Answer: Absolutely not! Our fairways are playing really well and are firm...a nice change after all the rain two weeks prior. The brown spots you see are caused from wilt. This occurs when the soil is dry and the roots of the grass can't uptake up water because it isn't available. As a result, the grass is sent into a dormant state. It's still alive but it essentially tells itself to lay low until water is available again. It is a similar thing that happens to trees, causing them to loose their leaves, although that is caused by day length rather than drought.
Every fairway has varying soil conditions and undulations that require different amounts of irrigation. In order to keep everything a green color, we would have to overwater the low lying areas. The constant debate amongst club members is whether to maintain firm conditions or give priority to the pleasing visual aspects of golf. While our attempt is to balance the two, it's an extremely fine line. The warmer than average temperatures and full sun (a welcome change) lead to a couple days that were nearly unexpected. We dealt with damp conditions for a two week period, which creates it own set of challenges in compromising the root system. Sunday, with tee times until 5:30pm, it was extremely difficult and staff couldn't get around efficiently to hand water as needed due to the amount of play.
These areas, while minimal, will recover in a short amount of time once we get a soaking rain. In the meantime, it's rare we get this opportunity in a temperate rain forest so it's worth taking advantage of!
Our team has been working on aerating many dry areas and high traffic areas on the golf course. Creating holes in the ground allows us to get water to the roots more efficiently.