A quick overview of the highlights:
1) Growth regulators on fairways, and greens are applied before hand to limit growth. This is a 3 week application interval so the timing needs to be right from the first application of the season, so to not interrupt other tournament events such as the Ladies' Invitational, or the Tin Cup Tournament. 2) Irrigation of fairway, and roughs is relatively heavy the 4 days prior to play to limit the need for hand watering during tournament play, due to limited hours. This starts right after the Ladies' Invitational.
3) Wetting agents, and soil conditioners are applied 1 week prior to assure that the water that is applied penetrates deeply, assuring that the surfaces dry out during the tournaments. In the case of the Mens' Invitational that is spreading gypsum, and acid injected through the irrigation system. Fairways, and heavy traffic areas are aerified the week before to assist with water penetration, and alleviate compaction.
4) Fertilizer applications are limited to achieve green speeds, but need to have ingredients that provide health and color to stand up to the foot traffic of play, and the equipment traffic of rollers and mowers.
5) Scheduling of people is critical so that every job is done, and there is no delay to the start of the tournament. For example. 34 acres of fairways takes about 5 hours to mow. In the morning we have 3.5 hours which means that we need another 1.5 to 2 hours somewhere else in the day to complete the task. Tournament play is 9am until 5:30pm (if play finishes on time).
6) Topdressing, verticutting, and spiking greens. This is a regular practice that is critical to good ball roll. It can not be stopped all together without sacrificing the quality of the course for other events, so timing is everything. All these practices are dependent upon the amount of growth occuring, so this shedule is the most variable. Cool weather + growth regulators = little sand or verticutting, and increased spiking and rolling. This is best left as a day or 2 out decision. I think of this every day. Groomers or verticutters, topdressing, water interval, fertility and growth regulator schedule are all considered together. True art, and very little science in my opinion.
The other tasks that will happen each day of the tournament.
Mowing. Tees / Greens / Fairways / Approaches / Perimeter Rough / Intermediate cut.
Course Set Up. 3 cup cutters and greens care (think un-repaired ball marks)/ 3 tee set up and prep.
Irrigation. Hand water morning catch up, and afternoon cool down.
So, it will all work out fine logistically, however when you deal with 40 people doing split shifts, with equipment that has to operate without breakdown, and with a high degree of precision, then throw in mother nature (think frost), it can be a night mare if you don't have your stuff together. A small change in plan or the overall schedule is a BIG deal, because everything works in concert.
I have a great crew, adequate equipment, and I love the need for efficiency that goes into these events. It is thrilling to have everyone planned out, trained, and all your fertilizer, water, and chemical applications go off as good as they can. It is the highlight of my job, and I thrive on these out of the norm days. My most memorable experience in tournament prep was scheduling the daily work at the Charles Schwab Cup the first year it was at Sonoma. This was the first time that the Sonoma staff had done anything like that, however for me, my experience planning events at Lahontan made it relatively easy. I brought in a few key Lahontan staff members to train the Sonoma staff, and everyone did a great job. One of those key people was Nelson Trejo, who remains to this day as the Shop Manager at Sonoma. An indispensable part of that operation, as there is only one Nelson.
Kevin
