Golfdom, May 2014

Continued from page 30 are the defender of par out here Location location location This crazy idea to host back to back Opens Pinehurst is the perfect location to try it They have the manpower the equipment the space all right here Need to lengthen the tee shot on No 12 Borrow some land off of adjoining course four Need a 39000 square foot merchandise pavilion No 18 fairway on course one will serve nicely And the crew All of the superintendents at Pinehurst are ready to jump in as the Opens near Superintendents Kyle Brown No 1 No 3 No 5 Steve Wilson No 4 and No 7 and Jeff Hill No 6 and No 8 and their respective crews will make for one of the most experienced tournament crews ever After all they all already know the details of working at Pinehurst Resort The people I work with are the biggest assets we have Robinson says My assistants would already be superintendents somewhere if it wasnt for the Open And all the levels we have out here from the superintendents to the part timers were very lucky For our sake its caused us to look back and consider that were doing two weeks of this Farren says Kevin and his staff both regular and part time and the volunteers without question its an opportunity for us and the USGA to tread new water Condition Men vs Women U S Open conditions are tough to maintain for one week but Robinson and his crew will need to keep the course on that edge for two weeks The biggest difference for the men and the women will be the firmness of the greens Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate Robinson says as he drives the back nine of No 2 Hopefully it wont rain too much weve been very lucky the last two Opens But we figure for a two week event one of those days its probably going to rain Robinson says if the weather is dry theyll water the greens and soften them up following the conclusion of the U S Open Greens will be a little softer but speeds will be relatively the same In an extreme measure depending Continued on page 34 THE WAY WATER WA S INTENDED Achieve a balanced aquatic 32 Golfdom May 2014 Golfdom com PHOTO CREDIT SETH JONES CLEAN HEALTHY SUSTAINABLE ecosystem with water movement and proper aeration Air O Lator has been the leader in pond and lake management for over 40 years We manufacture ecofriendly high performance products that provide high oxygen transfer rates as well as moving large volumes of water keeping your ponds clean and sustainable and only hazardous for wayward golf balls Backed by outstanding customer service Air O Lator aerators and fountains are easy to install and maintain www airolator com 800 821 3177 U S OPEN Robinson with L to R assistant superintendent Alan Owen spray tech Curt Proctor and assistant superintendent John Jeffreys