As many of you are aware, the Las Campanas golf staff has had to put golf cart restrictions into place this past week in order to avoid further damaging the courses at Las Campanas due to extremely dry conditions; Las Campanas is currently operating under significant water restrictions that preclude using as much water as the grass needs. Afternoon temperatures spiking above the 85 degree mark, coupled with the lack of precipitation and irrigation, leave the turf grass extremely vulnerable to browning and long term damage. If you have played over the past few weeks you will have noticed that there are multiple brown tire tracks on many holes and many high traffic areas that are now completely brown.
Over the next couple of weeks and until the irrigation and water challenges at Las Campanas are remedied, it is our intention to evaluate conditions on a day to day basis and decide whether or not cart limitations are necessary. This includes restricting all cart traffic onto the fairways when the temperature is 85 degrees or higher. Players will be notified of the hourly forecast prior to play each day and will be notified on the course if/when we reach this temperature; players will then be directed to use the cart path for the completion of their round under these circumstances. Ultimately we are trying to find a way to minimize further damage to the courses with as little impact to members as possible. Once we get our water issues resolved (and hopefully some rain) these restrictions will be lifted completely. Given the water shortage we are experiencing, the weather pattern through mid week, and the effect all of this has had on the turf, failing to adopt some type of restriction during the part of the day the grass (both the rough and the fairway) is under extreme stress, and vulnerable to damage, would be irresponsible.
We thank you very much for your continued support and understanding.
We will keep you posted, and please let us know if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Jason Epstein, PGA
Director of Golf at Las Campanas