Roles > Tasks Part Two
By Chris Tritabaugh, Superintendent at Hazeltine National Golf Club Hazeltine National Golf Club is facility is treated as a second-class a golf club in the truest sense. Peo- citizen. I certainly have been, both ple become members because they as a crew member and a superlove golf. The club has no pool, no intendent. When the chips are tennis courts and no amenities not down, and you are in a pinch its related to the game of golf. The quite easy to give the practice area food is wonderful, the atmosphere the “we’ll get it tomorrow” treatbetter, but when you join Hazelment. I am guilty as charged when tine, you join because you are an it comes to the practice facility at avid golfer. Hazeltine. In my first three seasons Avid golfers love playing golf, the practice area got better each but they also love to work on their year, but it still suffered secondgame. Our club has many single class status. digit handicaps, and one doesn’t Right from the beginning of become a single digit without prac- my time at Hazeltine, the intent of tice. The level of golf played by our team was to identify a person Hazeltine members is supported who would oversee the practice by a fantastic practice facility: two area on a daily basis. A couple of acres of bentgrass tees, two putattempts were made, but we never ting greens, four chipping greens quite committed to the idea 100%, and a large number targets. All of that is until Peter Braun came which carry the same conditioning along. expectations as the golf course. Peter came to Hazeltine as an If you have ever worked on Ohio State turf program graduate a golf course grounds crew, then in 2015. His previous summer had you have more than likely worked been spent working at a course in somewhere in which the practice Ireland. While there, Peter was put Page 10