Inside the Cut

The 16th hole on the Stadium Course presents atypical agronomic and management challenges beginning when construction of the three-story coliseum and adjacent grandstands commences in early October.

 

“Tables, chairs, hospitality, floors,” director of golf course maintenance operations Blake Meentemeyer says. “It’s just non-stop, contractor after contractor.”

 

Veteran employees often ignore the daily shuffling around them, completing tasks such as mowing, spraying, raking and manicuring amid the work being performed by contractors. Once Waste Management Phoenix Open week begins, the scene becomes chaotic as 20,000 fans transform the hole into a fraternity party. Workers and volunteers access the 5,897-square foot green, 19,640 square feet of teeing space and 16,543 square feet of approach/surrounds via a pair of tunnels.

 

The trio of overseeded surfaces are maintained using John Deere walk mowers: the 180 E-Cut Hybrid on greens, 220 E-Cut Hybrid on approaches/surrounds and 260SL PrecisionCut on tees. The model numbers represent the width of cut, meaning green passes are 18 inches apart, approach/surround passes 22 inches and tee passes 26 inches. Mowing at three different widths creates stripes on verdant turf that dazzle tournament spectators and television viewers. “The striping we get using those mowers is consistent from hole to hole,” equipment manager Randy Waymire says.

 

Thousands of spectators awaiting the start of the play greet the crew and volunteers before Waste Management Phoenix Open weekend rounds. Later weekend tee times mean a later start for the crew and volunteers, thus the convergence of maintenance and mayhem on No. 16. It might be the most scrutinized mow in professional sports.

 

“I got to experience some of it last year,” says Waymire, who took the lead equipment position at TPC Scottsdale in 2017 after 15 years with Stotz Equipment, a John Deere dealer serving eight western states. “We are out there mowing and the crowd is already in seats. You have two mowers going, with one mowing one side and one mowing the other side. You just don’t take any chances there.”

 

Tournament week glamour is produced through advance grit. The process of burning stripes begins two weeks before the event commences, with workers using string to guide mowers, Meentemeyer says. Cold temperatures yielding frost limited the volume of mowing on the 16th hole as the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open approached. Frost is just one winter weather challenge on the hole. The hole plays west to east and the massive grandstand creates significant shade issues on the right side of the tee boxes.

 

“You love it when everything goes up,” assistant superintendent Bryan Pierce says. “But there are challenges. We’re in a coliseum. We’re not in an ideal environment for growing grass. Air movement is limited. Basically, a quarter of the tee doesn’t see one lick of sunlight. It sees indirect sunlight, but no direct sunlight. When we have frost, the whole right side of the tee complex can be frozen all day.”

 

Giant tournament crowds also bring logistical challenges. A police escort transports the crew and volunteers to the course before evening maintenance shifts, so the five-minute ride from the maintenance facility to the 16th hole can take as long as an hour during tournament week. Some workers revel in the scene; others request to work elsewhere on the Stadium Course.

 

When the tournament ends, heavily traveled spots, including the turf surrounding the 16th hole, resemble the aftermath of a severe weather event, Pierce says. By summer, the hole returns to its normal state: an unassuming par 3 stretching from 98 to 163 yards.

 

“It’s not overly complicated,” Meentemeyer says. “There’s some extensive bunkering protecting the green, but it’s a pretty easy hole if you think about it. The grandstands make this hole. It’s funny because our guests in the summer will give us a negative response in surveys saying we didn’t inform them that the stands and seating weren’t going to be up. They want it up year-round.”