Los Angeles Country Club hosts the U.S. Open

A supporting cast of maintenance stalwarts are eager to produce an award-winning performance for The Los Angeles Country Club's first U.S. Open this month.

June 2023 | Howard Richman

This one has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster.

The 123rd U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club promises well-known characters (think Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler). Mystery (what actually is a barranca?). Twists (five par 3s, one more than the usual amount for a U.S. Open). Suspense (rough that hasn’t been witnessed in a U.S. Open for 18 years).

The cast that preps the 7,400-yard-plus par-70 North Course is guided by Chris Wilson, a 20-year GCSAA member and director of golf courses and grounds. In a U.S. Open of firsts, the championship slated June 12-18 will be Wilson’s first in charge. It also is the first U.S. Open at LACC, which is 6 miles from ocean shoreline, within eyeshot of famed Griffith Observatory and where you can distinctly see the downtown LA skyline from the 11th tee. The last time a U.S. Open was held in Greater Los Angeles happened 75 years ago in 1948 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

Obviously, this is a biggie for LA and LACC, which is located between Beverly Hills and Brentwood and turns 126 this year. It makes for quite a spectacle in the shadows of Tinseltown and the heart of the film industry. As for Wilson and his team of roughly six dozen staffers — whether it is North Course superintendent Dan Catterson and his assistants, Paul Burgess and Nick Boswell, or South Course superintendent Brian Wolf and his assistants, Christian Foster and Adam Pellicciotti — he is confident their performance will stick to the usual script. Translated, they will get things done on the big screen, golf style.

“We have a diverse group of guys who all bust their tails,” Wilson says.

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$544,500

GCSAA Foundation program has raised more than $3 million for turfgrass research since 2012

May 9, 2023 | GCMStaff

For the second year in a row, the GCSAA Foundation’s Rounds 4 Research program supporting turfgrass research broke records, yielding more than $544,500 during its April 24-30 online auction, an increase of $53,300 over 2022. The GCSAA Foundation is the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

More than 1,500 rounds of golf were donated for an online auction where more than 16,000 bids were made, and 1,471 rounds were sold to golfers. The top bid was $13,010 at Ohoopee Match Club.

“GCSAA’s Rounds 4 Research continues to grow, and we were blown away by the response from our generous donors and bidders who helped set records again this year," said Rhett Evans, GCSAA chief executive officer. "Thank you to our chapters, the facilities who donated rounds and the bidders for working together through our GCSAA’s Rounds 4 Research program to ensure golf’s future.”

The national campaign is presented in partnership with the The Toro Co. Several multi-course operators have also joined the effort to support research, including ClubCorp, CourseCo, Dormie Network, Founders Group International, GreatLIFE Golf, KemperSports, Marriott Golf, the PGA Tour TPC network of courses and Troon Golf.

More than 70 of GCSAA’s affiliated chapters helped secure donations, and the majority of funds raised go back to the chapters to support local research projects that significantly impact the game. The Carolinas GCSA was the top earning chapter and raised more than $112,000. The Georgia GCSA was next with $48,500 raised for its chapter. The program has raised more than $3 million since launching in 2012. For more information about GCSAA’s Rounds 4 Research, visit rounds4research.com

Golfers are spending more time than ever working on their game, which means practice areas can take a real beating. The good news is that there are some simple things we can do to minimize our impact on the practice range, chipping area or putting green so that everyone can enjoy the best possible conditions.