Presidents Cup Diary

Journey to The Presidents Cup

Despite my flight being cancelled (thank you Jetstar) I am glad to say that I am finally here at Royal Melbourne to join a team of 60 to prepare the course for one of the biggest golf tournaments in the world. Seeing the course now compared to 8 months ago when I was last here is a great feeling. The fine fescue surrounds have matured and really thickened up leaving a superb surface. I can imagine this being a big talking point for the golfers when they play them. The Suttons mix greens are completely Poa annua free and amazingly firm. There is also complete coverage of the legend couch fairways.

Day 1 (Monday) consisted of an induction with all the volunteers and then I was given the task of divoting tees with a gentleman named Peter from Royal Sydney Golf Club. There are greenkeepers volunteering to be here from all over the world! It’s great to be a part of it. It's also great to see some New Zealand greenkeepers here as well - Mike from Cape Kidnappers and Phil from Royal Auckland. Following divoting I set off to hand water greens. Then after work I caught up with the PGG Wrightson Turf Apprentice of the year (2011) Ben Payne and that caps day 1!

Day 2 (Tuesday) started off with everyone being called in due to lightning in the area but following that Tony from Royal Perth Golf Club and I used 2 inch plugs to remove any imperfections in a cou ple of the west course greens.

Day 3 (Wednesday) kicked off with a 90% chance of 30 - 40 mm of rain but as it was the last day that the course was open we had a busy morning. Golfers were off tees 1 - 10, 17 and 18 at 8am. Thanks to the huge numbers of staff the bunkers could get pushed up (washouts from the rain) and raked within an hour. So this morning I was hand raking bunkers with another gentleman, Matt from Royal Perth.

Following the morning setup there was a walk through the water treatment plant for workers who had not seen it before. My next job was to reinstate some plugs which had been taken out to repair greens imperfections. While I was taking plugs from the nursery, Andrew Boyle (West course foreman), walked past with the group he was showing the water treatment plant to and he gave PGG Wrightson Turf a huge mention regarding the Suttons mix which I took great satisfaction from. 

In the afternoon I was cutting the composite course fairways along with 3 other workers. We all worked in unison going across the fairway; so a total of 4 fairway mowers all working together and there was a truck which followed us around where we dumped our clippings into.

Day 4 (Thursday) kicked off with the weather predictions being correct. Overnight there was 42.5 mm of rain so there were a few washouts around the place. I was given the task to hand mow the fescue surrounds with brushes down to stand the leaf up. It is so satisfying walking off the surround and it being all striped up and the actual surface looking amazing. At 11am all the greens staff got together around the 18 east green (16 composite) for a photo with the Presidents Cup so expect to see that photo in one of the turf magazines coming up.

My next job was to repair one of the bunkers on 1 east, which was severely washed out with the turf and revetting needing attention. I've got some before and after photos below so have a look. It was a pleasure to work with Nick Fitzpatrick who was also my flatmate in St Andrews Scotland last year.

                             

Day 5 (Friday) started off with myself mowing fairways with 5 others, so this time there were 6 of us all going in unison up the fairway and then turning around and going back on the same line so every fairway composite(tournament) hole was getting a double cut. Following that job, Steve from Roseville Golf Club in Sydney and I went and joined the rest of the crew who were just fixing up the last of the bunkers from the previous days rain.

Day 6 (Saturday): Today fairways got sprayed with a liquid fertiliser with some nitrogen, iron and magnesium to add a bit of colour and a bit more growth to them. Greens cutting height was also lowered to 2.8 mm. I was on bunker maintenance with originally only 3 of us but ended up with a crew of around 14. The chipping green bunkers needed repairing from the earlier weeks rain and then all the composite course bunkers where edged, blown out and then boarded to leave a flat surface ready for raking tomorrow.

The players will be starting to arrive in the next couple days as the Australian Open will be finishing. Fluff Cowan (Jim Furyk's caddie) was walking the course and taking notes today. Today was also the start of our catered lunches thanks to Peter Rowland Catering. The food was amazing!

Day 7 (Sunday): Day off

Day 8 (Monday): Tournament week! Bring it on!

Today's duties started off with greens, tees, fairways and greens surrounds being double cut and the elimination of any mowing patterns. Everything is getting cut by mowing up and down on the same line so it leaves the "one way" look. This is standing the leaf one way and then mowing it coming back. It is leaving such a nice surface. I was given the task of hand-mowing the fescue surrounds of composite holes 5 and 9. Once again it is such a satisfying feeling once I've finished cutting the surround and looking back at the surface, especially at 6 mm. When we finished our first jobs we all set off to assist the guys doing bunkers. I was accompanied by Ally Spence from Walton Heath Golf Club in London. I counted 14 greenkeepers raking bunkers on one hole at one stage. That is not including the ones who leap-frogged us.

Once the bunkers were done 22 of us were on one fairway walking up and hand weeding the fairway before lunch. 

Following lunch a few of the golfers were out practicing which was great to watch. Fred Couples said how impressed he was with the course and that we had done an amazing job which brought a smile to all our faces.

Greens got fertilised today to colour up them us as well as to harden the plant up as well.

Day 9 (Tuesday): "Absolutely awesome" and "there is not a blade of grass out of place" is what Fred Couples (USA team captain) had to say about the course. All of the pro's had nothing but praise for the course and are impressed with how firm the greens are. Reading all of these comments in the morning paper was a great start to the day.

My first job for the day was to double cut the composite course tees (once again up and down the same line) which were not in play but still visible to spectators. As well as cutting tees I was to cut the couch approach leading to the fescue surrounds. I used a Toro triplex mower set at 8 mm. Following that task I joined Nick Fitzpatrick in helping with some work around the Rolex tent by the composite 15^th green. We were hoping for a free watch but our chances were slim. While we were there two groups of golfers came through. The first group had Phil Mickleson and Jim Furyk and the second group had Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. Considering it is just the Tuesday, the crowds were pretty big. It was an amazing blue sky day though!

The greens this morning were double cut (also up and down on the same line) and also rolled. Plywood boards were placed on the fescue for the turning of the greens mowers (Toro Flex 21's) as this minimises wear. In the afternoon the greens were hand watered and fertilised. They were fertilised with silicon and magnesium. There is some rain forecast for tomorrow, so fingers crossed this doesn’t arrive.

Day 10 (Wednesday): I started off today by hand raking the front 9 (composite) holes. I had the pleasure of working with Aiden from New South Wales Golf Club. He was telling me how they have just re-done their greens with MacKenzie bentgrass which is from PGG Wrightson Turf.

Today the fescue surrounds were only single cut to speed up the process as golf was beginning at 9am from tees 1 and 10. Fairways were also cut up and down to speed things up. Greens were still double cut and rolled.

At 9am I had to head to the 10^th tee and I was lucky enough to rake the bunkers with the group which consisted of Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kutcher. All the players were still amazed at how firm and fast the greens were even after 10 mm of rain which fell last night. It was quite surreal walking the course with them and raking the bunkers they went in. While walking with them I met Brett Robinson from the AGCSA who was taking photos and enjoying the walk as much as I was.

After the match that finished on the 6^th hole, all of the ground staff headed to the opening ceremony.   I was pretty happy to hear the New Zealand national anthem. There was also an amazing aeroplane show which proved really entertaining for everyone. Following the opening ceremony I came back to the maintenance facilities and helped Hamish Buckingham (formerly from Otago Polytechnic and Wanaka Golf Club and now on the permanent staff at Royal Melbourne Golf Club) to set up the fescue and tees mowers ready for the morning.

So... now the tournament has officially opened! Bring it on!

Day 11 (Thursday - Day 1 of tournament): The Presidents Cup tournament commences today. In this morning’s meeting there was an emphasis on the fact that all of the hard work over the last couple of years has now come to fruition. Tees, fairways, surrounds and greens were double cut. Greens got an additional roll giving them a stimping rate of 14 feet plus. To put in perspective how fast that is, the greens at the St Andrews British Open last year were stimping at 10 feet however this was not allowed to get any quicker due to high winds.

For the first time since I've been here the bunker faces were broomed then raked leaving the bunker faces looking flawless. My task for the morning was to hand mow fescue on composite holes 12 and 18, double cutting them up and down on the same line again. One of the golf channel’s commentators said "these fescue surrounds are quicker than what most people putt on". I'm not sure if I agree but it is definitely an amazing surface.

Following that I went and helped Duncan (one of the permanent staff at Royal Melbourne) move the boards which prevent fescue wear while he was cutting the green. After that I came in to our catered lunch then off to watch some golf. Tomorrow is forecast to have 40 km winds so that will dictate what we do on the greens tomorrow.

Day 12 (Friday - Day 2 of tournament): Due to the weather forecast (high winds and chances of rain) the first tee time had been shifted back to 9:30am instead of 1pm. This put a bit more pressure on us in terms of course preparation. Also with the high wind forecast the greens did not get rolled and were only double cut to slow the speed of the greens down. Today they were running at 12.5 ft. Also, prior to the greens being cut they got hand watered.

Just before the hole was to be played there would be someone with a backpack blower to make sure there was no debris that had blown onto the green from the time it had been mowed to the time the first group was to come through. Fairways were cut straight up and down to speed the completion time of them. Tees and fescue were still double cut.

My morning job for the tournament is to hand mow the fescue surrounds. Double cut, up and down on the same line. Today I cut composite holes 12 and 8. Due to the early start time there was a bit of a crowd watching us all do our jobs. I was talking to James Jeffery (permanent staff at Royal Melbourne) and by the time he finished, which was 10 minutes before golfers were to tee off, there was a gallery of hundreds and people were standing on his vehicle to get a good view.

Following that task I set off to hand water a few of the East Course holes as those holes were starting to dry out. Now I am on call for the afternoon if anything was to go wrong out there. A sudden downpour of rain and the greens would need squeegeeing so I'm not veering too far away from the maintenance shed. Currently I'm in the assistant's office typing out this blog. It is weird to think that just a few hundred metres away the world’s best golfers are battling it out for their country. The atmosphere is amazing out there. You can hear the crowds roar from the other end of the course. Actually, that makes me want to go and watch some golf.... See ya.

Day 13 (Saturday): The first thing that I thought when I woke up was "I hope the bunkers are ok" as where I was staying there was a huge downpour of rain. When I arrived to the maintenance building it was a relief to find out that there was only 4 mm of rain overnight. Rain and thunderstorms were forecast throughout the day though.

Richard Forsyth (Course Superintendent) kicked off the morning meeting by reading a couple things out to the staff. One was a quote showing Phil Mickelson's praise for the course after playing it in the high winds yesterday (Friday).

My job for the morning was to hand mow fescue on composite holes 12 and 8. Look at the close-up photo of how tight the fescue surround is. It really is looking great. Greens got double cut and rolled and were reading 12.5 ft.

With the rain overnight and the continuous rain throughout the day, today’s match structure was different to the other days as there was a bit more preparation needed. In the morning there were the Foursomes matches, and in the afternoon there were the Fourball matches. With rain throughout the day the greens were a lot more receptive than the previous day’s play.

After the first lot of matches had gone through, the greens got rolled again ready for the second set of matches. They were going to get cut again but the pin got pulled on that due to the rain. There were staff members with each group ready to squeegee any greens that may have needed it in case of puddling too. All in all though the course handled the weather conditions superbly and there was also some excellent golf! Another great day at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Day 14 (Final Day of the Presidents Cup): Wow the last two weeks have gone fast! Today is the final day.  I was fortunate enough to have the job of cutting greens.  Considering the last time I cut greens was when I last worked here in February, I was quite relieved to know that I can still cut straight lines. The greens that were assigned to me were the putting green and also composite greens 9 and 16.  Greens were double cut and then rolled leaving them stimping at 13 ft and still really firm.  This was a bit slower as the greens still had some moisture in the profile from the previous day’s rain.  Greens were cut on the final day at 2.5 mm, using plywood board on the fescue areas where I would be turning the mower.  This avoids wear on the fescue.  Greens, tees, fairways and fescue surrounds were all again double cut.  To avoid having stripes on all the areas that are double cut, we went up and down on the same line again.  The irrigation system was also shut down to avoid any potential problems that could occur during play such as blowouts or leaks.   

Following cutting the greens I went out and helped the guys who were on bunkers to complete raking the bunkers. There was a lot of praise from the golfers about the course and how the greens were perfect for match play.  If it was stroke play it would have been a whole different story.  Over the last four days the golfers have experienced all sorts of different weather; from wind to rain and now today, the perfect conditions for golf.

The crowds were huge early.  People were pouring in the gate from around 8am and the grand stands were full from 10am.  It was quite a task to get back to the maintenance sheds to wash up -what was usually a 3 minute drive took about 15 minutes.

After the catered lunch which was at 11am I went out with Nick Fitzpatrick (permanent staff at Royal Melbourne) to go to the match between Bubba Watson and Ryu Ishikawa and rake any bunkers that  they went in.  Yet another amazing experience was being able to witness that standard of golf close-up.  Ryu won the match on the 16^th hole, 3 up with 2 to play.   

When the matches finished, the greens staff all went along to the closing ceremony and that was just phenomenal.  After the cup was presented to Fred Couples, the whole American team came down and gave the greens staff “knuckles” and also shook our hands giving us praise about the job we had done.

To close the tournament’s success all the groundstaff went back to the maintenance shed and all celebrated with a few drinks, pizzas and a great team vibe.  One of the staff members had his guitar out and we were all doing sing-a-longs!  What a great way to finish off the tournament.

Wrap up: What an amazing experience working at this tournament was.  The staff at Royal Melbourne were so welcoming and everyone knitted in perfectly.  While I was there I had the sense of “It’s like I never left”.   The Presidents Cup is easily the best tournament I have ever worked at and it is so great to see the course come to fruition after the work the staff had done over the last couple years.  I would just like to thank Richard Forsyth for the memorable opportunity,  PGG Wrightson Turf for allowing me the time off to attend The Presidents Cup 2011 and last but not least, Nick Fitzpatrick for the lifts every day.

 

Joe

 

Find out more about The Presidents Cup here or check out all of the photos from The Presidents Cup here