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Editor's Note: This exclusive editorial content is made possible through a partnership with the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association. The following dispatch is from Sunday, June 8.
Right now I’ve just had a shower and lay down on the bed. It feels like the first time I’ve drawn breath all day. I’m watching LeBron James knock down a couple of shots late in the third quarter against the Spurs. I doubt I will see many more though. I’m ready for sleep.
It’s also the first time I’ve had a chance today to stop and think about what we’re about to do here with the back-to-back Opens. Man, it’s a rush. There’s just no time during the day. We’re so busy the time just flies by.
I couldn’t be happier with the position we’re in. We are set up really well for what’s ahead, barring any weather catastrophes of course. The greens are right where we want them, although we’re having to do a double-cut on a couple in the evening to get them caught up with the rest that are rolling 12 to 12.5.
They are so healthy right now. It’s amazing. This spring has been great for bentgrass in the Sandhills. The feedback from players has been really positive. And it’s been really cool the last few days to see a group of men out on the course practicing followed by group of women and so on. We’ll be seeing more of that and I think it’s something special. Things are really beginning to build.
Although I did have a few nervous moments this afternoon when a storm rolled in while we were having our volunteer dinner. The USGA weather guy was spot on. He said to expect the rain at 4pm and that’s exactly when it started. Some reports said there was a good chance we’d get half an inch or so but in the end it was only 5/100ths. We dodged a bullet.
It’s been a great day for all our volunteers getting their photos taken with the men’s and women’s trophies. Mike Davis and Dan Burton from the USGA spoke to everyone and you can really feel the excitement from everybody. One of the hardest working guys so far has been our head mechanic Andy Caddell.
Initially the USGA felt the collars and surrounds were so healthy that all the players would just want to chip onto the greens. So we lowered the cut and Andy did such a good job with that, that now they’re saying all the players will do is putt. So we’re still tweaking the heights of cut. But Andy’s got it down. He was here for the Opens in ’99 and ’05 and has been at Pinehurst for 42 years – seriously! Even so, I suspect he might be feeling a butterfly or two. The next two weeks are pretty huge. I know I’m feeling some – butterflies that is - but what a cool feeling to have.
Trent Bouts assisted in the creation of this article.
