Golfers who play the South course at NCR Country Club in the next couple of weeks will get a little taste of what conditions might be like for the 2005 U.S. Senior Open.
Starting Monday, golf course superintendent Jim Campion will begin speeding up the greens and lengthening the rough grass around the ninth and 18th holes to create conditions the United States Golf Association has requested for next year's championship.
The greens, which were running at a quick 10 1/2 feet on the stimpmeter a few days ago, probably will get even faster when the putting surfaces have been rolled a few times.
Campion conducted a similar experiment at the No. 1 hole last year. "We started at 9 1/2 to 10 (feet) last year and got them to 12 1/2 in 10 days," he said, indicating that the grass was shaved no closer than the usual 1/8 to 7/64-inch height. "It's not necessarily height that dictates the speed."
The maintenance people learn interesting things when they practice getting the course into tournament condition.
For instance, the Triplex roller NCR used on the No. 1 green last year had to turn around in the rough after each pass, which matted down the grass surrounding the green. Now Campion is using a Salsco roller, which goes side-to-side on the green without having to enter the rough grass when it reverses directions.
NCR Country Club began preparing the renowned South course for the 2005 event four years ago when it installed a $2 million Toro irrigation system and pump station, re-seeded and re-designed 30 acres of fairways, renovated the bunker complexes and remodeled its 10-acre practice facility. In the last four years, the course has undergone a significant cosmetic change: 600 trees were cut down and 24 acres of honeysuckle and undergrowth was removed.
All of the tee complexes were rebuilt and re-positioned last fall, resulting in an extra 200 yards of length. The course that measured 6,849 yards from its championship tees now is at 7,055. Half the holes were lengthened by at least 10 yards, and five are longer by 20 yards or more. An extra tee was added at No. 14. "None of the tees existed in the position they're in now," Campion said.
Steve Lambert, director of golf at NCR Country Club, thinks the USGA will play the course from the back tees for the Senior Open. That means the old pros will play a course that is more than 1,000 yards longer than it was in 1969 when the scorecard listed 6,824 yards as the length for the PGA Championship.
The USGA is planning to make one significant change in the order the holes will be played. The ninth and 18th holes will be switched because USGA officials feel No. 9 makes a better finishing hole because of its location. On the current scorecard, No. 18 is listed as the eighth most difficult hole and No. 9 is 11th.
The change won't be difficult because the No. 8 and No. 17 greens are beside each other and the players will merely criss-cross to the next tee.
Lambert, Campion and other NCR Country Club officials will join committee chairmen in attending the 2004 U.S. Senior Open next week at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Campion, who already attended the 2002 championship in Baltimore and the 2003 event in Toledo, said he'll shadow Bellerive superintendent Tony Mancuso while developing a plan for NCR's daily tournament preparation.
Source: Dayton Daily News
