>‘It’s been a tough summer to grow grass,’ says Ridgewood Country Club head pro David Reasoner.
Brendan Prunty/The Star-Ledger
https://www.nj.com/golf/index.ssf/2010/08/grass_still_green_at_ridgewood.html
The answer is quick and decisive ,1999.That, David Reasoner said, is the only summer that he can remember in his 11 years in New Jersey that was worse than this one. Back then, Reasoner was a young assistant professional at Ridgewood Country Club watching as the entire team — from course superintendent to the head pro — tried to keep the manicured greens from falling off a cliff.
Now, the head professional himself, Reasoner has been thrust into a horrifyingly similar situation with this summer’s extreme weather conditions. Only this summer, the stakes are much higher.
One week from today, the PGA Tour’s 125 top golfers will descend upon Ridgewood for The Barclays.
“The golf course is in great shape,” Reasoner said this week. “But it’s been a tough summer. If you look at some of the other golf courses in the area, we’re lucky we’re still green. It’s been a tough summer to grow grass.”
How tough has it been? Last month checked in as the second-warmest July on record in New Jersey history, according to the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist. The average temperature for the month — 78.8 degrees — fell just short of the 1955 record of 79 degrees.
The problem faced at Ridgewood wasn’t unlike the problems faced statewide, it’s just that the 100-year old Paramus club is the only course in the area that will get the spotlight treatment this summer from the PGA Tour.
“With the exception of 2001, it’s probably the most challenging year I’ve had here in my 16 years,” said Ridgewood’s course superintendent Todd Raisch. “We knew going in (to the summer) that we were going to baby the golf course a little bit — but not the whole season.”
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