Transcript Document

The Preparation and Standards for
Professional Tour Championship Events
James Graham Prusa
ASIAN GOLF COURSE
SUPERINTENDENTS SUMMIT
J G Prusa
Essence of the need for tour standards:
“The history of most golf clubs is that a
committee is appointed, they make
mistakes, and just as they are beginning to
learn by these mistakes they resign office
and are replaced by others who make still
greater mistakes, and so it goes on.”
Dr. Alister MacKenzie, circa 1929
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Who gave the modern momentum to
establishing tour standards?
My friend Mike Bodney, former PGA Tour Championship
Vice President said it was Dean Beman who shaped golf’s
momentum inside the ropes:
“ ‘Mike, it’s my job to make as many millionaires as
we can out here. That’s what we do here. We
work for the players,’ ” Bodney said. “That’s
something that’s always stuck with me. That was
his whole motivation. He cared enough about the
professional game to make sure it all happened.”
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• The purpose of the PGA TOUR Conditioning
Guidelines is to assist the Golf Course
Superintendent and the tournament
organization in achieving the goal of providing
a golf course that fairly tests the Players’ skill
and produces fair and consistent playing
conditions in all areas.
• The role of the CHAMPIONSHIP AGRONOMIST
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Just think about it…
What was it like before there
were standards to guide us?
But let’s first learn where we in
the game came from …
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1452 Earliest known reference to golf is made when King James II of
Scotland bans the playing of the game (along with football, or soccer)
because it is keeping his subjects from their archery practice.
The first-recorded sale of a golf ball takes place.
1471 King James III of Scotland reaffirms the ban on golf.
1491 King James IV of Scotland reaffirms the ban on golf.
1502 Ban on golf is repealed by King James IV of Scotland, who takes
up the game himself.
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1552
First known reference to golf in St. Andrews, Scotland.
1553
The Archbishop of St. Andrews issues a decree giving
the local populace the right to play golf on the links at
St. Andrews. PUBLIC GOLF’S ORIGINS.
1567
Mary Queen of Scots (who was actually French, and
the daughter of James IV) is criticized for playing golf
just a day or two after the murder of her husband.
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1682
First international golf tournament on record is
played at Leith, Scotland. Representing Scotland: the
Duke of York (James II) and a George Patterson.
Representing England: a couple guys whose names
nobody bothered to write down. The Scots win.
Andrew Dickson carries the clubs of the Duke of
York, making him the first-known caddie.
1743
For the first time on record, golf equipment is
shipped from Scotland to the American Colonies.
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1810
First known women's tournament held at Musselburgh, Scotland.
1819
Earliest known reference to a professional tournament. It's an event played, of
course, at St. Andrews.
1820
Old Tom Morris born this year.
1829
The first-known hole-cutter - the tool for cutting holes into the green - is built at
the Musselburgh links (now a 9-hole municipal on the Levenhall links at the
Edinburgh outskirts). It cuts holes to a diameter of 4.25 inches, which will
eventually be adopted as the worldwide standard.
ASIA: Royal Calcutta Golf Club is founded in India. It is today the oldest surviving
course outside of the British Isles. The club’s existence had come about in the year
1829 at Dum Dum a northeastern suburb of Calcutta and was christened as the
Dum Dum Golf Club.
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1832
Mowers made specifically for trimming golf course grass are
manufactured, but many courses still use sheep to keep the grass
from getting high.
1851
Young Tom Morris born this Year.
1864
Prize money - six pounds - is first awarded to the winner of the
British Open.
1873
Royal Montreal is the first golf club formed in Canada, and in the
present is the oldest continuously operating golf club in North
America. 45 years after established in Asia!
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1895 10 professional golfers and one amateur played in the first U.S. Open in
Newport, R.I.
1899 the Western Open. But this was not "tour" golf. The events lacked
continuity.
1904 the Scottish Greenkeepers Association.
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1911 John McDermott became the first American-born player to win the
U.S. Open, interest in the game blossomed.
1911 the PGA of Australia is formed -- the second oldest PGA in the world.
Then in 2007 the PGA of Australia and the PGA Tour of Australasia
amalgamated into “Professional Golfers Association of Australia Limited”.
1913 when Englishmen Harry Vardon and Ted Ray came to the United
States to play an exhibition tour and compete in the U.S. Open. When 20year-old amateur Francis Ouimet defeated the pair in a playoff for the
Open at Brookline, Mass., golf became front-page news and a game for
everyone.
1920s, a series of tournaments was held on the West Coast, in Texas and
Florida. These events were held in the winter, and the golfers played their
way east and up to Pinehurst, N.C., in the spring. By the middle of the
decade, the tour was doing relatively well -- offering $77,000 in total prize
money.
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September 13, 1926 Birth of GCSAA as ‘NAGA’.
1932 the first "playing pros" organization was formed in 1932. Two years
earlier, Bob Harlow had been named manager of the PGA Tournament
Bureau. The tour became more structured following World War II and
exploded in the late 1950s and early '60s. When Arnold Palmer, televised
golf and President Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived on the scene in the late
1950s, the eyes of the world were on golf. This exposure inspired millions
to try the game.
1968 most golf historians would trace the "formal" beginning of the PGA
TOUR to late 1968, when the "Tournament Players Division" split from the
PGA of America and hired Joseph C. Dey as its first commissioner. That
organization became the modern-day PGA TOUR. Joe Dey served from
early 1969 through Feb. 28, 1974.
March 1, 1974 Deane Beman's administration, the value of tournament
purses escalated at an unprecedented rate: PGA TOUR assets grew from
$730,000 in 1974 to more than $200 million, and total revenues increased
from $3.9 million to $229 million in 1993.
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1983 GCSAA and the USGA embarked on the joint turfgrass research program and
later expanded their cooperation to include environmental impact research. The
first matching grants to support local area research were provided through the
Chapter Cooperative Research Program in 1995.
1984 ‘Golf 84’ Conference was held at Cambridge University. SIGGA had 4 speakers
in Chris Kennedy, Jim Kidd, Alan McDougall and Walter Woods. There were 4
speakers from the USA, Stan Zontec (USGA), Bruce Williams (GCSAA), Dr. Jim
Watson (Toro) and Jim Prusa (GCSAA). This conference united the various groups in
the UK behind the current BIGGA
1994. Tim Finchem, previously the TOUR's Deputy Commissioner and
Chief Operating Officer, became the TOUR's third Commissioner on June
1, 1994. In 1995, Finchem undertook a restructuring program designed
to strengthen the PGA TOUR's core business, which is its competitions;
expand the TOUR's international scope and prepare it to enter the 21st
century. In 1996, Finchem helped spearhead formation of the
International Federation of PGA Tours, as golf's five world governing
bodies laid the groundwork for taking competition into the next
millennium.
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In 1997, the Federation announced the World Golf Championships, which
made their debut in 1999 with three events-the Accenture Match Play
Championship, NEC Invitational and American Express Championship. The
World Cup joined this group in 2000.
Since 1938, PGA TOUR events have donated more than $800 million to
charity, making a mark in the communities in which the TOUR plays
through its charity campaign, "Giving Back...The Heart of the PGA TOUR."
The competitive scope of the PGA TOUR also is much broader today. The
Champions Tour, formerly called the Senior PGA Tour, has been labeled
the most successful senior sports venture in history. An interactive
element with fans and television viewers has brought new exposure to
the Tour. Since starting out with just two cosponsored events and
$250,000 in prize money in 1980, the Champions Tour has grown to more
than 30 events. And the Charles Schwab Cup will be competed for the
fourth time in 2004.
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The Nationwide Tour, under that sponsorship umbrella for the first time in 2003, has
been recognized as a virtual extension of the PGA TOUR with its excellent level of
play that saw 55 percent of its alumni making up the 2003 PGA TOUR. The
Nationwide Tour provides outstanding golf competition in 30 communities while
raising significant charity dollars. Among the former players on this TOUR who have
gone on to star on the PGA TOUR are David Duval, Tom Lehman, Jeff Maggert, Stuart
Appleby, Stewart Cink, David Toms, 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk and 2003 PGA
Champion Shaun Micheel.
Also continuing to grow is the Tournament Players Club Network. When the PGA
TOUR opened the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in 1980, it introduced the era
of stadium golf and record-breaking attendance. Owned and/or operated by the
TOUR, these courses are the only major-league sports venues owned by the players
themselves.
January 2004, the tournament playing professionals of Asia formed a new player
representative body named the Asian Tour to ensure control over their careers and
the development of professional tournament golf in Asia. 2004 SEASON The Asian
Tour staged a total of 22 tournaments offering prize money of US$12.3 million in its
inaugural season as a new organisation. Vietnam was added to the growing list of
countries to stage a professional golf tournament
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Before there were standards…
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Play for sport or
just
punishment?
That is the
question…
NO PLACE FOR
UNPROVEN
INNOVATIONS!
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Harding Park Golf Course
San Francisco, Ca
INNOVATION:
United States Navy
“RED DOG PRUSA”
TOP SECRET WEAPON
J. Prusa
© 2006 J.G. Prusa
“I have a photograph from the ’83 US Open at Oakmont of
Mr. Fuhrer (I believe he was club chairman) standing
behind the 8th green, waiting for me and Billy Buchanan to
finish playing the hole on Friday prior. Fuhrer had heard
that the USGA was going to do a sinful thing and the one
thing probably never done in the US Open’s 82 previous
years…CUT the rough!!
Billy left the 8th green with a cut of his own -- less hair
than a ‘crew cut.’ Oakmont wanted none of that. Players
be damned. Even with cut rough and rain, unlike
Congressional this year, Oakmont held its own. The
relationship with Oakmont was severely strained!”
-- Ron Read, USGA Regional Director, Western USA
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Why Standards?
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JAMES HERBERT ARTHUR (1920-2004)
1972 Appointed R&A Agronomist
1997 – Practical Greenkeeping
ALLAN MAC CURACH, CGCS
First in his field to earn the title of
Certified Golf Course Superintendent
(CGCS). Helped Pete Dye to build
Sawgrass. First agronomist on the PGA
Tour – Per Dean Beman!
Jon Scott
Cal Roth
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The Standards…
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Tools to help re-enforce the standards…
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Mowing…
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FAIRWAYS…
AVOID BURNING IN !
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“It is essential that a greenkeeper should grasp the fundamental principles [of
golf], and above all realize that golf is a game and that it is played for fun.”
Dr. Alister MacKenzie
Excellent…
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Almost right…
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Harding Park – excellent
diagonal stripping…
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TEES…
BURNING IN IS OK
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A pitch for hand tee mowing…
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EQUITY
18 – 30 inch step cutting
with ‘taper cut’
Start patterns early (i.e. US Open)
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PRODUCING TOURNAMENT
GREENS (AND CAUTION)…
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PRODUCING TOURNAMENT
GREENS (AND CAUTION)…
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NO BURNING IN !!
MARCELLING
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MARCELLING
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Ball roll – not speed!
Technical support!
Mr. Li of
China,
Jacobsen
Technical
Manager
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GROOMING: Light
vertical mowing or
brushing.
Decumbent growth
ROLLING:
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Relationships know no cultural limitations…
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Hole locations are a very
critical aspect of
championship preparation
for Rules Officials – the
Superintendent and
Agronomist must work to
prepare and preserve
them !
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“A golf course that consisted entirely of one
shade of green would be merely ugly.
There is great charm and beauty in the
varying shades of colour of a golf course.”
Dr. Alister MacKenzie
J G Prusa
BUNKERS – not ‘Traps’
•
•
•
•
•
Fair,
Firm,
Smooth !
Approved rakes outside bunkers
Uniform SETTLED floor of 4-5 inches. 2 inches on faces
Hand Raking – adequate personnel
Use spring steel ‘leaf rakes’ – approval of Agronomist
Conduct a SEMINAR to train all personnel in advance
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Water
When its too wet…
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Play Restrictions…
•
•
•
Gradual play reduction
Maximum 150 rounds per day Advance Week
Advance week – minimum Thursday – Sunday
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GENERAL FACTORS:
• For return events, review previous year’s notes and
REPORTS. Pay attention to the recommendations and
requests of Rules Officials and Agronomist
• Have adequate equipment and personnel – there are
checklists of equipment
• Designate a coordinator and / or facilitator between
maintenance and tournament officials – not the
Superintendent
• 5 -6 foot wide walkway paths at fairway or
intermediate (step cut) rough height. Requires
thought
• Fill divots BEFORE and DURING event – use a 50-50%
mixture of sand and loam / peat. NOT 100% SAND!!
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GENERAL FACTORS:
• Have at least 8 roller base squeegees on hand and a
minimum of 4 portable water pumps in good order –
RAIN!
• Use “Hole-in-White” applicator and enough paint to
paint all 18 cups every day.
• Make sure you coordinate maintenance routes for ALL
VEHICLES between the superintendent and Rules
Official! Critical in wet conditions and with television.
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COURSE MARKING:
• Will be done during ADVANCE WEEK by the Advance
Rules Official
• I THINK THAT GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS NEED
TO BECOME STUDENTS OF THE RULES!
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COURSE MARKING:
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IN CONCLUSION,
never forget …
結論 – 決して忘れないこと・・・
…that it is the Golf Course Superintendent
…with the hole
placement!
カップの大きさもキーパー次第！
who controls GOLF …
© 2004 J.G. Prusa
©
© 2004
2006 J.G.
J.G. Prusa
Prusa
ゴルフをコントロールしているのはゴルフコースのキーパーであることを・・・