“Always Something to Do”

by Stephen Kelly, regional editor

This was the main entrance to the Merchandise tent (160’ x 120’) during the 2005 U.S. Open. A Putter Boy, the logo for the Open, was placed on the mound of turf and then surrounded by ???knock out' roses. In the background are ???Natchez' crepe myrtles, ???Wynoming' canna lily, lantana spp., fragrance osmanthus, ???China girl' holly, ???Mary Nell' holly and ???Nellie R. Stevens' holly.

The Village of Pinehurst is in south central North Carolina some 60 miles southwest the state capitol, Raleigh, and about 75 miles east of Charlotte. A Boston philanthropist, James Walker Tufts (1835??"1902) owner of the American Soda Foundation, purchased 5,000 acres at $1/acre in 1895 for a winter retreat in the sandhills area, now called Pinehurst, but briefly "Tuftstown."

By my calculation of numbers supplied by the "Inflation Conversion Factors for Dollars 1665 to Estimated 2015" by Robert Sahr at the University of Oregon, this was quite a reasonable price. One dollar in 1895 is the equivalent of $21.73 in 2005 dollars??"5,000 acres for $108,695.

The Pinehurst insignia, carved from Ilex crenata ???Stokes' holly, and magnolia, holly and oak trees greet Carolina Hotel guests. The annual beds at the entrance and circling the trees are impatiens with begonias (upper right). Peat moss, leaf mold or compost, perlite and bark make good drainage for the impatiens. Root-laden soil around the trees sometimes requires a fresh soil mix. Begonias do best in slightly acidic soil. Peat moss helps hold moisture and increase acidity. In Jan., the turf is sprayed with Carbary Liquid 7 and Battle and the shrubbery with Merit and horticulture oil to control spider mites, lacewings and scales.

The name "Pinehurst" apparently was purchased by Tufts from a person who had submitted the name in a contest by a real estate developer in Martha's Vineyard. The design for the Village of Pinehurst was part Tufts and part Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture.

Chris Burrows, grounds superintendent, Pinehurst Resort.

Members of the greenhouse crew watering, fertilizing (10-10-10) and pruning Boston ferns. Pink begonias and dusty miller are bordered by the ???stokes' holly filigree.

The Cushman is pulling a tonged AerWay Aerifier. "This is a less aggressive method of reducing compaction on turf and pulling up thatch," explains Superintendent Chris Burrows. "In some cases the slices it leaves in the turf allow the ground temperature to rise, which also inhibits more growth."

The resort was a family affair. James Tufts and his son, Leonard, ran the resort and were joined by Leonard's son, Richard, after graduating from Harvard and serving in World War I. According to the World Golf of Fame, Richard Tufts was "Mr. Golf," leader of an effort that brought the PGA Championship (1936) and Ryder Cup (1951) to Pinehurst where he ruled the resort until relatives sold their stock to Diamondhead Corp., and the Tufts family lost controlling interest. Richard was president of the United States Golf Association, Walker Cup captain and a strong advocate of amateur sport.

Pinehurst Village, a little over 14 square miles, didn't become a municipality until 1980. It has international golf status and is home to another renown name??"Pinehurst Resorts.

The resort grows all of its annuals in five greenhouses??"17,200 sq. ft. of growing space. The greenhouse head grower is Chris Jones. The grounds person (left) examines Swedish ivy. The row of trees (ficus) are for interior set ups when companies hold meetings at the hotel.

The famous Putterboy topiary and hedges are Ilex crenata ???Stokes' holly, as is the Pinehurst insignia. The Putterboy Gardens flanks the Carolina Hotel's dining room. The topiary is constructed from a wire frame that has been planted with needlepoint ivy. The hedges are Ilex crenata ???Stokes' holly. In this gardenThe holly require minimal pruning. Growth of the holly is controlled by removing one-half of the candle (new shoot) just prior to needle expansion, which encourages new bud formation at the pinch (cut), slows growth on the pinched branch and creates a more compact plant. New buds will not form behind pruning cuts made into older wood.

The crew uses all manner of blowers: back packs, outfront and push blowers, but not before 8 a.m. around the hotel facilities. Daily, the blowers sweep over 2.5 acres of brick walkways. While many parts of the country are cracking down on blower noise, there are no local prohibitions in this regard. Pennisetum ???Rubrum' ornamental grass, a coleus variety and yellow lantana are being pruned.

The Village and Pinehurst Resorts were given National Landmark status in 1996. And in case you like whacking little white balls and putting them (eventually) into little cups in the ground, this may be heaven??"more than 40 golf courses within minutes of Pinehurst designed by a few fellows you might have heard of??"Robert Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, among others.

The Resort Grounds

Chris Burrows, the grounds superintendent for the Pinehurst Resort, spoke to me about his job and challenges. He began working for the prestigious resort in 1996 as a crew member.

He attended a two-year programs at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst to study horticulture and applied landscaping, then did an internship at the Pinehurst Resort, which included installing a massive amount of plantings for the "corporate village" erected for the 1999 U.S. Open??"certainly an indoctrination under fire.

An aerial view of some of the tents set up for the 2005 Open event, termed the "corporate village" or "Carolina Village," as it is on the Carolina Hotel grounds. The tents ranged in size from 30’ x 30’ to 40' x 40'. At ground level we see the landscape installation for the event: sweet potato vine, petunias, roses, coleus, daylilies, lantana, holly spp. The trees are crepe myrtle and oaks.

The temporary village comprised about 50 tents, some 30×30 feet, others 120×140 feet, all with extensive landscaping.

The seasonal workers are from Jamaica through the H2B program, arriving in March or April and departing in Nov. or Dec. Under H2B, the workers must be temporary but not part time. A labor certification is required to demonstrate the unavailability of U.S. workers and H2B workers must prove they have a nonimmigrant or temporary intent.

The grounds crew mows 14.7 acres of turf two to three times a week. The crew uses rotary mowers with 44’’ decks. While reel mowers are used on the golf courses (there are eight courses), Burrows says the reel mowers won't give him the clean cut he desires for the hotel properties, i.e., his mowers catch all the clippings and leaves.

Lynda Bafile, assistant superintendent, demonstrates the proper way to apply 34-0-0 with the use of flags to ensure that there is no skips or streaking of the fertilizer.

During the U.S. Open, the grounds staff was not sufficient to handle all the work. The super brought in a crew of 35 just to install the plants for the corporate village (the tent city). This was one of the 14 tractor trailers of plant materials unloaded. "We installed 25,000 containers ranging from 6’’ to 25 gallons and installed 400 ball and burlap trees from 28’’ to 54’’. We started receiving, unloading and installing beginning April 23 and finished June 10."

In a year's time the grounds crew plants 138,000 annuals, grown in Pinehurst's 17,280 square fee of greenhouses, while caring for .7 acres of annual beds, some 10,600 bulbs.

The filigrees and other ornamental beds (11.2 acres) are pruned up to eight times per year to ensure a manicured look. Daily there are over 2.5 acres of brick walkways blown off and 14.7 acres of turf mowed two to three times a week. The grounds department is also responsible for the flora in 500 plus interior rooms and 19.7 acres of native trees and plants.

The Schedule

When Superintendent Burrows handed out the work schedule for 2005 for the Pinehurst Resort (see side bar for schedule) he wrote, in part, this addendum: "With the U.S. Open coming in June it is very important that we adhere to the schedule. We need to pull together as a team. We need to complete all tasks in the time that is given. As far as vacation and time off the schedule is as follows. A week may be taken off in January and February, and in March no more than three days may be taken off at a time. From April 1-July 15 there will be no approved time off. ??_ In closing, please help us as a department to achieve these goals that are put in front of us. Let no time be wasted out there, there is always something to do."

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Down to Business

Mowers: The crew uses rotary walker mowers with 44’’ decks and 20 hp. While reel mowers are used on the golf courses (there are eight!), Burrows chooses rotaries to catch all the clippings and leaves. He says the reel mowers won't give him the clean cut he desires. He points out that the walk-behind rotaries require once-a-week maintenance, while the reel mowers require servicing every time they are used. He also notes that reel mowers are more delicate and his crew is leery about operating them. "If you hit a root with one it trashes a mower," he says.

The biggest challenge: The range of events at the resort, including many weddings, is always a challenge for the grounds crew. Many of these events are held on the West Lawn/porch at the Carolina. The resort's famed No. 2 golf course is home of the North and South Open and Amateur Championships, and hosted the 1991 and 1992 PGA Tour Championships, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open, and the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open Championships, among others.