While the world’s best golfers finish their opening round at The Players Championship, another team has been preparing for this moment all year long. At the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, the grounds crew works behind the scenes to make sure the course is ready for one of golf’s biggest stages.
21 minutes agoRead full article: Nassau County deputies respond to ‘anonymous’ bomb threat at Callahan Middle SchoolJacksonville emergency medicine physician details significance of new freestanding emergency rooms– While the world’s best golfers finish their opening round at The Players Championship , another team has been preparing for this moment all year long.
At the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, the grounds crew works behind the scenes to make sure the course is ready for one of golf’s biggest stages.“We work every other week of the year to get ready for this week,” TPC Sawgrass director of golf course maintenance operations Lucas Andrews said.“It’s all the prep that goes into getting to this week,” Andrews said. ”I’m not going to say the pressure comes off, but if we’ve done our work prior to this, then this week is just about executing.” More than 100 staff members maintain the property year-round. During tournament week, they’re joined by about 90 volunteers from 25 states and 14 countries. Some of them are college students studying turfgrass management or horticulture. Many return every year. “We’ve been doing that program for several years now, and we’re really lucky that we get a lot of people return,” Andrews said. ”We’ve got people that know their way around the golf course. They know what our expectations are, and we can really hit the ground running.”“We’ll set the golf course up in the morning,” Andrews said. ”Then we’ll be on call through the day. When we come back out after play, reset the golf course, ready for the next day.” Even after the tournament ends, the work continues. Andrews said the team meets with rules officials and agronomy staff to review what worked and what can be better next year.The course itself is always evolving - from the technology used to maintain it, to the grass varieties grown here. A major change came when The Players moved from May back to March. “Our precision is through the roof compared to what it was years ago,” Andrews said. “The biggest change we experienced was going from May back to March when we went from a Bermuda grass golf course to a seeded golf course for the championship.” For Andrews, it’s a journey that started with an internship in 2009. Seventeen years later, he now leads the team preparing one of golf’s most famous courses. And he said being part of the championship never gets old. “It’s a tremendous amount of pride,” Andrews said. ”To be able to represent the PGA Tour, TPC Sawgrass, and the local community - to have any part to play in this championship is amazing.” Once the final putt drops Sunday and a new golfer is crowned the winner, the process of preparing the Stadium Course for next year’s Players Championship begins all over again.Alessandra Pontbriand joined WJXT4 as a sports anchor and reporter in May 2023. She is excited to join the extremely talented sports team and have the opportunity to tell stories across Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia from local high schools, universities, and pro teams!Voices of the 904 S2 Ep 1. - How her work for the Northside is a love letter to its culture, historyVoices of the 904 S2 Ep 1. - How her work for the Northside is a love letter to its culture, historyWeather Authority Alert Day declared for Southeast Georgia until 1 p.m.Taking you through ALL of TPC Sawgrass in under 11 minutesAnnie R. Morgan Elementary on Jacksonville’s Westside to become tech incubator, community hubCourt ruling could have impact on whether red-light camera remain legalEWU women's hoops team playing in 1st NCAA DII tournamentTrucks on 10 back at it again at TPC SawgrassHave your umbrella ready as you head to The Players ChampionshipVeteran helped by Operation New Uniform shares how $10K donation will help service membersJacksonville OIG launches investigation into JEA over millions in potential unpaid capacity feesLudacris takes the stage at Military Appreciation Day during The Players Championship
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