For the past couple of years, Glen Abbey Golf Course has been the host of the Canadian Open. The superintendent Scott Bowman explained us what it means hosting this kind of event and being a superintendent. It is a full-time work with plenty of surprises.
In 2004, (Scott was not the superintendent at that time) they lost seven greens after the winter damage. The Canadian Open being held in July, they had to find a solution quick! They did not sod the greens because in their opinions, it creates a black layer in the soil. They had to bring back the old superintendent, Ryan Beauchamp (now working for Syngenta because of his expertise). They really needed help. The “Abbey” being a prestigious golf course (250$ for a round in the summer), they had to work fast.
This trip gave us the opportunity to learn about the different demands when you are the host of a big tournament as the Canadian Open. When the tournament is on television, you have to think of all the cameras and equipment spaces needed. And the space for all the people that are coming to see their favorite golfers playing. I also learned about all the extra visits the association is doing to verify and making sure that everything is how it is supposed to be. Quite interesting!
Posted by Shane Nelson on December 9, 2009 at 19:17
This is interesting because I knew winter was harmful to the courses, but I didn’t realize it was that destructive. I could imagine it would be quite a handful repairing the damage. I’m just curious as to what it was that Ryan did to fix everything in time.