Tournament preperation
14-05-2009

Those two words can cause fear or excitement on the golf course. At the least they mean long hours for everyone, very early starts and for me personally, very late finishes as I’m mostly the last to leave. It has been known for me not to leave at all, preferring to sleep in my truck ready for the next day’s early start.

They also mean 'Teamwork'. Here, at Celtic Manor Resort the last three years of The Wales Open have been comparatively 'easy' due to the extensive refurbishment and reconfiguration of two of our golf courses. That meant The Wales Open being held on the Roman Road course, a compact course that 'polishes up' very easily in a short time and is closer to the maintenance complex than the other two. 'Tournament' is a grand word. It conjures up pictures of fluttering bunting, TV cameras and miles of cable everywhere. Then there are the marquees, crowds, professional golfers and their entourage, flash courtesy cars zooming about with important people inside etc. etc. and that’s the way it is for large events. Perhaps a more useful term for most small golf courses is 'Important Event'. It might not be a 'Tournament' in the strict sense of the word but it is important to the club to have a heightened level of care and that will directly impact on the resident Technician. Preparation time could range from a couple of day’s intense activity for a small club to a month-long closure for a major televised tournament at a large club, but always with the intense activity. For now we are dealing with the fluttering bunting type tournament so where to start? For those who have an annual tournament (or more often) it never really goes away, everything that’s done on the golf course has to be considered carefully before going ahead. For those in the workshop it doesn’t have quite the same effect, we are more fortunate in that respect. But tournaments do have a huge impact on workshop activity, both before and after, so lets start by looking at the preparation period. I suppose that detailed preparation begins 3-4 weeks before the first practice day. We grind everything in sight, get down all the fairway and trim mowers grass boxes, ensuring they are undamaged and that they fit correctly. Then make lists of when machines may need re-blading before the tournament. I check the bulk fuel tank and arrange a delivery as close to the tournament as possible so we don’t have a fuel tanker manoeuvring in a compound full of machinery. Hired vehicles need the correct specifications for our purposes, i.e. 4WD crew cab with ball hitches but no canopies, as well as a crew bus. We also arrange for extra skips/bins for specific golf course and general waste. We have a workshop vehicle that is comprehensively kitted out for breakdowns but for the 'Tournament Support' role I take the time to have it checked over thoroughly and include other “stuff” such as 20 litres of diesel, 5 litres of petrol, 10 litres of antifreeze mixture, 10 litres of hydraulic oil, various funnels. It is important to ensure the compressor receiver is charged up to maximum, the airline and inflator are in place and the batteries for the “zip” gun are fully charged with the correct sockets all present in the case. Replace any lost or unserviceable tools, previously used spare parts etc. It’s a long list but I like nothing left to chance. As the tournament gets closer and the heights of cut are moving downwards, blade attitudes are altered as the range changes and a close eye is kept on bedknife wear. Worn blades are changed to the ones most appropriate for the HOC at that time but this also depends on how close the tournament is. If we change to 'tournament' or 'micro' blades too soon and they wont last. Leave on the high-wear blades and the machine will 'swim' on the next HOC change. It’s a matter of timing and at this stage economy of blades (for me anyway) does not come into it, only the playing surface. 'Salvage' can be addressed later. A week before the tournament we sharpen all fairway and trim mowers and grind all the pedestrian tees mowers at the end of that week. The final HOC on the greens is now getting close and any problems will soon make an appearance. The pedestrian greens mowers are tickled on the grinder after every use and their performance on the greens is carefully monitored, every mark is scrutinized, diagnosed and addressed. Practice Day 1 is upon us; the compound is a hive of activity at 4:30am as the green keepers get in the starting blocks. Everything has been prepared the day before so it’s a “jump in and go” type start. Early tee-off times make every minute count and a great deal of organisation regarding the route each individual operator must take to his or her work place has occurred. If mistakes are going to be made or the plan has to be modified then now is the time. Some 15-20 minutes after the green keepers commence mowing our tournament support truck leaves the compound and the duty technician trawls around the course, mobile phone and 2-way radio at the ready, parking occasionally and looking at greens to see if there are problems looming. My staff team of 3 take turns with this. I depart 30-40 minutes later and drive around the course stopping at each green that has been cut keeping an eye out for any problems with my mobile phone, 2-way radio, prism, macroscope and kneeling board all in my vehicle. Hopefully the work progresses without incident and when all the tasks are completed the green keepers on their various machines assemble with the Course Manager, his Head Greenskeeper and our support truck and all travel in together in a convoy. This ensures that seasonal people not totally familiar with the estate do not get lost and all machines take the same route to keep away from the golf action. Once back at the maintenance compound our workshop staff then get busy to prepare for the after-play cut. Greens mowers are washed off and refuelled by the green keepers and brought to the workshop for a few passes on the Express Dual grinder and any HOC adjustments the 'Boss' decides are necessary. Fairway, Trim and Tees mowers are also checked for cut, adjusted as necessary and any problems addressed. We will next turn our attention to the other two courses, although work on these is minimised for the duration of the tournament. Machines from a different fleet have been prepared and are dispatched -they are usually back by lunchtime and then the staff restaurant is attacked by ravenous green keepers where hotel workers can be trampled underfoot and the servery left bare apart from the odd wisp of steam. By this time the workshop has come to the end of its work for the event until the after-play cut is completed and it’s now time for the technicians to have some lunch. Afterwards it’s a case of doing as little as possible. Each year we hire in a couple of pool tables, darts board, putting “green” and a ping pong table. This keeps the green keepers amused between work periods for the first part but toward the end of the week everyone will be getting tired and bodies are crashed out everywhere, arguments arise from nothing and all are getting irritable. The end, however, is in sight. It goes without saying that good forward planning is essential if the tournament is to run without a hitch. An example of this are the Greens 'squeegees' which have previously been checked over and are now got out, ready for use as, this year, there was the threat of rain. The crew bus is washed to smarten it up and any unwanted green keeping paraphernalia is removed, the squeegees are installed ready to go at the drop of a hat. Fuel is checked and topped-up. (Mustn’t run out in front of the whole world). In view of the forecast meal breaks can be rearranged and an alternative mealtime rota, previously planned, will be pinned up for all to see. Those green keepers not on meal break will be despatched in the crew bus to various strategic points around the course to take up standby duty As the afternoon golf draws to a close the people are in place to make the earliest start on the evening cut. Trim, fairway, tees and greens mowers are all set to go as soon as they get the word that the golf has passed a certain point for that area, i.e. out of sight and out of earshot. Once the evening cut is completed and the operators make their way back to the maintenance complex they will be met by the 3 Techs, anxiously waiting so they to can go to work and get away as soon as possible. They go into their well rehearsed routine after the machines have been washed, one removes boxes and transport wheels and lines up the Toro Flex 21’s in the workshop, another gives them a quick touch-up grind and as they come off the grinder the one who removed the boxes gives the bed knives a light Rapid Face, adjusts the set and checks the HOC. They will then be refuelled and loaded back on the correct Carryall ready for the morning. The third Tech is busy with the adjustments of the Toro 1600’s and trim mowers. Anything, which has cutting issues, will be taken to the shop for grinding last so only one “stop” adjustment is needed on the Express Dual. At Celtic Manor Resort we transport pedestrian mowers using Club Car Carryalls which are all labelled for the tournament. The label is laminated and taped to the front cowling and contains the operators name, the number of the machine being carried such as Flex 21”/ CMR/3, the order of cut such as 'Greens' #1,15 &7 . There is very little room left for the operators to make mistakes as most of the thinking has been done for them. The last machines to come in after the evening cut are the fairway mowers and I listen to the operators while they wash their machine and address any problems they report while they refuel and check the engine oil. Their machines are then adjusted for cut. The Toro 5410’s hold their cut well and one or two clicks generally has them cutting like greens mowers. Then they will be parked line astern for the quick getaway tomorrow morning. I always attend to them myself. The workshop staff are younger (than me) and need some time at home so I try and get them away as soon as possible after grinding the pedestrian mowers, normally around 8:00-9:00 pm (ish). We have an outside security company in the compound for the duration of tournaments so we do not park machinery in the building overnight. Experience has shown that it is quicker to park them in the outdoor compound, loaded or prepared for a quick start. Apart from the security guard I am often the only one left. If necessary I will give him some instructions and beat a hasty retreat. Then I drive the fourteen miles home and greet my wife, Maralyn, who says goodnight from halfway up the stairs on her way to bed, She has left me a meal which I'll microwave and hungrily eat. Maralyn has also fed the dogs for me and I will tend to them tomorrow, coming home when the tournament has started, to clean their kennels etc. and get their food ready for the evening. Then take them out for exercise for an hour, before returning to work. That's teamwork and that's all about preparation also.

Patrick Callaby Celtic Manor Worksh