Statistics on January rainfall at The Forest

As you are probably aware, the past few weeks have been very challenging for the course maintenance staff.  The record-breaking rainfall, substantial winds, lack of sufficient sunlight and greatly fluctuating temperatures have tested the nerves of your staff and tested the plant's ability to cope with these conditions.  The information below helps put January rainfall in perspective.

• At the time this BLOG posting, we have received 14.7" of rain this month.
• The average rainfall for January in Fort Myers is 1.8"
• The previous RECORD for January was 7.46" set in 1958, we have nearly doubled that this month.

• Nearly 90 million gallons of water have fallen on TFCC property this month.  That's equivalent to:
• 2 minutes of flow over Niagara Falls, both Horseshoe and Bridal Veil falls.
• 136 Olympic size swimming pools
• 80% of the TOTAL amount of irrigation used on both courses in 2015.  

New sand bunker performance

Last weekend we doubled the monthly average for January rainfall in around 24 hours.  Nearly 4" of rain drenched the courses, providing a great example of the performance of our new bunkers on the Bobcat course.  The photograph below is from the Bear course where sand in nearly every bunker washed down to the bottom of the trap.  Repairing this condition is a very labor intensive process. 

The second photograph was taken the same morning on the Bobcat course.  As you can see the new sand held in place much better.  The sand in our new bunkers is manufactured by crushing Florida Round Particle sand into angular particles.  The angular (brand name: G-Angle) sand essentially locks in place and has become the gold standard in the industry for maintenance, drainage and playability purposes.