Crooked Stick Prepares for PGA Championship
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Crooked Stick For PGA Cham condition of the course. He knew that C-15 decline had begun to attack several of Crooked Stick's Toronto creeping bent greens in 1984, and had actually visited the course to help out with their reconstruction in September 1985. "We'd seen the greens stressing in 1984, and we dealt with it as stress," he said. "But Before Dye redesigned the course, there were only two fairway we realized that the disease had the poten- bunkers. This series of bunkers was added on the 11th hole. tial to strike all the greens. That and the Championship, and just improving the olf has been described as an aggra- mel, IN, approximately 15 miles north of course for the members, were all factors in vating, exhilarating, uplifting and Indianapolis, was awarded the PGA Cham- deciding to rebuild the greens." Riedman Gexquisitely lonely game. On any given pionship for 1991, the club's 90-member explained, "We stripped the sod, fumigated, course, grown men can sometimes be seen tournament committee realized, from a cer- and modified the slopes to accommodate dancing like lottery winners. tain amount of experience gained hosting 9112- to ten-foot green speeds. We didn't For all its considerable etiquette and con- major national amateur events, that the attempt to modify the soil because it was sistent good manners, golf occasionally tournament's success relied on several fac- already 85 percent sand. We floated the the provokes a player's most basic emotions. -tors, It required a course that was superbly seed beds, fumigated, floated again, put Solitary, "man-versus-himself" sports are challenging and fair for the players, and down seed and starter fertilizer, and like that. And golf is perhaps the world's also a pleasure to view, both for the on-site covered them with tarps" most solitary sport. spectators and the television audience. The choice for the new greens was Penn- A wide receiver can watch a football sail To shape the already-excellent course cross. "It's been a proven grass over the just over his fingertips and out-of-bounds, into one of PGA Championship caliber, they years," said Riedman. "It's probably the and realize that the quarterback bears par- turned to its original designer, Pete Dye, most recommended grass by Pete Dye on tial responsibility for the incompletion. A and 30-year-old Dave Riedman, superinten- his courses:' point guard who sinks a jump shot off a pick dent at Crooked Stick. "I always dreamed of Snow mold attacked greehs nine, 11, 17, can thank the teammate who set it. But being the superintendent here," said Ried- and 18, and they had to be replanted again. when a professional golfer hooks his tee man. That dream came true in February The planting was done in March 1986 and shot into the woods, he owns it solely, just 1986, which was the same month that the greens were ready for play that June. as he owns a chip shot from a bunker that Crooked Stick signed a contract with the Greens 15 and 16, which were resodded in drops into the hole. PGA to host the 1991 Championship. fall 1988 by Riedman and his 16-person Hosting a professional golf tournament Riedman started working as a laborer at crew, were ready for the 1989 season. couldn't be more different from the game the course in 1978, but moved on to earn a "We did all the work in-house," said Ried- itself. The sheer volume of work demands degree in turfgrass management at Penn man. "Both greens were totally resodded a team approach to planning and prepara- State University, under Dr. Joe Duich. His from our own nursery. I much prefer work- tion, especially for professional golf's four association with Dye began when the two ing in-house with my own people:' major tournaments. rebuilt the west course at Birmingham Using a combination of Jacobsen Simply landing one of the four "majors" is Country Club in Birmingham, AL. mowers and overseeders, Cushman Ryan a substantial accomplishment for a course. When Crooked Stick was awarded the aerators, Hahn topdressers, and good old- Two of the tournament sites are forever PGA Championship, Dye realized that the fashioned hard work, Riedman and his predetermined. The Masters is always course would require changes and crew logged 75- to 90-hour weeks to ensure played in Augusta, GA. The British Open is improvements. Having worked with Ried- that the course would be in optimum condi- limited'to the harrowing links of the British man before, he recommended him for the tion. As a team, they have handled the daily Isles. That leaves only the U.S. Open and job of superintendent. Riedman, who was maintenance chores, in addition to major the PGA Championship available for bid- superintendent of Harrison Lake Country course changes designed by Dye in order ding by courses around the country that Club in Columbus, IN, at the time, gladly to raise Crooked Stick to PGA standards. would like to host a major. accepted. With the exception of heavy earth moving, When Crooked Stick Golf Club in Car- He had never been out of touch with the the task of implementing these changes fell 14 Golf & Sports TURF Prepares pionship to Riedman and his crew. "This is the kind of thing I like," said Ried- man. "I tend to get a little bored with simple maintenance. A lot of people think I'm more of a construction superintendent than a mai ntenance su peri ntendent. "Pete has the attitude that we can do any- thing. A lot of the things we've done have Railroad ties, a Dye trademark, border the 13th green. A creek was amazed the crew and myself. Pete says I rerouted to wind in front of the green on the left. All photos copyright can handle bulldozers better than most © 1989, Dost & Evans. people. Whatever damage they do, I feel I can fix it." many bunkers. They have also overcome Crooked Dye has a penchant for creating hazards "We didn't make changes and improve- Stick's problem of inadequate watering on that are fair, yet unforgiving and intimidat- ments just for the Championship," said the edges of its fairways. To accomplish ing. In fact, one top-rated touring profes- Riedman. "A lot of what we did needed to this, Riedman and his crew installed Rain sional has called him "the master of visual be done, and we would have done it any- Bird 91-DR sprinklers down the center of terror:' way. With all the new courses that are being the fairways and 51-DRs in the rough, at Crooked Stick was originally designed built every day, you have to continually what he calls the "scallop point." Installation with only two fairway bunkers. Long rough improve your course, or you're dead. Pete of small heads around the bunkers to water areas and lightning-fast greens provided really wants to keep up the status of this golf bunker faces is also planned. the course's primary challenges. "When course:' He is proud of his crew's efforts. But Pete came back to look at the course for the Not all of the amendments to the course Riedman also credits the patience and tournament, he knew we needed fairway are as obvious as new fairway bunkers and dedication of Crooked Stick's 225 members bunkers," said Riedman. "He also wanted bridge construction. Crooked Stick's fair- for the success of the improvement pro- to soften the greens to accommodate the ways, tees, and greens were already gram. They have played an integral role on fast green speeds the members are irrigated, but the rough was nourished only the "team," by providing both financial sup- accustomed to:' by natural rainfall. As a result, the bluegrass port and cooperation for the tournament Fairway bunkers were installed on several took a beating from the drought of 1988. A preparation. holes and additional pin placements were new Rain Bird Maxicomm IV irrigation sys- "The most difficult thing about preparing worked into many of the greens. On the tem was installed. for the Championship has probably been 14th hole, Dye added new pin placements, Putting in the irrigation system, which keeping the course open during construc- extended the fairway, and rerouted a stream was designed primarily by Riedman, was tion," he said. "The members have been which now passes along the front edge of one of the toughest chores for the superin- really great about putting up with it. There the senior tee. tendent and his crew. They worked from aren't many clubs that would be so good A horseshoe-shaped pond was installed November through May, in the dead of the about it. Bill Diehl, a member here, has around the fourth tee. On one side of the Indiana winter. been the greatest. He used to b~ the 16th green, a sand trap was converted into "We used all rubber gasket fittings so we general sales manager at McCallister a lake. Tees three, four, eight, ten, 13, 16, 17, . could work in winter, and glued all pipe Machinery [in Indianapolis], and whenever and 18 were all changed to play longer. To indoors," said Riedman. "When it got too we needed to rent something like excava- make the fifth hole carry further, 100 yards cold to pull pipe, we trenched. We worked tors or backhoes, he'd get them for us at a of the fairway were removed. On the almost every day. I think there were only fraction of the price:' seventh hole, lightning ground rod protec- about three days we didn't work:' All construction on Crooked Stick will be tion was installed to protect a 100-year-old The result of their six-month, $400,000 completed by this Mayas is stipulated by white oak tree.