Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer at
The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Now I know what most of you are thinking, that I went to Florida and was on a
mini vacation. This was not the case at all. After stepping off the
plane on Saturday around noon to rainy weather, I was picked up by a shuttle
driver sent by the course. I was driven to University of North Florida
dorms where we were staying for the week. From here I was directed to put on my
rain gear. I knew this was bad news. Other volunteers and I were
sent to work right away to clean up the course. TPC Sawgrass had received
over 10 inches of rain in less than 48 hours with winds gusting over 50-60 mph.
With this type of weather and the biggest tournament of the year only 5
days away, Clay Brezeale (Superintendent) was nervous. Sunday and Monday
were no breeze either. We were on the course from sunup to sundown backpack
blowing, picking up debris, and essentially rebuilding the sand traps. We
walked from the tee all the way to the green blowing pine needles, pine cones,
pine branches, etc…
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| To put things into perspective, #1 took over 3 hours to finish cleaning up debris. |
Needless to say, by Wednesday everybody's feet and backs hurt and
were in need of a nap. With golfers playing practice rounds and the
course getting into shape, we were sent home during the day to rest.
Thursday was the first real day of tournament rounds so we had to be
perfect. The job I was assigned was mowing the front 9 tee boxes.
Mowing number 1 tee box early in the morning surrounded by grandstands
(luckily there were no spectators) is a memory I will never forget.
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| Mowing in the dark is very challenging. Luckily the mowers had lights. |
The greatest and most memorable moment of the week and possibly of
my career came Saturday night. Once again, the weather was threatening as
thunderstorms were in the vicinity. To speed things along in the evening
shift, the guys mowing tees were sent to mow the practice greens. After
mowing those greens, because of the threat of weather, we were told we would be
sent to the back nine to help finish the greens on the course. After
about 15 minutes of confusion, the assistant superintendent came up to us and
said, "Guess what green you are going to mow?" Dumbfoundedly,
my response was "um, 17?" That's right, I mowed number 17, the
island green on Saturday night. This is by far the biggest highlight of
my career.
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| Chris mowing at 17 in 2011. |
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| Corey mowing at 17 in 2013 |
Chris and I have now both
mowed the 17th green at TPC Sawgrass.
The tournament ended on
Sunday afternoon with an amazing finish as Sergio choked and Tiger went on to
win. Monday morning rolled around and we were sent back to the course for
one last surprise. We were all given the chance to hit two golf balls at
the 17th green.
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| Unfortunately pulled a Sergio and hit both of mine in the water. Its a scary shot for sure. |
In total there were 70 volunteers, 70 staff members from TPC, and
30 temporary workers. Some volunteers came from all over the world…3 from South Africa, 2 from South America, 2 from England.
Not only did I get golf course/tournament experience, I was able to
network with people across the world!
This was such a unique experience. Usually when going to a
golf course for a tournament, it is in fantastic shape and there isn't a whole
lot to do. Well this wasn't the case. We arrived to a disaster and
had to pick up the pieces. I will never forget the week I spent at Sawgrass.
If you have any other questions or comments about the tournament,
please don't hesitate to ask me, I have plenty of stories. For now, its
back to the Crest and preparations for the Member/Member!
Assistant Superintendent
RiverCrest Golf Club
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