Pin High •I EDITOR'S COMMENTARY

n August, I attended the second round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, May Good Karma NX to research and write a story on the volunteers of Oak Hills mainte- nance staff. (The story appears on Come to Them Ipage 28 of this issue.) It was a talented and hard-working cast of people. BY LARRY AYLWARD Paul B. Latshaw, Oak Hill's former man- ager of courses and grounds, invited me Make no mistake. Latshaw worked his be- to Oak Hill to do the story. Latshaw was hind off for nearly five years at Oak Hill with thankful and proud of the nearly 100 volun- the PGA Championship in his sights. The teers he recruited to help him. And he course needed a lot of work when Latshaw got wanted them to be recognized for their efforts there in 1999, and he directed the effort to get in a story. that work done. Oak Hill was in outstanding shape for the But the volunteers, whose last names in- tournament — a testament to Latshaw, his clude DeCerce, Seibel and Rehr, quietly went staff and the volunteers for their hard work in back to their normal jobs as superintendents, getting the course prepped for the mega- THE BROTHERHOOD assistant superintendents and mechanics when event. And that's never easy, what with pro the tournament was over. They learned a lot golfers' and fans' increased expectations for COMPONENT IN THE and welcomed the experience of hosting a flawless greens, tees and fairways. Major, but there was no fanfare or kudos for noticed the great condition them from a guy nicknamed the Golden Bear. Oak Hill was in. Then he came and swooped So they should be recognized, and that's Latshaw off to Village Golf Club, why Golfdom pursued this story. And the vol- MAINTENANCE the dream course Nicklaus built in Ohio about unteers should be proud of themselves for 30 years ago, to be its new superintendent. extending an incredible effort to help a friend "I spoke to several players who were in the INDUSTRY IS TRULY and ready a golf course for one of the game's PGA field, and to a person, they remarked biggest annual affairs. on the fantastic condition of the golf course INSPIRING, WHICH It's a cool story, one I was honored to at Oak Hill," Nicklaus said. "August is one of cover. All I can say is that the brotherhood the most difficult times of the year for turf THE VOLUNTEERS component in the golf course maintenance management, so to hear such high praises of industry is truly inspiring, which the volun- Oak Hill is a true compliment to Paul's DEMONSTRATED AT teers demonstrated at Oak Hill. ability." If you believe in karma, the volunteers who Latshaw hadn't even had time to come helped Latshaw — as well as the volunteers who down from the high of hosting his first Major OAK HILL assist superintendents hosting other tourna- tournament before Jack apparently made him ments throughout the country — will get their an offer he couldn't refuse. But, hey, that's due. And at least one volunteer already has. what this business is all about. Latshaw, one of Jeff Corcoran, one of Latshaw's top lieu- the top superintendents in the business who tenants on his volunteer team during the led Oak Hill to a No. 10 ranking in the PGA, was named to replace Latshaw at Oak 2003 biennial ranking of America's Hill. It was a step up for Corcoran, the former 100 Greatest Courses, deserves his fate. superintendent at Weston (Mass.) Golf Club, But let's get back to the volunteers, many who also worked as Latshaw's assistant at Oak whom are no-names in the industry when Hill in the late 1990s. compared to Latshaw's name. They came to Here's to more good karma happening for Oak Hill for a week or longer to work their all volunteers. posteriors off. Mainly, they came to help Lat- shaw, who will be the first to tell you that he Aylward, editor of Golfdom, can be reached at couldn't have staged the PGA without them. 440-891-2770 or [email protected].