2025 Winter Update

Since mid October allot has been going on the golf course with projects and weather and I have neglected updating the Granite Bay Course Update with content. Therefore I will now attempt to catch-up and provide for those who are interested some context to what we in golf course maintenance have been up to.

Weather

What happens meteorologically effects everything we do in golf course maintenance which is why I bring it up in the course updates so much. Weather is never the same from year to year and can be predictable and un predictable at the same time. It is the one uncontrollable factor that effects golf course playing conditions the most from speed & firmness to turf health & sustainability.

The weather pattern that the fall and winter of 2025 will be known for so far is the return of the local phenomenon of The Unrelenting Tule Fog. According to the preceding linked article on tule fog, 

An atmospheric phenomenon occurring over much of California was unmistakable in satellite imagery in late autumn 2025. Fog stretching some 400 miles (640 kilometers) across the state’s Central Valley appeared day after day for more than two weeks in late November and early December. Known as tule (TOO-lee) fog, named after a sedge that grows in the area’s marshes, these low clouds tend to form in the valley in colder months when winds are light and soils are moist.  

1985, for example, Fresno experienced 16 consecutive days of dense fog, and Sacramento endured 17, according to news reports. Researchers have found, however, that tule fog has been forming less often in California in recent decades. Foggy days are beneficial for the valley’s fruit and nut trees, which need sufficient rest between growing seasons to be most productive. 

Interesting the Tule Fog is beneficial for tree crops however it is not beneficial for sports turf as it limits photosynthesis, the process where plants derive energy as well as the ability of the soil and course to dry out.

Above is a good representation of the foggy conditions that we experienced at GBGC in 2025 from late November until the Christmas Holiday storms as well as after those storms. These type of conditions do not facilitate drying of the golf course which inhibits GCM's abilities to get equipment out on the course to maintain it.

Above is rainfall data derived through December 2025 from GBGC's weather station located near the remote restrooms on #13. December's rainfall total was 8th most in the last 21 years but Novembers total rainfall is tied (2017) for 2nd most in 21 years only behind the 6.18" in 2012.

Despite the 4"+ rainfall we received in mid-November we were able to get carts back on the course after 4 clear days before the fog set in. We did not have to go back to cart path only until the Christmas Holiday storms dumped another 4"+ inches of rain as well as toppling trees. After this storm the tule fog returned immediately not helping at all with wet golf course conditions and following this we have another series of warm storms forecasted to begin the New Year.

This forecast will not help with drying the golf course out but there might be some short term light at the end of the tunnel.

Large Live Oak that toppled during the Christmas Day storm.

The tree toppled onto the back of the maintenance building and required some professional help to get it off the building without causing damage. Fortunately the damage was minimal and the tree has been removed from the building. 

Long Range Forecast 

Warm Subtropical System to Bring New Year Rain Before a Somewhat Quieter Pattern Takes Hold by mid January is the title of a Weather West article which is my go-to for long range forecasting. Excerpts from this recent post include:

December shattered many countless warm temperature records in the U.S. West. This map is not showing a data glitch: it’s showing where Dec 2025 will likely be the warmest on record (all dark red areas, which represents…most areas on the map). One of the only exceptions is CA’s Central Valley and parts of the SF Bay Area where tule fog reigned, though even here subtropical air at the end of Dec brought monthly average temperatures to above average levels (despite the notable damp chill earlier in the month). (climatetoolbox.org)

Looking ahead into January, a relatively active weather pattern may continue for another 7-10 days in California; thereafter, there are hints of a potentially more sustained break in mid-January with a West Coast ridge potentially developing. This is a relatively low-confidence pattern, though, so don’t hold me to it! I’ll be following this more closely in the new year.

Fall - Early Winter Projects

Since our 2021 renovation, GCM has been diligently working on the finishing touches of the project none of which is more important then adapting our irrigation system to improve coverage & control and irrigate our cool season rough independently of the warm season hybrid bermuda fairways. These retroactive adaptions are all part of our Master Plan developed post renovation as a roadmap to complete the many remaining tasks from 2021.  This work is typically conducted in the late fall through the winter, weather permitting and we have made great progress in 2025 as evidenced by the pictures below.

The Fall of 2024, which was the end of last years project completion window, we highlighted in a 2024 Granite Bay Course Update the work of drainage, irrigation, curbing and parking near the chipping green and behind #7 green.  Additionally that update highlighted the parking lot landscaping work we completed to end the 2024 year. In January & February of 2025 the second part of our project window,  we completed 7 blocks of irrigation heads on #7 and #12. Above depicts just some of this work in progress the beginning of 2025 on #12.

Once fall rolled around this year we began doing the same work of retrofitting our current irrigation system with "blocks" of irrigation heads that provide adequate coverage and control to the irrigation of the cool season rough independently of the warm season fairways. Above shows this installation in process near #4 green.

This picture is a really good representation of what we trying to achieve with these "block" irrigation installs to adequately irrigate the rough independently of the fairways. The picture shows multiple small irrigation heads controlled by one valve directed towards the rough and not the fairway. 

Once we were done with "block" installation on #4 we moved to #6 and worked over there for most of the month of November, completely surrounding the rough with these "block" irrigation heads. Because of the slope of #6 we utilized jute netting over the exposed irrigation ditches ahead of the mid November atmospheric river on 11/13 till 11/17. This was done in a abundance of caution to protect the susceptible compacted bare dirt covering a matrix of pipe, irrigation heads & wire. Mission accomplished as we did not have any erosion issues even after 4"+ of rainfall. 

We addressed as well the fairway bunker in the middle of #6 and the cool season turf that surrounds the bunker.

Above depicts the finished product of the work around the bunker awaiting seed germination in the ditches which is slow this time of the year particularly with the lack of sun from the above-mentioned tule fog.

Once we were done with #6 we moved to #2 to repeat the process there. We spent the month of December 2025 working on blocks on #2. 

This work is not just about plumbing pipe and adding irrigation heads. Equally important to the actual infrastructure of the block irrigation heads is the control of the valve the operates this infrastructure. There is always a calculation on how to get a control wire to this valve for these new block heads as control is as key to the plan as the coverage the block infrastructure provides.
Above depicts some wiring work we did on #2 to both facilitate control wires to the new block infrastructures on #2 as well as moving the irrigation controller across the cart path which was something we needed to do to expand some turf in the area.

Above shows the new location of the irrigation controller that we moved just before Christmas on #2.

The installation of this block infrastructure is key to GBGC's long term success. Areas addressed with this same process in 2022 to 2024 include #13, #15, #5, fairway bunkers #2&#4 to name a few. Even though many members play weekly, the re-call of the before and after of these areas are many times vague. In GCM our memories are not vague as we work with these areas daily and have always strived to provide the best playing and aesthetic conditions for the course to achieve consistent playability, sustainability and sale ability. That is why we are working tirelessly to install this infrastructure as we know beyond a shadow of a doubt how this generational work will continue to transform this golf course.

In 2025 we installed 18 blocks, and we have another 8 we are planning to get done in January to February of 2026, weather permitting. This won't complete all of this work detailed in the GBGC Master Plan but will have addressed most of the worst areas that have been identified. The summer of 2026 is looking up, and yes, despite the gloomy wet & cold we are currently experiencing, Summer is Coming!