Groundskeepers Work Overtime to Get Courses Ready for PCCC
By: Nathan Vickers
Updated: August 6, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Today is the start of the Price Cutter Charity Championship Golf Tournament, with qualifying rounds. The first round of actual competition is Thursday.
You'll see some people playing today that may go on to be major PGA stars in the future.
KOLR10's Nathan Vickers is live from Millwood Golf Course on what looks like a beautiful day to play a few rounds.
"Good morning Rob and Shannon. I'm at Millwood, where the opening qualifying rounds of the tournament are about to start. It's part of the Web.com Pro-Am Tour, and the 25 top finishers at the end of the tour.
But it's not all fun and games, there are dozens of local charities that benefit from the program. We'll hear from several charities that benefit from the tournament.
But there are also a lot of behind the scenes things that go on to make this tournament a success. Kirby Joy, the superintendent of the Millwood course joins us this morning. Kirby, what goes into preparing for something like this?"
"Well, it actually starts on Tuesday. I have to go out and pick the pin placements Tuesday or Wednesday. And then make sure the rest of the hole placements for the week are set away from it so they have good hole sets for today."
Nathan: "You also have to mow the greens every days. You have this beautiful, soft grass. How long is this grass?"
"That's right at 115 or so, which is just below 1/8th (inch), because of the weather this year. I would normally go a little bit lower than that. Because of the stress and the heat this year, I didn't take them down quite as tight."
Nathan: "The grass is like a carpet. How do you make that happen?"
"Well, it's the grass itself. It's a creeping bentgrass which is a hybrid grass developed to be mown short and maintained at that height."
Nathan: "You're a busy guy this week. What time do you have to get out and start this?"
"On a day like today, we have people getting here as early as 5 in the morning. We hand rake all the bunkers for an event like this, so they have to get started. We try to get as much mowed up ahead as we can so the golf course is in as good a shape as it can be. As soon as we can see, we're out there."
Nathan: "Is there a little more pressure for something like this?"
"I wouldn't say pressure. This is a one-day qualifier. Ken Smith at Highland Springs (host course for the PCCC), he has the pressure. He's the one who really has to do the hard work. And the stuff he does over there for an event that size, is amazing."
The Price Cutter Charity Championship also benefits dozens of charities in the Ozarks. When you buy a ticket to this event or concessions while you're here, a portion of the proceeds end up helping these charities. To see a complete list, see http://www.pricecuttercc.org/charities.php
You'll see some people playing today that may go on to be major PGA stars in the future.
KOLR10's Nathan Vickers is live from Millwood Golf Course on what looks like a beautiful day to play a few rounds.
"Good morning Rob and Shannon. I'm at Millwood, where the opening qualifying rounds of the tournament are about to start. It's part of the Web.com Pro-Am Tour, and the 25 top finishers at the end of the tour.
But it's not all fun and games, there are dozens of local charities that benefit from the program. We'll hear from several charities that benefit from the tournament.
But there are also a lot of behind the scenes things that go on to make this tournament a success. Kirby Joy, the superintendent of the Millwood course joins us this morning. Kirby, what goes into preparing for something like this?"
"Well, it actually starts on Tuesday. I have to go out and pick the pin placements Tuesday or Wednesday. And then make sure the rest of the hole placements for the week are set away from it so they have good hole sets for today."
Nathan: "You also have to mow the greens every days. You have this beautiful, soft grass. How long is this grass?"
"That's right at 115 or so, which is just below 1/8th (inch), because of the weather this year. I would normally go a little bit lower than that. Because of the stress and the heat this year, I didn't take them down quite as tight."
Nathan: "The grass is like a carpet. How do you make that happen?"
"Well, it's the grass itself. It's a creeping bentgrass which is a hybrid grass developed to be mown short and maintained at that height."
Nathan: "You're a busy guy this week. What time do you have to get out and start this?"
"On a day like today, we have people getting here as early as 5 in the morning. We hand rake all the bunkers for an event like this, so they have to get started. We try to get as much mowed up ahead as we can so the golf course is in as good a shape as it can be. As soon as we can see, we're out there."
Nathan: "Is there a little more pressure for something like this?"
"I wouldn't say pressure. This is a one-day qualifier. Ken Smith at Highland Springs (host course for the PCCC), he has the pressure. He's the one who really has to do the hard work. And the stuff he does over there for an event that size, is amazing."
The Price Cutter Charity Championship also benefits dozens of charities in the Ozarks. When you buy a ticket to this event or concessions while you're here, a portion of the proceeds end up helping these charities. To see a complete list, see http://www.pricecuttercc.org/charities.php
