It's early, and the utility carts, mowers and four-wheelers tear out of the Brickyard Crossing maintenance facility, shattering the calm of a quiet, hazy morning.
Jeff Stuart, the golf course superintendent, and his 26-member grounds crew begin the busiest part of their day at 6 a.m.
They must work quickly but cautiously. They have an hour and a half before the day's first golfers arrive, and they must maintain the course's reputation of pristine fairways and flawless greens.
By 6:20 a.m., the practice range and adjacent first tee teem with activity. Tim O'Brien rides back and forth along the practice tees on a machine that power-blows the previous day's divots off the course.
Two other men arrive on utility carts to rake the sand in the practice bunkers.
Nearby, Antonio Uribe uses a mower-roller -- specially designed for golf courses -- to mow the first hole's tee box.
"I like the fresh air and being outdoors," Uribe says. "It's just fresh and quiet this time of day before all the golfers and the heat arrive."
To the untrained eye, the area doesn't need cut. Though the tee boxes and greens resemble carpet, Stuart and his crew take no chances, mowing the course daily.
Karl Ewoldt performs another daily chore, carefully moving the tee and hole locations to decrease wear on the most heavily traveled portions of the course. Ewoldt's actions must be as precise as possible to keep the distance constant from tee to green.
By 6:45 a.m., Ewoldt reaches the fourth green.
With the Indianapolis Motor Speedway stands forming a backdrop in the distance, Ewoldt uses a tool called a cup cutter to dig into the green and form a new hole. He then uses the piece of sod he just removed to fill the previous day's hole.
Within weeks, nobody can tell where the holes used to be because of the seamless process, Ewoldt says.
In the distance, two four-wheelers approach with a roar.
Staffer Troy Zufall and Stuart, the superintendent, use the four-wheelers to pull a yellow rope long enough to span the width of any of the course's fairways. The two men speed along the edges of every fairway, dragging the rope behind them. As it slides across the grass, the morning dew sprays into the air.
Back at the first tee, golfers begin to arrive as 7:30 a.m. nears.
One of the first groups includes Stacy Shelly, a sales representative and Carmel resident. He and a co-worker chose a morning round of golf at Brickyard Crossing to conduct business with some out-of-town clients.
Though Shelly has been to the course only once before, its fast greens and beautiful surroundings vividly stick in his mind.
"I heard there might be some NASCAR testing out on the track today," Shelly says. "This place is perfect when you get some engine rumblings in the background."
Source: Indianapolis Star