Tournament-tested superintendents share their expe- called upon to do something special with the golf course at just about every tournament. riences so that your big event showcases both your Canterbury management actually began considering a major tournament almost 10 years before it actually club and your value as a superintendent. hosted the '96 Senior Open. In 1988 the Club asked By RON HALL/ Managing Editor Stanley Zontek of the USGA Green Section to visit the course with an eye to hosting a major event. Zon- tek visited the Club annually and made many helpful anterbury Golf Club, Beachwood, Ohio, hosted suggestions to make the course more tournament the 1996 U.S. Senior Open. Not every golf ready, as did Bob Brame, his successor in the USGA course has Canterbury's heritage. But, just Green Section, recalls Bonar. about every golf course hosts a tournament. As A big help your big tournament approaches (maybe even a "The turf advisory service really helped us in club or city championship) read on to gamer tips preparing for the Senior Open," says Bonar. "And, it's a to put your course at its best. credit to Canterbury's membership that it followed Starting with veteran superintendent Terry Bonar, through with these improvements." CGCS, at Canterbury, several experienced superinten- A club applies for a major USGA tournament years dents offer suggestions to help you prepare for your prior to the event. This "invitation" is scrutinized by a special event. special USGA committee. It considers factors like lay- Hosting a nationally televised tournament is a big out and condition of the golf course, its proximity to a honor, both for the club and its superintendent. It di- metropolitan area, whether the club has the room and rects a spotlight on the club and course. The superin- facilities to handle so many people and vehicles, will- tendent gets a chance to display the course at its best. ingness of the club's membership and availability of But, your tournament doesn't have to be televised volunteers, and practice areas. to be important. In fact, every tournament is important Actual tournament preparations begin almost two to the participating golfers. And, the superintendent is years ahead of time—in Canterbury's case in the fall of 1994. That's when David Eger (he is now verness Club, Toledo, Ohio, and other su- with the PGA in a similar capacity) and perintendents willingly shared their tourna- Mike Davis of the USGA played the ment experiences too. course with Bonar and Skip Vogelsberger, With so much preparation and so much vice chairman of the championship for the experience how could anything go wrong? Club. In resulting discussions it was sug- Somehow, something always seems to gested that Canterbury enlarge four tees pop up to challenge the superintendent. and widen two fairways. Problems to solve The Club made the tees larger that In Canterbury's case, an application of same fall. It also put in three target greens ammonium sulfate fertilizer the December and replaced the bridges on before the tournament created the course. The USGA ugly small spots of dead grass didn't require these im- on several greens. "To this day provements, but the mem- we don't know exactly what bership had been consider- happened. It wasn't a good ing them, and thought it thing to see," remembers was a good time to do Bonar. Putting a cover over the them, says Bonar. greens early that spring to pro- Improvements continue tect the turf and promote Tim Moraghan, USGA growth helped heal the dam- championship agronomist, age. visited the course during Then, as the tournament got the 1995 season. He Terry Bonar sought ad- nearer, a greens mower sprang checked on the tee work, vice of other supers. a hydraulic leak and Bonar and and suggested that the his crew were forced to resod a Club level the landing areas—for instance, section of a green. And, finally, two weeks locations where settling had occurred along before the tournament the turf on the re- tile lines or irrigation trenches. Bonar as- built 7th tee died. "Up until two weeks be- James Baran, CGCS, increases the height of signed a crew to do that in the fall of 1995. fore the event it looked great," says Bonar. cut on his roughs and no longer uses a gang Meanwhile, the Club also continued its The Senior Open didn't use that portion of mower. He now uses the Articulator mower. two-year tree trimming program. Canter- the tee, and Bonar has since solved that bury places a high value on its trees, and problem with the fungicide Heritage. course was ready for play. Some of the Bonar has an arborist on his staff. But the One crucial decision Bonar made—and crew was then sent home, but Bonar and trees got special attention anyway. one that turned out well—was his decision his full-time staff members stayed at the "We examined every tree and we to limit the volunteers he would use once course. trimmed it up to eight feet," says Bonar. the tournament began. The extra crew members returned at 5 "We tried to look at things from a liability "I really didn't have a lot of volunteers," p.m. They got on the course immediately as well as a play ability standpoint." says Bonar. "We decided to use the staffing after the first group of golfers cleared the While Bonar is no novice in preparing a we had used for our Senior PGA Tour 9th green. They cut the fairways for the course for a tournament (Canterbury has events. We ended up with 29 people and second time each day (left to right in the hosted PGA events) he, in company of two volunteers." a.m., right to left in the afternoon), ma- committee members and other club offi- During tournament week, Bonar and chine-raked bunkers, filled divots and wa- cials visited and gathered suggestions from his maintenance staff arrived at the course tered green banks. superintendents at other sites familiar with 5 a.m. daily and briefly discussed the day's Good weather a plus major tournaments. These included Mark plan. By 5:30 a.m., when the sun peeked Bonar says that both the time of year, Kuhns at Oakmont Country Club (1994 over the horizon, they were on the course. early July, and the weather, dry for the U.S. Open), Pine Hurst's Brad Kocher and By 9 a.m. each day the greens had been most part, smiled on his course for the Se- assistant Bob Farren, host of the 1994 U. S. double cut. The crew had also cut the fair- nior Open. He had kept the greens dry. By Senior Open, and Paul Latshaw, Sr., Con- ways, collars and intermediate rough. the third day, he was asked to water some gressional Country Club, (1995 Senior Terry's crew had changed the hole loca- of them to soften them a bit. Open, '97 U.S. Open). Tom Walker at In- tions and hand-raked the bunkers. The "The event was at a time of the year, the 4th of July, right before stress (turf) the turf. "About four days before a tournament and we could do some things to the golf Consider using Primo we will topdress the greens pretty heavily, course that we couldn't have done later," He also schedules a fertilizer application brush them and double-cut them. Then says Bonar. "By that time the staff was for the fairways and tees a couple of weeks the day before the tournament we will pretty well trained too. It was a great time prior to the club championship. The week brush and double-cut them," says Baran. of the year." prior to the tournament he will apply "We can take them up to 10 1/2 or 11 If you don't have several years to pre- Primo (again with a little extra iron for pretty quick. We don't even have to pare for your big event (and who does?) color) to protect change the height of cut." consider some of these "tricks of the trade" himself from in- Usually also, Baran will raise the height that other superintendents employ. clement weather. of cut in the roughs. "We've gotten away Everett Holzapfel, III, Jackson Country 'Two years from using the gang mowers and we're Club, Jackson, TN, likes to make a fungi- ago, while host- using a pull-behind rotary mower, the Ar- cide application with a little more iron to ing a state ama- ticulator. It has seven decks, and we can the greens a few days prior to the event. teur event I did take it right over the mounds and never He feels wants a little extra protection just that. Right scalp." against disease, and a little more color in after the first Baran's crew may also fluff up the sand round was over in the traps a little more than normal too, Everett Holzapfel, III, we had a two- particularly if the golfers in the tournament says Primo can help inch rain," says are supposed to be really good golfers. 'Overhead' prior to a tournament. Holzapfel. "We "Normally we keep the sand on the firmer precautions could not mow side," he says. fairways until the last day of the tourna- And finally, but equally important, Whether or not a golf course has an ment and when we did it was as if we had don't forget marking the course properly. arborist on staff, the condition of trees not missed a day." "Marking the golf course for rules and has the potential to add to or detract In addition to giving more attention to regulation interpretation is based on condi- from the overall appearance of the blowing all debris off the course. Dead branches, stressed or de- course—aprons, fairways clining trees, loss of leaves through an- "I really didn't have a lot of volunteers. and the rough—his crew thracnose or chewing pests are only a also spends more time on We decided to use the staffing we had couple of potential problems. bunker preparation. They An additional concern is the poten- used for our Senior PGA Tour events. will edge and Flymo all tial for liability. Dead limbs, trees with the bunkers the week be- We ended up with 29 people and two cavities and/or decay are all potential fore and continue to hazards not only for golfers but for the volunteers" -Bonar. Flymo them daily in the increased traffic and the number of ob- evening after the last servers who will be standing under- group. They hand-rake bunkers daily dur- tion and accuracy of hazard, lateral and out- neath those trees. ing an event too. of-bound stakes," writes Rich Marshall in Not only should the trees be in- "Lastly, mowing heights are usually not the Georgia Through the Green publication. spected for appearance but also for po- compromised depending on the time of "On a consistent basis, all staking should tential risk of hazard. The timing of the year," he says. "We manipulate speed in be kept in good condition with periodic failure of a tree cannot be predicted but other ways by double cutting and rolling fresh coats of paint to maintain maximum the potential for failure can be identi- the greens daily." visibility. Staking that is set in sleeves allows fied and addressed. Pruning, removal or constant maintenance in correct position. control of traffic around a concern can Some special touches James Baran, CGCS, superintendent at "Monthly applications of growth retar- be considered. Eagle Creek, Norwalk, Ohio, says his Pen- dant to creek banks and lake banks residing Hiring a consultant who is a certified neagle/Pennlinks fairways, mowed at 1/2- along play areas of the golf course can min- arborist with experience in hazard tree inch, are pretty much tournament ready imize hourly labor to keep these areas assessment is a valid and responsible throughout the season. But he does give mowed," adds Marshall, superintendent of step not only in preparing for tourna- special considerations to greens, bunkers The Orchard Golf and Country Club, Cor- ments but also as a part of routine and roughs, particularly for tournaments nelia, GA. • course maintenance. involving golfers with low handicaps. -Nancy Stairs