I'll Be Home For Christmas!

Hello and welcome to The Greenkeeper!  Today is Wednesday, December 23rd and I would like to wish each of you and your families a very, merry Christmas.  In the four weeks since my last post the outpouring for my wife has been overwhelming.  I want to thank you for your support and tell you it has given us more strength and hope than you could ever know.

Regular readers of The Greenkeeper will recognize this is the time of year when I give you one last update on the weather stats for the year, plead to be careful for frost on either Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day, and then announce we're off to Virginia for a few days to spend Christmas with our families.  Both of our mothers live in Virginia along with both sons and their families.

But 2020 will mark the first time I wake up in my own house on Christmas morning in nearly twenty-five years!  Covid and chemo do not mix and we are not taking any risks.  It will look and feel very different this year, but hopefully it is a small price to pay for many more Christmases together in the future.

So, if you're here for the weather stats I can tell you this past Sunday's rain pushed 2020 passed 2018 for the wettest year in my tenure.  2020 has brought 58.95 inches rainfall to Carolina Golf Club.  Last year (2019) saw 57.20 inches fall on the golf course and 2018 delivered 58.60 inches!  That's right, 174.75 inches have fallen the past three years.  That is more than 14 FEET of rainfall (14.5625) folks!

Considering the city of Charlotte typically averages about 42 inches annually you realize the past three years are really amazing.  What's more is we are expecting even more rain tomorrow (possibly over one inch) as a cold front passes through the region ushering in some bitterly cold temperatures for Christmas Day, so the 2020 final tally is still to be determined with eight days remaining.

There is no threat of frost on Christmas Eve morning so those of you planning to play should have no concerns other than dealing with strong winds and periods of heavy rain and possibly a thunderstorm.  But I'm gathering with an expected high temperature of only 38 degrees on Christmas Day not too many will venture to the course.  Hopefully you are snug and warm at home unwrapping a new club from the man in red!  Perhaps we will see you again on Boxing Day, and if you are scheduled to play on Saturday anticipate a potentially lengthy frost delay as temperatures are expected to be down in the lower 20s that morning.  Brrrr!

Well there you have it, my final post of what has been the craziest year I've ever lived.  My Christmas wish for everyone is that 2021 will be much kinder to us all!  I pray for healing!  Not just for my wife and her cancer, but for everyone dealing with sickness and disease.  Healing for our country after a most divisive year.  And healing for the world as it continues to try and overcome this virus.

Also, may each of you find peace, tranquility, love, happiness and comfort with your families and loved ones this holiday season and I look forward to seeing you on the golf course in 2021!

Merry Christmas CGC,

Matthew Wharton, CGCS, MG