Photo: Carl Stevens (WBZ)
NAHANT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — With the majority of Massachusetts suffering from a persistent and severe drought, local golf courses are struggling to keep the fairways green.
"Last year we were rain every day and this year is the complete opposite," said Brett Waterman, Superintendent at Kelly Greens Golf Course in Nahant.
Massachusetts has seen very little rainfall throughout the summer. Last month was the fourth-driest July on record, with the NWS recording only 0.62 inches of rain in the Commonwealth compared with the average July rainfall total of 3.27 inches. Golf courses like Kelly Greens must rely on their own irrigation systems to ensure the grass does not turn brown.
"Fortunate for me, I am on town water, so I don’t think I will be running out. They may limit the water, but I’ll at least be able to keep the water on the greens and the tees," Waterman told WBZ.
Even with access to a municipal water supply, Waterman must still keep a close eye on the course.
"We’re just gonna be careful, just gotta keep an eye on everything, make sure the irrigation system is working properly every day," Waterman said. "‘Cause you miss one thing and you’ll see it very quickly when it’s this dry and this hot."
The one upside to the drought? The lack of rain means more people are heading out to the links.
"When you have weeks when it’s rainy and you can’t go golfing, people kinda lose--especially people who don’t golf all the time--they lose interest. So this year, people have been able to golf consistently like every Tuesday afternoon or every Friday morning throughout the whole year," said Waterman.
WBZ's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.
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