tee times scheduled from 7:12 a.m. to Noon. Opening tee times on Sunday will be at 8:30 a.m. with the championship flight teeing off at around 10:30 a.m.
“We invite everybody to come out and watch,” Wilson said. “Just bring some water or an umbrella.”
Sports
July 21, 2012
Dry Run: Golfers set to battle heat at city championship
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