GOSHEN — It’s about 2 p.m. on a summer Saturday afternoon at Black Squirrel Golf Course — the height of the golf season.

And yet, the parking lot is nearly empty; a lone golfer works on his short game on the putting green.

A check of the thermometer shows the bitter truth: 100 degrees.

It’s been a sign of the times lately at some area courses, as one of the worst upper Midwest heat waves in recent memory has pushed temperatures into the triple digits for several consecutive days.

Black Squirrel owner Tony Krebs has owned the course since 1992, after being the head professional at a course in Plymouth.

The only similar hot spell Krebs remembers in the recent past came in 1988, he recalled.

“We had triple-digit temperatures for six days in a row,” Krebs said. “That’s very unusual for us.”

When that heat wave finally broke, it was with a storm that dumped seven inches of rain in one day, Krebs said.

No such gully-washers are in the forecast at the moment, and the hot, dry conditions are not only keeping golfers (customers) away, they are taxing the maintenance budgets of some area courses.

Maintenance challenges

At Black Squirrel, the rough — the grass immediately surrounding the fairways — has been the first casualty of the drought conditions, Krebs said.

The rough — which isn’t reached by the course’s irrigation system on most holes — is dry, brittle, and in some locations, completely dead. That has caused Black Squirrel to alter its rules on carts on the course. Typically, golfers are instructed to keep carts off the fairways.

With the tenuous condition of the rough, Krebs said he’d rather have carts on the fairway, where the grass is kept relatively lush and green.

“The rough has pretty much gone dormant,” Krebs said. “We need to keep the carts off it and keep from killing it completely.”

Black Squirrel has a dual-line irrigation system, which allows for sprinkler heads to reach the entire fairway. Krebs has spent much of his time replacing sprinkler heads recently, trying to keep the system online and operational to combat the dry conditions.

Black Squirrel has its own water supply through a well system; Krebs said much of the actual watering is done at night. The entire course can be watered in about 61/2 hours.

But during the day, a procedure called “syringing” takes place; The sprinklers come on for 2-3 minutes at a time, a light mist, just enough to moisten the course and keep the grass active, Krebs said.

At Timber Ridge Golf Course in Millersburg, owner Greg Hire said this summer’s heat wave is also one of the worst he’s seen.

Timber Ridge has a single-line irrigation system, so less of the course is reached by water.

And the rough? Forget about it.

Despite the challenges, Hire said he and his staff have been able to keep the course in a good, playable state. “We’ve gotten some compliments from some of the golfers on how well the course is maintained,” Hire said.

Timber Ridge has more than 400 members, Hire said his staff’s priorities for maintaining the course in the conditions involve focusing on the three key areas first: The tee boxes, fairways, and greens.

And while the dry conditions have led to more expense in terms of water used on the course, they have allowed small cutbacks in other areas.

“We’re having to mow less,” Hire said.

And Hire recently turned the heat into an advantage, and an opportunity to give back to the community that has supported his course since he acquired it.

A recent stop by the Elkhart County Junior Golf Tour at his course gave Hire an idea.

“Having all those young people out here, and knowing it was going to be hot, I wanted to do something,” Hire said.

“Something” ended up being allowing the public — especially youngsters — to come out and run through the sprinklers at Timber Ridge.

Free of charge.

With an ad in the Goshen News to promote the hastily conceived event, it was on.

Altering the schedule

For some local golfers, the key to beating the heat is to come out later in the evening.

On a recent Thursday night, the Black Squirrel men’s league was off for the Fourth of July holiday week. Mike Albright and his father, “Tiny” Albright, of Elkhart, play in the league, but found themselves at Black Squirrel anyway despite their league’s off week.

Mike Albright said he’d promised to bring his Daughter, Kyla, 5, and son, Colin, 4, out to the golf course. With their own junior clubs, Kyla and Colin like to hit balls from 100 yards and in, Mike Albright said.

And staying home Thursday night due to the heat wasn’t an option.

“They’d have been pretty upset if I’d told them we weren’t coming out,” Mike Albright said with a smile.

So, with a few extra bottles of water and visors for the kids to keep the sun at bay, it was into a cart and out onto the golf course for the Albrights.

“We still play when it’s hot,” Tiny Albright said. “You just have to take a few more precautions. We like to walk when we can, but when it’s this hot, we ride.”