ROGERS — Workers have been scurrying around Pinnacle Country Club the past week in preparation for the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour event, which gets under way today with qualifying play.
AT A GLANCE
Stimpmeter
The Stimpmeter is a simple, accurate device manufactured by the USGA that allows one to make a standard measurement of — and place a numerical figure on — the speed of a putting green. It has proven to be an invaluable asset to the game of golf and a helpful management tool for the golf course superintendent, but it is not intended for course comparisons.
Source: www.usga.org
Championship Schedule
The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship kicks off today at Pinnacle Country Club.
Today
All Day: Professional Practice
1 p.m.: Qualifier
Tuesday
All Day: Professional Practice
Wednesday
7–9:10 a.m.: Pro-Am tee times
Noon–2:10 p.m.: Pro-Am tee times
Thursday
7–9:10 a.m.: Pro-Am tee times
Noon–2:10 p.m.: Pro-Am tee times
Friday
All Day: First round play
10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Dove Kid’s Center Open
5:30–7:30 p.m.: Golf Channel coverage
Saturday
All Day: Second round play
10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Dove Kid’s Center Open
4-6 p.m.: Golf Channel coverage
Sunday
All Day: Final round play
10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Dove Kid’s Center Open
4-6 p.m.: Golf Channel coverage
Source: Staff Report
Platforms and tents went up last week and technicians wired and rewired for media coverage of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
The grounds crew had all hands on deck.
“Normally, we average 10 hours a day,” said Bart Bellmon, assistant superintendent of grounds at Pinnacle. “It’s about 12 to 13 with the tournament coming up. It’s not so much the amount of things we do as it is the amount of times we do things — the special details. We’re constantly mowing, constantly edging. Just everything to make sure it’s as perfect as possible.”
The course is “toughened up” somewhat for pro golfers.
“The greens are faster, the rough taller and the bunkers firmer,” Bellmon said. “We do the same things we do all the time for the members, it’s just more often. Like maybe mowing one more time in the afternoon to get the greens fast.”
This year’s tournament moved to June after being held in September at the club last year.
“The preparation is about the same,” Bellmon said. “The aspect that’s different is the time we have to repair the course after all the structures are gone. June gives us more time to recover. All the stress of the summer hasn’t hit the course yet in June like it’s been through in September.”
Even the large number of people coming to watch the tournament aren’t really a problem, Bellmon said.
“Spectators don’t mess anything up,” Bellmon explained. “It’s more the vehicles and building structures around greens, the forklifts and big trucks, that we worry about.”
Bellmon said the course pretty well takes care of the competition after all the work on it.
“We fix it, they play it,” Bellmon said. “They have an agronomist that came in about two months ago to talk with us, just to make sure we’re heading down the right path. Usually, it’s just a check-in. We do things normally unless they see something out of the ordinary that they want fixed.”
Steve Renzetti is a certified golf course superintendent who performed work for the LPGA as an agronomist and has been the superintendent at several golf courses. He said all players want the same thing from a golf course.
“Any type of player, whether it’s a pro or amateur, wants consistency from green to green,” Renzetti said. “And they like to see the greens roll the same way at the end of the tournament as they did at the start of the tournament.”
Imperfections on a golf course quickly show up with the caliber of players at the professional level, Renzetti said.
“These players are so good at their craft, they want to be able to execute their shot and know what’s going to happen,” he said. “For instance, if they hit a shot with spin, will this green accept spin? Or if they hit a shot without spin, is that going to work? They don’t want the golf course, or luck, to determine the outcome of the tournament. They want the results determined by their skills.”
Renzetti, who said he has visited Pinnacle in the past, called the course a “fantastic venue.”
“The best-rated courses attract the best players because of the predictability of the outcome,” Renzetti said.