Years Ago, Today

2022 RBC Canadian Open staff and volunteers after completing their final shift on Sunday.

that the team was confident they could pull it off. Everything was ready for a successful 2020 Open but the world was affected by the pandemic, and it was another two years of patiently waiting until we got our chance. Despite the uncertainty, those two years gave the team ample time to fine tune all processes and allowed the management team and equipment manager time to work out all the details that would lead to a Canadian Open for the history books.

The logistic challenges faced by St. George’s are endless: 18 holes surrounded by residential development with a golf course and clubhouse separated by an extremely busy road; the two-year gap in the Canadian Open saw exponential growth in popularity for the game of golf and ultimately led to a very eager fan base yearning for a chance to watch the best in the world on home soil; and a larger pool of financial supporters for the tournament in a number of new partners looking to align themselves with Golf Canada in an exploding market for golf.

This was shaping up to be the biggest Canadian Open yet! The buildout began in November of 2021. When asked about the logistics, Ian said “the complete setup was tight, there was no space for contractors to set up, and all our staff parking and sand storage areas were taken over by contractors to take deliveries for setup and tear The golf course has undergone major changes since down. We had to adjust our maintenance activities around the last time the tournament had been played at their use of our limited space.” The lack of staging areas meant St. George’s in 2010, and so it was on Ian to work that grandstands were built one at a time as there was limited with the Tour to help make decisions that would space for material. The increase make the golf course fair yet challenging. in popularity meant that as the tournament grew nearer, more and more structures were added to the build. According to Ian, one of the biggest challenges “was tracing the irrigation while the tournament size kept growing, as it led up to the tournament week. Signage around the course was added and changed constantly and every time the irrigation had to be traced. It was difficult to keep up with all the changes and make sure we were there before they started

Amy Bultena, intern at St. George’s G&CC setting the 18th Pin. Staff and volunteers gathered in the St. George’s meeting area.

pounding stakes in the ground.”

The layout of the golf course poses even more challenges. The course, designed by famed Canadian golf course architect Stanley Thompson, was designed through the natural rolling terrain of the Humber Valley. Small greens and tight fairways wind through the property with adjacent holes not far away, and the golf course does not return to the clubhouse after each nine. The players were scheduled to play from holes 1 and 9 tees on the practice rounds, as well as the Thursday, and Friday rounds. The final round was also played using the split tees because of potential weather delays. This minor difference to someone unfamiliar with the property would seem insignificant but to the team at St. George’s, that puts a tremendous amount of pressure to finish work on holes 1-15 by the time the first groups teed

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Crowds gather around Cameron Smith, contending with the deep rough on #7.

off. Ian and his team took the two-year gap in tournament play to find out what the required number of staff would need to be to ensure everything was mowed, raked, and fluffed, as well as making sure the holes were changed and all the little details tended to; 3:30 AM start times were required to get the jobs done on time. In total, there were 85 staff and volunteers. With 85 staff comes the need for more equipment and the team was faced with the challenge of acquiring it during a time when delays and shortages were common because of Covid. The team was fortunate to have the help of G.C. Duke, Jacobsen, and the neighbouring Islington GC and Lambton G&CC to provide the crew with everything they needed to get the job done right. Pawel Torunski, equipment manager at St. George’s, had the monumental task of making sure all equipment coming in was up to standard, and keeping all these moving parts working and in order was no small task with 10 fairway mowers, 18 walk mowers, 60 carts, 25 backpack blowers, 3 tow behind blowers, and 3 rollers. This also meant taking on the task of twice daily checks of each piece of equipment and the orchestration of all machinery performing at optimal levels.

The week of the tournament saw the wettest conditions we had experienced since early spring. The golf course was in as perfect condition as possible and was ready to play hard and fast. The rain came and softened the course however, the golf course fortunately drains extremely well and although the surfaces may have softened, the bite from the rough was still as hard as ever. The rain made the long, thick, rough even more difficult. It seemed all the talk leading up to and during the tournament was about the rough and how brutal it was. This was a source of pride for the team as we had practiced for two years to figure out what makes the rough happy. The course was categorized as penal but

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Team of fairway mowers mowing #1.

fair, as it played consistent and difficult but nothing that the world’s best couldn’t handle; it separated the best players from the rest of the field.

Ian placed a lot of responsibility on his management team to make sure everything ran smoothly. He credits “a great team of staff and volunteers, everyone bought into their roles and responsibilities and executed them at the highest level” as the key to success. The golf course has undergone major changes since the last time the tournament had been played at St. George’s in 2010, and so it was on Ian to work with the Tour to help make decisions that would make the golf course fair yet challenging. The newly built USGA bentgrass greens and Better Billy Bunkers performed extremely well and the rains seemed to have very little effect on their playability. These were some of the major differences since it was held in 2010, which meant the PGA could not go off of their old notes from the course. Deciding pin locations is a tricky task at any Stanley Thompson course, with his characteristically extreme sloping greens with false fronts and large swales perfect for quickly exiting potential runoff waters over our Canadian winters but difficult to pin when greens are rolling at the speeds the tour players are demanding. With all challenges aside and the twoyear gap in professional play, everything really came down to the people that wake up in the quiet of the night; individuals who are rarely seen in the background but without their expertise, skills, and dedication, the world’s best would not have a place to showcase their talent. It was truly an amazing and memorable experience to be a part of. New friendships were forged and ideas shared. The group of volunteers and staff quickly learned their tasks and delivered their best performance twice a day for eight days. When asked to reflect on the most memorable moment of the tournament, Ian references the opportunity to share the

Without the support of the industry and its experience with his family. “Having my family here with partners, events like this would not be what they me on Sunday, my wife and two daughters walking around with are. It is truly special to see groups of people come them, taking everything in; it together and join in a common goal. was a special moment for my family and I.” Without the support of the industry and its partners, events like this would not be what they are. It is truly special to see groups of people come together and join in a common goal. It is not an easy task by any stretch to maintain a golf course at PGA Tour standards, but anything can be done when you bring people together that are as excited and passionate as the group that formed a bond together at the 2022 RBC Canadian Open. We all walked away with memories and stories to tell for a lifetime. ■

Fairway mowers taking on the tricky to mow the 4th fairway on a wet morning.

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