Arriving back at the course at 3.30am and after having some breakfast, we were assigned our first jobs. Andy and I were in the bunkers first up which gave us a bit more of a chance to have a look around the course. Not long after that shift ended it poured down, with the course getting a couple of inches of rain on top of the 3.5 inches that had already been recorded the previous Friday. The course drained pretty well with the only problem area around the 11th green and its greenside bunker which was completely inundated and had to be rebuilt before the Tuesday practice round. The rain then came again on Thursday which forced the suspension of play midway through the opening round. The rain obviously brought some issues with it, not only for the golf course staff but for the public. Pedestrian areas quickly became boggy and needed to be either mulched or a bed of straw put down to allow easier access for the fans. I’m glad I wasn’t around for the clean up!
Brett Hawkey was one of five Australians who were part of a 120-strong course volunteer contingent at the recent 2013 US Open at Merion Golf Club
Tournament time
Brett Hawkey with eight-time major champion Tom Watson
Merion’s bentgrass greens were cut at 2mm and stimped around 13.5 for the tournament
Australian Turfgrass Management
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contingent of 10 internationals that formed part of an overall volunteer corps of 120 which supplemented Merion’s full-time crew of 45. The first staff meeting on the Sunday after arriving at Merion was originally to be held in the maintenance facility, but it had to be relocated due to heightened security around the entire site. We ended up meeting on a fairway on the West course while the sheds had sniffer dogs sweep for anything untoward, a common sight throughout the week. After a short welcome and collecting our credentials and supplies for the week, Merion’s director of course operations Matt Shaffer and East course superintendent Aaron McCurdy gave us some insight into the week ahead before we jumped into a bus and headed to the East course. As well as preparing the East course, a couple of back up holes were also to be groomed on the West course in case of inclement weather. The West course was also utilised as a practice facility. Walking onto the 18th fairway of the East course first and seeing the Ben Hogan plaque within a matter of minutes, you quickly became aware of the history of this golf course and how good it actually is. It was certainly very exciting walking around the place with no one else on it. After a couple of hours taking in some of the course’s famous back nine holes, we were back on the bus heading to our accommodation which was located about 20 minutes away and setting the alarm for a 2.30 Monday morning wake up.
The tournament was upon us quickly and with a little promotion I was on a John Deere 7500 Hybrid mower cutting fairways with nine others morning and night. We altered cuts each time and would be finished in just over an hour most times. It was great fun but we had to be on our toes as a very keen intern was keeping us in line! It was quite a sight when we were all out working. The whole course was a hive of activity with a lot of the crew having to walk to their jobs as vehicle use was kept to a minimum. A typical day during the tournament would see us at the sheds by 3.30am for breakfast and out on the course ready to start by 4.30am. All morning jobs were completed by 7am, lunch was served at 10am and dinner at 4.30pm. Staff would then return at 8pm and work through until 10pm – there was more time for sleep during the day than at night!
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