Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to be part of the volunteer greenkeeping team at the Ryder Cup. It was special for many reasons. Having hosted a Ryder Cup in 2016, there is an indelible connection to the event. Every one feels special and brings back memories of that wonderful week seven years ago.
Making this experience extra special was being there to help and support my friends Alejandro Reyes, Director of Agronomy and Lara Arias, Golf Course Superintendent. Both of whom I met here at Hazeltine during the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Alejandro was then the golf course superintendent at Le Golf National in Paris and was preparing to host his own Ryder Cup in two years.
Lara was interning in the States and came to Minnesota as a spectator. At the time, she wasn’t 100% sure of her plans for the 2017 season and in the middle of Ryder Cup Saturday, I offered her a job on our team. It was clear to me after just a few minutes, she was special. Alas, she decided to go to Quail Hollow and be part of the 2017 PGA Championship; a bummer for us, but things have worked out pretty well for her.
It was such a pleasure to see the leader Lara has become. She clearly had the utmost respect of her team at Marco Simone and she handling the 100+ volunteers, who came from 16 different countries, by seamlessly switching between English, Spanish, Italian and French. Her ability and performance left me in awe.
My primary job for the week was hole cutting. The task was handled by four of us split into two groups leaf-frogging around the golf course. My partner was Paul Goettelmann golf course superintendent at Royal Mougins near Caen, France.
Paul would cut the new hole. I retrieved and cleaned the cup, moving it to the new hole. From there I would used the flagstick, lining it up with a grandstand, or TV tower in the distance, to make sure it was straight. Once straight, I’d use the flagstick to hammer the cup into position, leaving a lip of 26mm. While I was putting the cup in, Paul would move the plug into the old hole. He’d then come over and paint the lip.
On Friday and Saturday, we started cutting holes about 1 hour in front of the first group. Paul and I cut the odd holes, while the other team consisting of South African Jordan Smalley, from Emirates Golf Club in Dubai and Stefano Allevi, Golf Course Superintendent at Milano Golf Club in Monza, Italy, cut the even holes. If you’re an F1 fan, Steffeno’s golf course sits directly adjacent to the Monza Circuit.
As soon as we finished setting up for the morning matches, we had a quick coffee and were right back at the first green to set up the afternoon holes. I can’t think of a better job for a tournament week.
Sometimes in my role at Hazeltine, with so much to think about and my mind being pulled in so many directions, I forget what I really love about this job. Going off and supporting friends, at their event, brings it all back into perspective.
For 10 days, someone else makes the decisions and I’m just there to help in any way I can. When there are 100 other people there with the same mentality, it makes for an collective, community-like experience that is hard to describe.
I left Italy with life-long memories and more importantly, life-long friends.