The most behind-the-scenes work that goes on in the behind-the-scenes world of golf course management at a major golf championship is, without a doubt, in the shop. And that fact is even more prevalent here at Baltusrol, as Equipment Manager Todd Simms is leading a team that is, to steal a very bad cliche, running like a well-oiled machine this week.
Scott Bosetti calls the comings and goings of the maintenance staff before and after their rounds "organized chaos." In truth, though, it's an intricate process that is organized in such a way that the members of the maintenance staff never even have to step foot in the shop to pick up their equipment. Prior to each morning and afternoon, Simms meets with Scott Bosetti to go over the hole order in which teams will hit the course during that upcoming session. Simms' team then stages the equipment in that order, and shortly before the start of work, wheels the equipment into place outside the shop, so all workers have to do is step into their utility vehicle, fairway mower or whatever and push the accelerator. When the crew returns from their appointed rounds, they drop off the equipment almost exactly where they picked it up and Simms' team goes to work again, bringing the equipment in for cleaning, sharpening of reels, etc. Like the rest of the crew in the maintenance facility, their days have been long, starting at 3:30 in the morning and stretching as late as 11 p.m. on some days.
When I stopped by the shop area yesterday afternoon, Simms wasn't there -- he was taking a well-deserved nap in an undisclosed, air-conditioned location. But two of his top volunteers this week were -- Jim Nedin, a longtime employee of The Toro Co. who now consults for the company, as well as three of its biggest East Coast distributors, from his home in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Andy Berenty, who works for local Toro distributor Storr Tractor. Nedin, who has a background in mechanical engineering and over three decades in the industry, has been Toro's point person at major tournaments for years. He has worked five majors with Mark Kuhns alone, and is considered one of the foremost experts on the Toro greensmowers that are being used this week, the Flex 21 and the GR 1000.
In addition to detailing the process of getting Baltusrol's equipment ready each day, Nedin and Berenty also introduced to what I've already called the coolest piece of golf course maintenance equipment I've ever seen, a claim that I'm standing by. For complete photos, I refer you to the "Friday photos" album to see what for brevity's sake I'll call the Ultimate Utility Vehicle (UUV). What is this beast, you ask? Well, it is a fairly standard Toro Workman with an enclosed cab and a flatbed trailer on the back that has been outfitted with just about everything a golf course equipment technician could want in just about every situation you can conceive.
Lights? The UUV has 'em, both in the form of a telescoping set of fluorescent lights that can illuminate an entire green to a work light that can be brought under the hood of a cooked fairway unit. Power? The UUV has that to, in the form of a portable generator. Air? The UUV also has that, in the form of an air compressor. This bad boy has a jack, an electric winch, welding material, a full toolbox. About the only thing the UUV doesn't have is a six-CD changer in the cab or air conditioning, which would really come in handy today and, I'm told, is on the very top of Simms' wish list for future additions.
I think that about gets me caught up for now. I may be speaking by phone with Jon Jennings, CGCS at Chicago Golf Club, later today about his experiences hosting the Walker Cup, which is going on simultaneously with the PGA Championship. But now, I prepare to subject myself to dangerously hot weather as I make the trek to the maintenance facility for the afternoon. Pray for me.